SEVEN STEPS TO IMPROVE YOUR
P R O D U C T I V I T Y

Let's say you're very successful at what you do, but with the economy and a competitive market, perhaps you need to be even more effective. Now what if you could improve your business substantially, would you be interested?

For instance, what if you could take your current skill sets, right where you are at this moment, and improve them? Would it be worth a try? Not by a lengthy tutorial or extensive course, but by thinking smarter and being more creative in how you approach what you do.

As a motivational speaker specializing in teaching people how to use their own power to get results, I have a lot of competition, and I've been able to appreciably reduce the odds by using magic as a tool to help people retain more information, learn more quickly and have fun in the process. However, I am always looking for other ways to be more creative and market more effectively.

There's a current statistic that says we think 60,000 thoughts a day, and 90% of these thoughts are repeats. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out we're only using 10% of our creativity. And William James, the father of modern psychology, said that very often when we think we're thinking, we're just rearranging our prejudices.

So what's my point? If we are looking for ways to improve and excel within our professions, we must start to think differently; otherwise we will keep doing things in the same way, and keep on getting the same results. Keep in mind the definition of insanity is doing things the same way, and expecting different results.

How do we break out of our routine, our tunnel vision, in order to look at all the ways we can improve upon an already good or great product? By adopting the following tried and true rules, which apply to any profession and have proven to be highly effective.

Rule 1: Visualize the results you want. The term visualize got very little respect years ago, but then the corporate world embraced it when Stephen Covey wrote "Seven Habits of Highly Successful People." He told people to "see it" like they already had it, and to work their way backwards as if they had already gotten what they wanted. What steps did they need to take to really make their vision a reality.

What does this mean?

First, it's not possible to attain what you want, reach the plateau you are aspiring for, unless you have a very clear picture of what that is. What seems to happen however, is that as we "see" ourselves, much of the time we're looking at what isn't working, what we seem to be failing at or struggling with. And these images can go way, way back to a time in childhood or college where we goofed at something, and we're still holding onto that memory (not too useful at this stage of our lives). How and what we think about ourselves usually becomes reality. We become what we focus our energy on, good or bad.

It's been said we have a dialogue of 600 to 800 words per minute with ourselves, and most of the time we're worrying about what we don't want to happen. Since we're the most influential people we will talk to all day long it's time to be aware of our dialogue with ourselves, and start to change the message.

See where you want to be, then add emotion (get excited, feel the thrill of the applause or satisfaction of success) in order for the subconscious mind to kick in, get involved, and make your vision a reality. This stuff works. A man named James Nesbitt played golf at a certain course, where his scores were documented. When he became a prisoner of war during the Vietnam conflict he was put in a tiger cage, which didn't allow him to fully stand up. He was incarcerated there for the better part of seven years, and in order not to go crazy he visualized playing golf (perfect game, of course) four hours a day. When released, and in lousy physical shape, he went back to the same course where he had played. He had not held a golf club in seven years, and because of his visualization, he had dropped 20 strokes off his game. Use it. Many of our greatest athletes "see" themselves being successful before they ever begin to play. (Can you imagine what a clear vision Tour de France cyclist Lance Armstrong had in his mind during every leg of his journey?) This technique will help separate you from the competition, and enable you to shorten your learning curve appreciably.

Rule 2: Model Excellence, Especially Outside Your Industry.

One of the traps we fall into is aspiring to be exactly like the best in our industry, not model their strengths but mimic their every nuance. In the speaking world there are lots of clones (imitating the most well known speakers) with some people going so far as to almost copy the body language and type of clothing. What's wrong with this picture?

In the world of magic a talented young man named Lance Burton won magic's grand prix of magic, an international event called F.I.S.M. Afterwards we saw Lance wannabes everywhere. Does the world need a second or third Lance? Don't think so, especially when we've got the original.

So where do you go for role models? Way out! Go to the world of theater (who has the demeanor, the walk or style you want), television talk shows (who is quick witted or funny), dance and comedy. Look way, way beyond the world of magic and you'll find lots of inspiration.

