Island Time

 

                                                                                       Edition 372 Monday 27/03/17

 

 

Hi,so much for rituals not even my lucky bits and pieces could save me this time as I finished a dusty third behind better speakers on the day.Crikey it was amazing I even made it having to set off at sparrows from our overseas training camp on beautiful Waiheke Island.There were challenges even getting out the door and down the hill in the dark to the first Ferry off the island!!All I can say is thank goodness for the ‘Team Jones’ support of my beautiful wife Christine who kept me calm, found my lucky underpants,cut my hair, sewed a button on my trousers made me a coffee and 2x crumpets and got me to the boat on time!!

Regardless of the result the only thing that really matters is my family!!

Fletcher reckons he could have helped out with some last minute speaking tips if he had been awake but after briefly stirring he thought I had it covered and opted for more zzzz

As mentioned above we have been lured overseas back to the magic that is Waiheke. We adore the island feel and always manage to kick back and relax totally on ‘island time’.

We plan to keep enjoying the opportunity to take regular time out together in this amazing marine environment where you cant help but cut the motor and let the breeze take you!!

I hope you are also changing down when you need to, have a good one…..cheers Jonesey.

The Hendersons feel a dusty 3rd may as well been 33^rd in the scheme of things! L

 

“To think is easy to act is difficult to act as one thinks is the most difficult”.

Van Goeth

 

Crikey I have been encouraged in recent weeks with the things I have put in place.

I have never had so many self generated opportunities to work on.

Whilst that is great I am now struggling to stay on top of the workload (go figure!).

Generating more leads is great but what about all the normal day to day tasks?

I am finding it hard to stay on top without it all becoming a little overwhelming.

Some of my follow up has been delayed and tardy as a result which bugs me.

Time to get better organised,in fact highly organised and battlefield strategic

I have had to block off pockets of time and commit them to getting specific tasks done.

This means not answering emails or phone calls as they come in (thieves of time).

As mentioned in previous episodes focusing on a set number of daily tasks and staying on them until they are done is the key.Following up on opportunities and diarying these for further follow up once cards are dealt.

The discipline aspect is huge, drift and the day is gone,weaken and the chances are lost!

Its not easy,if it was then everyone would be a sales success.In fact it is so tough that only a small % make it to the top in this profession.

So what are the secrets I can share based on my recent trials and tribulations?

Prioritise short sharp daily task lists and block out time to get them ticked off, keep it simple and on track without getting overwhelmed….small steps.

It is easy to get and feel overwhelmed,it is important to accept that you wont get everything done every day so get over that and you will be half way there.

Above all else you must enjoy and have fun doing what you do….or why do it?...Good luck!!

 

“Productivity is never an accident,it is always the result of a commitment to excellence ,intelligent planning and focused effort”.Paul Meyer

Mind Power

 

 

                                                                                       Edition 371 Monday 20/03/17

 

 

Hi,back in the day I had a pre game footy ritual I followed religously. It involved stuff like not drinking alcohol the night before,eating the same thing for breakfast match day, sitting in the same place in the dressing room and wearing the obligatory ‘lucky’ pair of underpants every game!I dared not change this routine for fear it would impact both mine and the teams future success! I was certainly part of teams that always won more games than they lost however often wonder how much the ritual had to do with that other than in my head. Undaunted I have adopted the same ritual for recent Toastmasters contests and it seems to be working NB; new underpants not the same ones as my footy days J!!!!

Fletcher reckons regularly reminding his Father to keep two hands on the steering wheel and asking about speed limits is his way of influencing the drivers mind and actions!

We love our new Colarado Ute thanks Alan Wilson from Schofield Holden crikey I never noticed how many utes there are on the road until we got one…good blokey trucks!!

Glad, I didn’t waste time watching the Blues and the Warriors this weekend.

Mad, I didn’t join the ute revolution earlier!!

I hope your rituals include involving regular time with family and friends cheers Jonesey.

The Hendersons are glad they don’t have to remember to wear lucky underpants!

 

 

“The power of thought,the magic of mind”.Lord Byron

 

I try not to mention Toastmasters because I have been told that maybe I do that too often at times so….I thought I would talk about Richie McCaw first (because everyone loves him) and use that as a lead in to my Toastmasters piece………Ok…..good.

