ACHIEVING YOUR DREAMS WITH KEN BLANCHARD
Blanchard is probably best known for his book, "The One Minute Manager." In this lecture, he discusses a few points about achieving your dreams.
Most people think about having a successful life when they hear about achieving their dreams. For most people, success means money, recognition and power/status. There's nothing wrong with these things, but they shouldn't be who you are. Otherwise, you'll always want more of them. Then you'll miss a "significant" life.
Blanchard then goes on to talk about a book by John Ortberg called, "When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box." Ortberg's grandmother was an excellent Monopoly player and when they would play, he would get killed. So over the years, he learned how to play and finally beat his grandmother. His grandmother told him, now that you know how to play Monopoly, let me tell you something about life. When the game is over, it all goes back in the box. The only thing you get to save in life is your soul, that's where you store who you love and who loves you.
This is the framework Blanchard uses. Your dream should be about peace of mind, satisfaction and achieving noble goals. Life is a journey and should be treated that way.
When Blanchard first started his company, his advisory board asked him what goals he would like to achieve. He said he would want to work with people he loved and cared about, make a difference in the world and to have fun. They laughed because there was nothing about making money there. They convinced him that he needed to think about profits.
Profit is the applause you get for taking care of your customers, creating a motivating environment for your people and being a good citizen in your environment.
Blanchard recommends having a mentor who can provide short insights to help you.
Of all companies that start, less than 2% make it to 30 years. 80% are gone within five years. Sheldon Bowls was Blanchard's mentor who taught him four little tests.
The first test is the test of joy. If you don't love what you're doing, you won't work hard enough to be the best at it. You'll spend too much time doing something you're not joyful about. It's not success that makes you happy. It's happy people that are successful. Blanchard recalls being an administrative assistant for the dean of a business school. The dean required him to teach a course and he really enjoyed it and felt that he should be doing it full time.
The second test is the test of purpose. At some point, making money has to be more important than having fun. You need to find someone to pay you to have fun. Otherwise, it's just a hobby.
The third test is the test of creativity. Your income is a function of your revenue minus your expenses. When people try to increase their income, people try to manage their cost. But you should think about expanding your business to generate more income. Blanchard discusses thinking of creative ways to expand their business. He met a children's book writer and came up with the idea of writing a children's book for managers which was the one minute manager.
The fourth and final test is the test of perpetual prosperity. If you really want to make a good living, you have to help other people. If you want love, you have to give it away. When you give, you'll receive tenfold.
If you haven't found what gives you joy, Blanchard advises you to try these things.
Test of Joy
Once you have a sense of where to go, you have to be adaptable. You never know what might come your way, so be prepared to change your route.
PACT
Perspective
Remember to keep things in perspective. You can get confused when you become passionate about your work and mix your passion with what's important in life. To help with your perspective, try putting a post-it on things that are forever versus things that are permanent and valuable to your life.
Autonomy
Do you feel like you have control in your life, or do you feel other things are controlling your life. As Lily Tomlin says, the problem with the rat race is that even if you win it, you're still a rat. We need control in our lives to get out of the rat race.
Connectedness
Do you feel connected or disconnected to the people around you? Do you feel supported? Are people glad to see you? If not, maybe there's something going on with you. At times, we seem to be nicer to complete strangers than those we love.
Tone
Tone is your physical well-being.
Look at all of these things and work on them. If you need work on all of them, start with tone. When you take the time to take care of yourself, the other things will also be improved.
Set Goals
Blanchard is probably best known for his book, "The One Minute Manager." In this lecture, he discusses a few points about achieving your dreams.
Most people think about having a successful life when they hear about achieving their dreams. For most people, success means money, recognition and power/status. There's nothing wrong with these things, but they shouldn't be who you are. Otherwise, you'll always want more of them. Then you'll miss a "significant" life.
