Archive for the ‘Change’ Category

Is It Time for You to Finally Step Up?

February 7th, 2012

Posted under Change, General, Innovative Thinking

Dr. Susan Biali, M.D. is a practicing medical doctor, wellness expert, speaker, life coach, author, and flamenco dancer. Formerly clinically depressed, Dr. Biali took back her own life and health by extensively studying how to create a happier, healthier, more fulfilling life. Dr. Biali draws from her wide range of expertise and experiences to offer hope and practical tools that improve the lives of people worldwide. She has received numerous academic and personal awards, and she is a frequent guest on various media outlets. Additionally, Dr. Biali is a Flamenco dancer who performs on international stages. Her bestselling book, Live a Life You Love: 7 Steps to a Healthier, Happier, More Passionate You, was released in March 2010.

Years ago, when I was secretly dreaming about someday becoming an author and a speaker who would (hopefully) change lives, I pulled a bestselling motivational book off the shelf at my neighborhood library.Turning it over in my hands, I discovered from the bio on the back that the author lived 20 minutes down the highway from me. I didn’t do anything about it at the time, but it seemed magical that someone like this was living that close by. Somehow, the idea itself was inspiring enough on its own.A couple of years ago, I had the experience of sharing the stage with John Izzo, the author of that book, at a local fundraiser for a project in Uganda. I could barely contain my enthusiasm when we shook hands—not only was I finally meeting him in person, but it also signified that I, now an author and speaker myself, had somehow managed to get to a place in my career where my book and his were displayed on tables side by side. Incredible! And we’ve been friends ever since.

You may be familiar with Izzo’s internationally bestselling book, The Five Secrets You Must Discover before You Die, (this wasn’t the one I pulled from the shelf that day, but it’s the one he’s best known for) as well as his popular PBS series by the same name. As I write this he’s just released his latest book, Stepping Up: How Taking Responsibility Changes Everything.

In the book, Izzo writes:

My definition of stepping up is simple: Stepping up is seeing a need and deciding YOU are the right person to do something about it. It is about not looking to anyone else to create change but to do what you can in your sphere of influence. The responsibility I speak of is not a wagging finger telling you to step up, but an empowering message of what happens when we stop worrying about what anyone else is doing and choose to do what we can do. Whether trying to change our family, our company or the world, we are only powerful when we focus on what WE can do.

I had a chance to read the book before it came out, and was so inspired by the spirit of empowerment, responsibility and hope contained within. Here are some of my favorite concepts (accompanied by my own thoughts on them) which I hope will incite you to think differently about your life today, and the power you have to make a real difference within your sphere of influence:

1) Encourage tolerance and kindness

In a world shaken by financial chaos and instability, with more and more people needing a piece of the communal pie to survive, it’s easy to fall into an “every man for himself” kind of survival mentality. Frequently, this will start to manifest itself by resenting those who are different or who have it “easier.”

I’ve caught myself a few times this month making comments that weren’t cool, which reflected my own unease about the changing circumstances around me. Have you noticed yourself doing the same?

From now on, whenever you or someone else is being intolerant or unkind—no matter how subtle or socially acceptable it might be—decide that you’ll step up and show up differently, and encourage others to do the same.

2) Lose attitudes that make you miserable and less successful

I love that a commitment to a different attitude can be a significant way of “stepping up.” This is something that anyone can do instantly. Of course, you might slip into old ways after promising yourself not to, messing up is a normal part of the process of positive change. When you’ve really committed yourself to change you’ll feel how unappealing your old way is, especially if you fall back into it, and you’ll be far less likely to repeat the old habit the next time.

In the book, Izzo focuses on two of the most troubling attitudes: “It’s not my job!” and “It’s not my fault!”

In a blog post he wrote on the topic, he noted:

How many times in an average week will you hear someone utter these sentiments: It’s not my job! It was not my fault. What can I do about it? It is bigger than me. I wish someone would do something about that.

My belief is that the more a person or organization focuses on the external environment rather than how they respond to it-the less happy and successful they will be.

In the section of the book devoted to this issue, he further states that “There are two kinds of people in the world, those who make things happen and those who complain about what’s happening.”

Ouch. Which one are you?

If you don’t like the answer, it’s very easy to change which one you are.

3) The Responsibility Ripple

Many of us feel disempowered in our work and our lives, because we don’t think that we do matters. It does.

