S.W.A.T T.E.A.M your goals

Instead of goals being a fleeting thought after two champagnes on New Year’s Eve, get down and SWAT TEAM your goals to kick those bad habits and help you achieve more success in life. I find that when I use this acronym, I am highly successful in achieving my goals and get a sense of purpose and motivation from the achievement.

Here is how to SWAT TEAM your goal setting, and goal achievement!

S – Specific

Write you goals down and make sure that they are detailed. If you just say, “I want to lose weight” without any specifics, you are more likely to fail, as you have not thought about the journey to attainment. Write down the steps to achieve your goal and measure the results. For example, you can say I want to lose five kilos and then set yourself the time frame in which this is going to happen. If I lose .5 a kilo per week, I should have my goal weight in ten weeks. Tracking your progress helps you keep up your motivation during the long journey, so perhaps taking measurements every fortnight will reinforce your progress.

W – Why

Why is this goal so important for you to achieve? What is your motivation? If you articulate the necessity to attain the goal, this will help you when you are flagging in motivation. Brendon Burchard calls this 'Necessity' in his book, High Performance Habits (Pg 129), and writes “Necessity demands that you take action…you get things done because you have to.” Perhaps your ‘why’ (Your reason, Your necessity) for quitting smoking is because you want to model a healthy lifestyle to your children. Find your reason, attach meaning to 'why' this goal is so important, and revisit your 'why' when temptation strikes.

A – Accountability

To whom are you accountable? We are much more likely to follow through with things when we share the goal, or have a commitment with another person such as an exercise buddy, a mentor, a family member or a high performance coach. We are not perfect, and sometimes that little devil on your shoulder is going to be whispering excuses in your ear. If you have support from another person, they’ll have your back and help you through the tough times. Some other options might be to post your goals on social media, tell your family, get a personal training –there’ lots of support available, you just have to ask.

T – Time line

Open your diary and schedule how you are going to achieve you goals. Break your goal down into small steps and put them in your diary. What are the steps along the way at the 2 week mark, the 4 week mark and so on. It won’t happen if it’s not in the diary. Make sure you celebrate the wins along the way. You are working hard and deserve the credit!

T – Training

Do you have all the information to start achieving you goal, or do you needs more skills or information? Perhaps you need to buy a book on the subject your goal is about, take an online course, hire a personal trainer or a coach who has expertise in the area you are seeking to improve. Ask yourself what do I need to learn? What skills do I need to make this goal happen? You need to know how you are going to achieve your goal. BUT, don't use a lack of training as an excuse! I put it in so people can't say, "I don't know how, or what to do". Start the training, start learning now so that you will achieve your goal.

E – Enjoyment

Ask yourself, “What can I do to bring enjoyment to the process to achieving my goal?” Wire in enjoyment along the way. Harvard Business Review released the results of a study conducted in April 2007 on goal setting. The study concluded that the more the 800 participants enjoyed the process of achieving their goal, the more likelihood they were to attain their goal. Ask, 'How can I enjoy going to the gym? Could it be going with a buddy, or doing group fitness such as dancing, yoga or team sports?'

A – Achievement Obstacles

What is going to get in the way of you achieving your goal? What is going to trip you up or when do you lack motivation. Think about these times and what you are going to say to yourself to get you back on track. If you write these down, you will be ready for those challenges when they crop up and the self-doubt sets in.

M – Motivation

What do you need to do to increase your motivation on a daily or hourly basis? Plan for the times when motivation and willpower is going to dwindle. Perhaps getting frequent reminders in your phone will keep your mind on the end goal. Can you find a quote, or picture, or reason to push through the low periods and keep going. Tie your motivation back to your why.

These eight things have been researched and shown to help you achieve your goals over the long-term. Use this list as you think about your goals. For each goal or resolution you make, white out the acronym and write next to each letter what you are going to do. Put that piece of paper in a prominent place as a reminder that these goals matter, they are necessary, that you didn't just think them up on a whim, you have a plan and your are going to succeed.

Resources:

A couple of great books to help you with your goal setting:

Joe Sweeney – Moving the Needle

Brendon Burchard – High Performance Habits

Author- Nathan Archer is a Certified High Performance Coach who helps people to gain clarity on not only their goals, but the 6 key areas in life that lead to high performance. For more information on his coaching click here: Certified High Performance Coaching

Book review - High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard

High Performance Habits is a powerhouse of a book that blows current theories out of the water about what a person needs to get to the top and stay there. Many times, we chalk up our failures to factors such as age, education, income, race, nationality, or gender. However, the science proves otherwise. So how does a person be successful, lead a healthy and fulfilling life, and stay ahead of the game? Does one have to choose between success and money, and love and health?

Brendon Burchard and his team at The High Performance Institute have conducted an extensive study (with over 172,000 people) on what attributes and habits a person needs to develop in order to achieve their goals and sustain a fulfilling, high-quality life. Many of the activities in the book are easily implementable, while others will take practise and a major change in habits. Many of my preconceptions about success were shattered such as the old adage “Stick to your strengths.” If we do not work on our weaknesses and develop new skills, we are limited in what we can do and achieve.

