3 Words to Change the World - Lee Colan

Some people literally change the world; people like Ghandi, Mother Theresa, Abraham Lincoln, Ben Franklin.

Although it’s an ambitious goal to change the world, we often underestimate our singular power to change the world of those around us.
We don’t have to be Oprah giving away new cars to positively change someone’s world.
We each have that same power.
We don’t even have to do anything!
We only have to say three simple words.

Try one of these three-word, power-packed statements to change someone’s world:

§ I love you.
§ I thank you.
§ You are terrific.

§ I am sorry.
§ I trust you.
§ I promise you. (and keep it!)

§ God bless you.
§ I can help.
§ I understand you.

§ You are talented.
§ I believe you.
§ You will succeed.

§ You inspire me.
§ It’s no problem.
§ I forgive you.
§ You’re the best!

Whether we have a long conversation with a friend or simply place an order at a restaurant, every word makes a difference. The results of our interactions are rarely neutral; they are almost always positive or negative.

Ask yourself, "Do my words reflect my commitment to helping others, creating win-wins, continuously learning, embracing change, supporting my team's success?"

Words are the seeds of commitment. We plant the seeds with each movement of our lips. Once they are spoken, our words either grow in the form of an immediate response or they take time to germinate. Whether the result becomes apparent sooner or later, we cannot speak words of failure and defeat and expect a life of success and victory.

Plant the seeds of success in someone’s mind and heart today.
You’ll start a positive ripple effect that can be felt by many people and many miles away, not to mention the positive effect you will feel inside.

Do not do a thing! Just say three simple words.

I will close with a three-word challenge: JUST SAY IT!

Numbers - with Lee Colan

Lee Colan inspired me again with a recent email

Here is a summary - it's about numbers and different numbers (the number is in "red"):

1 – Thought, word or action can change the world.

We each have the power to create a positive ripple, effecting many people many miles away. We can change the world of those around us. This also creates a powerful ripple effect inside each of us – it feels good!

3 – Hours of reading per day that Zig Ziglar still invests to this day!

A reader is a leader.

8 – Years the average person spends eating during their lifetime.

10 – Positive customer experiences required to counteract a single negative customer experience.

28 – Years the average person spends sleeping over the course of a lifetime.

45 – Percent of those who read an e-newsletter who read it from start to finish.

52 – Years old when Ray Kroc founded McDonald's

It's never too late to start working on your dream!

65 –Percent of workers report receiving no recognition for good work in the previous year according to a Harris Poll.

We do more for those who appreciate us. So, challenge yourself to sincerely and specifically recognize at least three positive contributions each day. I know you will see the difference in your team's discretionary effort if you take this challenge.

70 – Percent of New Year's resolutions that fail within a month.

100 – Percent of the time that someone who perseveres will win.

Infinity - People who help us succeed along the way.

Success is not a solitary achievement. It is achieved with the help of others along the way.

My Attitude is My Boomerang to the World

I was recently reading something powerful from Lee Colan about attitude.

Here are some of the thoughts:

Your attitude toward life is the most important choice you make.

Your attitude reflects your past, describes your present, and predicts your future.

Your attitude is something you can always control. You are the conductor of your own attitude! Nobody else can compose your thoughts for you.

The pursuit of excellence requires you to control your own attitude. If you do, you will create a powerful ripple effect that can have a positive impact on many people and miles away. Your attitude is your personal boomerang to the world.

The right attitude is the root to success. It enables us to stand strong and prevail.

"An optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity; a pessimist a calamity in every opportunity." - Winston Churchill

"The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind." - William James

"There's very little difference in people. But that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The BIG DIFFERENCE is whether it is positive or negative." - W. Clement Stone

"Ask yourself a question: Is my attitude worth catching?" - Zig Ziglar

"Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul." - Samuel Ullman

Quit Managing Your Time and Manage Your Attention - Lee Colan

Here is a great start to a productive week!

Quit Managing Your Time and Manage Your Attention by Lee Colan

No matter what you do, time marches on at its own pace—tick, tick, tick—and there's nothing you can do to change that (unless you can go pretty close to the speed of light).

Time is a great equalizer; it runs at the same speed for everybody, rich or poor, jet pilot or snail farmer.

You can't manufacture time, you can't reproduce time, you can't slow time down or turn it around and make it run in the other direction. You can't trade bad hours for good ones, either.

What you can manage, however, is your attention.
Attention is a resource we all possess.
Your attention reflects your conscious decisions about which activities will occupy your time.
You are where your attention is... not necessarily where your body is.

