Finding our passion and pursuing our dreams with sheer determination is something we all dream about.
When is the best time to ease off the dreaming and ramp up the doing? It really depends. There’s so much to consider. So much to take into account.
Have you given up?
Eventually, most people give up. I almost did too. Then a small child was born. He changed my life and my purpose. He was and is the catalyst that inspires me to work tirelessly.
Over time, my five daily blogs have slowly, but surely been getting better. It’s funny sometimes, to think that many readers have no idea how hard I work in my professional position with a Fortune 100 company.
All this blogging is extra. Ya with me? Extra. What are you doing that’s extra? That’s hard? That’s difficult? That you love so much you can’t stop?
My blogs are so basic and simple it’s almost embarrassing. When there’s some “spare” time, I’ll be looking to take another step to jazz up the blogs. I’ll be clicking here for more WordPress Theme tips.
Do you let what you can’t do stop you from what you can?
Hey, it’s your crazy, one-take-You Tube video guy, jeff noel, here. You know, the five-a-day blogger. Somebody stop this guy. Please.
Did you bust your hump this week? I mean, to deliver excellence in everything you do?
Wait, I’ve got more. Look, I realize that my style will annoy some people. It’s not intentional. It’s simply who I am. Okay?
And part of this is the rather intense sense of urgency I feel, which is why we can not wait for others to keep up. Wish there was time to slow down for the slower ones, but there isn’t.
The truth is, being excellent takes everything you’ve got. So if you want to be world-class, but don’t want to work, this ain’t the guy or the blogs for you.
Have fun, avoid negativity, dream big, work hard, be creative, skip excuses, and just keep doing it.
I can’t imagine being a professional and not being a LinkedIn member. But it’s not unreasonable at this point for many to still not be involved.
My wife is not on LinkedIn, however, I do believe it would benefit her to get started.
Anyway, through LinkedIn, which I read daily, I followed a link - “What Will Great Look Like For You In 2010?” A quote from that link sparked today’s blog post.
So there are two messages today:
Social media, like anything else, works best when used frequently
A reader commented a few months ago, “You never ask for anything.”
It was, and still is, a question that leaves a funny feeling in my gut.
Why would anyone invest in five daily blogs, reveal secrets, success tips, insightful thinking, be vulnerable and transparent, and never ask for a nickel in return?
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” –Howard Thurman
What’s the first thing you do when you hear your alarm clock go off?
As I write this, it’s almost 5am. I’ve been up for an hour, reading, writing, thinking.
Actually, I didn’t think the alarm clock was ever going to go off. Just lying in bed, wondering, “When is that thing ever going to go off. Come on. Let’s go. Bring it (the day) on!”
Those who know me know I’m completely serious. Those who don’t – “crazy man”!
Part of the challenge is the thing we’re waiting on is called an “ALARM” clock. Yikes.
What if we called it an “OPPORTUNITY” clock. Wow!
Everyday is an opportunity to do something great. Everyday is a gift. To be able to get out of bed. To be alive. To have the privilege to serve and help others.
Have you noticed the tone, the language, of today’s post?
There a few key words and phrases that set the tone. Agree?
The same is true in business. That’s one of the most powerful secrets in business. Use words to nuture and grow a great culture.
I’ll explain more in another jungle jeff post. Right now, it’s off to the Orange County Convention Center for a GREAT day.
Make your day GREAT! Because if you don’t, who will?
Just kidding. You can take the boy out of the Jungle Cruise, but you can’t take the Jungle Cruise out of the boy.
EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow.
That’s what Walt Disney called Walt Disney World, before it was officially named Walt Disney World. The entire 43-square mile piece of alligator, snake and mosquito infested swampland he called EPCOT.
He said it would never be completed. He added, “The sketches and plans you see here are simply a starting point. Our first overall thinking.” As he continued, “Our plans may change time and time again.” He gave us permission to take his crazy, “impossible” vision and find the best way to get to our destination – “that EPCOT will always be a showcase for American ingenuity.”
And so it is with me. And with you too. Who wouldn’t want to always be in a state of becoming. Always changing and growing -serving more people in more ways. Then those people go out and do the same. We know this as “the ripple effect”.
Who’s helping you? Who’s holding you accountable?
At last week’s National Speakers Association Winter Conference, prior to the opening Keynote speech from Roxanne Emmerich ( http://www.emmerichgroup.com/ ), author of “Thank God It’s Monday: Kicking Butt and Taking Names to Grow Your Business”, we were asked to find one or two accountability partners. It was great to establish this upfront.
Creativity can be defined as generating useful ideas, in any domain. Most people assume that a bunch of creative ideas is something great. It really isn’t. Seriously, it’s not Because, if none of your creative ideas ever get implemented, then what do you have? N-u-t-h-i-n’. Nuthin! Period!
Want to know the key?
Curious about Disney’s spin on this “creativity issue”?
Here’s the deal:
Innovation is the implementation of a creative idea!
That’s the secret at Disney. They focus on creativity and implementation, in order to create innovations that make things better for their Cast, Guests, or Business practices.
Most people think of Walt as the “Father of Creativity”.
What he really deserves credit for was his ability to innovate – to implement new, creative ideas. Walt was the ultimate “envelope pusher”.
“So what?” My simple, yet famous question. The one I began using a decade ago for the sole purpose of challenging students, to adapt, not adopt, “book theory” best practices.
On a scale of 1-10 (10 is excellent), how would others (not you) rate you on your drive, your vision, your energy, to push creative ideas through to implementation?
I hope you like your number. I didn’t like mine when I did this exercise. So I did something about it. I started to practice what I preach.
That has made all the difference.
Make it a GREAT day, because if you don’t, who will?
That’s what Disney stock closed at today. As in $17.84 a share. That’s a 52-week New York Stock Exchange low. (The official low today was $17.72, but the close was $17.84)
Because of the strength of the Disney Company brand (Magic), Disney tends to be one of the last to feel recessions and one of the first to recover.
Today’s closing Disney stock price reinforces the mantra: “It’s not the Magic that makes it work, it’s the work that makes it Magic.”
Disney’s Magic is revealed in what they conceal. The work. The work is what they never let you see.
What are you willing to let your customers see? What do you painstakingly make invisible? Bet no one’s ever asked you that before!
What would you, or your organization, look like if everyone started to think this way?
If you have any professional sense, to me, you would let that statement resonate. I hope you like your answers. If you don’t. You have options.