The book is based on the six factors that the study conducted by The High Performance Institute found most affected peoples performance over the long term. Why just six? Well the six in the book: Clarity, Energy, Necessity, Productivity, Influence, and Courage were clear standouts amongst the hundreds of key habits identified in the study, and are measurable and achievable.

Although the book is based on academic research, every section finishes with 'Performance Prompts.' Questions to ask yourself, and actions to implement to make these habits part of your life today. Implementation is the key to growth, so to get the most out of this book you must dig deep, ask yourself the tough questions and make changes.

Why do you want to be a high performer anyway?

High performance, as defined by Burchard is, 'Succeeding beyond standard norms, consistently over the long term.' High performers are more successful, healthier, happier, admired, influential, serve others, and work more passionately. I certainly want those things, and I am sure you do too.

I would highly recommend this book. It has changed my life for the better and has improved my clarity. It has helped me become more productive and certainly less distracted. Overall, I feel happier and more content with life.

Reading the book is the 1st step, implementing the 6 habits is where you will really see the difference in your life. Brendon has trained and certified a small number of high performance coaches to work with clients 1 on 1 to dig deep and implement these habits in their lives. Do you think you would gain from working with a Certified High Performance Coach? I would love to offer you a session to see what a huge difference coaching could make for you. Click here to take the 15 min high performance questionnaire and I will give you a call to schedule your coaching session. 

Review by Nathan Archer - Certified High Performance Coach

Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation

What motivates you? Are you motivated extrinsically or intrinsically?

Extrinsic motivation means that the payoff or reward for doing something is going to come from outside of you. This might apply to working in your job for pay, receiving that sales commission for hitting monthly targets, or a child cleaning their room for a sticker.

Intrinsic motivation means that the payoff or reward will be generated within you. This might be that you pay for the coffee for the next person in line to do something nice, you take an extra course because you value education, or leave a note on the car you just dinged – because it is the right thing to do!

Here is an example of how motivations can vary. Your first job might have been to pump gas at the gas station. For those of us who are a little younger, back in the day you would drive up to the service station and the attendant would ask you how much petrol you would like, and they would put the petrol in for you while you sat in your car. In this role, an example of extrinsic motivation would be the attendant is filling you car with petrol because it is their job, and they are being paid. If the attendant were to wash the windows, without any expectation of monetary reward or even a thank you, this would be intrinsic motivation – the attendant feels nice (intrinsically) for going beyond their expected duties.

Our lives are filled with duties and tasks that include both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Often just the monetary reward, the pay we get from our work is not enough. We need other types of extrinsic motivation like recognition from our bosses and colleagues. But what about intrinsic motivation at work? It is tough to want to do more for a company that you feel used by, or give that little extra to a rude client. The thing about intrinsic motivation is it is not about them, it is all about us. When we are motivated by our own set of values and goals we do the things that seem like little extras because they make us the person we want to be. For example; If I want to be a kind person, then I need to practice kindness not for the outer rewards, I need to do it because it is who I want to be.  

Our intrinsic motivation can also sustain us when we are not receiving adequate compensation. So if you are not getting the pay or the recognition you want, then think about who you want to be. How are you contributing to the greater good or creating something innovative and unique, even just in the small things? 

Challenge:

• Perform a motivation checklist for all the major activities in your life. What areas are you being extrinsically motivated in, and what areas are you intrinsically motivated?

• What ways can you grow the number of things you do that build you into the person you want to be?

• What 2 things can you do today to practice intrinsic motivation?

Good luck!

If you would like a life coaching session with Nathan to take stock of what motivates you, click here for more information and to book a free one-on-one session:

A Challenge To Go Beyond Your Limiting Beliefs

What we know is possible is based on our experiences. If you have never done it, then you don’t know if it is possible for you. But, our beliefs about what is possible are formed by not only by our experiences, but also our education and our knowledge.

We can change what we believe is possible by broadening our horizons, looking at what others have done and then assessing whether we think those things would be possible for us, and that is where limiting beliefs come in.

What we believe about ourselves has tremendous power over us. Our beliefs can both encourage us and can hold us back. The small internal voice that says ‘you can do it’ or ‘don’t be silly, you can’t do that’ affects decisions we make on a daily basis.

May I encourage you today to challenge your limiting beliefs and go beyond them?

Ok, but how? you ask.

Education and knowledge!

Education, can show you that is it possible for others. Powered flight was not possible until the Wright Brothers did it in 1903, then once they had done it many others accomplished it buy following the principles they learnt.

So, simply education yourself on how to do something is the first step. But education alone will not change your beliefs. You may know it is possible for others, but you still believe it is not a reality for you. You still have a limit in what you believe.

Moving from education to real knowledge only occurs when you test it for yourself.

If you say to me, 'I can't do that', then I will ask you what you have tried? How many times you have tried? What you have learnt each time? and, What education or who's advice you have sought to adapt your approach along the way?

The challenge with limiting beliefs is we often look for the evidence to support our beliefs. We feel safe in our comfort zone. The thought of failing seems worse that the joy that succeeding would bring.

You can stay in the place of limiting beliefs and say, 'I tried it once' or you can work out what you will try next to move beyond and become a better version of yourself.

You can say, ‘I believe I can’t do it’, ‘I know I can’t do it’ or ‘I can’t do it yet’.

