by Helena Escalante | Goals, Mindset, Resolutions, Tools, Willpower
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 34 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Debunking Myths about New Year’s Resolutions
–From Careful: A User’s Guide to Our Injury-Prone Minds by Steve Casner
January is almost over… How are your New Year’s resolutions or goals coming along?
In his book Careful, author Steve Casner mentions John Norcross, a prominent psychologist at the University of Scranton, who conducted a study on New Year’s Resolutions. Norcross found the following: “Almost 30% of these commitments get dropped in the first week of the year. By the end of January 45% had fallen off the wagon. After 6 months, 60% had thrown in the towel, and after 2 years only 19% remained strong.”
And you’re probably wondering (I know I am!), What do we need to do to be among the 19% that remains successful after 2 years?
Casner will walk us through Norcross findings to understand what works. But before that happens, it’s important to explain what doesn’t work in order to debunk some myths and misconceptions.
Success is simply a matter of commitment. Not true. “Norcross points out that while readiness and commitment to change are an important first step, they alone are not enough to achieve long-term success for the kinds of things that typically appear in our New Year’s resolutions.”
Success is all about willpower. Not true.“[People] know about the highly disciplined types who can just utter a phrase like ‘From now on I will be more fit,” and then have six-pack abs until the day they die. And they get discouraged if they don’t feel they have that kind of willpower.”
In the study, participants who were among the 19% who kept their resolutions past the two-year mark, reported using a bit of willpower, but just at the beginning. “Once people made it past the first few months, they didn’t report willpower being a significant factor in their success.”
Wishful thinking. In here, Casner refers to deluding one’s self with wishful thinking that gets in the way of action. This, Norcross found out, “was an indicator that someone would soon be falling off the wagon.”
The opposite as well was true. Norcross found out that “negative thoughts, such as self-blame, were also hallmarks of those doomed to be among the 81%.”
So, what worked for the 19% who were successful? Stay tuned for the next post as we will see in detail what are the things that matter to the success of staying put through our resolutions and goals and making them happen.
What has worked for you so far and what hasn’t? Let me know in the comments here, please. I’d love to know!
ACTION
TODAY: Think about your New Year’s resolutions for this year. Where are you at with them? What has worked and what hasn’t? If you are in the 45% who have dropped their resolutions about now (end of January) don’t despair, you can still pick them up and make them happen.
FUTURE: As you are about to drop a resolution, think whether you are engaging in the myths or misconceptions mentioned above. It may be that you are… Commit to giving yourself a fair chance to make your resolutions happen by picking them up again. Don’t give up on you!
Know someone who would like to pick up his/her New Year’s resolutions? Please share this post with them via email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Celebration, Collaboration, Creativity, Goals, Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Tools, Wellbeing
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 48 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Leading is a Posture
— From Show Up Hard: A Road Map for Helpers in Crisis by Shannon Weber, MSW
I have enormous respect and admiration for Shannon Weber, author of the newly released book Show Up Hard. I am also immensely lucky to call her my friend.
She is one of 14 children and all her work and life can be described with one word: love. As an incredibly accomplished social worker (among other things and accolades, she used to run the crisis hotline in Houston, staffed by volunteers, and receiving 65,000 calls/year), she knows how important the role of love becomes in all our interactions, not just in times of crisis.
And in her book she also has a beautiful view on leading as a posture, which I’m excited to share with you today:
“Challenging times crave change,” says Shannon. Thus, she suggests we view ourselves as agents of change: “you are well equipped to reimagine yourself in a new role and create the lasting impact you seek to make. Switch from thinking about the job at hand to the role you can play. What if your job is not to be right or knowledgeable; what if your role is to create change?”
Then she goes on to say:
Leading is a posture of being in the world, a role we assume.
If you [i] have the potential to guide someone to a better place, or [ii] possess the ability to shine a light on a path ahead, or [iii] consider yourself a steward of the well-being of even one person—then you are a leader.
You are a steward of creating change. Leaders commit to the emotional labor of showing up to support change. Leaders commit to the long haul of seeing the process of change through.
Leading is both a privilege and a responsibility. Leading is also the responsibility of those with privilege.
A leader is not: a job title, a certain set of skills, a business card, an assignment, or an invitation from someone high up.
The posture of leadership can be adopted by anyone with the guts to believe that change is possible and with the courage to show up.
[…] We do our work of showing up for others within existing structures, institutions, and cultures. Even values-driven organizations can create unhealthy work environments…
Leading is often the work of the everyday and the mundane. Leaders are the people who give the very best part of themselves without expectation. Imagining oneself as a hero is easy: Fly in and save the day. Showing up when no one is watching, when the stakes are less high, when the task at hand is not as attractive—this is the work of creating change. Showing up is what it takes to lead, to be stewards.
