Oct 28 2008
‘Scary Times’ Manual
It seems we are all looking for a way to focus UP rather than getting caught in the negativity of this DOWN cycle. I personally don’t watch the news or read the newspaper but I do utilize the internet to give me fresh and helpful ways to stay tuned in to our world and feel the positive vibes. And I’m not just talking ‘feel good’ stuff like funny videos. Explore my site a bit and you will find some helpful things…some of my own observations and ideas and others that I glean from my peers and friends.
Today I discovered the ‘Scary Times Success Manual’ over at Strategic Coach. Written by Dan Sullivan in 2001 (after 9/11) and resurrected now as a helpful position for these economic times, I found the 10 points worthy of my attention. In fact I recommend them as a routine way of life, not just for stressful or ’scary’ times. The Strategic Coach program, by the way, is for top executives in major corporations. Yet, I can’t see why these 10 suggestions wouldn’t be helpful for any of us artist types or entrepreneurs. There is an audio for listening to Sullivan or download a pdf document of the whole article if you want to check it out for yourself.
Here are some highlights of what caught my attention:
Tip One - Forget about yourself, focus on others. When the tendency is to feel isolated and helpless - head the other direction, says Sullivan. Expand your connections1
Tip Two and Three are similar in my mind - Forget about your commodity, focus on your relationships & Forget about the sale, focus on creating value. For me this says, again, forget yourself…this is not about you in the sense of what you produce and the steps you take to get your product or service into the marketplace. Success is about serving others and that’s about relationships and being valuable.
Sullivan goes on with some other ‘forget about’s - your losses, your difficulties, your future - and invites you to focus on your opportunities, your progress, and your today.
Number 7 I do like as it rings true often as I work with my coaching clients that are stuck in the past. Forget about who you were, focus on who you can be. Instead of defining yourself by external circumstances, Sullivan suggests, “From now on, take your cues from the inside — from your dreams, ideals, values, and operating principles.” These need never change. The things that spell out the uniquely delightful real you!
Lastly, the ‘Scary Times’ Success manual recommends eliminating complaints and switch your focus to gratitude. “Focus on everything that you are grateful for, communicate this, and open yourself each day to the best possible consequences.”