Blanchard then goes on to talk about a book by John Ortberg called, "When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box." Ortberg's grandmother was an excellent Monopoly player and when they would play, he would get killed. So over the years, he learned how to play and finally beat his grandmother. His grandmother told him, now that you know how to play Monopoly, let me tell you something about life. When the game is over, it all goes back in the box. The only thing you get to save in life is your soul, that's where you store who you love and who loves you.
This is the framework Blanchard uses. Your dream should be about peace of mind, satisfaction and achieving noble goals. Life is a journey and should be treated that way.
When Blanchard first started his company, his advisory board asked him what goals he would like to achieve. He said he would want to work with people he loved and cared about, make a difference in the world and to have fun. They laughed because there was nothing about making money there. They convinced him that he needed to think about profits.
Profit is the applause you get for taking care of your customers, creating a motivating environment for your people and being a good citizen in your environment.
Blanchard recommends having a mentor who can provide short insights to help you.
Of all companies that start, less than 2% make it to 30 years. 80% are gone within five years. Sheldon Bowls was Blanchard's mentor who taught him four little tests.
The first test is the test of joy. If you don't love what you're doing, you won't work hard enough to be the best at it. You'll spend too much time doing something you're not joyful about. It's not success that makes you happy. It's happy people that are successful. Blanchard recalls being an administrative assistant for the dean of a business school. The dean required him to teach a course and he really enjoyed it and felt that he should be doing it full time.
The second test is the test of purpose. At some point, making money has to be more important than having fun. You need to find someone to pay you to have fun. Otherwise, it's just a hobby.
The third test is the test of creativity. Your income is a function of your revenue minus your expenses. When people try to increase their income, people try to manage their cost. But you should think about expanding your business to generate more income. Blanchard discusses thinking of creative ways to expand their business. He met a children's book writer and came up with the idea of writing a children's book for managers which was the one minute manager.
The fourth and final test is the test of perpetual prosperity. If you really want to make a good living, you have to help other people. If you want love, you have to give it away. When you give, you'll receive tenfold.
If you haven't found what gives you joy, Blanchard advises you to try these things.
Test of Joy
- Take classes
- Volunteer in your community
- Go to work with a friend
- Attend lectures
- Talk to a career counselor
- Join organizations in your field of interest
- Find a mentor
- Work part-time in a new field
- Have a vision of how you can expand
- Offer new services
- Collaborate with other people
- Donate to a non-profit group
- Volunteer in your community
- Take a volunteer vacation
Once you have a sense of where to go, you have to be adaptable. You never know what might come your way, so be prepared to change your route.
PACT
Perspective
Remember to keep things in perspective. You can get confused when you become passionate about your work and mix your passion with what's important in life. To help with your perspective, try putting a post-it on things that are forever versus things that are permanent and valuable to your life.
Autonomy
Do you feel like you have control in your life, or do you feel other things are controlling your life. As Lily Tomlin says, the problem with the rat race is that even if you win it, you're still a rat. We need control in our lives to get out of the rat race.
Connectedness
Do you feel connected or disconnected to the people around you? Do you feel supported? Are people glad to see you? If not, maybe there's something going on with you. At times, we seem to be nicer to complete strangers than those we love.
Tone
Tone is your physical well-being.
Look at all of these things and work on them. If you need work on all of them, start with tone. When you take the time to take care of yourself, the other things will also be improved.
Set Goals
- Be specific about what you want to achieve
- Adaptability is important. Be flexible.
- Make a list of five things that are really important to you
- Maintain balance in your life and take time off
- Take a vacation every year with someone you love
- Take some time for yourself first thing in the morning
- Keep a journal and write in it often
- Be supportive to the people in your life, both at work and at home
- Contact old friends and make plans to see them
- Join a group that interests you
- Take care of your body
- If you smoke, QUIT!
- Eat a healthy diet, drink in moderation and exercise
- Mentor a colleague
- Become a Big Brother or Sister
posted by Tito Eddy at 10:33 AM
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