Motivation on the Run

 

 Flash Video [3:58m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Each new year brings new goals and new opportunities, with 2008 no different. 2007, the year of the mind map, was very successful for me personally, adding to my arsenal of productivity tools. 2008 is my year of the Wiki. and I’m looking forward to another success story.

Learning about and using wikis as an information source is very appealing to me. We all have knowledge in our heads, which is of little use to others unless they can access the information easily. Wikipedia is the classic example of accessible knowledge. It is driven by thousands of people (or more), each contributing from their own experience.

My initial goal is to build a personal wiki containing all my knowledge, which should take a day or two, then next week (several months in reality), begin a shared wiki related to Motivation on the Run. The wiki will pertain to motivation, but I will entertain suggestions about the details.

My first step in learning about a new product is setting up searches and subscribing to the RSS feeds for those searches. This video shows the process for those who haven’t ventured into that territory. This is my first attempt at video capture and will need to sharpen my technical skills a bit.

I’m using the free tool, Camtasia Studio 3 for the capture and am very pleased with the power of this application. I will add it to my software learning goals for 2008, getting more proficient with this utility. It requires a few steps to attain the free version 3, but a quick Internet search will turn up the details.

2007 was the year of the mind map and my year to learn about mind mapping. Every major software company released new and improved versions, and no less than five web-based applications were introduced.

Software Mind Mapping

The year began slowly, as I explored the available software. The first software application I discovered was FreeMind. This open-source product was a good place to start, but its weaknesses left me wanting more. Next was ConceptDraw’s MindMap 4, which was a big improvement over the no-cost FreeMind. Then I installed MindJet’s MindManager 6 and things were looking brighter. Of course, it wasn’t long before the new, updated versions were released.

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 Respect [15:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is the fifth cast in the new series, Live the Dream, titled Respect. Respect is a topic that stirs up different emotions in different people. Is it given or is there a requirement to earn it? How does it fit into Live the Dream and our discussion last time on Reputation?

All good questions that I talk about on this episode of Motivation on the Run.

All that and an audio comment from Anna Farmery of The Engaging Brand. She doesn’t know it (until now), but her comment introduces this week’s topic better than what I wrote, so I scrapped mine and let Anna do it.

Let me know what you think in the comment section or send in your audio comment like Anna did. That lets me include them in the show.

This is the last show for 2007, so as you celebrate this season let me wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, and a wonderful, profitable New Year. I’ll see you in 2008.

Music By

John Korbel
David Henderson

For those of you thinking it … yes, I thought about using Aretha Franklin’s RESPECT as part of the bumper music, but did not. The last thing I want to do is get in trouble with the Gestapo RIAA. It’s okay if you hear the song in your head while the intro is playing, though.

The personal mission statement should be easy to remember, easy to recite, and easy to measure.

Followers of this site know I wrote about the search for a life personal mission statement in a 4-part series (there was a 1.5 article too) beginning here in September 2006. I never finished the series because I never felt I had a good handle on the whole mission statement thing.

I realize that sounds strange, but the suggestions from the resources I used left me feeling high and dry. I would put together a statement using the tools I found and read them without proper emotion. I couldn’t get attached to anything I wrote. I probably should have written a closing post at the time containing that information, but didn’t. My bad!

The personal mission statement should be easy to remember, easy to recite, and easy to measure. I think Corporate Missions Statements should also meet that criteria, but most I’ve read don’t. The last CMS I saw hanging on a wall was a challenge to read with no possibility of easy recitation. It was about four paragraphs long, filled with general platitudes. “We will be the best … do the most … scream the loudest …” I bet no employee or manager could recite the CMS without referring to the poster on the wall.

A year later, I feel I have grasped the concept and have developed my Personal Mission Statement is. Are you ready?

Having fun, serving people!

A mission statement I can remember, say to myself when needed, and capturing what is truly essential in a PMS. Goals, short, mid, and long range can fit inside this statement, setting the mood for not only today, but the rest of life.

Having fun, serving people!

It’s a PMS that changes meanings with a change in punctuation. With the comma, it contains two complimenting statements, and without the comma, a statement of life.

Having fun, serving people!

Having fun serving people!

Two personal mission statements in one. That speaks to me in a lot of ways. I GET IT! It guides actions and thoughts, attitude and service, myself and others.

