Posted by Marvin LeBlanc on Mon, Feb 20, 2012 @ 10:45 AM
The habit of focus is an ongoing process. It is about regularly redefining what is important and saying NO to what is not important. Marvelous performance is the result of the cultivated and intentional habit of focus.
You should always be free to express your feelings and emotions. Before taking on a project think of whether or not you can do the job, and more importantly if you can do it in the time frame required. Can you meet the deadline? Always focus on your priorities and clear your mind before taking on too many projects.
Do you find you can’t meet deadlines? Have you ever listed out all of your priorities and then politely said NO to the less prioritized work? Remember, it’s not necessary to say yes all of the time and it’s not that difficult to say NO. You just need to realize that you can’t do the job. Saying NO will help you stay stress-free and not only successfully complete all your other more pertinent jobs, but complete them on time.
You should know that time is precious and in some cases, “time is money”. When some work is not contributing to your growth and is mostly a time-waster, you need to have the courage to say NO.
Make sure that you limit yourself from wasting your time and getting distracted due to unimportant tasks. Make your priorities clear and always develop boundaries so that you don’t get distracted! Staying away from distractions helps you concentrate and focus on your most important work.
This habit of focus will help you concentrate more on your work and complete your goals successfully by the deadline. Having strong work habits will help you increase your productivity and meet deadlines.
One of the biggest distractions in today’s business world is the addiction of social networking and website browsing at work. Your favorite websites will tempt you to get distracted and check for updates throughout your day. You need to keep in mind that you have to carve out time for these activities, but only after your work is complete.
Focusing on things you are passionate about will help you in your professional growth, but you must say NO to things that don’t help your growth. Initially your priority should be working on things that you passionately feel compelled to complete. If you are enthusiastic to do a job, then you are more compelled to accomplish it in order to achieve your goals. Employ the habit of focus to achieve those things that you passionately want to accomplish.
Initially when you start implementing the habit of focus, you might find it difficult to stick to it. But gradually you’ll find that life is more difficult without this important habit of focus. More and more distractions or interruptions will create more complications in your life and invite stress into your life. Focus on lessening the interruptions and increasing your work time and attention.
The habit of focus is and on going process and it doesn’t stop. There is no end to this procedure. Practice saying “no”, practice keeping distractions to a minimum, and always work toward being more focused.
Think of this analogy:
We don't buy eyeglasses because we want eyeglasses.
We buy eyeglasses because our "vision needs to be focused".
Most people can "get by" without the eyeglasses, but it will be more difficult.
You can "get by" without the Habit of Focus, but it will be more difficult.
So I'm perplexed, why do we "get" the eyeglasses, but we don't "get" the Habit of Focus?
Posted by Marvin LeBlanc on Mon, Feb 13, 2012 @ 11:00 AM
Hello Marvelous People!
In a world that is consumed by negative media messages, let us take some time today to review a life lived with positive purpose. A life lived with positive meaning. A life that has enhanced the lives of millions.
I have paraphrased for brevity the recent eulogy given by Mona Simpson, Steve Jobs' sister. Her eloquent message shares key experiences and important life traits that we may all consider and reflect upon.
May the words of Mona Simpson inspire you as you travel down your own road. Take the time to reflect on each point, PAUSING FREQUENTLY to contemplate it’s meaning in your life.
His Full Life
• He worked at what he loved and he worked hard every day.
• He was the opposite of absent-minded
• He was never embarrassed about working, even when his results were failures.
• He was never ashamed to admit that he tried and that he failed.
• Although immensely innovative, he was also loyal. (if he saw a shirt that he liked he'd buy 10 or even 100 of them)
• He favored people his own age.
• He was never one to favor gimmicks or trends.
• He was willing to be misunderstood.
• Love was his supreme virtue. He spent time talking about love and kept track and worried about the romantic lives of the people working with him.
• He believed that love happened all the time - everywhere!
• He was never ironic, cynical or pessimistic.
• He loved broccoli, especially in season, simply prepared, with just the right recently snipped herbs.
• He felt that his success at his early age served to isolate him somewhat.
