Monday Morning Motivations Tenacity Pays

Published by Robert A. & Vicki L. Prentice of Professional Development Systems
August 4, 2008 Issue 312

From the Desk of Bob

Greetings!

"So much to do, so little time!" I hear this most everyday. Maybe you do too! We are living in a hurried and busy age where things are moving at a very fast pace. How do we get control? Well let me challenge you to read and heed this weeks Seeds of Success article.

It was good for me to write it and get it out of my head. I hope it will be just as good for you to read it and get it into yours!

Have a great week! Bob

Life Attitudes

Ray Kroc: "The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves."

Brian Tracy: "You can become an even more excellent person by constantly setting higher and higher standards for yourself and then by doing everything possible to live up to those standards."

Anthony Robbins: "Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards. When people ask me what really changed my life eight years ago, I tell them that absolutely the most important thin was changing what I demanded of myself. I wrote down all the things I would no longer accept in my life, all the things I would no longer tolerate, and all the things that I aspired to becoming."

Seeds of Success: Personal Performance Standards

By Robert A. Prentice

Most of us can easily get caught up in the busyness of our lives only to suddenly discover we are really not accomplishing what we could and should be. When we take a closer look, we find we have lost our focus and our priorities have gotten all muddled. With all the plates we are trying to keep spinning, we feel like things are getting too crazy. Everything seems out of whack and we are stuck knee-deep in alligators and don't know how we got there or how to get out. Ever been there?

Whenever I feel that my personal productivity isn't as high as I'd like it to be, I know it is time to review my personal performance standards and use them to help me get myself back on track.

Just what are personal performance standards? Well, I have defined them as specific, measurable, and quantifiable standards of performance, which I have established for myself that help me gage how well I am doing on my goals and life plans in the various areas of my life. In other words, personal performance standards are simply a way for me to measure my personal productivity.

Here are some examples from my life. Notice the numbers are specific and include time frames and percentages as well. This is key. Let me say this again: Our standards must be specific, measurable and quantifiable. The following random examples are out of my personal life strategy.

1. Invest a minimum of 15 minutes a day listening to my children and learning about what's going on in their lives.
2. Read a minimum of 2 books per month for self-improvement purposes.
3. Write two to three letters of encouragement each week.
4. Save ten percent for emergencies and the future unknowns.
5. Write a minimum of four articles per month to clarify my thoughts and ideas.
6. Make ten phone calls a day to generate future business relationships.
7. Place ten items into each of my ten "To Do" lists.
8. Update my action plans by the end of each week.
9. Overcome a minimum of three challenges or obstacles to success each month.

Like I say, these are only a few examples from my life. I have over a hundred of them in the Ten Key Result Areas-or priorities of my life. (I encourage you to make a list for yourself.) Note the clarity and the measurement in my standards. When I read through them, I automatically know where I stand and I can see whether I am getting my jobs and responsibilities done or not.

The key to this is knowing and understanding where we are at so that we can repair and move forward to ultimately accomplish our objectives. I even adjust these from time to time to make sure that I am being honest and realistic with myself. This is okay, because they are mine, they are personal, and they are for the purpose of helping me to be more effective with others and live a more fruitful and productive life.

My encouragement to you is this: Invest an hour or so this week in establishing for yourself a minimum of ten personal performance standards. This activity will be the cornerstone of building a vibrant life strategy.

If you have any questions concerning personal performance standards or would like to send me yours for review I would consider this an honor. I will be glad to help in any way I
can to go over your performance standards and give you an honest assessment. All you have to do is ask.

On the Sunny Side of Life: GEOGRAPHY MATTERS

Q: Name the four seasons.
A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.

Q: Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.
A: Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists.

Q: How is dew formed?
A: Certain areas of the dessert are cultivated by irritation. Then the sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.

Q: What is a planet?
A: A body of earth surrounded by sky.

Q: What causes the tides in the oceans?
A: The tides are a fight between the Earth and the Moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in the fight.

Bob "Mr. Attitude" Prentice is available for Keynote, conference engagements, and in-house company training assignments Call to schedule Bob TODAY! 800.437.9715

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