doug smith training

Have you ever smiled at a stranger, just to smile? Without getting creepy about it, try it some time. Almost every time that I've smiled first, the other person will smile back. It's a human reaction. We almost can't help it. Open friendliness and welcoming is hard to resist. A random smile packs a surprising amount of joy. Why not be happy? Happy leaders very often create the happiest teams, and happy teams very often produce the best results. -- doug smith  

There's a secret way to stretch your time. Well, it's not that BIG of a secret, and some people might disagree, but if it works for you, wouldn't you make use of it. Here it is: Fill your time with joy and you find you have more time. More time, better time, easier time, wonderful time. It's just a feeling, of course, because as far as we know we all have equal amounts of time -- from moment to moment. Creating great moments though last and so, tada! you find you have more time. It's worth a try...even if you don't end up with more time, you do end up with more joy. -- doug smith  

It's a challenge to constantly strive for improvement. With an ever-raising bar there's no sense of accomplishment because we're waiting for the next improvement. Push, push, push! It may not be a science, but it sure is an art to be able to balance yourself and accept what is while working to level up more. Of course it can improve. Nothing is perfect. We are as leaders all about continuous improvement. Let's just remember to appreciate what we have already earned, what our teams have already accomplished. Imagine better, but appreciate what is. Your happy place is dynamic. -- doug smith  

It's not the goal that makes you happy -- it's the work you do to achieve the goal that does. If it's too easy, it hardly matters. If it's too hard, you might not reach it. Calibrate your goals correctly and then do your relentless best to get the work done. That's where you'll measure success. -- doug smith  

Mirror, mirror on the wall Who's the happiest of them all? Could that be you? Could you be the happiest you could possibly be? There are circumstances beyond our control and events we'd never endorse but happiness is largely a by-product of your point of view. Don't believe it? Try it. Predict your own happiness if only for today.  Predicting happiness can be self-fulfilling. Suddenly there you are. Happy. -- doug smith

  What makes you happy? What goals do you want to achieve?  You get to define success on your own terms, and until you do how will you ever reach it? Once you do, then your plan is already in motion. Keep going. -- doug smith

Moods are contagious. Leaders touch so many people -- in person and virtually -- that our moods spread far and wide. What kind of mood do you want to increase? What if we worked more at sharing happiness? Tell people the news that uplifts them about how their performance makes customers happy. Share recognition for that big project that you just finished. Smile as we greet our team members and our customers and our peers.  Sharing happiness increases it. Isn't that a great idea? -- doug smith

No one gets everything -- learning to live with satisfaction in place of perfection is a peak happiness skill.  -- doug smith

  What if your first goal is happiness? At first, that sounds a bit selfish. "But what about others?" some voice inside me says. That could exactly be the point. But what about others?  What if the source of our true happiness comes from helping others? What if by serving, we serve ourselves? By helping bring about more happiness we enjoy the overflow. Maybe your first goal IS happiness -- and that happiness comes from helping. -- doug smith

Improve and move in the direction of happiness. -- doug smith We have the choice of so many directions. Decisions confront us everyday. Reactions tempt us into emotions we can barely control. Name an emotion, I've chosen it, and probably so have you. Why not choose a better direction? Why not step toward what works? Why not move in the direction of happiness. It may take work. It will certainly take practice. But we can do it. You can do it. Improve and move in the direction of happiness. Isn't that where you want to be? -- doug smith

The song of success contains many variations. -- doug smith I'm not the world's greatest singer but wow do I love to sing. And, sure enough, I cannot sing everything. Almost no one can, of course. We're all limited by our vocal range and even though we can expand that vocal range, almost no one can sing ALL THE NOTES. And, we don't all like all the songs. Success is like that. What one person calls success, another might think of as torture. I know some jobs that people absolutely love that would irritate me to try to do. My own definition of success has evolved over the years. As I have discovered my limitations in some areas of aspiration (oh no, I CAN"T hit that note, or OH NO I'm NOT going to be a professional athlete!) I have also discovered new horizons -- all very colorful, exciting, and new. Success can be this simple: think of a goal, write it down, achieve it. Of course it's work. Naturally, there's much more to it than that. An

Have you ever worked on a goal that you didn't even really care about? Sometimes they are assigned to us by our bosses. Sometimes we just seem to drift into trying to meet someone else's expectations. But, goals that we don't truly embrace don't really give us what we want, do they? They're just as much work -- in many cases even more work -- without the happiness payoff. Silly, isn't it? Let's do this instead: let's work on goals that we like. Let's work on goals that we truly care about and embrace. You don't have to agree with a goal to achieve it, but how will that make you happy? -- doug smith

We could spend the rest of our lives chasing happiness. There are books, seminars, retreats, and workshops galore to help us get there. I do not disparage any of that. Happiness is wonderful. Is there a faster way? Here is a consistent way. Yes, it does involve changing habits. None of the habits are too strenuous. It's balance. It's consistency. It's health. Here are five keys to happiness: Sleep Exercise Eat healthy foods Drink more water Spend time in nature You knew all that already, didn't you? Consider this a gentle and happy reminder. Five keys to happiness. Sure, there are more. Work on as many as you like. These five will not let you down. -- doug smith

Are you happy with your goals? I've seen people fall into a trap sometimes: they want to be happy, and yet they set goals that don't create happiness. That kind of disconnect is not only unproductive, it's unnecessary. Every job I've ever had (and if you've been in any of my workshops, you know I've had a few) has included parts I didn't care for, and yet in my goals I always directed my actions toward creating mutual success for the organization and for my own sense of happiness. Sell more merchandise? Sure, while creating useful customer experiences. Reduce expenses? I can do that - without laying people off and without hurting service. Train the entire workforce in a compliance program that's poorly designed? Absolutely, just let me set a goal of making it both interactive and inspirational and I'll be completely energized. Align those goals you need to set with the organizational mission and strategic goals, of course. That's the price

Want to send a powerful message to your people? Want to communicate more effectively? Smile. They want to know how they are doing -- AND they want to know how you're doing. Walking around with a serious face all the time will wear them down. They'll wonder what's up. They'll start to question the path your team is on. Their desire to communicate will diminish. You can do better. You can create better conversations. Start with a smile. Find the joy in what you do and share it. Find the happiness in your team and grow it. Smile. -- Doug Smith