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What’s hiding inside you?

2/25/2015

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By Michael Kline
as published in Conway Daily Sun


As R. Buckminster Fuller said, “There is no such thing as genius, some children are just less damaged than others.” The word “genius” comes from the same Latin root as “congenital”, or “present from birth”.  According to Dr. Detlef Reis, founder of Thinkergy, a Bangkok based global consulting and training company, “genius” originally referred to a spirit that guided you throughout your life. Those who did unusually well were thought to have an unusually strong guiding spirit, and over time the term “genius” came to refer to exceptional abilities, and to the people who possessed them.

In this column, we often discuss purpose, passion and talent and living in alignment with all the above. So it begs the question, what is your core genius?  Is there one thing, anything that you might be better at than anyone else? Do you have a particular talent or ability that is the work you do when you are in “flow”? It could simply be any skill or activity at which you excel.

Our friend R. Buckminster Fuller, quoted above, also went on to say that “Everyone is born a genius, but the process of living de-geniuses them.”

One of the best parts of my work is helping people find their genius within. Most of us have self-limiting beliefs that keep us from being able to see or declare ourselves a genius. Would you be willing to consider that being pushed into conforming to society, that life has tried to “de-genius” you? Don’t let it. Brake away the layers of covering that are hiding the genius within.

In 1957, a group of Thai monks were informed that due to major construction of a new port and highway, their shrine, a huge clay Buddha was to be relocated.

In the process of moving the clay Buddha, it began to crack. With a storm brewing, the monks covered the Buddha with a tarp on poles to keep it dry overnight. During the night, the head monk decided to check on the Buddha. With a flashlight, he walked around the huge clay figure shining his light on the cracks. He saw in the crack, a shiny reflecting of light – clay doesn’t reflect shining light!

He began carefully chipping at the clay around the crack only to discover that the clay was only a covering, over a solid gold Buddha. Well you can only imagine there must have been some confusion and excitement among the monks!

After much research, the pieces of the story were put together. The Golden Buddha was the cherished responsibility of a group of monks several centuries earlier. Learning the Burmese army was headed their way and the monks covered their Buddha with 8 to 12 inches of clay to make it appear worthless and protect it from discovery. However, the Burmese army apparently killed all of the monks and The Golden Buddha was lost to history until 1957.

We should remember that there is a Golden Buddha inside each of us. It is hidden away under layers of clay that slowly forms throughout our lives. When we are born, we start life as a Golden Buddha.

With the right work, the Golden Buddha within each of us can be revealed in its full glory once again. Life shrouds us in clay, we are told stories and we make up our own stories about ourselves and about how the world works.  As a baby, we fear only falling and loud noises. Everything else is based on stories and perceptions we made up.  It’s time to break through the clay and allow our true natures to be revealed. It’s time to discover your true genius within. Think about the word dis-cover, literally says to un-cover.

I will be offering another local one-day workshop which deals with discovering our purpose and passion and more importantly, overcoming the limiting beliefs that keep us from setting and achieving much more exciting goals in business, relationships, health and more.  Visit my website for more information.


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7 Strategies for Getting Things Done

2/20/2015

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PictureAs busy as we are, there's always time for a joke.
February 18, 2015 by Jack Canfield

One of the most common questions I receive is “Jack, how do you get so much done?” It’s a fair question, considering I’ve written 150 books, deliver an average of 50 live presentations around the world each year, invest a considerable amount of time with my Train the Trainer students, lead the Transformational Leadership Council, yet still have time to cultivate an amazing relationship with my wife, spend time with my kids and close friends, and take excellent care of my health.


Strategy #1: Get Clear About What’s RequiredWhen people set goals, particularly at the beginning of the year when working on their New Year’s resolutions, they tend to be overly optimistic about how much is actually possible. As a result, they over-commit or make lists that are far too long.

I’ve fallen into this trap before. I’ve learned that to be realistic, I must take the time to break goals down and ask, “What would actually be required for me to achieve this goal? How many hours would that take?” Once I have a list of activities and estimates of the time needed to achieve each item, I pull out my calendar and start scheduling all the activities.

This is the point when you come face to face with reality. If you realize that there’s not enough time in the day to accomplish everything you want, it’s time to go back and prioritize your goals. Once you’ve identified the things that are most important to accomplish, schedule the activities that those goals will require, and set aside the rest of your goals for later.