Before you learnt to walk, ride a bike or drive a car those things were beyond your education, but from experience you could see others around you doing those things, you had it role modeled and over time began to believe it was possible for you also.

Let me ask you, what would need to change for you to believe in yourself just 1% more?

What courage would you need to muster to face the change of failure?

What education would you need to give something your best shot?

Who is a role model could you follow? Someone just like you who has done it?

(So many people look at celebrities or masters in the field and compare themselves to those people. But we hold those people in such high regard that their lives and their accomplishments don't seem real to us. So, who is someone that is a lot more like you, in a similar circumstance, from a similar upbringing or background that you can look up to?)

What have you been saying to yourself that you believe you can’t do, or that you believe you are not good at?

Now ask yourself what is it costing you in life, financially, in connection with others having those beliefs?

May I encourage you to go beyond your limiting beliefs today in just one small way?

Remember 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step' -Lao Tzu.

Learn one new thing.

Take one small risk.

Take one small step and you will find your world may begin to get just a little bigger.

What will you do today to test out your limiting beliefs?

Maybe, just maybe, you will find yourself going beyond.

One sweaty day...

Have you ever had an experience where other people believed in you more than you believed in yourself? 

Maybe it was a friend, a parent or a coach.

Do you remember learning to ride a bike, it wasn’t easy at first, but the people around you supported you and guided you until you got it. 

Have you ever had an experience where other people believed in you more than you believed in yourself? 

Maybe it was a friend, a parent or a coach. Do you remember learning to ride a bike, it wasn’t easy at first, but the people around you supported you and guided you until you got it. 

As an adult have you had a situation where someone else had more confidence in your abilities than you did? 

For me it was a very sweaty day...

Let me tell you a bit about the lead up. It was back in the days of film photography so you didn’t get the instant gratification and you didn't know if you had the best shots.

I was 21, photography was a hobby but I couldn’t afford a good camera. I had a friend who had an amazing camera and I borrowed it a couple of times to do formal ball photos for the youth group at my church. 

After a couple of years of doing the yearly ball photos, one of the couples in the church got engaged and asked me to photograph their wedding. My immediate answer was no way! I wasn’t a pro photographer. It was their wedding day! That was way too important to risk on someone that had never photographed a wedding before. I had no photography training, plus I didn’t even own a camera. 

The bride to be asked me a second time, and although being truly honoured to be thought good enough to capture their special day, there was no way I was going to risk spoiling it with my inexperience. 

A week or so went by and the bride's mum called me. I remember her words distinctly even now almost 20 years on. She said, ‘Nathan, Janelle believes in you, she feels comfortable with you, she wants you, and won’t be happy with anyone else’ I replied with my case about having no experience and not wanting to make a mistake and ruin it for them, but the Mum was insistent that Janelle only wanted me, and that she loved what I had done at the formal dinners over the last couple of years.

Well, I finally agreed to photograph the wedding...

Fast forward a few months, and with two borrowed cameras in hand (for the young ones, one with colour film and one with black and white) I sat at the back of the church checking all the settings awaiting the brides arrival.

That is where the sweaty part comes in.

A friend, who was also a guest entered the church and put his hand on my back to say a friendly hello, he immediately recoiled his hand with a little disgust and said, ‘Man you are sweating!’ Yep I was. 

Doing a good job mattered!

It mattered to me, it mattered to the Bride and Groom!

I was tasked with capturing a once in a lifetime event. I was out of my comfort zone. I was in new territory. And I was there because someone believed in me more than I believed in myself.  

To cut a long story short, it was a beautiful day. The shots turned out wonderfully. The couple enjoyed themselves, and I’m sure I eventually found some deodorant so I didn’t spoil the reception with my BO. 

The moral of the story is ...

Sometimes it takes others to believe in us more than we believe in ourselves. 

Sometimes it is only then, with their encouragement that we can step out and take a risk.

I tell this story for two reasons, the first is to encourage you to believe in others, to encourage them to rise to a higher level.

Who do you know, that maybe with a little encouragement could do something amazing?

Who do you know is holding back?

Could you be the person that gives them the opportunity that will change their life just like that bride did for me? 

And secondly, have a look at your life, is there something that you have been shying away from?

Is there another level in your career, your fitness, your personal life that you know is maybe possible but you need a little more belief in yourself?

Have a think right now about someone who believes in you more than you believe in yourself, could you share that next level with them? Could they be the person to help you achieve it?

It may be your boss, maybe they are trying to give you more responsibility but you are scared of taking it becasue you may fail. It could be a friend or your partner, or maybe it could be a coach. Someone who has your best interests at heart. Someone who wants to see you be happy and to achieve all you want to achieve. 

This is my story of someone believing in me that set me down a path to being a professional photographer and having a high end studio with four staff. That path led me to now being a high performance coach, and I now I get to be the person that believes in others and see them do amazing things.

I hope you encounter multiple people like this over your life time. 

PS: 19 years later the couple are still very happily married with two beautiful kids. 

Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.