We watched the Richie McCaw movie “Chasing Great’ last week.

For Rugby/Sports fans it’s a must as it contains a lot of original footage from 2011 and 2015 World Rugby cups and other internationals played by the All Blacks during his career.

The parts I took the most from were the ones where the All Blacks used psyche professionals to change traditional thinking by addressing the ‘top two inches’(the mind).

Post 1987 and prior to 2011 five All Black teams had failed at the World Cup after being installed as favourites because they were more worried about the outcome not the journey.

By focusing them on their individual and collective performance quality per game ‘under fire’ they were able to change the thinking and improve the overall outcome.

They did a lot of work in particular with McCaw and this transformation was fascinating to watch as the movie built to its World Cup back to back 2011 and 2015 wins climax.

I was intriqued to learn that McCaw kept a notebook that he used to write lists of things in prior to games he was committed to achieve including enjoyment and fun from each game.

So to Toastmasters we come….well as noted above I have been competing again this season complete with ‘lucky underpants’ and have decided to apply the AB/McCaw principles.

Instead of worrying about the outcome I have only focused on the quality of each performance.

The result has been a calmer approach which has produced a better perfomance and result.

The message here is the importance of getting the top two inches sorted if you are going to be successful at anything sport,business or personal.Dont ever underestimate the power of the mind and the importance of controlling it rather than having it control you. Good luck!!

 

“Your mind is your greatest power,use it well”. Aneta Cruz

Birds of a feather.....

 

 

                                                                                       Edition 370 Monday 13/03/17

 

 

Hi,I don’t mind having animals around however I do like them to behave and be orderly (yeah right)!My beloved wife and son also like having animals around however they differ from me when it comes to the behaviour and order part (both theirs and the animals)!!

This weekend was a classic example as ‘we’ volunteered to host Barney and Rocko the two Parakeets from Fletchers Daycare!Whilst I concede it was nice having them chirping in the background the associated chaos and pandemodium wasn’t! The Hendersons clearly thought they were a ‘meals on wheels’ dinner option imported specially for them and every other bird in Muriwai (fed and welcomed daily) dropped in for a chat (aka screech)!(see pic).

Apart from the sack of bird food our ‘bird friends’ consume weekly my animal loving wife and son also feed numerous farm animals on their daily trip too and from Daycare!!

Fletcher reckons feeding every animal with a heartbeat within a 15km radius of our house is a small investment in his future as a Vet and his Father should be happy and proud!!

The reality is people who love animals and encourage kids to do the same are solid citizens producing more of the same…..so best to suck it up and warmly embrace the disorder J.

Love listening to Mix FM hits from the 70’s,80’s and 90’s(puts a daily smile on the dial).

Hate the 2017 Blues and Warriors, clearly their ‘no dickhead’ policies are not working!

I hope life is equally as challenging and rewarding for you,have a good one,cheers Jonesey.

The Hendersons reckon they could sing better than Barney and Rocko if invited!

 

 

“What you do speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you say”. Ralph Waldo Emmerson

 

“Don’t do as I say do as I do” a great old adage and saying but how many of us live by it?

Being a Manager is like being a parent it is no good expecting the best from your team if you are not prepared to put in the hard yards yourself.

That means leading by example when it comes to performance delivery.

I have recently realised there are plenty of things I expect that I am not currently doing on a consistent basis myself……so time for action.

Last week I made sure I did what I said I was going to do rather than being ‘too busy’.

I read an article recently that inspired me to get more disciplined daily!

From what I read I took and applied three key things to improve my day;

1. Successful people get up early and get on with their day
2. Successful people have daily written goals (no more than 4)
3. Successful people stay focused on their daily goals and prioritise those tasks.
   I am lucky I already get up early so #1 was easy although I now use that time to plan as well.I have started setting myself daily written goals that I prioritise over all else.
   
   
   What I have found is that this helps me achieve at least those goals daily where in the past I was guilty of starting too many tasks and often didn’t complete any. This was normally because I wasn’t focused on those specifically and allowed other things to distract me,
   Seems simple I know but often the simple stuff is the hardest to do regularly.
   So what I have learned is don’t expect others to stuff you don’t do yourself!
   Read more because snippets like this are gold if applied to your own daily routine.
   So……don’t do as I say……do as I do…….good luck .
    
   “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind”. Dr Seuss