Model people who have already achieved greatness. What do they have for breakfast, where do they go for inspiration, what books do they read, what do they do to keep in shape physically and mentally. Get the idea? Also be sure and hang around with people who are successful (no matter what their profession). You want to acquire the success mentality, and it doesn't come from always being around people who talk about when they get successful, when they finally "make it."

Rule 3: Ask Yourself How You're Limiting Your Own Success. We all set limits on our greatness. Analyze where and how you are blocking your own success. There's an old story of a little girl who was helping her dad water the yard, and suddenly she called out "help, there's no more water." Her dad looked down at her and said, "then get your foot off the hose." Let's look at ways we may need to lift our feet and get out of our own way.

Do you believe you don't have to market, that your reputation will carry you? Maybe you know better, but are you only targeting/marketing to one audience? Where can you expand, how can you increase your market? We all get stuck setting boundaries that limit our success. Assess where you can move forward.

Rule 4: Get a Coach. Author Harvey MacKay ("Swim with the Sharks Without Getting Eaten Alive") spoke to 3000 National Speakers Association members at one of our conferences and told everyone to get a coach. Boy were people upset. Talk about egos! Doesn't he know he's talking to professional speakers, this is what we do for a living, we all asked. Yep, he sure did know. And he repeated his opening line, everyone here needs a coach. A great actor still needs a director. I've been blessed with a wonderful mentor/coach who has, over the years, guided me in ways I could never have imagined on my own.

Rule 5: Don't Try to be Liked. This, you say, is insanity. I'm in the business of selling (your service, your product, yourself, your needs to others who work for/with you. We all sell, all need to be liked, right?

The fact is you'll be better at whatever you do when you let go of trying to be liked. Instead, a smarter philosophy is to decide what you can do for the person/group/team. People have many basic needs; knowledge, information on saving time and money and getting a job done and delegating what they can't do or choose not to do. If you are concentrating on being well liked, you won't be concentrating on creating the best that you can offer. Example: As a speaker if I go on stage focusing on getting a standing ovation and being really well received I might get nervous, uptight, forget something or start watching every move the audience makes�do they still like me, does the body language indicate I should tread lightly on this subject, etc. Instead, I know I want to share information with my audience that is truly important, information they need to hear. I might make them laugh or cry or get exasperated in the process. And sometimes I do get standing ovations (which makes me very happy), but that's not how and where I'm directing my energy.

Rule 6: Ask for Advice, and Listen. Listen to advice. You don't have to take it, but when you respect someone in the industry, ask him or her for feedback/input, and then don't close your ears to what you hear. Years ago I remember being backstage with illusionist David Copperfield after a performance, and the first thing he asked was "what didn't you like?" At his level of excellence, he was still asking what could be done differently, how could things improve. So often I've seen people give a presentation and afterward come up and say something like "well, didn't that go great?" They only wanted nods of approval, and that's not how we learn.

Be a sponge to input information from others in all walks of life. Obviously you don't (and shouldn't) take everyone's advice, but there's often a lot to learn by being open.

Rule 7: Commit. Over the years I've noticed the main difference in greatness and mediocrity is really quite simple, the great ones keep on until they get where they want to be, and they still continue to learn and grow. It doesn't matter your degree of talent or skill, if you're determined you'll find a way, if you're not determined you'll make a million excuses. I remember a conversation I once had with a very successful television writer. She had started off as a newspaper reporter, kept persevering and started writing jokes and situation comedies for assorted artists, and eventually settled on what worked for her.

And finally, start today. Many people wear a "Do Not Disturb" sign on their foreheads. Knowledge without action is useless. Knowledge with action gets you where you want to be. Humorist Will Rogers said even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. Keep on keeping on until you get exactly what you want. Never settle. Dare to create a vision, model excellence, be open to ideas from every direction, and you'll be amazed at your success. It all begins with deciding you're going to create a change, and then starting immediately to make that change a reality, step by step by step.