In my first year out of high school I had a friend say to me ‘I couldn’t live your life’. I was what you may call a bit of a square. Although not top of my class, I worked hard. I went to church every Sunday and I didn’t do drugs or drink alcohol. To many, my life looked rather peachy. He on the other hand had faced many challenges. His brother was addicted to drugs and in trouble with the law. He was more of a bad boy and owned his role in the school as such. Why would he say that he couldn’t live my life? His answer was simple, he said; ‘I have had the experiences that have given me the skills to deal with what I face on a daily basis. I know how to react. I know how to play my role. I have the coping strategies to deal with my life. Your life however is totally foreign to me. I would not be able to cope being called a square, or dealing with what you deal with.’

I think that far too often we minimise our own life experiences and what they have prepared us for. We look at the lives of others and think ‘I couldn’t do that’, but we are not seeing everything they have gone through to get to that point, and we are dismissing everything we have gone through to get to this point. Your story and what you have learned so far is extremely valuable. It has brought you to be who you are now. Every one of us has a past, and none of us can go back and change it, but we can take what we learnt from our past and use it to make a difference in our world right now.

So think about your life. What unique experiences have you had? What special skills have you developed? What learning have you undertaken that no one else has?

Like my friend saying to me, ‘I couldn’t live your life’ what are others saying or thinking when they look at you? What aspects of your character to they wish they had? Everyone of us has a story worth telling, and those around us have stories worth listening to.

How will you tell your story?

And Who’s story do you want to hear more about?  

Book Review - 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Stephen Covey

Stephen Covey’s book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, although first published in 1990, is absolutely relevant in 2021 and beyond. The 7 Habits are as important and just as effective in today’s online digital world as they were when they were first written. There is a good reason that this book is one of the great business and personal development books of the past 50 years.

Essentially the book challenges us to consider how we make assumptions about people and situations and by using the 7 Habits we can make better, more informed decisions.

Put simply, the book is about a ‘paradigm shift’ in our own thoughts.

“Our character, basically, is a composite of our habits.” “Habits … are consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character and produce our effectiveness … or our ineffectiveness.” Page 46

Covey defines habits as the intersection of 3 parts; knowledge, skill and desire. To build great habits you must know: What to do – The Knowledge, then you must know How – The Skills and finally you need the Why – The Desire or Motivation

He is unapologetic throughout the book about these habits being truly personal victories. You may want to read this book to be a better manager at work, (and it will certainly help you with that) but The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is about you. It is about moving you from dependence, through independence to interdependence.

“Interdependence is the realisation that I am self reliant and capable, but I also realise that you and I working together can accomplish far more than, even at my best, I could accomplish alone.” Page 51.

So lets look at the seven habits:   

1. Be Proactive

2. Begin With The End in Mind

3. Put First Things First

4. Think Win-Win

5. Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood

6. Synergize

7. Sharpen The Saw

Habit 1: Be Proactive

“Look at the word responsibility – ‘response-ability’ – the ability to choose your response. Highly proactive people recognise that responsibility. They do not blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behaviour. Their behaviour is a product of their own conscious choice, based on values, rather than a product of their conditions, based on feeling.”

Being proactive starts in the language we use. The way we describe our tasks and responsibilities is either reactive or proactive: ‘I have to’ verses ‘I get to’.

 When we have the paradigm shift and realise that the vast majority of our choices throughout our days are our choices, no one makes us do anything, (even when our tasks are set by others we can still choose how we do it, or at the very least our attitude while we do it) then we can begin to be proactive in our thinking.

In moving towards being proactive, think about how your past experiences and beliefs are influencing your current actions. Think about your knowledge or beliefs. What do you believe about this person, what preconceived ideas or stereotypes are you applying, what reactive language are you using to define the situation. With that identified, you can start to work on the new skills that you need to be proactive.

Habit 2: Begin With The End In Mind

Covey starts this chapter with the concept that all things are created twice. There is a mental or first creation, and then a physical or second creation. For example when building a house, the home is first dreamed about, and planned by an architect, then once the plans are drawn up the builders start to put brick upon brick and build the physical house. So with that principle in mind we can first create a mental picture of the end result we want to happen then go about creating the physical result – Beginning with the end in mind.

As I mentioned earlier, Stephen Covey is unapologetic in how personal this book is. He calls on the readers to develop their own personal mission statement. To focus on WHO they want to be, WHAT they want to achieve in life, and the VALUES which they will base their life upon. In doing this you are defining how you want to live your life. You are beginning with the end on mind. What is the personal legacy you want to leave? What do you want people to say about you, your character? A personal mission statement is the ultimate way to begin with the end in mind.

“An effective goal focuses primarily on results rather than activity. It identifies where you want to be, and, in the process, helps you determine where you are. It gives you important information on how to get there, and it tells you when you have arrived. It unifies your efforts and energy. It gives meaning and purpose to all you do.” Page 137

Habit 3: Put First Things First

“What one thing could you do (that you aren’t doing right now) that if you did on a regular basis, would make a tremendous positive difference in your personal (or professional) life?” Page 146

 Leadership is deciding what the ‘first things’ are, management is the discipline to put them first and make them happen. Covey popularised Eisenhower’s Four Quadrant Time Management Matrix shown below:

The challenge here is to operate in Quadrant 2 on what is important but not yet urgent. Unfortunately we spend much of our time in Q1 or in Q3, because what is urgent takes our attention. The key to Habit 3 is to ‘Put First Things First’ to operate only on the most important tasks.

