doug smith training

Don't you just love it when someone is genuinely helpful? Those rare times when you can tell that they don't have a secondary motive, that they are just being helpful? Great leaders do that a lot. You can see it in their actions, and you can hear it in their talk. What if everything you communicated was meant to be helpful? Wouldn't more people listen? -- doug smith

You don't need a perfect plan to achieve your goals, but you do need a plan. You'll probably change it. You may miss a few steps. But where are you without a plan? Dancing in the dark without a flashlight, that's probably where you are. Set great goals, design creative goals, and get busy. -- doug smith

Who have you helped achieve a goal today? What if we could achieve our own goals faster by first helping others to achieve their goals? What if our greatest capacity-builder was to serve? Some of the people who have helped me the most (maybe all?) are people who I was fortunate enough to work with and help. It is NOT a quid pro quo situation -- we don't do favors just to receive favors (oh, I know that some people do but that's not what I recommend here,) we serve because in serving we grow. In serving we expand. In serving we build relationships that are resilient and strong. The payoff is not certain. The payoff is not immediate. But, the payoff is worth it. And, even if it wasn't -- there's no satisfaction quite like that of helping someone else to achieve and important goal. Who can you help to achieve a goal today?  -- doug smith

Brilliance seems rare because it often travels in disguise. It hides as hard work. It hides as perseverance. It presents as obsession. It moves with determination and makes its many mistakes all without stopping.  Don't worry about how brilliant you are. Work hard, and the brilliance appears. -- doug smith

Thriving leaders play to their level and then level-up. There's always more to learn and there is always room for improvement. Level up. -- doug smith

Are you an over-thinker or an under-thinker?   I'm an over-thinker. I'll analyze something all day before deciding sometimes. I enjoy revising things in search of perfection, thinking that there must always be a bit better way to do it. Sometimes there is, but often I end up spinning my wheels. But under-thinking is also dangerous. Impulsive decisions can lead to disaster. "Trusting the universe" can get you lost in the void.  Whether we're thinking too much, or too little, it pays to think about how we are thinking. Are we thinking optimistically? Pessimistically? Positively? Negatively? Critically? I think there is a shortage of critical thinking about what people are thinking, and it's leading them astray. Unexamined conclusions leave the door open to mistakes. We do need to think about our thinking.  If you don't think about your thinking your thinking might fool you. Think about that. -- doug smith

Have you noticed a great amount of effort to re-write history? For some people, that is an annoying trend. For others, it's a necessary act of purification. Is history really dynamic? Can we really revise it? It's not a mystery. History is, well, history. But (and it's a very big but) how we LOOK at history is dynamic. How we RECORD history is dynamic. And it's all open to interpretation. Sure, facts are facts -- but which facts do you identify? Which point of view on those facts do you take? Which role in history speaks to you, for you, about you, and in defense of you? It all matters and it is all evolving.  Sometimes it is enough to respond to an historical declaration with "that's true and...this is also true..." What if revisionist history is the only kind of history?  -- doug smith

You can let a goal lead you but you must still lead the goal. Every good plan needs relentless action to succeed. -- doug smith

Leaders thrive when daily discipline is non-negotiable. Establish healthy and productive habits and then keep them. -- doug smith 

The world has always been competitive and it does a leader no good to pretend otherwise. Compete. -- doug smith  

Do you sometimes think that it's easier to do something yourself, rather than get someone else to do it? Do you get things done no matter what? It's comforting, to be able to take control. It's also a trap. Every time I try to do it all myself I learn that I probably shouldn't try to do it all myself. Get the help you need. You'll be glad that you did. -- doug smith  

The truth can stand any level of inquiry. When in doubt, tell the truth. When under duress, tell the truth. When your courage is low, tell the truth. Keep kindness in mind. Stay open to other perceptions. But please, tell the truth. -- doug smith