Leaders choose to Show Up Hard. Leaders choose to go first.
And Shannon is a leader herself who has decide to change the world, starting right where she is, one love note at a time. She is the founder of LoveYou2.org where she has started a movement to spread love around the world. Here’s a mini-documentary about her project (2:43 min long) and her TEDx Talk where she talks about how it started and the enormous impact it has had. Also, Seth Godin, renowned author and marketing guru, mentioned another one of Shannon’s projects—giving capes to unsung heroes—in his blog asking, “What kind of impact does one act of kindness make? It can last for years.”
There will definitely be more posts about this book, so stay tuned! In the meantime, please let me know in the comments, how has your vision of leadership changed with this post? Do you see yourself as a leader now? You certainly are one! Are you ready to Show Up Hard? I’m cheering for you. 🙂 And in case you need some reminders, here are some beautiful ones that you can print from Shannon’s site.
“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” – Lao Tzu
ACTION
TODAY: Reimagine yourself in the role of an agent of change. What lasting impact are you seeking to make? Then commit to showing up hard.
FUTURE: Remind yourself that leading is a posture and that having a lasting impact is a daily job. You have to work consistently on the change you seek to make: you have to show up hard both when others are watching and when they are not—especially when no one is watching.
Know someone who would like this post? Please share this post with them via email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Collaboration, Creativity, Goals, Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Planning, Productivity
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 33 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: 7 Principles of Leadership
— From No Excuses!: The Power of Self-Discipline: 21 Ways to Achieve Happiness and Success by Brian Tracy
Leadership and business guru, Brian Tracy, refers to 3,300 studies of leaders done by James MacPherson where the latter states that the first quality of leadership is vision.
“You become a leader when you accept responsibility for results,” says Tracy. “You become a leader when you begin to think, act and talk like a leader. You become a leader when you develop a vision for yourself and for your company, your life, or your area of responsibility […] and then share this vision with others and gain others’ commitment to make this vision a reality.”
And while there are hundreds of books written about leadership and vision, Tracy boils them down to one single word: success in the leader’s field. For instance, “a military leader has a vision of victory, from which he never deviates. A business leader has a vision of success for the business based on excellent performance, to which he or she is completely committed.”
But that’s not all. The author also points to the fact that in addition to a clear vision, “the leader must have a set of values and organizing principles that guide behavior and decision making.” Thus, he shares the following seven principles of leadership as a starting point:
1. Clarity: “This is perhaps your most important responsibility. You must be absolutely clear about who you are and what you stand for. You must be absolutely clear about your vision and where you want to lead your people.”
2. Competence: “You must set a standard of excellent performance for the organization [or project] as well as for every person and function [involved].”
3. Commitment: “The leader is absolutely committed to the success of the organization… This passionate commitment to the organization–—and to success and achievement—motivates and inspires people to do their best work and put their whole heart into [whatever they’re doing].
4. Constraints: “The job of the leader is to identify the constraints or limiting factors that set the speed at which the [organization achieves its goals]. The leader then allocates people and resources to alleviate those constraints and remove obstacles.”
And I would add to this one that leaders not just alleviate constraints, but help the team work creatively within the constraints to come out ahead. When how can we get rid of this constraint?, is no longer working or simply not feasible, the leader changes the mindset to how can we achieve our goal within or despite this constraint?
This reminds me of a quote by George Bernard Shaw that I love:
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world, while the unreasonable man persists in adapting the world to himself….therefore all progress belongs to the unreasonable man”.
5. Creativity: “The leader is open to new ideas of all kinds and from all sources.”
6. Continuous learning: “The leader is personally committed to reading, listening, and upgrading his or hers personal knowledge and skills… and encourages everyone in the organization to learn and grow as a normal and natural part of business life.” Hint: I know of a blog that can help you with that… 😉
7. Consistency: “The leader has the self-discipline to be consistent, dependable, reliable, calm, and predictable in all situations. One of the great comforts of business life is… to know that the leader is completely consistent and reliable… calm, positive, and confident—especially under pressure.”
As you can see, these seven principles of leadership are rather simple, yet not easy. While they are obvious and should be a given in leaders, they aren’t always! Have you ever met someone who embodied these seven principles in their leadership? Let me know in the comments here, I’d love to know.
ACTION
TODAY: Create your list of values and principles, the ones that you hold dear, live for, and fully believe in. What are they? Pour your heart into it.
FUTURE: Share your list with the people that surround you so that they can be aware of your principles. Ask them to do the same. You’ll have the most wonderful conversations about this and will get to know each other so well!