 “… if you were to fault yourself in one of these three areas which would it be- 1; The inability to prioritise? 2; The inability or desire to organise around those priorities? Or 3; The lack of discipline to execute around them? Page 157 

Covey comments that most people say they lack discipline, but he suggest that is not true, what he thinks\ is the real problem is they have not internalised Habit 2. They have not got a clear and meaningful vision of the end result, so they are easily pulled around by what is urgent or screams the loudest.

“The key then is not to prioritise what is on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities” Page 161

As Covey closes the first 3 habits which he calls the Private Victory, and moves into the section called the Public Victory, he again calls on the reader to search their own personal thoughts and motivations, their integrity, their relationships and how they treat their loved ones. As one of the leading business development books of the past 50 years, this book is extremely personal. It is not possible to read and fully implement the 7 Habits without changing yourself. 

Habit 4: Think Win/Win

This chapter was a revelation for me. I had always been taught positive negotiation and in my sales training how to get the most out of a deal, but Stephen Covey turns that on its head in Habit 4 and in the most positive way.

What I realised is that in any situation (as Covey puts it) you can have one of six outcomes: Win/Win, Lose/Lose, Win/Lose, Lose/Win, Win, Win/Win or No Deal.

Simply put Win/Win is when all parties feel great about the decision and are totally committed to the action plan.

The others are: I win – You lose, or I Lose you Win. Which both leave one party unhappy.

Lose – Lose where both of us walk away worse off.

Win where we are oblivious to the other party, we don’t even think of them as losing.

Personally I had never considered the consequences of Lose/Win. I was taught that being humble and selfless was a good thing, but Covey suggest that anytime someone loses there is a price to pay down the track. In the next negotiation I may bring up my previous loss and pain and use it to manipulate the situation, or I may not want to negotiate at all. And that is where Win/Win No Deal comes in. No deal gives us the opportunity to both walk away if we can not find a solution in which we both win.

The big difference here is that it is not about negotiating middle ground, because then we both are giving something up, in fact we lose/lose. With Win/Win neither of us walk away unhappy and if we can’t find a Win/Win solution there is no deal. 

Covey has created five elements that must be very explicit in a Win/Win arrangement:

1; The desired results. (Not the method on how to get there)

2; Guidelines. (The principles policies and parameters in which the results will be accomplished)

3; Resources. (The human, financial and technical support required to achieve the goal)

4; Accountability. (The timeline and evaluation procedure)

5; Consequences. (What will happen as a result of the evaluation)

These elements give a standard by which people can measure their own success.

Habit 5: Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood

This seems simple, but how often do we listen to reply, rather than truly listening to understand. With all the information we absorb on a daily basis we have become great at filtering unnecessary information out, the problem is that we often filter when we should really listen. The greatest gift you can give someone is your full attention.

Seeking first to understand is about understanding the full story, the emotions, the fears, what is driving a decision or a problem rather than just reacting to the symptoms. Think about the last large purchase you made, you may have met a few sales people along the way to your buying decision. Who did you trust the most? The one that wouldn’t stop talking, or the one who really listened. Covey calls this, ‘Diagnosing before you prescribe’.

The only way we can evaluate a situation is based on our experience of it, what we know, our past and our beliefs all colour how we interpret our world. The problem with that is we are so caught up in our own stuff that often we can’t genuinely hear the other person. The first part of habit five – Seek first to understand will take real practice, maybe even more than Covey outlines in the book, but it is essential.

Part 2 of habit five is ‘Then seek to be understood’.

“When you can present your own ideas clearly, specifically, visually, and most important, contextually – in the context of a deep understanding of their paradigms and concerns – you significantly increase the credibility of your ideas.” Page 257

I see so many business who say they have issues with staff and clients not listening, so they put everything in writing so that it is down in black and white and they can say, ‘Didn’t you read the …, its there in black and white!’ What Covey identifies in Habit five is that we need to ‘seek’ to be understood not just communicate.

Habit 6: Synergise

“The whole is greater than the sum of the parts”

Synergistic communication is about opening your heart and mind to new possibilities. It is about starting with the belief that together you can create something great. It is the highest version of Win/Win because through synergy the solution will be even better than either of the parties originally imagined.

For true synergy to occur requires a great deal of trust. It may not be possible in every situation and that is why Covey makes is Habit Six. It is crucial to have all the other habits in place to be able to set up an environment where creative synergy can take place.

Habit 7: Sharpen The Saw

Out of all the habits, this is possibly the most obvious but so often not practiced. It seems simple when Covey puts it in relation to having a sharp axe or saw to cut down a tree, obviously it is much harder work to cut down a tree with a blunt tool. Taking a few minutes to ‘sharpen the saw’ will save a lot of energy and time.

As I write this it is summer here in Australia and my reticulation system has 1 station that is not functioning properly, so to keep a section of my lawn alive I am talking the time 3 times a week to manually hand water that part of my lawn. How much time have I cumulatively spent watering compared to what it would take to simply fix the system? I need to sharpen the saw.

Habit seven is a personal challenge to look at the areas of your life and work that you need to step back from and asses. Look at how you could do things better, more efficiently rather than just continuing to slug your guts out.

I said this book was quite personal in nature. In this chapter Covey challenges us to consider our personal, mental and spiritual lives also. He asks what we are doing individually to renew ourselves. Bearing in mind that this book was written well before we had masses of email and social media, I think it is absolutely relevant today.

