I have heard it said that change before you need to.  Put another way, change is constant and those who learn to work with change are the ones who will create the future they have always wanted. When you put yourself in a mental framework to change, you are psychologically prepared to take on any change that life throws at you. The wind of change is blowing all around us and change will continue to accelerate. We all encounter change in the work place, change in the family, change in the business landscape, change in the economic environment and political arena. There are changes all around us. Those who understand that change is not going to slow down any time soon, are able to anticipate change and reposition themselves to embrace the change poised to achieve their dreams and succeed in life. 
The tracks of history should inform our future and not be a stumbling block or stagnate your progress. I have often heard some people say this is the way we have always done things and this is the way it will always be. Others have said you cannot teach old dog new tricks. The danger with embracing such a philosophy is that it paralyzes your ability to see and do things differently but more importantly taints and clouds your ability to see the new horizon and possibilities lurking around. 
The train for your future success is disguised as challenges and comes along your way every single day begging you to get on board, be left behind or run over. Each and every single person must make the decision to get on board. Remember if it is to be, it’s up to you. You are the only one who can stop you to be you!
Dwight D. Eisenhower said “Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him” 
Here are a few suggestions on how to get on board the train of change: 

• Anticipate and expect change
• Look for the possibilities in change 
• Remind yourself continuously that every single change has positive elements to move you up the ladder of success
• You have the capacity for change since you have changed over the years and still going through change right now
• Bring to your recollection what you did in the past when you went through various changes
• Celebrate your wins with every positive change you navigate successfully. 
• Don’t be like others who say this too shall pass when confronted with the jewel of change.  Change is your greatest ally. Change is a gift disguised as challenges. 

I have observed with interest how people these days want to do the bear minimum but get maximum benefit possible. As a business and personal development coach, trainer and speaker, I have also heard people say they don’t pay me enough so why give my best or my all. Does it occur to you that you are doing yourself a favor, giving yourself the permission and opportunity to grow when you do the very best you are capable of in whatever area of business and life you are involved in? The principle of going the extra mile holds the key to achievement, advancement and success in life.


To go the extra mile is about going above and beyond to reach a goal, doing more than you're asked to do, rendering more outstanding service than you are paid for, and doing it with a positive mental attitude. When you go the extra mile, it means going beyond the call of duty, doing everything in your capacity to help your organization, project, program family, colleague, or someone succeed, and making an extra effort to do an outstanding piece of work in whatever area you find yourself.


You may be thinking that going the extra mile may be great but how exactly do I do that. Here are a few suggestions for you:  

• Change your philosophy about work because work is a gift and so treat it as such! If you don’t believe that, try getting fired from your job
• Make a decision to go the extra mile because every great action and change begins with a decision 
• Focus on going the extra mile because what you focus on expands, grows, and enlarges.
• Develop the habit of going the extra mile one day at a time
• Seek out ways to go the extra mile by challenging your comfort zone
• Stretch yourself to go the extra mile
• Burn deep in your consciousness that it pays to go the extra mile
• Live as if it is impossible for you to fail and as though there is a conspiracy to bring good things your way when you go the extra mile and 
• Be grateful for the gift of the extra mile!

Napoleon Hill knew about the gift of going the extra mile when he said “You can start right where you stand and apply the habit of going the extra mile by rendering more service and better service than you are now being paid for” So what’s in it for you when you go the extra mile? You reach your goals faster; you are stretched to reach your potential.  Going the extra mile could lead to more compensation, enhancement of your reputation in the organization, your insurance against loss of employment during difficult times, leads you to right thinking about your job, releases your imagination and unleashes your creativity, it helps you build goodwill in your team and the company, makes you feel good about yourself, enables you to pay it forward and builds your capacity to be the best!


The process of creating the future you want is embedded in changing your philosophy, attitude and behavior regarding the extra mile! : So here is a question for you - If you could go the extra mile would you? If you could change your life by going the extra mile should you? 


Enjoy the week

You can never know how far a rubber band will go until you stretch it to the maximum. Likewise you can never know what you are made off or capable of doing until you stretch yourself to the maximum. Your ability to stretch and use your imagination is a gift. Those who continue to raise the bar, stretch to do and give their very best are the ones making a difference in their work and life. The comfort zone where we all feel comfortable is always at war with the concept of stretch. Every single human being is engineered for increase, has the desire to do more, stretch, or be more. The new inventions and discoveries we see, the technologies making our lives easy and better, the jobs we have, were all created from someone’s imagination and creativity. More importantly, someone’s willingness to stretch, become uncomfortable, do more, have more, and create financial freedom for self and many others all came about from the Gift called Stretch. Are you stretching yourself in your job, career, business, home, and in whatever you currently find yourself? Giving yourself the permission to do more and be more is a gift to yourself and the people you love. Many years ago, I read that God’s greatest gift to us is life and the way we use that life is our gift back to God. You have great potential, you have greatness within you. You have the capacity and ability to do the impossible if you are ready to stretch. Too many people have settled for the bear minimum but not you. Some have come up with creative excuses not to stretch but not you. If only you know how far you can go, and if only you are aware of how much you can do, it will amaze you. Make a decision right now to stretch, be more, do more, and live the life of your dreams. Remember if it is to be it’s up to you!

For the next one week, identify an area where you want to stretch yourself to do more, be more, give more. Secondly, develop an action plan to make it possible. Thomas Stearns Eliot said “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find how far they can go”

Here is a question for you to answer. If you could do better, should you? 

