Things Change, So Should You.

I have just finished a meeting with a wonderful person who I am hopeful of collaborating with in the future.  I am also talking with a few people who I met completely by chance and new doors have opened for me. I have meetings next week which may or may not lead in the direction I thought. 

Why am I telling you this? Because things change in an instant and if we don't seize the opportunity when it is in front of us, or if we don't learn to quickly adapt to the change, we will not reap the benefit.

Change comes in many forms - health, work, family, friendships, technology, and business to name a few. The only consistent thing in life in today's world seems to be change.

A common quote today is "Things change so deal with it". That is a valid quote although I might not phrase it quite as bluntly. Perhaps it is better said "Things change and so should we". Change is here to stay so get used to it folks.

Previously, I never liked change. I preferred certainty and regularity. I liked to go to work knowing what to expect and when to expect it. If I had a plan, I stuck to it. If I had a coaching workshop to run, I followed the programme to the letter. 

I am looking forward to the future, to adapting to change, to growing my business in a direction where change takes me. The incredible thing is that all of this exciting change I have been talking about above happened in just two days. 

Think of change as an opportunity not as a threat. Change happens fast, and you can too. 

10 Ways To be A Different Leader

What makes a great leader? Here's my take on what makes a great leader from a personalised perspective;

1. Behave in the way that you want your team to behave - Act with integrity and be guided by your moral compass (if it is set right).
2. Take an interest in each person - Sometimes this is difficult to do but something that we should strive to do. Learn a bit about each person and ask them questions to get to know them better. 30 seconds per person is all it takes.
3. If you work in a large organisation, learn as many first names of your team members as you can. Using a person's name makes them feel important, and they are.
4. Ask each person what they would change about their job if they could. If it is something that you can change and it adds value then change it. Ensure to give credit where it is due. 
5. Be genuine - If you ask how someone is, make sure that you listen for the reply.
6. Take time to say thanks to those staff whose name you don't know, they are the solid ones doing all of the work.
7. Spread the load - Don't always give out work for your best performers to undertake. Give some work to those who want (need) to gain experience and by doing so you will increase your pool of high performers.
8. Train with your staff - If you have the opportunity, undertake the same training as your staff so that you can learn more about them and their needs.
9. Never talk to your staff about personal issues in the same place that you discuss work issues. Take them to a Cafe' or somewhere neutral so they will be more relaxed.
10. Follow policy and process - There is nothing more frustrating than people following different policies or taking short cuts. Staff want consistency.

Learners.

Recently I have been struggling with an important decision, should I remain in business or get a 'real' job. Those who have followed my blogs will know that I always try to look on the positive side of life and would by now possibly have the impression that all is well with Lance. Well it never is.

I struggle just as everyone does with making decisions. It is easy to write blogs espousing the virtues of positivity, keeping focus, searching for solutions, looking after yourself, and changing your perception on life by controlling your thoughts. They are just meaningless words unless we truly believe in the message and follow them. 

All of the people I have met in the wellness industry struggle, that's why they are good at what they do. That is why they have the ability to understand what it is like to struggle and how to recover from that struggle. They have a particular insight that most never get to see nor would they want you to see. Importantly, that's why they want to help others and why we should follow their suggestions.

Yes I am struggling to make a decision at the moment. But I will maintain a positive attitude and keep going in a direction I believe is right for me. I will ignore my brain which is filled with self-doubt in its pitiful attempt to protect me. I will also ignore my negative thoughts of what others may think if I fail. Because that is what a lot of us fear most, not the failure but what others will think of us.

When I see someone who tried something and did not succeed in their attempt, I admire them. All of them tried and that is what is most important I think, to at least try.

None of us are failures, we are learners. Learners who just keep learning.

Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

There are those who espouse the importance of following our dreams in business, those who encourage us to leave our job if we don't like it, those who say it's not about the money it's about the enjoyment, and those who suggest we give it all away and take the plunge to start our own company. 

Most of those who say these things are already comfortable - either financially or emotionally. But what about those of us who don't like being unsettled, who can find some pleasures in our work although it is not really what we want to do, who may have a job that we don't like but the money is good, or someone like me who has just started his business and had two large contracts cancelled? What should we do?

For us, sometimes it is more about security. Security in employment, security in knowing our work, security in the day-to-day schedule, security in being able to plan ahead without concern about where the next dollar will come from. For those of us who enjoy security it is about making the most of what we have. 

If you are in a job that you don't like but you feel secure in, I say don't leave your job. Instead make the most of a bad situation and find ways to make that job more enjoyable. If you have always had dreams of owning your own business, speak to others who have 'made it' in the business world but also to those who have struggled so that you gain a full perspective of how tough it can be. 

It's not always about the money but if you don't have money life can be hard. In his hierarchy of needs, Abraham Maslow identifies food, water and shelter as our basic needs to survive. Today you can add money to that list because without money you will find it very difficult to buy food, to pay for services and to have a home to live in.

Life can be exciting if you have your own business, but it can also be a struggle. If that means giving up on your dream of becoming a millionaire; of owning your own business; of having a job that will be enjoyable but pays much less than your current one, then you have may have to stay where you are or give up on your dream if you have already taking the plunge.

If you stay in your current job you may be left wondering "if only I had...". So what, you can change a thought as easy as it arrived. Would you rather be able to say that you have your own business but are always worried or would you rather be comfortable in your current job and emotionally well? I know which one I prefer. 

Where Will Baby-Boomers Be In 2020?

As a person from the baby-boomer era, it is frightening to think about how far we have come with technology over such a short period. I predicted 30 years ago that computers would be a passing fad, I'm an idiot. It was just 30 years ago that the first mobile phone went on sale at a modest cost of $4,000.00. And with that device all you could do was make a phone call provided you were near a cell-tower.

In 1983, Motorola (who?) marketed the first mass-produced phone. Ten years later Nokia (who?) came out with their GSM phone and Motorola released the first phone with a digital display screen. Six years on and mobile phones came with music players and predictive text. In 2002, Nokia released a series of phones with advanced technology and just four years later came the pocket PC. 

Move to today and phones with 3D technology are about to break the market. So it took ten years to go from a clunky phone that could only make calls to one with a digital display, six years to introduce basic features and two years further on to have a phone that does everything your computer can do and much more. 

Here are some predictions from others on where we will be in 2020;

• 5G phone network will be released.
• Your phone will read aloud text messages, news updates and FB postings.
• All homes will have ultra-high definition TVs.
• Holographic images will become commonplace.
• Cars will drive themselves.
• Robots will become household items.
• The internet will be humanised and have 5 billion subscribers.
• Healthcare will be data driven, 3D printers will be used to replace organs and diseases such as cancer and diabetes will be monitored in real-time.

So what is the point of my post? That we baby-boomers need to keep pace with technological advances or we will become living dinosaurs. Here's a fact that may encourage you to learn - the top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 never existed in 2004. Change is so rapid that 65 percent of today’s primary school children will end up with jobs that haven’t been invented yet.

So what should you do if you are a baby-boomer who is reluctant to embrace emerging technology? Start learning, now. You need to start learning how to use new technology as soon as it is released. You need to get your brain to start thinking differently about technology, no longer is it a gimmick, it is a necessity. You need to get excited about new technology rather than be afraid of it. Lastly you need to maximise the use of new technology, use them all.

By doing all of the above, your brain will become accustomed to new technology that same way millenials (Gen-Ys) do today. Give a millenial a new device and they will have it working in less than two minutes without instructions. They love it, they use it, they need it.

The sooner you get to start operating new things the less stressful the process will be. In fact, your brain will thank you for doing so.