My final thoughts:

For a book that was first published in 1990, The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People is absolutely still relevant today. I would highly recommend grabbing a copy and implementing the seven habits in your life.

If this blog has helped you then maybe a coaching session may help you to focus and put some of the 7 Habits into practice.

Call +61 413 606 888 or click the contact link to send me a message.

Author: Nathan Archer – Certified High Performance Coach

Book Review - Persuasion by Dave Lakhani

Persuasion – Dave Lakhani:

The act of persuading often gets a bad wrap. Persuasion can be seen as manipulation. Images of greasy second hand car salesmen trying to pass of the ‘deal of the century’. Dave Lakhani starts his book by saying that ‘virtually every element of human interaction involves some level of persuasion’. To survive we must persuade. As a baby we use crying to tell our parents that we need something. As children we learn different techniques to get our own way and then prefect those techniques as adults.

If we look at persuasion as just a negative thing then we are doing ourselves a disservice.

David Lakhani starts out by identifying that manipulation is solely for the benefit of the manipulator. Where as persuasion is about creating an environment that lets two or more people find common ground and belief.

In regards to the art of persuasion, being likeable gives you a huge head start. Building a relationship based on what you have in common gives you a great place to start from.

The first few chapters are quite simple, they lay the ground work. He addresses the factors of appearance, voice, communication skills and body language. Lakhani then moves into the art of story telling and positioning yourself as an expert. In chapter 6 he lays down a step by step plan on how to become an expert in your chosen subject area.

From there the real persuasion begins.

In the following chapters Lakhani starts to challenge your beliefs. To change ones actions, you must first change their beliefs. ‘In order to persuade effectively you have to suspend your models and beliefs long enough to test them to see if they hold true for the situation in which you are currently involved’. (P88)

He presents a seven step process for the belief creation and change process:

Step 1: Identify the current belief that someone holds around the idea you are presenting.

Step 2: Identify areas of frustration or confusion around the issue.

Step 3: Present the new idea with credible evidence.

Step 4: Ask the audience to ‘act as if they believed for just a moment’.

Step 5: Reinforce the idea and present them with situations where the idea is accurate and true.

Step 6: Give them proof, testimonials or let them sample your product.

Step 7: When they create the new belief, reward them. Make them part of the club.

 (P91-92)

He then goes on to discuss how curiosity is the impetus to change, and how creating curiosity opens the door for persuasion to begin. Once a person is curious, we need to make sure that the idea we are trying to convey is relevant. So many people (especially in sales) are trying to persuade, without first seeking to understand how their product is relevant to the needs (perceived or otherwise) of their target market.

‘The majority of people will not make decisions do not because they have no idea how they will know when they have achieved success.’ (P113) So, you need to clearly define your message as well as your desired outcome.

 Lakhani has created the Persuasion Equation:

 Position + Presentation X Influence = Persuasion

 Positioning-

            -Persona: Your dress, body language, authority.

            -Positioning in regards to your audience: Are they the decision makers?

            -Story: Customise your story to the audience.

 Presentation-

            -Establish relevancy, rapport and importance:

 Influence-

            -Build your audiences beliefs and their desire to believe.

            -Cause your audience to be curious and engage you in more detailed conversations.

            -Challenge their answers so they think more deeply about the subject.

            -Get them to take small actions that lead to bigger ones.

Persuasion on Selling:

‘The old saying that people do not like to be sold to is true. But everyone loves to be given all of the information needed to make a good decision, wouldn’t you agree?’ (P160)

Lakhani suggests that customers want:

            -To be made aware they have a need, or to have their need validated

            -A relevant solution

            -Answers to their questions

            -Detailed information to make a good decision

            -Reassurance that they are making the right decision

            -Permission to make the right decision now.

He suggest that people want to be served and that we don’t need to complicate things. Selling is about leading them through small decisions and letting them buy.

I can personally echo his thoughts here. During my career as a professional portrait photographer I had to say in my head, ‘be quiet and let them buy’. We have the urge to step in and fill the silence, when so often that silence is what a customer needs to make the decision. My sales mentor had a saying, ‘The person who speaks first loses’.

Towards the end of the book Lakhani moves on to persuasion through advertising. He suggests that persuasive advertising tells a story that only you can tell, and that you need to look at your ads and substitute your competitors name for yours. ‘Can my competitors say the same thing about themselves that I do about myself?’ (p175)

Persuasive ads pull the audience into the story. The customer sees themselves in it. Exceptional ads give clients a real reason to believe what you are saying is true. Lakhani concludes the book with some ideas on persuading using electronic media.

Persuasion on negotiation:

David suggests that there are seven steps in the process of negotiation, these are very similar to his seven steps for belief creation and the change process in chapter 7:

Step 1: Let the other party present their proposal first. It gives you an opportunity to look for common ground.

Step 2: Test assumptions to see what is negotiable and what is not.

Step 3: Once you test something let it rest for a while.

Step 4: Ask the audience to ‘act as if they believed for just a moment’.

Step 5: Reinforce the idea and present them with situations where the idea is accurate and true.

Step 6: Give them proof, testimonials or let them sample your product.

Step 7: When they create the new belief, reward them. Make them part of the club.