In another excerpt from the book, Izzo writes:

Human behavior is contagious, good and bad. All of us have had the experience of entering a break room at work when one person starts complaining about how bad things are around here and before you know it everyone has joined in the whining feast. We have also had the opposite experience, that when a few people start talking about how we can fix things instead of how broken things are, suddenly the energy shifts. Responsibility is contagious. I call this the Responsibility Ripple. When someone steps up to change things, others step up and find courage they had not previously found.

Though I’m far from perfect, I decided years ago to stay away from whine fests. When I’m in a work or social environment, I deliberately avoid the people who engage in this, especially if they’ve demonstrated on previous occasions that they refuse to talk about, or listen to, a more positive spin on things.

How might you be able to infect those around you with a healthier, happier spirit? If you’re stuck in a plane on a runway for hours, that’s a perfect time to practice.

Comments Off

Thought for Food: How to Scientifically Think Yourself Thin

January 23rd, 2012

Posted under Change, General, Innovative Thinking

Guest blog from Piers Steel

Dr. Piers Steel is one of the world’s foremost researchers and speakers on the science of motivation and procrastination. Although he has researched human potential and performance from a variety of perspectives, Steel’s primary focus has continued to be on the subject of procrastination. His research and discoveries were published in his bestselling book, The Procrastination Equation, and he has appeared in countless media outlets around the world, including Psychology Today, New Scientist, Good Housekeeping and The New Yorker. Presently, Steel is setting up a behavioural lab at the University of Calgary to conduct cutting-edge procrastination research and partnering with the Seaman Family Centre to carry out neurobiological studies on why people put off despite expecting to be worse off.

So how is your diet going? Chances are you are on one or that there is a diet in your future. The majority of Americans think about dieting all year round, with as many as 41 percent on a diet at any given time, in an attempt to lose an average of thirty-seven pounds. Britons aren’t far behind: about a third are constantly on a diet. The statistics for the rest of Europe, even France, are similar. We all seem to have a few pounds or kilograms to lose and have trouble doing it.

Let me see if I can peak your interest in a helpful idea. Right now, we all know what we need to do to shed the weight: eat less and exercise more. No mystery here. The problem, then, isn’t with our knowledge but our ability to put this knowledge into action. We try to eat less, to get to the gym, but we can’t find the motivation to follow through. Resigning ourselves to our predicament, we end up looking for the easy but probably ineffective, like the fad diets from dubious Internet advertisements. This makes it a mental issue, not a physical one, and since the source of our problems are in our minds, so will be the solution.

Everything is created twice, first mentally and then physically. First comes belief and then comes action. However, if the belief isn’t nurtured, and more importantly, shaped in a very particular fashion, the actions won’t follow. There are two mental tricks that you need to master. These techniques require precision. Get the details wrong, and they will backfire and actually work against you.

The mind’s imagination can play two roles. One is a call to action, to change belief into reality. The other is fantasy, to allow us to gain satisfaction and enjoyment from afar by simply imagining what it would be like. The first helps with getting stuff done. The second replaces getting stuff done. We will need to use both in our efforts to lose weight.

The first method, the call to action, I’ve written about before in “The Motivational Wisdom of Lady Gaga versus The Secret.” To acquire the motivation to act, you mentally contrast where you are right now after first imagining where you want to be. Note the order of that, first you fantasize about being the ideal weight and then you reflect on the weight you are now. Here’s a walkthrough from my book The Procrastination Equation:

Mentally capture that feeling of vigor that will infuse your body and all the activities you’ll engage in with friends and family, once you’re in shape. As a parent, for example, it might be playing with your kids again. Now contrast that with where you are now. You are tired and rubbery, spending far too much time in front of the TV. Doesn’t feel good, does it? But it does make you want to do something about it.

So first you think about the positives and how virtuous you are going to feel from working out, how slender and enviable you are going to look by eating smaller portions and exercising more. Then you will contrast that feeling with the guilt and frustration you feel by doing nothing. Do just the positive fantasizing and often that’s all what you end up doing.

The second method is from a recent Science article by Morewedge, Huh, and Vosgerau, titled “Thought for food: Imagine consumption reduces actual consumption.” In a productive way, they exploit the fact that fantasy can take the place of action. Instead of having people fantasize about having lost weight, which would ultimately hurt their dieting efforts, they had them vividly imagine themselves eating a bowl of chocolate M&M’s, thirty of them to be precise. As per their title, imagining consuming a treat can take the place of the treat itself. Those who took the time to fantasize about a chocolate indulgence actually ate fewer M&M’s when a real bowl was presented to them. The trick here is to pay attention to the degree of fantasy. You didn’t get the effect when people imagined eating only three M&Ms; it wasn’t enough to satiate. You had to imagine all thirty of them.

