Christine Casey ~ Change Begins with Choice

In your quest for excellence, have you ever found yourself stuck (or worse quitting!) because you just could not figure out how to do something perfect?

Do you wonder what is the difference between the two?  Excellence is an attempt to perform a task in the best possible way, whereas perfection is the definite 100% right way of doing anything.  Excellence is something that all of us can aspire to ~ Perfection is seldom achievable by mankind.

Another way to think about it: excellence allows for occasional mistakes, yet perfection eliminates that possibility.  For example, if I expect perfection from myself, I’ll most likely fail every time!

Have you ever thought about how the two relate in our everyday lives?  Perfection is throwing one interception and losing confidence and Excellence is throwing five interceptions, yet coming back to lead your team to victory.  Perfection is performance based.  Excellence is always based upon improvement.  Perfection can make a victory become a failure. Yet, Excellence can turn a failure into victory.

What are some key differences between excellence and perfection:

• Excellence is willing to be wrong.  Perfection is being right.
• Excellence is risk.  Perfection is fear.
• Excellence is powerful.  Perfection is anger and frustration.
• Excellence is spontaneous.  Perfection is control.
• Excellence is accepting.  Perfection is judgment.
• Excellence is giving.  Perfection is taking.
• Excellence is confidence.  Perfection is doubt.
• Excellence is flowing.  Perfection is pressure.
• Excellence is journey.  Perfection is destination.

To best sum it up:  Perfection is not a goal, it is a fantasy.  Perfection can never be attained. Perfection is not part of our human world. ~ Excellence is attainable, and a very healthy goal for each of us to pursue.

Do you have a clear picture for what excellence looks like for you? Action steps you can take once you have your clear picture is to hold onto that image and take steps daily in that direction ~ whatever excellence is for you!

A great quote to leave you with, “No one is perfect…that’s why pencils have erasers.” ~ Unknown

P.S. I appreciate you stopping by and would enjoy hearing your thoughts on excellence or perfection,  so, please feel free to share in the comment box below. And, if you have found my post to be of value to you, and feel it would also be to others, then please free free to share it with your friends on Twitter, Facebook, etc.

A couple of weeks ago, I received in my email inbox an article from Darren Hardy, Publisher of Success Magazine, titled, “2011: How to Live Your Best Year Ever”. And, although I receive numerous links to articles in my email each day, I have to admit, this one caught my attention.  Why, you might ask…

Well…it’s not because the title refers to leading into this new year, or the general nostalgia that one might feel this time of the year.

No…it simply captured my attention because the initial contents struck upon a familiar cord, “Are you feeling a little bummed or even disappointed in where you are in life right now?”  Okay, you’ve got my attention, I thought.  The article touched upon specific thoughts such as, “Did you think you would be doing a little bit better and be a little bit further along in life by now?”   Regardless of the usual “New Year” type topics that one might expect to read, this one hit a little too close for comfort for me…

2010 was truly a wonderful year for me personally and professionally, filled with personal growth and new friendships, yet as the year was coming to a close, I did find myself a bit overwhelmed with “life” and, as far as “growth” may have been concerned, found myself at a personal “standstill”.  And, so yes, (unfortunately???) this article and subtopic points posed by Darren truly hit home.

And, it actually brought to my mind another book by Dr. Shad Helmstetter titled, “Who Are You Really, and What Do You Want?”, a title that has for many years stood out in my mind…not necessarily because of the very catchy title, yet rather because of the premise behind the title, WHO are you REALLY…and WHAT do YOU WANT.  To me, this seems to go hand-in-hand with the concept of personal development (actually hitting the nail on head), and makes me truly ponder about on the concept of who I am, where I am in my life (at present) and what direction I am really going (in my life). And, again I’m sure I’m not alone in this feeling.

I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that it’s been a little over four months since my last blog post, and during this time I’ve felt “stuck” and a bit in limbo because I allowed myself to become overwhelmed, “changed train tracks” on my personal direction, and well, basically, let life get in the way of my momentum.  The great thing about a New Year is that it is a traditional new beginning, and “an allowable turning point”, and a time to try something different.  Hey, you never know if it works unless you try, right?

In the scheme of the Big Picture of Life, something that I’ve learned and would like very much to share is that  you have to KEEP IT SIMPLE. Meaning, you still have to have a plan, yet it’s so important to break tasks down into “bite sized pieces”,  few important ones to strive to do each and every day I have my ‘Six Most’ list that I utilize each day, and, with that in mind, I also keep track of the items that I have accomplished, and note these as completed every day.  What a feeling!!!

I would very much enjoy hearing from others who may have had similar “ah-ha”moments and the things you’ve learned along the way of personal growth (especially at a New Year) that you’d like to share

P.S. If you have found my post to be of value to you, and feel it would also be to others, then please do me one favor and share it with your friends on Twitter, Facebook, etc.

In my post from last week I wrote about the power of networking and sharing of information with one another, and now I want to build on that concept a little more…

The individuals that I choose to network with all have very diverse backgrounds, interests, and goals — and this is a great thing because from time to time, as I may need feedback or assistance, I’m able to contact specific people about things knowledgeable to them. As an example, I’ve recently reached another crossroad in my business, and if you’ve ever been there yourself, you know how frustrating it can be ~ not knowing exactly which road to take and perhaps even feeling so overwhelmed, that you find yourself procrastinating ~ with nothing getting accomplished for a week…or longer! Ouch.

