Changing the Focus BLOG

Greetings!

These uncertain times have claimed another victim, our peace of mind. More of the people I talk to regularly seem to have less emotional balance, and growing levels of stress and fear. In the proper perspective and at appropriate levels, stress becomes pressure and fear becomes positive energy. They can keep us focused and headed in the right direction. The key is to keep them right sized. Think of stress and fear as your left and right hands. When you hold them out in front of you they seem right sized but when you move them closer and closer toward your eyes they very quickly block out everything else. The same is true for stress and fear. Use The Daily Six tenets of Quiet Time, Love and Gratitude to keep fear and stress right sized.

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Positive Thought of the Week

I will keep in emotional balance. I will let pressure keep me focused, and use the positive energy generated by pressure to move me closer and closer to my goals. With a positive and balanced frame of mind I am assured of a positive and balanced future. It’s not what happens on the outside that affects the inside, it’s the other way around. I will use Quiet Time each day to set my life and my heart in the right direction. I will lovingly focus on the needs of others and I will be grateful for all things at all times.

Business Thought of the Week

This week whether I am naturally aggressive or passive I will work to be more assertive. I will stop using negative comments, sarcastic remarks, and guilt laden responses. I will use “need language” to let people know what I need from them. I will express how people’s behaviors and attitudes affect me. I will use emotion in my language only if it is positive emotion. I will always attack the problem and never attack the person. If I can’t, I will take a break and step back until I can. Taking a break is also a powerful assertiveness tool.

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This week has been a wild one! We’ve had a full house including Susan and me, our son Dayton, daughters Lisa and Erin, their husbands Keith and Steve and our three young grandsons Ryan, Owen and Benjamin all under one roof. I’ll be posting my thoughts on the past week and my comments about Father’s Day on my blog. This week I am in town doing a workshop for a new client.

All the Best…
-John

Greetings!

I was in a group discussion on creating positive life and work changes using the tenets in The Daily Six.  Much of it was very positive but there was one comment that stood out from the rest.  One of the participants said “The Daily Six is not for people who want it or people who need it; The Daily Six is for people who DO it!”  I have been saying for years that unlike the old saying, knowledge is not power but it is the action we take with the knowledge we have that creates power.

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Positive Thought of the Week

This week I will take action on the goals and desires I have set for myself. I will not hide behind my intellect or my need to “get my ducks in a row” before I step out onto the path ahead. The path is there and moving ahead with or without me. I will use Action to redefine and recommit myself to: life balance, reducing stress and enjoying life. I will stop waiting for my life to get perfect to start living the life of my dreams. The life of my dreams is right here and right now!

Business Thought of the Week

I will support, nurture, and encourage my people. I will not embarrass, demoralize or demean them. I know that will succeed only when I work to secure the success of my people. Positive managers are mentors and negative managers are tor-mentors

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Have a great week. It feels like summer is already here and the heat and humidity are beginning to rise steadily. The next few weeks are really busy but I am hoping to adjust my schedule so I can get up to DC for the 20 year reunion of my Leadership Washington Class of 1988 (Second to None).

Stay positive and work to create the life you know you deserve. I am here if you need any encouragement so keep in touch. Please forward this message to anyone you think might enjoy it. You can always sign up friends and family on the website. I have a new promo DVD on the website check it out and let me know what you think.

All the Best…
-John

I hope this past weekend was a wonderful time with friends and family or just taking time to rest and renew. Memorial Weekend was always an exciting time for me. When I was a kid my parents had a hotel and restaurant in Rehoboth Beach, DE. It was a great old place that had been built in the late 1800’s. My family spent almost every weekend and hundreds of hours throughout the fall, winter, and spring getting it ready to open each year. Every year the same guests would come for our Memorial Weekend Grand Re-Opening. All the customers loved the results of our work but never had any idea how hard it was to keep the place in such pristine condition. We didn’t mind, the results were worth the work.

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Positive Thought of the Week

Everyone wants to “be” but few are willing to become. I am willing to become. I know that becoming is where all the hard work takes place. It doesn’t matter whether it is to “be”: loving, supportive, helpful, grateful, focused, or anything else, I first need to become. People may never see all the work that it takes to make the positive changes I want but I am not becoming for someone else. I am willing to work for positive changes in my life because I am worth the work.