So the next time you have a main course to order, imagine how great you will feel by choosing the healthy option. Then follow that up with reflecting on how lousy you will feel if you went with the high-fat status quo. And for dessert, imagine eating it, mouthful by mouthful, taking the time to visualize each bite. For a cheesecake or an ice cream parfait, that’s 15 to 20 loving spoonfuls. With the right degree of fantasy, you are on your way to be at the weight you always wanted for yourself.

Comments Off

The Deception Of Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin and Gary Vaynerchuk

January 9th, 2012

Posted under Change, General

Guest blog from Mitch Joel

Dubbed the “Rock Star of Digital Marketing” and “one of North America’s leading digital visionaries,” by Marketing Magazine, Mitch Joel is president of Twist Image, an award-winning digital marketing and communications agency. He is also a blogger, podcaster, passionate entrepreneur and speaker who connects with people worldwide by sharing his marketing insights on digital marketing and new media. Mitch has been named Canada’s “Most Influential Male in Social Media,” and was awarded the highly prestigious honour of being named to “Canada’s Top 40 Under 40.” Most recently, Mitch was named one of iMedia’s “25 Internet Marketing Leaders and Innovators in the World.” His column runs bi-monthly in both The Montreal Gazette and the Vancouver Sun and he also has a regular column, “Media Hacker,” in The Huffington Post. Mitch’s first book, Six Pixels of Separation, named after his successful blog and podcast, is a business and marketing bestseller.

It’s funny how Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk and others (including me) are often criticized because their work is mis-interpreted as, “in order to accomplish what these authors are saying, you have to give up everything and only focus on work,” or that these people’s success is directly linked to a lack of sleep, energy levels or ignoring family responsibilities. The core message around the discourse is that in order to be successful, you can’t be all that successful in other areas of life (family, friends, community, etc…).

That’s a lie. It’s a myth.

There is no doubt that there is always some level of sacrifice when you are committing to your 10,000 hours (as Gladwell defines it in Outliers), but trust me: it’s incredibly hard to be that successful or smart without sleep, taking breaks and connecting to your family and friends. But, that’s not the point of this Blog post. I’m willing to bet that the people who say things like, “It’s easy for Seth Godin to say that, he doesn’t have two screaming babies at home,” never take five additional seconds to think about what that sentence really means.

It’s not about Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin or Gary Vaynerchuk… it’s about you.

When you say things like this (be it in your mind, to a friend or in a Blog post), what you are really saying is: “This is my belief system and I’m not willing to change it.” Our habits, the stories we tell ourselves and our belief systems are not right or wrong – they simply are. They can be adapted and changed. The reason most New Year’s Resolutions fail is because the change is so dramatic that it causes too much internal struggle and friction. Things won’t change fast, but things can change dramatically if you just give it some time to both become a more natural habit and to develop slowly into your belief system.

How I lost 100 pounds in under one year (this is not an infomercial).

In the late eighties, I was extremely overweight, overworked and stressing out. After making some very difficult (but wise) decisions about my stress and work, came the even more difficult challenge of losing weight. Have you ever tried to lose weight? Quit smoking? Quit drinking? Anything that falls into those quadrants is difficult. I didn’t have an appetite for exercise and I didn’t have an appetite to give up on my appetite. After trying some diets and joining different gyms, nothing was really working/taking hold. I decided to slow down. After meeting with a dietician it became very clear what needed to happen: I needed to stop eating things like sugar, fried foods, white bread (and other starchy stuff), cheese (which I love) and other high-fat foods. I also needed to increase the amount of water, fruits and vegetables that I consumed. On top of that I needed to exercise. Even reading back to those past few sentences, it seems both overwhelming and daunting.

Here’s how it happened (and yes, I just made this system up to see what would happen):

I tried to stop eating sugar for one week. Once I did one week, I tried it for three more weeks. After a month, it was a habit. A part of my daily life.
The next month I did the exact same process for fried foods.
The month after that, I removed white bread, white rice and the high starch foods.
The month after that, I cut my intake of cheese in half (I love it too much to give up) and tried cheeses that were either lower in fat or had healthier ingredients.

It started working.