• He loved bikes and loved the Palo Alto Bike Store.
• He was humble and always liked to keep learning.
• He loved colleges and loved walking around the Stanford campus.
• He cultivated whimsy and loved roses.
• He always had surprises tucked away in his pockets. Various treats, words to songs he loved, poems, etc.
• He treasured happiness.
His Illness
• Even in his illness, so much was still left after so much had been taken away.
• And he tried. He always tried.
• He was an intensely emotional man.
• Even during his illness, his taste, his judgment and discrimination held.
• While intubated in the hospital, he still sketched:
A- devices to hold an iPad while in a hospital bed.
B- designs for new fluid monitors
C- designs of new x-ray equipment
Important things Mona Simpson learned from her brother.
• character is essential.
• Steve was an absolutist.
• Steve was a romantic
• Steve was idealistic
A powerful idea to apply in our life:
Imagine if you printed and read these words every morning in your quiet time and allow your subconscious mind and your own spirit to be transformed by these character traits.
Might that assist you as you seek to live life with more meaning and purpose?
Drop us an email (Marvin@MarvinLeBlanc.com) and share with us your story on The Life Traits that have sustained you throughout your life.
Yes, we really care and we really read what you share.
Until next time remember that:
Marvelous Performance is ALWAYS - Intentional!
Marvelous Performance is NEVER - Accidental!
See Marvin in action at: http://www.youtube.com/user/MarvinLeBlanc/videos
Posted by Marvin LeBlanc on Wed, Feb 01, 2012 @ 08:30 PM
Two weeks ago we explored the first 3 sub-phases of frustration. If you missed the article, you can read it here.
This week we will finish up with the final 3 sub-phases of frustration, which are anger, justification and acceptance.
Anger is the most important sub-phase. In Cajun terms, people get “pissed off.” That’s the point where they’re going to have to make a critical decision. Contrary to popular thought, there are two kinds of anger: positive and negative.
Negative anger can overtake you if you submit to it. You say, “Man, we are done for. We’re poor and we don’t have a car, so we’re going to wait it out.” It is the thought and feelings of helplessness. You allow the negative energy to control your thoughts and actions.
Some take the attitude as if “Nobody’s going to make me move out of my house.” It is distorted, possessive, hardheaded and ill-conceived reasoning. Most of these people are just plain stubborn.
On the flip side of negative anger is positive anger. Positive anger is where I chose to hang out, and it’s where all of the people who are coming back to New Orleans chose to hang out. It’s where I’m asking you, the reader, to hang out when life is overwhelming and your frustration is overpowering.
Positive anger gives you the opportunity to bypass the other sub-phases of frustration. If you stay in negative anger, you’re going to go straight into the fifth sub-phase.
Justification: You are looking for all the reasons why it’s not your fault that all of this is happening.
You won’t have a sense of ownership. Instead, you might have a sense of entitlement, thinking someone else should fix this and send a helicopter or a boat.
The last sub-phase is acceptance, when you accept that this is your fate, which makes you then stay in a stage of being stuck.
The good news is, that if you have positive anger, you can avoid looking for something to get excited about. You can avoid blaming it on others and you can take on an ownership spirit.
Don’t play the victim.
Don’t play the blame game.
Own it!
With an ownership spirit, you can recommit. This is the most important, and final phase of your attitude.
Posted by Marvin LeBlanc on Wed, Jan 25, 2012 @ 08:45 AM
Your Best Client Management Tool
As a seller of products, services, ideas, and value - your clients need you to be more than a peddler. They need you to be more than a partner. They need you to be a trusted advisor in every sense of that term. Someone they can turn to for advice, insights, guidance, and structure. And perhaps even someone to hold them accountable to themselves.
The best way you can do that is also one of the simplest ways: Give your clients deadlines.
There are 4 primary benefits to starting this habit with your current clients, new clients, and even your prospects (your clients-to-be):
1. They will see you are serious and intentional with your actions.
2. They will better perceive you as the professional you are
3. Although rarely will they make their appointed deadlines, they'll appreciate your concern for their progress
4. They want to see that you provide not only the content but also the structure for their success
Let's spend a moment on each one of these benefits.