The first step is to precisely understand your priorities.
There's a big difference between managing your attention to accomplish priorities and checking off items on your to-do list. Our natural tendency is to do what is fun, convenient, or absolutely necessary at any given time—but your true priorities may not fit into any of those categories. So, here's a question to ask yourself, "If I could accomplish only one thing right now, what would that one thing be?" Your answer will quickly identify your top priority, where you should be directing your attention.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, the World War II general who went on to become a popular president of the United States, used what is now called the Eisenhower Method for managing priorities and attention. After identifying the tasks confronting him, he drew a square and divided it into four quadrants as seen below.

I have overlaid the 4 D's into each quadrant to further simplify the actions you should take. Each and every task should have one of the 4 D's performed on it
– Do it, Dump it, Delegate it or Defer it.


Be sure to distinguish between "urgent" and "important" activities.
Important activities are beneficial and should be accomplished, if not right away, then eventually.
Urgent activities are time sensitive, but not necessarily crucial to your bigger goals.

As you identify priorities, be realistic about what you can accomplish. Be honest with yourself about what you truly want to achieve in your life and work.
Where do you want to invest your attention?
Although important tasks are your top priorities, most of the time these are not the things that appear to be urgent. Don't be fooled into thinking that whatever seems urgent is worth taking your attention from your most important goal.

Eisenhower's mantra was "What's important is seldom urgent, and what's urgent is seldom important." Less important priorities should not receive more attention than more important priorities.

Choose your View

You may need to sit down for a bit to read this post.

Seriously.

It will be powerful.

Sitting down yet?

This is God's word:
Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.
Proverbs 4:23 (TEV)

Can I suggest you read it again?
Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.
Proverbs 4:23 (TEV)

Some of you may know this truth said slightly differently....
Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts.
Proverbs 4:23 (MSG)

Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV)

Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.
Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)

I got this email letter from Lee Colan recently. I like Lee's work. I have used his stuff before here.

Before we go to Lee, Tracy did another quality post recently called "Find the Best, Not the Worst." You can read it all here. In it she makes a very honest statement, that links with what we are saying here about our thinking.

Last night God challenged me.

Everytime I catch myself with a negative thought about someone or something, I am to respond by finding 2 positive things. For every thought that focusses on the 'Worst', I am now challenged to find 2 thoughts that focus on the 'Best'.

This is my way of "doing my best" to fill my mind on the best, not the worst.

Wow!!

Here is what Lee writes - great perspective Lee!

Our experiences are much less important than how we choose to think about them.
The way we interpret our experiences shapes our beliefs about the past.
Furthermore, our interpretations either limit or enable our future success.

For example, a mission-critical project you are leading has "promotion" written all over it, but it bombs – it's over budget, past its deadline... the works. How you choose to interpret those facts is where you can shape your future. Are you a failure, a poor leader who is maxed out and on her way out? Or, are you a great leader in the making who is learning some tough lessons that will help ensure success on the next project when your true colors will show? Facts are facts, but the view you take is your choice.

Think the best ALL the time.
What's the harm?
If you choose to protect yourself from disappointment by always thinking the worst, you have also chosen disappointment as the filter through which you view all things and people... and that's just what you will get. On the other hand, you can choose to think the best all the time. Sure, you might be disappointed occasionally but, most of the time, you will be programming your mind and others to achieve their best.

If you find yourself having a negative thought, say "STOP!" out loud, and replace it with a positive thought. Saying "STOP!" out loud is important so that you can actually hear yourself controlling your own thinking. Let's see how it works.

A friend told me about a situation that used to drive him crazy. He would drive home after a hard day through rush hour traffic and find the driveway to his garage impassable, blocked by his children's bicycles and toys. He reacted something like this: "These kids have no sense of responsibility. They never pick up after themselves and it's a hassle for me to move their junk just to get in the driveway."

Then he said, "STOP!" out loud. He decided to choose a more positive view and he responded with, "My kids are still kids. It looks like they had a great time today. Boy, how time flies... I had better seize the moment with my kids."

Sure, the driveway still looked like a yard sale after a wind storm and his children did not put their toys away. Nothing changed except his interpretation of the facts. He substituted gratitude for anger and changed his mind for good.

Remember, when you change the way you look at things, things change the way they look.

I'll let you think about this for a bit!

PS - the power of our thinking is VITAL.

So in honour of that I am going to "label" or "blog tag" this post with the label "thinking." That way you be able to search in the future all posts about "thinking."

What do you "think" about that?! Ha ha!

And remember - let God's Word be the final word....

Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.
Proverbs 4:23 (TEV)