In between those first four months, I did my best to supplement my urges with drinking more water and by adding in a some fruits and vegetables here and there. I also didn’t beat myself up when I slipped… that’s a part of life. The process was so slow and so gradual that I didn’t even realize how much weight I was losing or how quickly my belief systems were adapting to this new way of living. I decided to start doing some light exercise as well. Simple things like: no more elevators (walking the stairs) and walking to a destination instead of driving every now and again. I also started riding a bike (something I used to enjoy immensely as a child).

The talent factor.

By the eleventh month, almost all of the bad weight was gone (close to 100 pounds). By then, my life had completely changed. I wanted to do more active things (running outdoors, biking, martial arts), I was meeting different people because of it and eating differently (which gave me newfound energy and passions). I began to imagine what else I could change, so I got that much more engrossed with bettering my mind and spirit (reading, writing, etc…). Then, I had a moment of depression. As great as I was at losing the weight, exercising and taking care of myself (I’m proud to say that, to this day, I have not put the weight back on – which is, actually, the real hard work in the process), I realized that it just wasn’t my thing. While I was good at losing weight and exercising, I wasn’t talented in sports or motivated enough to let it consume my day-to-day. Things slipped. Not a whole lot, but they slipped.

It’s all about talent.

When you’re talented at something, you don’t slip. Let me correct that: when you’re talented at something, even the slip-ups have a better result than if someone else did the exact same thing, only they were lacking the talent. Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk and others are very talented at what they do. It is their art form… and that’s the big secret. Hard word, high energy, dedication, consistency, focus and everything else won’t add up to anything if you don’t actually have a knack for what it is that you are doing. When you say things like, “I’m not willing to to sacrifice my life to be like Seth Godin,” what you’re failing to realize is that what you consider a “sacrifice,” Seth considers a “habit”… and one that he’s very comfortable with and talented at (and he knows it). Furthermore, when it’s something that’s highlighting your talent, it does come more naturally.

The recipe for success.

Sadly, there isn’t one. You have to work very hard to develop new habits daily, have an acute ability to identify what truly piques your interest (and act on it), dedicate yourself to working on that area and nurturing it and hope – with everything that you have – that it truly is something that you are talented in. Something that highlights your unique abilities. My realization that fitness and diet wasn’t a talent of mine didn’t make me quit, it just made me realize that I have to be vigilant with it and that I have to be accepting of my mediocrity. My current fitness goal is this: to get in a good 30-40 minute sweat as many days during the week at possible. My current diet goal is this: to eat as healthy as possible and make sure I’m not moving the notches on my belt in the wrong direction. That honesty fits with my current belief system (but I’m open to it changing).

Get started.

Be patient and really start out slowly to make the changes feel like they’re not changes at all. Slowly will also help you define if this is a talent of yours or something that needs to be readjusted. I bet you can find something to start with today: how about commit to watching one hour less of TV every week and spending that hour reading about the industry you serve? My guess is that within one to two months, you’ll be in love with the work that you do or you’ll be looking for a place that better defines your talent and passion.

Mitch Joel is President of Twist Image – an award-winning Digital Marketing and Communications agency. In 2008, Mitch was named Canada’s Most Influential Male in Social Media, one of the top 100 online marketers in the world, and was awarded the highly-prestigious Canada’s Top 40 Under 40. His first book, Six Pixels of Separation (published by Grand Central Publishing – Hachette Book Group), named after his successful Blog and Podcast is a business and marketing best-seller. You can find him here: www.twistimage.com/blog

Comments Off

How A Fifth Floor Culture Changed A Life – And A Company

September 28th, 2011

Posted under Change, Innovative Thinking, Leadership

Guest blog from Tommy Spaulding

As associate vice president of corporate relations for Ashford University, Margie Tlapa understands the value of relationships. She oversees a team of about 70 people who work with corporations around the country, helping their employees take online courses and attain degrees through Ashford. Building strong relationships with corporate clients has been key to the college’s tremendous growth (from 350 students to over 80,000 in just seven years).

But for Margie, the focus on real, transformative relationships begins from within. It begins with her team. It begins with building what I call a Fifth Floor culture. (more…)

No Comments »

Nine Trends in Innovation

September 23rd, 2011

Posted under Change, Innovative Thinking, Leadership

Richard Worzel

Guest blog from Richard Worzel

Let’s talk about what you should be trying to achieve with your innovation, the manner in which you should be focusing your innovation, rather than how to go about it. I’ve talked about how elsewhere, so let me outline the 9 trends in innovation that I see emerging – or re-emerging – today. (A more complete version of this article, with examples of each trend, can be found here) (more…)

No Comments »