1. They will see you are serious and intentional with your actions. A deadline conveys a commitment. A commitment conveys caring. And one sales truth that has stood the test of time is "Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care." A deadline shows your dedication to getting things done for your client and making things happen. At the end of the day, THAT is what they're paying you for.
2. They will better perceive you as the professional you are. Amateurs don't care when things get done. Now. Later. Tomorrow. Next week. Doesn't matter. Professionals care a great deal. Amateurs take their time. Professionals know that speed costs - and that solving problems FAST is worth a lot more than solving problems slowly. Or not at all. Step up to the big leagues by showing your client your true professionalism by putting deadlines in front of them to motivate action, outcomes, and results.
3. Although rarely will they make their appointed deadlines, they'll appreciate your concern for their progress. Nobody likes a taskmaster. Everyone loves an encourager. Yes, your clients will miss deadlines. But they would miss a whole lot more of them if you didn't have deadlines to shoot for! When clients miss a deadline, don't beat them up about it - that's not the point. The point is that you're there to coach them through to success - one deadline at a time.
4. They want to see that you provide not only the content but also the structure for their success. If you sell insurance, insurance is not your product. If you sell paper, paper supplies are not your product. If you sell engineering, engineering services are not your product. We sell the results (both tangible and intangible) of what our products and services do. No deadlines, no action. No structure for action, no results.
So deadlines are not calendar devices - they are results devices. Deadlines and milestones (even highly adjustable ones) make sure your client crosses the finish line over into results. And the sooner they do - and the more you help them get there - the more you'll earn their business, their referrals, and their trust.
Give your clients deadlines, people - and make Marvelous happen!
Posted by Marvin LeBlanc on Tue, Jan 17, 2012 @ 08:15 AM
In small business and in life, I have found that we go through three phases of attitude. * The first is excitement. The second is frustration, and the third is recommitment. During and after Hurricane Katrina, all of New Orleans sank deeply into the frustration phase, myself included. There are six sub-phases of frustration that everyone in my business and personal life were experiencing:
1. Shock
2. Denial
3. Fear
4. Anger
5. Justification
6. Acceptance
1. Shock is the first sub-phase of frustration. You are going to be shocked at the realization that it’s possible you’re going to be hit with another hurricane. Intellectually, you know good and well that the possibility exists, but when you see that icon again, you’re still going to be shocked. It’s amazing how many people live with the mentality of “that could never happen to me” even when it HAS happened to them before. It is easier to not focus on the adversity which is why you are shocked when the hurricane hits.Today’s article will focus on the first three sub-phases, shock, denial and fear.
2. Denial comes next. You deny that the weatherman could possibly be correct. What are the chances we’ll have another Betsy or another Katrina? This may sound humorous, but there are people who have lost everything and still believe that New Orleans and the surrounding areas will be spared in a future hurricane. I find that absolutely amazing. Never having another Category Five hurricane hitting New Orleans not only defies my logic, it defies all science.
3. Fear is the third sub-phase of frustration. You say, “My goodness, what if this weatherman is telling the truth? What if we really are going to stay in the funnel and get hit?” Fear is not something anyone likes to feel or even admit to feeling. If you are fearful, sometimes you revert back to “denial” in an effort to hide your fear.
Regardless of the stage of attitude you are at it is imperative to remember these three things:
• Don’t play the victim.
• Don’t play the blame game.
• Own it!
If you are reading this blog and were not involved in Hurricane Katrina can you think back in your life and determine what your “Katrina” moment was? How did you respond? If it was a defining moment for you as Katrina was for me, it is probably something you carry with you each and every day.
Learning to channel your energy after adversity is a gift and takes work.
I love helping people see the good, find motivation and be successful in business and in life! Join me for a and let’s make Marvelous happen in your life!
Peace, Love and Gumbo!
Marvin LeBlanc LUTCF CNP
* Content adopted from Jim Winner author of Split Second Choice, the power of Attitude.