Know someone who would like to read these seven values of leadership? Please share this post with them via email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity, Tools, Wellbeing
A reminder that EntreGurus is turning 1 tomorrow!! We’re having a virtual party and you’re all invited: click this link to join me on Saturday, January 19 from 1 – 3 PM Eastern Time (time converter). Stay the whole time or come and go as you wish, we’ll have fun chatting, I’ll answer any questions you have about EntreGurus or my experience blogging, and I’d love to see those of you that I know and get to know those of you who have recently joined the Gurupie community. Looking forward to tomorrow!!
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 47 seconds
TODAY’S IDEA: Let’s banish the word JUST 
— From This Is Day One: A Practical Guide to Leadership That Matters by Drew Dudley
I have come to love the ideas from This is Day ONE by Drew Dudley. They truly resonate with me and with my personal philosophy that we all have wonderful gifts—superpowers, if you may—that make us special and that make a difference in the lives of others.
And today’s idea is no exception. It’s about banishing the word JUST from our vocabulary when it’s used by us or others to diminish what we do. The author explains it beautifully, so I’ll leave a brief excerpt here for you:
…[W]hen we evaluate ourselves and what we do [we] add qualifiers and limiting words. “Just” is one of the most prevalent and restrictive of them.
Our lives and organizations are filled with “I’m just a…” people. “I’m just a receptionist”; “I’m just a salesperson”; “I’m just middle management”; “I’m just a stay at home mom”; “I’m just part-time”; “I’m just a student.” It’s likely that each one of us has said something similar about ourselves or, at the very least, about something we were attempting to do: “I’m just trying to get to the end of this project”; “We just have to figure out a way to deal with this.”
Every time we use the word “just” to describe who we are or what we’re doing, we’re telling people that we are unimportant. Every time we say we’re “just” something, we’re giving people permission to expect less from us.
Our lives and workplaces are filled with extraordinary people who regularly diminish themselves in this way and in the process, may convince themselves that it’s true. As such, I believe that one of the simplest but most powerful things we can do to enhance our leadership is to refuse to allow people who we know are people of value to diminish themselves in front of us.
[…] Our lives and workplaces are filled with too many people who think like that. Who have convinced themselves that they have no right to think of themselves as leaders because of what job they’ve ended up doing, or where in the corporate hierarchy they appear to have peaked.
[…] A commitment to banishing the word “just” from our vocabulary and our workplaces can have a profound impact.
Beautiful and true, isn’t it? Let’s ban the word just from our vocabulary when it’s used against elevating or enlightening purposes. We’ll all be better for it!
ACTION
TODAY: It’s so common to use the word “just” in our language—or to hear it from others—that we may have a hard time noticing. Be intentional about becoming aware to catch yourself or others using it.
FUTURE: Be on the lookout for the time(s) when you find yourself using “just” or when you hear others use it. Let others know how important their role or their work is, and how much you appreciate what they do! You’ll make their day. If it’s you who uses the word “just,” be gentle and remind yourself that what you do is important. Bring to mind a couple of examples when people have told you that your work matters. You’ll feel better and it will be easier to start banishing “just” from your vocabulary.
Know someone who would like to banish the word just from their vocabulary? Please share this post with them via email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Goals, Growth, Habits, Mindset, Planning, Productivity, Resolutions, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 55 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Today is National Ditch Your Resolutions Day
— From The Perfect Day Formula: How to Own the Day And Control Your Life by Craig Ballantyne
Whaaaaaaaaaaaat???????!!!!!!
Not happy with Quitters’ Day someone decided to have a National Ditch Your Resolutions Day… Really?????!!!!!
Yep. And that day is today, January 17, “popularly thought to be the day when a large number of people abandon their New Year’s resolutions.” (Source.)
According to the stats cited in this Inc. Magazine article, 91% of people fail to keep their resolutions. However, that is not appalling, given that resolutions—in my opinion—are just like wishes: very nice to have but not necessary.
If you want to be successful, the resolutions and wishes have to be substituted by goals and habits.
And a great author and role model for this is Craig Ballantyne. In his book The Perfect Day Formula, he sets out a 7-step plan to create Habits of Steel:
1. Figure out what matters… and focus on it. “Success requires us to do the first things first. Choose your time wisely. Figure out what really matters to you and then use the rest of the steps to build habits that allow you to focus your time on it.”
2. Identify steps to success and rules for your life. “No one will ever be perfect at keeping to their rules, but you will be better for trying, and you will have stronger habits that allow you to avoid the disappointment, guilt, and regret of wasted days.”