Overall I found the book to be very insightful. It lays out step by step, simple to follow processes and techniques for persuasion. The first few chapters are a little simple but when you get to the ‘meat’ of the book there are some effective strategies to learn and put into practice.

Although the book was originally published in 2005 it's content is still very relevant.

Blog by Nathan Archer - Certified High Performance Coach

Take The Time to Wonder

Have you ever stopped and watched a small child at play? Have you watched the wonder in their eyes as they explore the world? How about how their little fingers when they explore things, how they hold and touch objects it in different ways? Have you watched how they listen and how their eyes light up when you sing to them or talk to them?

Children experience our world in a different way to adults. Everything is new, exciting, and stimulating. They learn at such a rapid rate and want to know about the world around them and how it functions. Unfortunately, us adults can sometimes have tunnel vision. We become so focused on one thing – the to-do list. We rush from work to home, worrying about all the things we have to do. We become vacant and consumed by the task at hand, or the worries in our minds. We become closed off to the world and new experiences or curiosities.

Why does a four year old ask so many questions? They are intrigued and curious about the world. They want to know how things work. They want to discover. As adults, we can get so bogged down in the everyday, the mundane, the to-do list that we lose this curiosity about the world.

How wonderful would it be to live like a child again? To explore, to be filled with intrigue and wonder?

The thing you haven't lost the desire to wonder, you have just covered it up with other priorities.

Have you ever taken a vacation and made a major life decision whilst you were there? Why did it take going on vacation to make that decision?

The answer is simple, on vacation you were not focused on your to-do list. You mind had a chance to relax, to stop thinking about all the busy work, and to think about the bigger picture.

Here is a small challenge for you this week: I encourage you to put some time in your diary this week (just 10 mins or so each day) and take a few moments to wonder, to think, to explore. If the weather is ok, then outside is best. It won't be easy at first. All the things you have to do will keep popping up in your head. Thats ok, acknowledge those thoughts and then try and come back to observing the world around you. Touch something natural (the bark of a tree, a leaf, some grass), and be conscious about how the texture feels in your hand. 

Take time for yourself to be with yourself and wonder.

If you make this a practice for just 10 mins a day, you will be surprised how much more you start to see in the world around you.

The Small Business Owners Badge of Busyness

Over Easter I was doing some chores and the had the small business TV program, Koshie’s Business Builders on in the background. At the end of the show they interviewed a number of small business owners and asked them what the biggest challenge was in their business. All of them said; ‘time’. One said; ‘working too many hours’, another said; ‘switching off between work and home’. Then the program ended. They had just surveyed a number of the business owners who had been featured in the show, and they all identified the same issue, the biggest problem they faced in business and the program did not offer a solution.

It is almost a badge of honour that business owners and entrepreneurs have to wear. To be successful we have to strive, to work more than everyone else. Put ourselves (and our families) last. As a small business owner for the last 15 years, I worked too much, and thought too much about work after hours, UNTIL… I discovered High Performance Coaching. In 2010, I hired a business coach. He helped me grow my business and make a lot more money, but he didn’t deal with any of the personal stuff. I just had a bigger turnover, more staff, a bigger machine to keep running and more stress.

Everyone has a different picture of success. A piece of ancient wisdom says; 'What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself?' What I LOVE about High Performance Coaching is it's a holistic approach to life and business coaching, and that is the big difference.

I think, in a world where people say 'life just gets faster and faster', where we are expected to be available 24/7, there is beginning to be a swing back towards connection. For me, learning the practices of high performance, not only made me more productive in business, but also allowed me more down time.

I was recently speaking to an overworked business woman, I offered her a free 1 hour coaching strategy session to implement a few high performance habits in her life. Her response was, 'I'm just to busy to take anytime right now, can we try again in 6-8 weeks'. I know I have the tools and practices that could save her time, and make her more productive, but she is not ready for a change just yet.

Everyone of the business owners interviewed on that business program identified being too busy as their number one problem, yet the program did not offer a solution.

So often we know what we need to do, but we keep doing what we have always done because that is what we are used to doing.

Don't wait for a breakdown or a crisis to initiate change. A more happy, productive, and passionate life awaits you now. Have you ever thought about working with a coach? I would love to give you a free session! I can guarantee that what you will learn will ease the stress and make you more productive. Give me a call on 0413 606 888, or click here to read a little more about High Performance Coaching, fill in the questionnaire and I will call you!

Why I was so certain working with my business coach would lead to my success.

Earlier this year I began coaching a client who was just starting out business. She was right at the very beginning. She had done a few photo shoots and got paid a little bit, but wanted to make her hobby a real business. We sat down and made a plan for her business growth for the next 12 months. I asked her how many clients (realistically) she wanted to be seeing per month by the following Christmas. Then we created a plan to work backwards to achieve milestones along the way. The first month was dedicated to learning, the second month dedicated to setting up the structures, registering business names, creating systems etc. On the third month she would see her first paying clients.

We had been working together for a about six weeks when she started to feel nervous about business in general. She asked me how I had so much confidence to invest a lot of money in my business coach all those years ago. My answer was simple. I found someone that had been there and done that. Someone who had experienced the challenges in my industry, who had overcome them, and who had a proven track record of success. I told her that I believed he had the recipe, and all I had to do was learn the recipe from him.

