doug smith training

"She's filled with potential!" "There's no limit to his potential!" "They're nothing but unlimited potential!" It's both promising and frightening to be described as someone who is filled with potential. It means that a) the potential is still unfulfilled, and b) may NEVER be fulfilled. Still, aren't we ALL filled with potential. No matter what we have accomplished or failed to accomplish there is more ahead of us to be done. Potential might get you started. It might open a door or two. Potential will take you only as far as your discipline drives you onward. Whatever you're capable of still requires your action. What are you working on that is potentially awesome? -- doug smith

Bumping into our limitations is irritating, isn't it? It's a distant, but vivid memory I have of eagerly raising my hand in class because I knew the answer, only to discover that my answer was incorrect. Ouch. It was one of those small things that felt like a big thing. I often call myself a "recovering know-it-all" because the more I learn the more I realize the vast amount of things that I do not know. The first answer that comes to me is not always correct. There is always more to learn. We're all small at some level. Knowing that level leads to growth.  -- doug smith

Everything is work in progress. What will you improve today? -- doug smith  

Ever have to repeat a lesson because you didn't get it the first time? Of course. Me, too. I figured out that the biggest reason is that I was in such a hurry to get back on track that I got back on the wrong track. Before you know it, same mistake, and basically the same lesson. Slow down enough to learn the lesson and you might not need to repeat it. I'm hoping that works for me. How about you? -- doug smith  

It may be comforting to lean on what we've already learned, but it's not enough. That doesn't mean that we need to abandon everything that we've learned, just to pay attention to what is changing. We can rely on learned foundational principles like continuous learning, ethical leadership, participative leadership, respectful communication and other core strengths that serve us well and that still matter. We also need to react to and find ways to manage brand new learning. Just exactly WILL we lead completely virtual workforces? How WILL we manage misinformation? What SHOULD we do about creating fair opportunities? There is much to be learned, but then again there always HAS been much to learn. The challenge now is to keep up the pace, to distinguish truth from deception, and to treat people with respect while building our own flexibility. What we've learned is important. What we still must learn is critical. -- doug smith 

I don't like rejection, yet it's a part of life. I don't like it when people don't support a project that I'm working on, and still there are usually people who don't see the value in a new change. How about you? We could take that personally and stop doing the thing that matters so much to us -- or we could do something else. We could improve that thing. We could make that thing shine. We could make that thing irresistible. We could use that feedback to find new ways to achieve our goal.  "They" as we so often like to call "them" don't know what's best for you -- and still they can be seriously helpful.  When they tear down your plans, build something better.  Won't that feel great? -- doug smith

I've been following Pat Flynn's income stream whenever I can lately and learning much about online businesses. He often says that we need to be comfortable going from "disaster to master" in our efforts to build success. Before you get to mastery, you make a bunch of mistakes along the way. And, he's right. My experience has been that you WILL make lots of mistakes along the way. We learn, we grow, we do better the next time. Overcoming the urge to be perfect before moving has been one of my biggest challenges. Imperfection is part of the experiment. We try, we fall, we get back up. We learn, we grow, we do better the next time. It never stops -- and that's half the fun. -- doug smith

Your best performance should be your baseline, not your ceiling. Keep improving. -- doug smith

Maybe you've heard someone say this, "I never get the training that I need..." or "There isn't enough time to learn what I need to learn..." Hearing it is rough enough, but living it is too limiting. We're all challenged. We're all taxed. We're all over-whelmed. Still, the need to keep learning never goes away and the more we ignore it the more we become overwhelmed. You don't ever have to wait for someone else to improve for you to improve. It's up to you. Keep learning. -- doug smith Leadership Call to Action: Check your action plan for a goal that requires a skill that you're still learning. Do something to help increase your learning at that skill today.