Business Thought of the Week

Results require change, change creates stress, and stress effects results. To help break that cycle I will remember: I cannot over communicate and I cannot over include.

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I wish you a wonderful summer filled with joys and blessings. I hope you enjoy this thought each week. Please let me know how The Daily Six helps make your life or your organization more positive, balanced and effective.

Let us know when you or your company would like to create a talk or workshop that will deliver dramatic positive changes. Stay in touch and spread the word.

All the Best…
-John

The Army ads these days talk about being an “Army of One”. I see their point. To successfully accomplish any goal we need to first be strong individually, so we can be strong collectively. That‘s true for the rest of us personally and professionally, as well. We must possess something (love, kindness, technical skills, forgiveness, the capacity to learn from others) before we can give it away or pass it along. So the time we take to develop these skills is critical to our success. As we become the kind of people we have always wanted to be, we will possess the kind of skills that will strengthen ourselves and those around us. Now that’s a real Army of One.

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Positive Thought of the Week

I will give myself the time it takes to keep centered and balanced and growing every day. I will feel, think and act in ways that strengthen me and the people around me. I know that having a skill, belief or feelings can be powerful to posses but I also know they will grow exponentially when I give them away. I am worth the time and effort it takes to learn and they are worth the time and effort it takes to teach.

Business Thought of the Week

“A fool empties his head every time he opens his mouth.”

This week I will think through what I want to say before I say it. I will give myself the time necessary to think before I speak. It takes tremendous time and effort for me to build trust and motivation in people and only a few misplaced words and phrases can destroy so much of my well intentioned work. This week I will pay close attention to my get out of jail free phrases (that don’t work anyway): “nothing personal” or “sorry, that came out wrong”; “I meant that in fun it’s no big deal”. I must remember when I am in charge, everything I say can be a big deal and I want my words to count.

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I am in town this week doing a workshop and developing a new corporate coaching program. I can’t tell you how much fun it is to be working closer to home. Dayton comes home tomorrow for the summer and Susan and I are very excited to have him back home. He has always been one of my best teachers for both helping me develop new perspectives and levels of patience. Please pass this message along to anyone you feel could use a positive message. Spread the word and be an example for positive change.

All the Best…
-John

On Mother’s Day we give thanks for our Mothers and appreciate their contributions to our lives. Some of them are with us to celebrate and some are not. No matter where they are, we can hold them warmly in our thoughts and in our hearts. It is wonderful to have a day to acknowledge their contribution to helping us become the person we are today. But what about all the other people not commemorated with a special day. The people who also took a special interest in helping us grow and prosper: the minister, priest or rabbi, the coach, the school teacher, the scout leader, the mentor or our best friend. When do they get a special day when we can say thanks? How about today?

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Positive Thought of the Week
I will connect with the people who have helped me grow and develop positively. Each week I will reach out and let these people know how much they mean to me. It is rare to find someone willing to unselfishly help others. They need to know and I need to acknowledge how important they are to me and how they have made me a better person.

Business Thought of the Week
I will remember that all people want to be successful. Anyone would rather hit a home run than strike out. Sometimes the people around me just need someone to help them see how to be more successful. That could be me. People are not difficult they are just different. How can I help my people be more successful?

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I have been working on a new seminar on conflict resolution. My last three clients have all requested conflict resolution to be a key component in their training programs. It is normal in a down economy to have tighter budgets and more stressful work environments. In times like these building and maintaining quality relationships with co-workers is even more important. This is a great time to keep in mind that we can only influence those around us and then only when we are healthy mentally, emotionally and spiritually. This is a good time to double up on The Daily Six principles of willingness, service, and action. Keep yourself open to the good that surrounds you every day.

All the Best…
-John
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Well this is the first attempt for a blog for me and The Daily Six. 

I am hoping to set up a better dialog between readers and give me an opportunity for us to connect more frequently than just through the Positive Thought of the Week. Please use this as your forum to contribute comments and questions about living a more positive, productive and balanced life, personally and professionally. I have stayed away from this, until now, because my schedule sometimes makes such a commitment difficult.  I hope you will find this for a continuing dialog on life balance.     All the Best

John