What you can learn from a dog - The Blondie Rule #1

The other day I was taking my dogs out for their last potty break before going to bed. It was a miserable evening as the rain was really coming down hard. I put on my rain coat, and started the “leashing up process”. As I was getting Charlie, my black lab ready to go, my 16-year old terrier mix mutt Blondie decided she wasn’t going to wait.

She walked through the screen in the door (Now, how did THAT get there?) and proceeded to the top of the porch step just under cover. It was at that point she decided to do her duty, turn around and come back in. I guess a 16-year old dog has more wisdom than her 42-year old human owner. She wasn’t about to get wet, while Charlie and I got drenched.

So, what can we learn from Blondie? It didn’t take much analysis to determine that going down the stairs into the rain just to get her “job” done wasn't necessary. She made a “command” decision and solved the problem at the least expense and effort, and still got the job done.

How many times do we fall victim of “analysis paralysis”? Sometimes, we may take an inordinate amount of time to make a decision that was staring us in the face all the time. Instead of using our wisdom and acting, we waste time, energy, and money in over-analyzing. Sometimes, we lose an opportunity because of it! If you’re like me, you have been guilty of this.

I’ve learned that my old dog can teach me new tricks. This was a good example. Granted, I will continue to use the acceptable human way to go to the bathroom; Blondie’s method of decision-making was not lost on me!

Dan

P.S. Are you procrastinating on your professional development? You have several opportunities to improve your presentation skills through boot camps and other resources that I offer. Go to my online store to learn more…

Go for the Goal

I just started reading a book by Patrick Snow titled, “Creating Your Own Destiny”. The first section is on goal setting. If you’re like me, you know goal setting is important and that writing down your goals is critical to success. I still have a hard time doing this, so I’m hoping Patrick’s book will finally kick me into gear.

Do you set goals? If so, are you writing them down? We’ve all got goals for our business and personal lives, but my guess is most of us don’t take the extra step to write down and constantly review our goals. I can speak for myself and say I’m deficient in that area. How about you? Maybe you can take the same challenge I gave myself to write down and constantly review your goals. We will re-visit how I’m doing in future blogs.

Remember what the great Jedi Master Yoda said, “Do or Do Not Do; There is No Try”. Let’s go for the “Do”.

Dan

P.S. If you’d like to learn more about Patrick Snow’s book “Creating Your Own Destiny”, go to his web site by clicking here…

What's in a Book

Many of you Toastmasters may be familiar with the name Craig Valentine. Craig is the 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking. I recently completed a home-study course he has on storytelling and heard an interesting fact. Craig read that most Americans never read another non-fiction book after high school. I forgot the actual percentage but that is a mind-boggling statistic.

Where do you fall into that category? Until a few years ago, I have to admit I rarely read anything other than a non-fiction book, unless it had to do with sports. Actually, sports are what got me into reading self-development books again. When I became a high school coach, reading books by great coaches like John Wooden and Mike Krzyzewski became a necessity. Now that coaching sports is in my past (for now), I’ve taken that same stance on improving my skills as a speaker and consultant. In the past year, I’ve read or listened to Alan Weiss, Darren LaCroix, Craig Valentine, and Seth Godin. Each of them has brought great value to my development as a speaker and consultant.

How about you? If you’re not learning from your industry leaders, how can you improve your career? Take the same challenge I gave myself and read or listen to at least one book per month that will improve your career or personal life. By learning something new every month, you will find your life has been enriched with new ideas, improved skills, and probably more money!

Dan

P.S. Let me help you get started. Darren LaCroix and Rick Segal have a fabulous book called Laugh & Get Rich. You will learn how to bring humor into your work environment, business relationships, and marketing. You will even have fun reading it. To purchase or learn more simply click here.