We can often underestimate the amount of time, effort, and resources needed to accomplish a goal.   For example, a researcher asked students how long they thought they needed to write a thesis. Most students answered around thirty days, when in fact it took them almost double that time to complete it.   I have fallen prey to this kind of thinking in many areas of my life; from weight loss to growing my business.   So, what's the solution? Identify the obstacles in your planning stages.   In my Effectiveness Process, after someone has identified their goal and what it looks like, they list all their obstacles, concerns, and challenges. It may seem counterintuitive, but it actually allows the person to brainstorm how to overcome certain challenges.   When we don't acknowledge our obstacles and concerns, it is easy to launch into our goals fueled with optimism. Then when we come across an obstacle we don't have a previous idea about how to solve that particular challenge. My advice is to generate more ideas and strategies before you launch, so ...

  This is the first of many small articles I will be posting to help you accomplish what matters.   Why Wait Until Jan. 1 to Get Started? You probably have already given some thought on what goal you want to achieve or the area of your life you want to improve on.   My Question Is, Why Wait.   Do you think there is something magical about starting on Jan. 1? Do you still think/feel you need to "get something" to get started? Are you searching for the "perfect plan"?   For years, I shared these same beliefs as I approached the start of a new year. More presently I have learned how to let these beliefs go by practicing two concepts.   1. Do Something Small Today: We are programmed to focus on outcomes. And our goals are often so big that sometimes getting started can seem like some herculean effort. Doing something small tricks our brain, and we get into the action faster and out of our heads. Over time these actions turn into habits and create other behaviors that help us to our goal.   Goal: Write a Book Daily action: Write 100 word ...

Most salespeople tend to be delusional in how they spend their time. They think they are doing a lot more "revenue-generating activities" than they actually are. This directly results from poor planning, not measuring activities and self-delusion. Does this example sound familiar? The salesperson arrives at their desk at 9 a.m. first thing he does is check emails. They read them all, respond to some; none are critical, but lose track of time. An hour goes by. Then they remembered that they have a 10:30 Zoom meeting. They return at 11:30. And no sales calls or outbound activity has been conducted. The salesperson answers some more emails and then goes to lunch. They come back from lunch around 1 pm and log into the CRM. Which they don't like or use all that often. The salesperson looks for who to call does some "research" before the call, and it is now 2:15 before they have even made their first call. Then, the salesperson leaves a voicemail and calls two other potential clients. They get frustrated, so then they cope with that stress by pulling out their phone and scrolli ...

In our non-stop information-flowing world, intuition seems to take a back seat. We now have 24hour news, an endless email inbox, and non-stop meetings, all to "keep us informed."   These are the typical results when a person is this connected: poor health overwhelmed at work/personal and poor time management/decision making   Before we get to the answer, we need to understand what is driving our behavior to stay this connected. Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and false beliefs that support it I need to be included in all communication. Real priorities are getting lost or buried in an overflowing inbox. We need to stay busy. We fill our schedules up and allow no space for critical thinking or decision-making. We think that more information is better. But if we don't take the time to contemplate, we make poor decisions and further add to the complexity of our lives.   Solution: Slow down and Go With Your Gut. You've probably heard this before from a wise friend of yours. Here are some interesting facts about ...

When working with sales managers and sales departments, I am often asked how to increase sales and how to be more productive. I believe it is very important for sales professionals to break up their daily activities into revenue generating activities vs. non-revenue generating activities. In this video, I discuss why it is important to block out time for revenue generating activities on a daily basis.

Have you ever experienced your motivation going up and down like a yo-yo? The key to staying motivated and obtaining your goals is to focus on the process. In this video, I share what to focus on to keep your motivation more consistent.