Posts Tagged "seth godin"

What Matters Most – God and Focus

Posted by LisaYoung in Big Ideas, Faith |

I heart Seth Godin.

The guy’s not only a genius at dissecting the social creature – as demonstrated by his numerous books – he’s also not afraid to share that knowledge with the world in ways that don’t necessarily bring a monetary return.

That’s fancy speak for saying he gives away free stuff that’s high quality.

One of his latest projects is sort of a crowdsourced e-book called “What Matters Most”. In it, dozens of authors speakers and friends of influence have contributed short, one-page ideas that just might shake up your snowglobe. It’s free. You can (and should) take hold of this book and read it as if your life depended on it (because it might).

Focused Intensity over Time, multiplied by God equals Unstoppable Momentum

First, in a “big business” book, it’s always refreshing to see a reference, acknowledgement or other acceptance of God as a catalyst in the world. I admit that I’ve not been familiar with Ramsey’s work, and as a former financial advisor, tended to shy away from his work because of all kinds of wrong thinking on my part. This formula changes everything.

Second, this formula works regardless of your religious/spiritual beliefs. If we subsitute numbers for God, they can be any number you choose to believe. It doesn’t matter if you beleive in God or not. God only multiples your efforts. For you, God can be a zero, and you get nothing. Or he can be ’1′ and there’s no multiplication. It’s just you, doing what you can, over time.

Or you can choose to make God truly infinite – which gives you what Ramsey calls “Unstoppable Momentum”. Ultimately it’s your choice that determines the outcome. I LOVE that.

Third, Ramsey acknowledges the need for intense focus. That means one thing. You can’t wear 80 gajillion hats all the time. You need to focus on one thing in any given moment. It’s been a process for me, and I’m leading a group of business women right now through a process of self-study to help themselves gain more clarity and hone their focus on the important things in their lives. Each of them is shaking off old ideas, prioritizing the REALLY important things (instead of what they think they “should” do), and taking action in the moment to improve their lives and their results. I plan to share the full-blown project with the world next year, but the discoveries we’ve been making have litterally shifted my whole way of thinking about the need for focus.

In your life, and in your business, what are you choosing? I’m not so much talking about your faith, although that could be a big factor in your success. I’m talking about what choices are you making about what matters most to you. If you want momentum, Ramsey suggests you need focused intensity over a period of time. How much time are you focusing on what really matters? How much time are you devoting to that area of focus? If your results aren’t what you expected why? What could you do differently? Is it a matter of time or a matter of focus, or something else entirely?

Understanding those ideas will help move you forward in a way that you may never have dreamed before.

Lucky – After 10,000 Tries

Posted by LisaYoung in Big Ideas |

I love hearing people talk about their success with the following statement:

“I just got lucky.”

Egads, people! Wake up and smell the four-leaved clovers! In reality the odds of luck happening to you are – well, in similar respect to the lottery.

But there are ways to tip the scales in your favor.

It’s called hard work.

My grandmother used to keep a small plaque hung over her kitchen sink (because there was no window there) and it read:

Good Things Come
To He Who Waiteth
If He Worketh Like Heck
While He Waiteth.

That’s what being lucky is all about.

Seth Godin’s recent “Luck Parade” post give a glimpse into what this “get lucky” mentality is all about.

Yes, timing is a factor, but as Godin points out, “luck travels in packs”.

There’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity waiting around every corner, folks. They’re not all waiting for you, mind you, but they’re out there.

And yes, you could be the first to strike it rich in some up-and-coming business category, but even if you’re not first, if you’re in the pack, you’ll “be lucky” when success starts handing out passports to paradise.

But you know what? The work still had to be done before you could get lucky.

Edison’s world famous light bulb is the testament to that. He didn’t make it happen on the first try. And because he was SO cutting edge at the time, people were actually flouting his failure in his face. He refused to acknowledge defeat, thus the popular phrase: ‘I didn’t fail 10,000 times, I found 10,000 ways that didn’t work’.

But yeah, Edison got lucky – after 10,000 tries.