Posted by Marvin LeBlanc on Wed, Jan 11, 2012 @ 03:43 PM
"It is in surviving defeat that our true character grows and develops!" - Marvin
Business leaders, recall the times that you "fumbled" in your execution, not last year, but possibly JUST THIS WEEK.
It happens to everyone. We make commitments and fail to deliver on them. We may have promised to get a project done and were not able to complete it on time.
Perhaps you got a very hard earned referral and then somehow fear and excuses took over and you never followed up.
If you failed to execute you need to own it and learn from it.
How can you learn from it? How about realizing the timing around your failed executions?
Start now for 2012. January, is half over and many people have not set goals for this year. Many of us are very quick to blame others and extremely slow to take ownership for our own shortcomings.
Here is something to ponder, in the wake of Monday's LSU loss many people are disappointed, some even are saying the season ended poorly. When you look at the numbers 13 out of 14 games were won, 92.8% of the season was done RIGHT. What percentage of your YEAR did you get right? I am willing to bet it wasn't 92.8%!
If you are not working on yourself, then you are working on the WRONG PROJECT.
If your group need to be inspired, if you need private coaching or perhaps your sales team need to upgrade their skills. It is time to contact our team.
My goal is to help you get it right 92.8% of the time!
Peace, Love and Gumbo!
Marvin LeBlanc LUTCF, CNP
Posted by Marvin LeBlanc on Wed, Jan 04, 2012 @ 02:00 PM
PICTURE WITH ME 2 men in a Brutal Fist Fight
1 Man Down- almost laying Motionless
I now ask u - IS THE FIGHT OVER?
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR REPLY?
ANSWER: It's only over if the man on the ground refuses to GET UP!
Marvelous people. Memorize this - DEFEAT IS A TEMPORARY CONDITION!
The definition of defeat is the failure to win. If we allow defeat to keep us down in life we are depriving ourselves of the opportunity to rise above adversity. Life is full of challenges, each and every day you have battles. The only time a fight is really over is when the opponent doesn't get up. Think about boxing, when one of the boxers is down, hurting, bleeding and suffering the match is not over unless he refuses to get back up.
The same goes for you in business and in life. As long as you keep getting up, day after day, you are winning the battle. Are some battles harder to overcome and get up from? Of course but the more you practice, the more you make persistency a permanent mind-set the more successful you will be
.
Marvelous people remember this: Defeat is temporary, persistency should be permanent!
Possessing PERSISTENCY IS what needs to be Permanent. In your Being.
REMEMBER- No one can follow you if you continue to lay down!
For more exciting ideas on developing PERSISTENCY and overcoming defeat Grab a copy of my book "Come Hell or High Water"
Posted by Catherine Bernard on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 @ 08:00 AM
Are there days in your life that happened many years ago that you can vividly still recall? You can feel the wind, the warmth of the day, the smells, the colors. You can remember what clothes you had on. You can remember who was with you.
Well, our most memorable days are usually our most emotional ones. During those days, we were challenged or provoked, positively or negatively.
And so it was on that March day in 1992 that I was experiencing one of "those days" on the golf course. It was a Friday and I was hopeful that I would have a quality round of golf before heading in for a nice meal around 6pm and then relax for the night. But it just wasn't to be.
For you see on that day I was experiencing the repetitive misfortune of hitting my golf ball either in fairway sand bunkers or green side bunkers. As I recall, on the 18 holes I played that day (if you wanna call it that), I "succeeded" in landing in 16 bunkers. Well you would think that's what really got me riled up. Oh no! Not so. What really got me riled up is that I LACKED THE SKILL to get out of those sand bunkers.
So there I was. For 4 and half hours, seemingly living in the sandpit of hell. I was miserable. I was embarrassed. It was humid, i was hot. I was full of gritty sand, seemingly lodged in undiscovered body crevaces. I lost every bet to every person I was playing against that day. And by the 18th hole, after paying off all my losses and not taking it out on my playing partners, I walked to the corner of the driving range where the practice bunker awaited the arrival of my sorry ass. Beleagured and beaten. The sand had won.