Having fun

Having fun doesn’t mean laughing at everything that passes my way. No rather, quoting King Soloman in Ecclesiastes 3:22

And I have seen that nothing is better than that a man should be happy in his activities, for this is his reward …

Life is too short to hate what you must do every day, whether it’s your job or your boss. This has limitations, but with wisdom, I believe the concept is true. Notice also, it doesn’t offer any guarantees, but simply states that “nothing is better” for a man. We can continue to trudge along in misery, or choose to have the attitude of happiness.

This may not mean quitting a job, simply changing an attitude. Choosing to be happy results in happiness, as we’ve all witnessed. The opposite is also true … choosing to be whiney and miserable, also allows you to succeed.

I think it was Henry Ford that said, “whether you believe you can or believe you can’t, you are right.” Our mental attitude can be a strong motivator or a strong de-motivator. It’s our choice to make.

Serving people!

Serving people is my main purpose, behind serving God. When I can help someone, it allows for the first part of the PMS to be true. When I am actively doing something for people, I am having fun … it’s just that simple.

This covers my wife, friends, customers, bosses, co-workers, etc. There is no limit to who I should serve, each in their own way. Think about it. It takes everyone into account.

The opposite is also true. When I am selfish and concerned only with myself, I am not happy. I see others struggle with this same problem, focusing so much on self, thinking it will bring happiness, and of course, it doesn’t.

Having fun, serving people!

Having fun serving people!

What do you think?

Troy Worman’s latest list of Outstanding Bloggers will keep you reading for quite some time. I have discovered many gems I wasn’t aware of before, so if you are looking for intelligent, informative writing, you’ve come to the right place.

I don’t know how or how long it took Troy to make this list, but a lot of work went into the effort. Thanks Troy for the hard work … so we don’t have to.

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I toyed with the idea of doing another cast on Reputation, addressing what to do if your reputation was damaged. It appears it won’t be necessary. Linda Bustos of GetElastic wrote that exact article, guest writing at InvespBlog.

Her article titled, Common Reputation Management Issues and How to Address Them, covers the material in depth. She discusses online tracking, online rebutals, and other methods to manage your reputation.

Reading Linda’s article makes me to believe we are on the same page with the management issue. If you remember from the podcast, I said you can’t manage your reputation because of its definition. Your reputation is what someone else thinks about you, which can be out of your control. What you can do is influence your reputation by offering a positive choice, which is exactly what Linda advises.

 

 Reputation [14:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This week’s topic is Reputation. How important is your reputation? Can you manage it, or just be aware of it? Do you realize you don’t have full control over your reputation, because it’s what others think of you? Building a positive reputation can be done, but takes thought and discipline.

How do you repair a damaged reputation? That will be a topic for another day, but my main advice for this week is, “be a person of your word.”

This is the fourth cast in our new series, Live the Dream, which is a year of introspection. Who are we, and how can we make ourselves better? Are you taking the journey with us? The motivation is to be the new and improved person we dream of.

This series is harder to put together, and it’s harder to look inside to see the truth about some of these problems. It’s a learning experience for me, and I hope one for you, also.

Music By

John Korbel
David Henderson

Over the long holiday weekend, I was tagged by Pet from PetsGardenBlog The tag is for a meme requiring me to reveal eight random things about myself, which I gladly did for Pet. Here’s is the link to the meme.

 

 Motion! [17:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Are you looking to take your life to the next level? Are you willing to dedicate yourself? If so, this series is absolutely for you. In the past, I’ve talked about planning, setting and achieving goals, but what about the here and now? What about our lives today? Shouldn’t we enjoy the life we have and the people around us? Absolutely!

We can work hard to achieve our long-term goals and miss out on the more important goal of living our lives. Our course of personal development should consider work, family, play, and spiritual aspects of our life to currently “Live the Dream.”

This week I discuss the importance of Motion in our series on “Live the Dream.” If not obvious, it is a critical component of the process. We are either in Motion or Hung on High Center.

Music By

John Korbel
David Henderson

 

 Excellence! [10:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Our new journey to “Live the Dream” starts this week with a discussion on Excellence! Do you have a goal to achieve excellence in your life? It’s a worthy goal, but a difficult trip. Are you ready to come along?

Music By

David Henderson
John Korbel