She was still not convinced of how I could commit a large sum of money to business coaching, without a guarantee of success.

I asked her, ‘What is your reality? What is the biggest sale you have ever made in this industry?’ When she gave me her answer, I told her about the biggest sale that I had ever made. It was 22 times her biggest sale. For me, doing sales 4 or 5 times her biggest, was an every day occurrence. In fact, it was the average that we based our statistics on. So my reality was that not only is a sale 5 times what she had experienced my average sale, but that I also knew a sale 22 times her biggest, was also a reality. Did I believe that when I first met my business coach? No. I wasn’t sure that I would ever achieve a sale or a yearly turnover anywhere close to what he had, but I knew that in front of me was someone who had already been there, and who could teach me what he had learnt along the way.

Would I have continued working with my business coach for four years if I was not seeing results? Absolutely not! In fact the evidence I needed to support my faith in him was provided on the very first sale after our first ever session. My first sale after working with him for just two days was 50% higher than I had ever done before, and the next sale was 30% higher again. The small wins I got very early on in our business coaching relationship confirmed that I was making the right decision.

I have had a couple of clients that I coach say, ‘But that is you, I don’t think I could do that.’ The challenge is that our experiences frame our beliefs. There is an old saying: ‘Something is not possible until it is done.’ Even when it is done right in front of us, we can still find reasons why we couldn’t do it.

When I closed my photography studio to start business coaching, I gave some leads to the photographer who had managed my studio for five years. Although she had been a part of a business doing great sales, she still didn’t believe that it was possible for her. She was the photographer, not the sales person, but her photos had sold for multiple thousands of dollars, and here she is struggling to believe that she could do it. She was making excuses such as she wasn’t in our high class studio, or didn’t have the same facilities. True, but were her photos any less valuable? Ultimately she was struggling to believe in herself.

As kids, we take on things, we believe we are almost invincible, but then at some point we begin to let our fears overcome us and we start to hold ourselves back.

I would love to encourage you to think about your biggest sale. What where the circumstances leading up to it? How did you feel during the process? And How do you feel now? You know a sale of that value is possible, you have done it. What level of service and value would you need to offer your client to top that sale?

What is stopping you offering that to your next client?

Written by Nathan Archer – Certified High Performance Coach based in Perth Western Australia.

PS: I must finish this blog by saying that even though I have talked a lot about sales and the size of the sale, I believe that the money a client pays is the reward for us doing a great job. People buy for a range a reasons, and yes skilled sales people can manipulate the buyer to get bigger sales, but I believe that when you have an amazing product or service, one of quality and one that has the clients best interests at heart, then the money will flow. Business is not about targeting a bigger sale, for me business is about offering a client something that genuinely enhances their life. Do you really think that your product or service will greatly benefit the lives of your clients? If so, then why are you letting fear hold you back. If you can genuinely say ‘I have the best interests of my clients at heart’, then nothing can stop you except yourself.

Set A Monthly Focus For Your Development

We often want to make changes in our life for the better, but sometimes those changes can make quite an overwhelming list! Quite often, we need to change our habits, which is not easy when we’ve been doing something a certain way for a while. One easy way of developing yourself is to give yourself a monthly focus, just one thing, that you can identify or work on and improve for a month. Obviously there are 12 months in a year, so 12 different areas of your life that you develop this year.

Think about what character traits or habits you would like to work on in the next 30 days. Some suggestions might be generosity, kindness, patience, saying no, or making time for family. Write your focus somewhere where it will serve as a daily reminder such as the calendar, your diary, a journal, or even a post-it on your bathroom mirror.

Tom Ziglar, son of the famous Zig Ziglar says that “The fastest way to success is to replace bad habits with good habits.” Plan what you will do when your bad habit rears its head. If you are working on patience and you get stuck in traffic, plan what you are going to say to yourself or do to achieve your goal? If you are working on kindness, how are you going to react when that work colleague pushes your buttons? What can you do instead?

Another way to work on the new habits, is to go over your schedule for the day and identify instances where you are likely to commit your bad habit. Can you predict any time in the day where it is going to be challenging for you? How are you going to react?

By thinking and working on this every day it will accelerate you to achieve your goal and be a better person. At the end of the day, and also the end of the week - check how you did. Reflect on your wins and also where you had losses. Are there any patterns that you can identify? Remember to celebrate your wins - breaking a habit takes time, and it might be a rocky road to success. Don’t beat yourself up if it’s not perfect the first time!

Once the month is up, review how you went and then set another goal for the next month. Hopefully your new habits will build month to month and you will have developed and improved qualities that you value to be a better person. Some people find it helps keeping a journal to write about their progress, and it is also great to have a record that tracks your success. Sometimes our brain only takes notice of what it wants, and so keeping records is really helpful. Hopefully, this will be one way that you can grow in your personal development, and people will be amazed with your transformation.

Right, let’s go!

Answer this question:
This month, I am going to focus on ______________________ . I am going to write it on my calendar and focus on how I am going grow in that area of my life every day.

Good luck!

Nathan

I am a Certified High Performance Coach who after 15 years as a professional photographer and small business owner, have been inspired to help others achieve a sustained level of happiness, clarity, and productivity.