doug smith training

What's your excuse for not achieving that big goal? Can you allow me to speak with a bit of an edge here? Can I be frank with you (and myself!) here? Nobody cares about your excuses. People care about results. People care about people. People care about goals. But absolutely no one cares about your excuses. Why not give them up? Why not take up residence where, as one of my bosses at Whole Foods used to say, "the land of no excuses"? You won't miss them. You don't need permission to fail. You need power to achieve. You need to finish your goals. If you want to achieve your goals, drop all excuses. There. I said it. Thanks for letting me get that out. I promise I'll work to eliminate all excuses from my work. How about you? -- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership:  High performance leadership training doug smith training:  how to achieve your goals

Why do people lie? It's aggravating. It's inconvenient. It's often easy to spot. And yet, we all do it. I'm not pointing any fingers here because I know that I've spun my own version of the truth sometimes. I'm working to stop that. The older I get the more I see the value in pure, unfiltered truth. But truth is sometimes hard to take, and maybe that's why we sometimes lie. Lies blur our vision. Lies bruise our relationships. Lies block positive energy and fill space with something much worse. We should tell the truth. As centered leaders, problem solvers, and goal achievers we should also bring out the truth. We should create the kinds of spaces and places where people know that they are free to tell the truth - and more than that must tell the truth because we insist on it. Every little lie creates a vast chasm. Let's do better than that. Let's tell the truth. And, taking the next step, let's also insist on the truth. What "t

Are you doing your best to achieve your biggest goal? I know there is always more that I can do. It takes discipline. It takes persistence. And, it takes a willingness to stretch and grow. I had a close friend who was fond of saying "I did my best" to get forgiveness for her failure. While I was willing to forgive (what's the point in withholding forgiveness?) I usually thought that she could have done best. If the intention and effort are both there, we can usually do better. We can do better when we've done well, and we can do better when we've missed the mark. "I did my best" is seldom true. Your capacity is much greater. How can you move from "I did my best" to doing better on your biggest goal today? -- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership:  High performance leadership training doug smith training:  how to achieve your goals

What does it mean to serve your goals? Setting a clear goal is a great start. Creating an action plan gets you moving. Acting relentlessly on that plan keeps us on the path to achieving our goals. Do we need to serve them as well? Here are some ways to serve your goals: Stay open minded - the needs may change. Involve other people - the goal might be bigger than you. Talk about your goals. Work on your goals first.  Revisit your goals before you finish the day - how are you doing? Moving forward on those action items that seem to keep alluding you. Serve your goals and they will serve you well. What can you do to serve your most important goal today? -- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership:  High performance leadership training doug smith training:  how to achieve your goals

Who judges your creativity? Yes, we do need to analyze our problems and yes, we do need to evaluate our choices but when it comes to creativity we are better served to leave the judge behind - at least for awhile. Have fun with it. Go wild! Let your creativity find its flow and go where it wants to go. Safely, of course. With some dignity, perhaps. But let it fly. Creativity has no need of judges. Analyzing has its role and I'm all for supporting that role when the time comes. When it comes to creating new things though, whether they are works of art, splendid performances, or evolved processes, creativity flies best unimpeded. What creative work are you ready to open up today? -- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership:  High performance leadership training doug smith training:  how to achieve your goals

How much fun are you having working on your biggest goal? I do best with the goals I work on that provide a sense of fun. Maybe it's the work, maybe it's the people, maybe it's the crazy commitment it takes, but big goals that engage my sense of fun move faster. When it stops being fun it's harder to get done. Keep it fun! What makes a goal fun? Well, that's up to you! What's fun for me might be different than what's fun for you, but here are some indicators of a fun goal: it's challenging it creates the need to learn other people smile a lot when you talk about it you laugh there's a sense of progress, maybe even score-keeping as much as you want to achieve the goal you almost don't want it to end it's filled with surprises that both challenge AND delight you Yes, we should act relentlessly on our goals -- and we should have fun in the process. What makes a goal fun for you? -- Doug Smith Front Range Leader

Have you identified everything that might slow down your progress toward your goal? When it comes to achieving our goals, things that can seem neutral might actually be barriers. Things like a co-worker who doesn't care about our process changes. Things like a set of resources that are more dynamic than reliable. Things like shifting organizational goals. Anything that doesn't contribute to your goal has the potential to slow it down. Do you have a risk strategy for emerging barriers? Should you? -- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership:  High performance leadership training doug smith training:  how to achieve your goals