3. Create a checklist for new habits. “Connecting a positive action… with a daily trigger… is a great way to create new habits. Each habit needs to be broken down into action items for you to get started.”
4. Prepare the night before. “Winning habits begin with proper planning. Prepare your checklist. Lay out an easy-to-follow pathway for success. Set out any tools you will need to do for the first things first.”
5. Remove all obstacles. “ Removing obstacles, temptations, and bad habits is one of the most important changes you can make in life. Eliminating the negatives is often more important for success than relying on willpower for the creation of new habits.”
6. Take massive action. “We can control what time we wake up, what habits we start the day with, what temptations enter—and are eliminated—from our lives, and what systems we have in place for dealing with all of these. We can believe in ourselves or we can have doubt. It’s our choice.”
7. Learn and improve. “Few days will be easy. Most days will require you to fight tooth-and-nail to stick to your habits and achieve your goals. On those days, take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes and struggles. They will make you stronger.”
Oh, and one last thing: Ballantyne says that a little incentive never hurts. “Give yourself a prize for taking action and following through. We repeat what we reward. It can be as simple as enjoying the beauty of a sunrise as you meditate.”
So, are you ready to celebrate National Ditch Your Resolutions Day by ditching your resolutions and turning them into habits? Imagine what your life will be like a year from now if you turned your resolutions or wishes into ingrained habits.
I’m cheering for you!
ACTION
TODAY: What resolutions would you like to turn into habits? Be very specific and then apply Ballantyne’s seven-step plan. For more on how to succeed at this, here’s a post I wrote last year: New Year’s Resolutions vs. SMART Goals.
FUTURE: Next year, don’t set resolutions. Instead, set goals that you can turn into habits.
Know someone who would like to ditch their resolutions for goals and habits instead? Please share this post with them via email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Celebration, Collaboration, Creativity, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 9 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Go Behind the Scenes
— From REWORK: Change the way you work forever by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Imagine that someone wanted to do a reality show about your business. What would you show them? What would you like them to share on screen? Or if someone brought in a bunch of school kids into your business for a tour, what would you say and what aspects would you highlight for them?
Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, authors of the wonderful book Rework, suggest giving people a backstage pass to show them how your business works.
“Think no one will care? Think again. Even seemingly boring jobs can be fascinating when presented right. What could be more boring than commercial fishing and trucking? Yet the Discovery Channel and History Channel have turned these professions into highly rated shows: Deadliest Catch and Ice Road Truckers.
It doesn’t have to be a dangerous job either. People love finding out the little secrets of all kinds of businesses, even one that makes those tiny marshmallows in breakfast cereals. That’s why the Food Network’s Unwrapped—which explores the secrets behind lunch box treats, soda pop, movie candy, and more—is such a popular program.”
People are naturally curious about how things are made. I know I’ve always enjoyed getting the opportunity to talk to people about their work, and when possible, I’ve taken the opportunity to take a tour of their workplaces, factories, offices, and more!
The beauty of letting people take a peek behind the scenes of your business is that “it changes your relationship with them,” the authors say. “They’ll feel a bond with you and see you as human beings instead of a faceless company. They’ll see the sweat and effort that goes into what you sell. They’ll develop a deeper level of understanding and appreciation for what you do.”
So, if at all possible, let people come into your backstage and let them see what you do. You’d be surprised about how much fun they have and how you’ll see your business in a whole new light after that!
And on that topic, I’m holding an online party in the form of an Ask-Me-Anything session as a way to—virtually—open up EntreGurus to all the readers in celebration of its one-year anniversary. Woohoo!! Yes, it’s incredible how fast this first year has gone by, and I’m so grateful for you joining me on this journey and allowing me to share 365 ideas with you. 🙂
Please save the date for the virtual party: Saturday, January 19, 2019, from 1-3 pm (U.S. Eastern Time – here’s a handy time converter). I’ll be delighted to see those of you that I know and also to meet those of you that I don’t know yet, I’m always excited to make new friends! Stay for the whole time or come and go as you please within that time frame, here’s the link to join the party. Simply click on it and let the Internet work its magic to connect us.
And, if you can’t join us, but would like to send a Happy Anniversary message, here’s a corkboard where you can leave a sticky note. Would love to hear from you!
ACTION
TODAY: What creative way can you find to open up your business to your clients? From writing a blog post or creating a slide show or a video, to having an open house, your imagination is the limit. How can you engage your readers?
FUTURE: Set up times throughout the year when people can go behind the scenes for virtual or real tours. Your clients and other curious folks will be grateful for sharing with them your knowledge and expertise. In turn, you will forge a stronger bond with them that will result in loyalty and recommendations.
Know someone who would like this post? Please share it via email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, thank you!