Strategy #2: Create a Daily ScheduleSimply setting aside time in your calendar may not be enough to achieve your goals. I go the extra step and create a daily schedule. Additionally, I use the Rule of 5. Each day I choose 5 specific tasks that will move me toward the completion of my goals and I ensure those tasks are included in my daily schedule. Daily use of the Top 5 Priority Action post-its can help keep your daily task list front and center. So if one of my daily tasks is to work on my book, I don’t simply say, “I’ll work on my book today” – I actually designate the hours that I’ll work on my book. This has been an essential step in ensuring that things actually get done.

To stay motivated, I review my yearly goals once a week, and then I plan my week around those goals. I identify what I need to accomplish in the coming week to achieve my long-term goals, and then I book those activities into my calendar. Each evening before I leave my office, I finalize my schedule for the following day.  When I walk in each morning, I can be productive immediately rather than wasting precious time figuring out what I’m going to do.

Strategy #3: Focus on the "Big Rocks"When planning my daily schedule, sometimes I realize that I have an unreasonable amount of work on my to-do list for the next day. I know that I can’t get it all done. This is when I turn to my list of “Big Rocks” – my most important priorities. (If you are not familiar with the terminology, “Big Rocks” comes from Dr. Stephen Covey’s method of time management. I keep my Big Rocks in a list on my iPad. The Big Rocks are the things I need to get done this quarter. When my daily schedule is overbooked, the Big Rocks are the things that get done.

Strategy #4: Center and VisualizeI start each day with a meditation to help me get grounded. Before I get up from my meditation cushion, I mentally rehearse my day, visualizing and feeling myself staying focused, working efficiently, and being productive. This helps to activate the Law of Attraction, lining up the inner and outer resources to make my day go smoothly.

Throughout the day, I do “refreshers.” Periodically throughout the day, I’ll close my eyes and focus on my breathing for a few minutes. This helps to center me and restore a sense of calm.

In addition, whenever I begin a new segment on my schedule, I’ll take a few seconds to visualize that section of my day going smoothly. When sitting down to write, I’ll visualize my writing going well. When I prepare to make phone calls, I’ll visualize my conversations going well and achieving the desired results.

Strategy #5: Keep ScoreTo stay on track to achieve goals, it’s important to keep score. This means assessing, each day, whether or not you’ve done what was necessary to achieve your goals.
For score-keeping to be effective, you must have your goals and score-keeping tool somewhere where you’re going to see it. If you can’t easily see your score, you can’t reasonably assess where you are.

There are a number of ways to keep score. When you were little, your parents or teachers may have helped you keep score with a sticker chart, where you’d get a sticker every time you kept your commitment to do your homework, for example. Some adults find that this approach is still effective. You could also use a simple checklist that lists your various to-do items and deadlines. Checking each item off as it’s completed can be powerful.

I’ve also discovered that there are several phone apps that work well for keeping score. If your smartphone is a constant companion, it would be a wise move to put your scorekeeping on your phone so it’s always handy. One of my favorite apps is Don’t Break the Chain, designed with the Jerry Seinfeld motivation technique. Jerry Seinfeld wanted to write a book, so he put a big red X every day through the calendar when he actually wrote. He didn’t want to break the chain of red X’s, hence the name Don’t Break the Chain.  (Click here for a list of apps reviewed by About.com.)

Strategy #6: Celebrate MilestonesCelebrating your progress along the way is essential to staying motivated. If you set a goal that takes nine months to achieve, it’s hard to stay motivated the entire time because there’s no payoff. So build in milestones to celebrate along the way.

If your goal is to lose weight, celebrate every two pounds you lose. If you’re writing a book, celebrate every 20 pages that you write. If your goal is to book 35 speaking gigs, celebrate every 5 engagements that you book. Celebrating milestones keeps you inner child excited, because it feels rewarded for all of the efforts it’s made.

Strategy #7: Schedule Down TimeWhen you’re on fire to achieve your goals, it’s tempting to skip free time. (This is when you often here people say, “I’ll rest when I’m dead.”)

However, when you deny yourself free time, you get tired. You become less efficient. You make poorer decisions and are less creative. Your inner child can get resentful of the demanding pace, and it becomes easy to get burned out. That’s why I plan free time into my schedule to rest and rejuvenate.

My friend Dan Sullivan of The Strategic Coach, Inc., taught me to schedule three types of days into my calendar. Focus Days are primetime for work. Buffer Days are for practice, preparation and miscellaneous details, such as dental appointments or getting caught up on email. Free Days are the third type of day. They’re 24-hour periods dedicated to resting and recharging. I’ve found that scheduling Free Days have resulted in a greater level of passion, creativity and energy in my work.

Your goals are important – not only to you and your family, but to the world. You have a purpose, and your goals are how you are meant to live your purpose. The seven strategies I’ve shared here have been essential to my ability to get things done. Use them to ensure that when 2015 comes to an end, you’re celebrating the accomplishment of your goals, rather than regretting what hasn’t happened.