Folks, it was there that I "lost it". Yep I "boiled over", got "pissed off" or as we say down in South Louisiana, I caught the "red ass".
I proceeded to have a nice long, enthusiastic talk with myself and decided in that fury of self dialogue that I was not going home until I learned how to hit a shot out of the sand bunker.
So I called my wife and told her my plan. "I am dropping 500 golf balls into the practice sand bunker and I'm gonna hit every darn one of them". It was a short conversation as you might expect.
So I rounded up 500 balls and began to: PRACTICE!
LESSON: Are you mature enough to accept the fact that there are AREAS that you LACK SKILL? Many people get stuck on stupid in this key stage. Why? Because they live in a state on constant DENIAL. I had to be honest with myself and admit that I HAVE A PROBLEM AND THAT YOU CAN'T FIX IT FOR ME.
I headed into the sand bunker with hundreds of balls and started practicing. Early on, I m not gonna lie to you. I was 8 still working to get the anger and frustration out of my being. Balls went everywhere. Then a small discovery was made. Swing harder and swing THROUGH the sand, not AT the sand.
My backswing in the sand became more relaxed. The next 200-300 balls were still not landing with any reasonable pattern or control, but the balls were successfully leaving the sand.
Sidenote: Leaders are sometimes way too impatient because they are expecting immediate complete results.
The practice bunker taught me to EMBRACE SMALL INCREMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS because they always precede the BIG RESULT you ultimately are seeking.
I seem to recall taking a break and grabbing a swig of water after pounding at about 300 balls. The transformation of my bunker skills had begun. Right now, I can remember re-entering that bunker with a sense of calmness that I had never had before. I had FACED MY FEAR head on and it was working. But not without MASSIVE ACTION. (Did you catch that last line. Go back and read it again. Slowly.)
During the last leg of hitting the final 200 balls, I began to fine tune the more intricate details of bunker play. Things like "feeling" the back swing and "visualizing" what type of swing is needed to propel the ball into the air at the right distance. Other things like hitting out of a thin bunker lie (a bunker shot has very little sand at the base of the ball) or a fluffy lie (- bunker shot that has far too much sand all around it making the shot very unpredictable upon its exit.)
So here's what happened. After crawling out that practice bunker, 500 balls later I was exhausted - spent. I was also happy, fulfilled and excited about "tomorrow on the course".
My time would come that I would master bunker play in the heat of competitive rounds, but it would have to be delayed.
Because you see, while in my "trance-like" practice, I created blisters and both hands were bleeding and beginning to swell.
LESSON: Sometimes you have to push yourself to the brink before you can truly realize your potential.
LESSON: Far better it is to spend time in recuperation knowing that it was time well spent in the attainment of better skills.
So here's our lessons to reflect on.
LESSON #1: Are you mature enough to accept the fact that there are AREAS that you LACK SKILL?
LESSON #2: Sometimes you have to push yourself to the brink before you can truly realize your potential.
LESSON #3: Far better it is to spend time in recuperation knowing that it was time well spent in the attainment of better skills.
Develop the Ability to recognize that you lack a certain Skill(s)
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Embrace your issues of Denial
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PRACTICE!
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If YOU have a problem then it is YOUR Problem to FIX!
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Embrace Small incremental improvements.
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Face your Fear then conquer it with Massive Action
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Sometimes you have to push yourself to the brink before you can realize your true potential
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Far better it is to spend time in recuperation, knowing that it was time well spent in the pursuit of better skills or a worthy goal.
Use this article in an "alone" session. And yes, you should have a meditative "alone" session at least once a week. No kids, no spouse, no distractions, no phones, no co-worker, usually inspired by or in nature.
Find your quiet place and set an appointment to re-find that place at regular intervals. The process will invigorate you in ways beyond your imagination. Try it and drop me a line about your experience at Marvin@MarvinLeBlanc
Posted by Marvin LeBlanc on Wed, Nov 30, 2011 @ 09:00 AM
Hello Marvelous People:
Let’s keep in mind that while “Thanksgiving” may be celebrated at a certain time of the year – the attitude of gratitude is worth living and practicing all the days of our lives.