Someone said, do not despise small beginnings! I believe it is from the small things that we graduate to greater things, mature, and get ready to take on the more complicated things. Giving your best to the task at hand no matter how small or simple it is prepares us for success in the job and life. Our mindset plays a significant role in how we tackle the various things we have on our plate. When you develop the habit of doing your best in every situation, in every task or project, you are giving yourself the permission to use all the dormant skills you have come alive. When you come alive in your work, and the task at hand, “you will never work another day in your life” You may ask what that really means. I am glad you asked and I will tell you. When you are passionate about your work and you love what you are doing; you will be able to give your best to every task. You also become solution oriented as opposed to problem seeking. What you do on a daily basis becomes lighter and does not appear to be work at all. Developing the mindset of doing your best will take you places. The world of business and work is looking for people who will always do their best no matter what. 
Doing your best is a commitment to excellence and excellence is a virtue to take on if you want to leave your mark in this world. Doing your best is a gift to yourself. When you do your best not just because someone is watching; but rather that it is the right thing to do; sooner than later you will begin to see a shift in your situation. When you do good, good follows you and doors of opportunity begin to open for you. This is the law of nature! Sandra Day O’Connor, said it best “Do the best you can in every task, no matter how small it may seem at the time”
Doing your best has the following advantages: inspires those around you, prepares you for the future, releases the champion in you, and builds your character for excellence. Just do your best will you? And if in doubt, just do the best you can. The rewards of doing your best outweigh the regrets of not doing it. Daily disciplines repeated everyday leads to success! 

Leadership begins with me! You cannot be a great leader until you are able to lead yourself successfully. Great leadership begins with self-leadership! How are you leading yourself for starters? You lead yourself by motivating yourself to take action, to dream more, learn new things to help you do your job better, the discipline to stay focused no matter the negative elements.  How are you inspiring yourself on a daily basis so as to avoid the trap of maintaining the status quo? The status quo may be comfortable but it is the enemy of progress and advancement? Will you be described as inspiring action no matter your level in the organization? Will you work for you? Reflect on this statement for a minute or two. Will you work for you? This is a deep question that needs a deeper dive if you were to understand the full implication of the question.

Dolly Parton  said “If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more,  and become more, then you are an excellent leader “ If you are a parent and a great parent at that, it is your responsibility to inspire your children to fulfil their potential and more. If you are a leader in an organization, it’s your job to inspire and create an enabling environment where people feel great coming to work every single day. I used to tell leaders in my leadership seminars that great leadership is where you leave your work station and work continuous as if you are still around. Will your team be sad when you leave the organization for another job or they will celebrate your departure? These are questions that you and you alone can answer.
Here are a few suggestions to inspire personal action and others to take action:

• Start with the why? Simon Sinek in his book START with the WHY stated that when people are given the reason why, given a purpose for why things are being done, people are moved to action. Simply put, when the why is clear, the how will follow! Load your mind with compelling whys and you will see yourself taking massive action. Help your team to understand the why, and they will find solutions to problems and take creative action.
• Focus on your purpose and vision – what do you really want to achieve in the workplace, career and in your life? How would you like to be viewed in your work environment? When your purpose and vision is clear, you inspire yourself and team to action.
• Stretch to be more, do more, and achieve more. Decisive action follows the prepared mind.
• Set clear personal and work goals without which you will be fulfilling some else’s agenda. 

I am very fascinated with the subject of thought. Our thinking patterns have created our current realities and results and if only we watch what we allow into our thinking, we may be able to influence the quality of the results we get. In my quest to understand why I do the things I do, act the way I do, why people behave the way they do and do the things they do, and why people will resist change even if the change is a good thing, I went on a hunt for information to understand the paradox. 

My search led me to a profound discovery and it can be summed up in the words of James Allen “You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you” This statement says we are responsible for our current results and will be responsible for our future results no matter how creative our excuses might be. We continue to create our current realities through what we think about. Our daily actions, behavior, attitude, routines, are a result of thought. Your result as an individual is an inside job. We first create in thought, and then see the results as evidence. 

The great businesses we see are a result of someone’s creative thought. The fantastic buildings we admire first started in someone’s imagination. What are you using your imagination for? Are you using your great mind to come up with excuses why you cannot do this or that?  It is very interesting to hear people blaming others for their lack of achievement or progress. Some blame the government, their spouse, the boss, the family heritage, the schools they went to and many others except themselves. Let me give you the shocking news, you have created your current realities and when you begin to accept responsibility for where you are in life you will begin the journey of change. When you change, the results change. This leads me to the question, could our current thinking patterns create the results we want and don’t want? And could the replacement of these thinking patterns change the results? The answer is a resounding YES. Our current result is not an outside job but rather an inside job. Your outward visible results are a reflection of your inward condition. You can never be any different from what you are inside even if you fake it for years. Do we think about what we are thinking about? Or do we allow any thought to run rampant and flow freely through our minds? Life is not a dress rehearsal and so each day you spend thinking about the wrong stuff, you are wasting away.

The pictures we paint on the canvas of our minds are creating the realities we have.  Each one of us is given a LOT in life and it’s our job to build whatever we want on this LOT. The question is what are you building on your LOT? Changing the way we think takes work and time because we have thought a certain way for years. The good news is this, when you make the decision and commit to replace negative disempowering thoughts with healthy, results oriented, problem solving, flawless execution thoughts you will then achieve the results you want.