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Letter From The Editor

Dear Friends,

We've all felt the results of mental stress. We get cranky, tired, and some even get physically ill. So if our minds have the power to "break" our worlds and bring us down, why don’t we choose to use the power of our minds to “make” our worlds bright?

Many people don’t understand that using our minds in a powerful way is a choice. And, those that do understand the power of positive thinking sometimes forget to make the choice to be powerful when life is going less than perfectly.

There’s that choice word—twice in fact—that I’m so fond of using! So, do you get the hint?

Each and every one of us makes a daily choice to create a life that we love or to complain about the life that we have. And creating does not require super-hero strength or magical skills. Creating is about your commitment to use your mind in such a powerful way that nothing can stop you from getting what you say you want, by-when you say you want it.

Providing the room for your mind to create an outrageous life is nothing more than making the choice to:

• Get committed to what you want
• Let go of the mental garbage that gets in the way of your commitments
• Ask for help when the circumstances of life get you down
• Be your word
• Create a plan and follow it

When you are committed to yourself, your goals, and your integrity (being your word), there isn’t much that can get in your way. Yes, life will continue to happen along the way; circumstances will still attempt to derail you. Ultimately, however, the effect those circumstances have on your life depends on how you use your power. It is your choice. So how are you going to use your power today?

Best Regards,

Clay S. Nelson

Mastering Meetings

Few of us have extra time to sit through a meeting that wanders aimlessly without any clear direction, and yet we’ve all participated in meetings that turned out to be a complete waste of everyone’s time. On the flip side, we’ve all participated in meetings that were well directed, efficient, and clearly left all involved knowing what was next and what part they played in it.

So when planning a meeting, what is the secret to running an effective and interesting meeting?

1. When preparing for your meeting, determine what it is you want those in the meeting to get from the meeting by the time it ends. This one tip is the framework for how you communicate both prior to and during your meeting. Without it, you can be left with a room full of people scratching their heads and with no direction or clear understanding of what it is they are to do with the information they have been given.
2. Create and then distribute an agenda to all meeting participants a day prior to the meeting. Having an agenda will keep you, as the leader of the meeting, on track and provide you with a written plan regarding what you need to cover during the scheduled meeting time. In addition, an agenda provides participants with the opportunity to consider what they can bring to the table, as well as their knowing what is expected in terms of their participation.
3. Avoid allowing any one person to “take over the meeting”. We all know talkers who are capable of taking a room full of people in another direction despite the intention of the meeting. Don’t let that happen. When someone begins speaking about a topic that is not relevant to the meeting’s agenda, the leader needs to take the meeting back to the specified agenda by saying, “I hear what you are saying, and it is not something that we can address inside of the time we have right now. After the meeting, please see me so we can schedule time to address your comments.”
4. Before ending the meeting, make sure that your team is clear about what has been communicated and what is expected of them. If assignments have been given, confirm with each person what their assignment is and their commitment to by-when it will be complete. Without such accountabilities put into place, the time spent in a meeting is wasted time and none of us has any time to waste!

What It Looks Like to Be Unstoppable

We talk a lot about being unstoppable, but what is it really like to be unstoppable? Some people think it’s about having an attitude—like being bossy, pushy or arrogant. Others think it’s all about knowing how to do everything.

Actually, being unstoppable is not about knowledge or having an attitude—it’s all about who you are being in the face of your circumstances. Being unstoppable is the difference between letting your circumstances dictate how your life goes and you creating your own circumstances! So, what does being unstoppable look like?

• In grade school, unstoppable looks like this: Being Creative!
  
  Ten-year old Julie had a best friend, Peg, in her 4th grade class. They were both excellent students, and frankly, tended to finish their assignments way ahead of time and then be bored. This led to their whispering to each other in class. Their teacher told them not to talk to each other in class because it was disruptive to the other students who hadn’t yet finished their work.
  
  Unstoppable Julie and Peg took on learning the American Sign Language alphabet that many people with hearing disabilities use to communicate. This was quite a task for 10 year olds, but they studied and practiced, so they could “talk” to each other in class without disturbing the other students.
  
  When parent-teacher conference time rolled around, Julie and Peg’s teacher confessed to each of their parents that she was at a loss as to how to handle the situation. On the one hand, she felt the girls had disobeyed her request to not talk to each other in class, but on the other hand, they weren’t disturbing the other students, AND she was so impressed with, and proud of the girls, for learning a difficult and unusual language, that she hesitated to discipline them for it!
• As a parent, unstoppable looks like this: Getting What You Need
  
  Tammy’s baby boy, Jimmy, was a joy . . . a happy 6 month old who’d never had a sick day in his life. At his 6 month “well-baby” check-up, the pediatrician looked into Jimmy’s ears, whistled, and said to Tammy, ”Why didn’t you bring him in sooner?” “What for?” puzzled Tammy asked. “He just turned 6 months old.” “Because”, said the pediatrician, “he has two raging ear infections!”
  
  Tammy learned that day that her baby was unusual in that he could have two seriously infected ears and yet have no fever, be eating and sleeping normally, and be in good spirits. As her son grew, Tammy learned to listen to Jimmy’s toddler’s voice for a clue as to whether his ears were clear or infected. If his baby voice sounded “stuffy” or husky, he most likely had another ear infection.
  
  As every parent knows, getting an appointment with a pediatrician requires making it through the front desk phone screening process. The “gate-keepers” are trained to decide who needs to see the doctor and when. When Jimmy’s voice would change, Tammy would call for an appointment, only to be met with a list of qualifying questions. Because Tammy’s baby ran no fever, showed no change in disposition, sleeping or eating habits, Tammy was routinely told on the phone that Jimmy didn’t need to see the doctor. Once, Jimmy ended up in the emergency room a few days later, screaming in pain because his eardrum had burst.
  
  One day, Tammy took on being Unstoppable in the matter of her son’s health. When she called for an appointment, she politely, but firmly, told the receptionist that her son never runs fever with ear infections and that the first infection was discovered at a “well-baby” visit. The receptionist would not budge because Jimmy did not fit the “profile” of a baby with an ear infection. “Ok, then”, said Tammy. “I am bringing Jimmy to your office at 4:00 today and I am going to sit in your waiting room until I get to see his doctor, and I don’t care how long it takes.”
  
  Tammy got to see Jimmy’s doctor that day, who treated Jimmy’s ear infection. She also requested that the doctor put a note on her baby’s chart that he is to be seen on request for ear infections and is not to be refused because of the inapplicability of the screening process questions. From then on, Jimmy got care when he needed it.
• As a leader, unstoppable looks like this: Pushing Through Your Circumstances and ignoring Criticism
  
  Successful leaders are unstoppable in the face of difficult circumstances or criticism—even from those who “should know” what they are talking about. Leaders don’t let others bash their dreams. Here are some examples:
  
  • Cosmetic tycoon, the late Mary Kay Ash, was told weeks before she started her business by her attorney to liquidate immediately or she would become penniless.
  • Recording artist Diana Ross was told her voice wasn’t “anything special” by a teacher who rejected her for a part in a high school musical.
  • A New York publisher told author James Michener he should give up writing and stay with editing and that his first book “wasn’t really that good.” Michener won a Pulitzer Prize for that first book, Tales of the South Pacific.
    
    -from Unstoppable by Cynthia Kersey

Take a look at your life. Look around! There are opportunities to be unstoppable everywhere. Take them on and see what happens! Let us know what being unstoppable looks like in your life!

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August 2009

In This Issue:

Letter From The Editor

Mastering Meetings

What It Looks Like to Be Unstoppable

Audio CD Sets

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