May you enjoy Ana Dutra’s article & share it with all your friends, neighbors, co-workers & relatives.
Peace, Love and Gratitude to you & yours!
Marvin LeBlanc
Thanksgiving, giving thanks, appreciating, being grateful… a colleague asked me recently if I thought there was any connection between gratitude and performance. Yes, I answered, there is a clear connection. At the most basic level, when people feel truly appreciated for their contributions, results and actions, they give their best, they give it their all. Taking this a level deeper, demonstrations of gratitude are energizing for the recipient and fulfilling for the giver.
When people feel truly appreciated for their contributions, results and actions, they give their best, and higher levels of performance are unleashed.
Imagine a culture where people feel comfortable and compelled to express gratitude not only for all the good things employees, colleagues, peers and bosses do but also for who they are. As people receive and give grateful feed-back, positive energy is created throughout the organization and, as everybody strives to do their very best, excellence and higher levels of performance are unleashed.
The role of leaders in creating such a culture is fundamental. It takes self-confidence, humility and awareness — of self and others — to articulate appreciation for others. It takes believing and understanding that people perform at higher levels when they feel appreciated. Yet, gratitude is appreciation at a deeper level. It is less about what people do and more about who they are and the roles they play in the organization. The impact of gratitude on the leader and on others around him/her can be extraordinary.
In some Eastern philosophies where pause and reflection are daily practices, practitioners are invited to acknowledge and express gratitude for things and people that, otherwise, would be taken for granted. As people express gratitude, not only do they benefit from the recognition of something or somebody that makes a positive difference in their lives but so do the recipients of the grateful feelings. As leaders express gratitude for their teams, for their clients, for the organization they lead, the appreciation spreads way above and beyond their inner circle.
Gratitude has to be authentic and heartfelt in order to be impactful. It can’t be an obligation or expressed because it is “the right thing to say”. A few days ago, I picked up my daughter at her job helping to organize and deliver birthday parties. As she sat in the car, she had a card in her hands and, as she was opening the card, she said: ”I love to read the Thank You notes — pause — but not the ones like this…”. As I felt her disappointment, I looked at the Thank You note she was staring at. It was a printed, impersonal, and unsigned Thank You, probably one of many distributed to all the people who worked at the party. My daughter was looking for the sincere, personal and authentic Thank You. But, what she received was one of many impersonal pieces of paper. Like the Thank You note my daughter received, canned gratitude is transparent and a waste of time. It cheapens the gesture and it doesn’t create any positive impact. In order to be able to express authentic gratitude, leaders have to truly feel it. In order to truly feel it, you have to be open to be grateful and take the time to pause and reflect about the things and people you are grateful for.
So, during this Thanksgiving, I want to invite you to pause. Pause and reflect. Reflect on all the people who should receive your gratitude not only for the things they do, but for who they are, how they behave, what they stand for as individuals and as leaders themselves. And don’t forget to be grateful for who YOU are. Again, not for what you do or what you have, but who you are, the values you possess and what you stand for. Expressions of gratitude create better lives and, yes, improve personal and business performance.
Posted by Marvin LeBlanc on Thu, Nov 17, 2011 @ 10:00 AM
Meetings & Conventions is proud to announce that 298 worldwide properties and CVBs have achieved one of the industry's highest honors — an M&C Gold Award. The winner's list was selected based on the votes of meeting planners who are the toughest industry critics.
The New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau was recognized as Gold Elite winner exemplifying a standard of excellence and received the top five votes in their category.
For the New Orleans CVB, the goal is to be the most meeting planner-friendly city in America. As a destination with over one million square feet of exhibit space, a newly renovated Superdome complex and over 38,500 hotel rooms, New Orleans competes for some of the largest conventions in the nation. So to differentiate the destination, the CVB tailors as many resources to each customer as possible. That's why their motto is: Our Service is as Distinctive as the Destination Itself.
For more information visit their website: www.neworleanscvb.com
Look for the complete list of M&C 2011 Gold Award winners on www.mcmag.com!