Jack Canfield, America's #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul®and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com

Want to accelerate your ability to achieve your goals?  -  A note From Michael Kline - Join me at one of our local public Success-a-thon 1 Day Workshops. This is a fantastic introduction to The Success Principles. We also offer customized 1/2 day, full day and multi-day programs for your company or organization. Click here for more information on The Success Principles seminars and our unique training programs that make the work more sustainable for organizations.

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All you need are wings and a little current

2/11/2015

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Picture
By Michael Kline
as published in Conway Daily Sun


My favorite annual hike is the Moat range, south to north. South Moat is usually pretty well travelled, and  you might meet a half dozen people or more who take the relatively short round trip hike up and back to the base on Passaconaway Road. As fellow hikers turn around to head back down, I like to head north on the lonely trail from the summit and continue over to Middle Moat for a lunch break and a good view of my entire playground that is the valley. My favorite section is the saddle that heads forever down the north side of Middle moat and deep into the woods. This section is so seldom travelled that fallen trees often cross the path – an extra challenge we do not really need on such a long hike. “They” should maintain this trail better – when we get home, we should complain to someone. This section is hell – no wonder it is so lightly travelled. Like a restless child on a long road trip, I start asking myself “are we there yet?” I whine and complain that this path will never end and when it does, it is all uphill for the next couple of hours. I hate hiking. When the heck did I become the outdoor type anyway?! I have so much work I could be doing instead of spending an entire day getting bug bites, sore legs, scratches and bruises. At least the long hike down from North Moat will be pleasant, then a dip in Diana’s Baths and our celebratory dinner and beer on May Kelly’s deck afterward, looking back at the range we just conquered. Yes, focus on the beer at the end of the journey and we will muddle and persevere.      

Above a hawk appears, soaring on a current high above. I say hello Hawk, what do you want? I ask the hawk how far is it to the summit? Is it steep? Is anyone up there? Will my legs carry me there? What if I slip and fall on those wet spots on the way down as I did last time? Did I bring enough water? How long has it been? How hot is it anyway? Is the view up there worth the climb? Why do you get to ride a current and get to go much higher than the summit with little effort at all? What do you see that I don’t get to see? The hawk quickly tires of all my questions and swoops out of sight to snatch his own lunch. He reappears shortly and joins me on my walk. He hops from tree top to tree top, accompanying me along my hike and now he’s the one doing all the talking.  He tells me I worry too much about the future and enjoy too little about the present. My hike is much like my life. Setting goals is great, being attached to the outcome, trying to control the process through which you reach them and living in the future only makes the goals harder to reach and you miss the journey, which was the most beautiful part.

I have heard this message before, but never from a talking hawk. I heed his advice. This section is so seldom travelled that fallen trees often cross the path - it’s fun to decide if we should climb over a large tree or crawl under it. Either way, I will rip my clothing and get covered in mud – this will later serve as evidence that we had fun this day. As I descend into the deep woods on a very narrow path the woods become exceptionally beautiful, the trees exceptionally green, a million greens actually. The forest floor along with every stump, log and rock covered in a thick carpet of moss, convinces me that this is a magical land where fairies and gnomes live in great numbers. You never see them of course and there are a thousand reasons for that as I have explained to my nieces and nephews over the years. I’ve come to believe my own stories. This is the prettiest path of the entire day. It may be the prettiest path of any of my hikes so far throughout the White Mountains. Somewhere in the silence, (gnomes are very quiet), the solitude, the infinite forms of life in every direction, something magical comes alive in me.

The departure from the deep woods is accompanied by the incline representing life’s challenges that are completely attainable and actually fun to tackle when you have the right attitude. Having gone too far to turn back and still having several hours to go, I feel the worry that shows up in business, investment, projects and relationships when we feel we have past the point of no return. Face the fear and forge ahead, suffering is optional. North Moat has a false summit that tricks me every time. When you think you are finally there, you look up to see another summit. Another metaphor for life, but if this were the summit, then we would have reached our peak and have nothing to do but go downhill. I decide to rejoice in the fact that I get to go to another peak before this adventure is over.

Life, work, business, relationships are like a hike in the mountains. There are dark sections, tough sections, flat easy sections you can walk right through. There are highs and lows, an occasional blueberry patch as a sweet surprise and some slippery spots that cause injuries, such is life. In life, it is important that we watch for the gnomes, listen to the hawk, embrace the roadblocks and false summits, so that when we get to our celebration at the end, we know we did it all. We did it well. We earned our beer and our rest.


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    Picture
    Michael Kline

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