When I finally realized what was going on, that I needed a little assistance to get me back on track, I got in touch with two people I network with — successful individuals who I greatly trust and value their insights — and who aren’t afraid of hurting my feelings by telling me “like it is”, good or bad.  From talking with them, I was able to gain some much needed clarity and refocus on what was really important. And, I came away feeling refreshed, energized, and excited about taking my business ~and perhaps even my life ~ in a different direction.

And, at least for me, none of this would have been possible without me first having made the decision months ago to “get out of my comfort zone” and work to build genuine relationships with others — and of course, network.

How about you? Have you ever sought out assistance from someone in your network?

P.S. If you have found my post to be of value to you, and feel it would also be to others, then please do me one favor and share it with your friends on Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Information and knowledge are meant to be shared with others, and by sharing what we know, helping others to succeed & achieve their goals, everyone wins!

Did you know that sharing ideas with one another leads to shared knowledge? Learning from another who has traveled the path you are currently on is always a huge plus for your advancement. Networking has many benefits, not the least of which are the great people you will come to build relationships with.

Giving with no expectation of return comes from a proactive, abundance mentality.  When you give with no expectation of return, you are acknowledging the abundance of the universe.  You are demonstrating faith that the good you do will benefit others close to you and the world at large – and that good things will come back to you.

Still, there are those that remain hesitant about sharing information or resources and about working with others. You must overcome that fear of losing out on the glory and the profit and learn to work with others.

Some questions you might ask yourself:

• Why are you really doing what you’re doing?
• Is it about you and your own advancement, or is it about creating a result that benefits others?
• Which are you more committed to?
• What does your behavior say?

If your ego or need for status is getting in the way of creating the best result for others, be aware that this leaves you standing still, just waiting to be passed by someone who is fully committed just to getting the result. Rather than trying to defend yourself against this, it’s much more rewarding to stop undermining your growth with status seeking and take on a more giving attitude.

I’d like to leave you with a great quote…“Share your knowledge and experience. Don’t hoard information away like a miser.”

I created my Facebook profile account this past January, yet it wan’t until recently, when I began using more of it’s features, that I truly realized what a great tool it is — and now, I find myself visiting it more frequently than checking my email.  I discovered that by tweaking some of the settings, I can not only communicate more often with those I’m connected with, I can also get through a lot of the everyday chatter to see the information that I don’t want to miss!

NEWSFEED

Did you know you can change some of the settings for your News Feed?

Just last week, a good friend of mine mentioned that he had “un-friended” a few people he was connected with on Facebook because they were big into the games you can play, and he was tired of seeing all of that information in his News Feed.  He had no idea that he could “Hide” certain status updates/posts from within the feed.  Here’s how: From within your News Feed, go to the status update that you no longer want to see from within your feed, and click on “Hide”, which should appear in the upper right hand corner of the status update/post  when you have your curser over it.  It will give you two options; you can either Hide “your friend” or Hide “the application” from your news feed.  If you choose to do either, you will still be connected with this person, they or their application(s) just will no longer show up in your News Feed.

Have you recently begun to notice that some of your friends have disappeared from your News Feed?  Well, Facebook recently made some changes to the News Feed to limit the number of friends that will show in your feed each day, and if you want to change the default, and see more of what all your friends are up to each day, my friend Glyna Humm shares how do this.

PRIVACY

If you are someone who values keeping as much as possible of your personal information private, you’ll want to make sure that you have your Facebook Privacy Settings set to your liking.

To do this, go to” Account” on the top bar, then scroll down to “Privacy Settings” on the tab. First, I would recommend viewing the “Basic Directory Information” settings. To give you an example, I allow “Everyone” to search for me on Facebook & send me requests & messages, yet only allow certain lists I’ve created (which I explain a little further down in the post) to see my “Friend List” and “Hometown”.  For the “Sharing on Facebook” option (listed right under Basic Directory Info), you have a few options:

1. Share with “EVERYONE”
2. Share with “FRIENDS OF FRIENDS”
3. Share with “FRIENDS ONLY”
4. “RECOMMENDED” settings (by Facebook), or
5. “CUSTOM”

For my profile, I have chosen option #5, to create “Custom” settings.  NOTE: If you choose a “Custom” setting, you will need to choose “Custom” from the pull down menu that appears.

“Application and Websites”  is where  you can designate what, if any, personal information you make accessible through application and websites when your friends use them.  I would strongly suggest that you open up and look through each of the options you have from within this menu to make sure that information you deem private is not shared at all, even through the connections that your friends have.

Once you’ve changed the “Privacy Settings” to your liking, did know you can “Preview (My) Profile”, type in a friends name, and see exactly what they’ll be able to see about you on your profile?  To do this, go back to “Basic Directory Info” and click on the button in the upper right hand part of the screen, then you’ll see “This is how your profile looks to most people on Facebook Preview how your appears to a specific person:” with a box to type in the name on the upper left corner of the screen.

CREATING LISTS

I have found that the easiest way to organize all my friends on Facebook is by creating different lists.  To create a list, click on “HOME” in upper right corner, scroll down to and click on “Friends” (located in the left bar area of the screen).  You’ll then see a tab called, “Create a List”, which will open a new box with all your friends listed.  Name the list, and then choose which friends you want to be part of this list.  When you are finished, don’t forget to click  ”Create List” on the bottom of the box.  NOTE: Your friends can be on more than one list.

Let me share with you one of the great ways that I use my lists.  From within my News Feed, I can click on “Friends” in the left side bar, and then choose which listing of my friends I want to view &  just friends from that list will now show in your News Feed.  You can then click on another of your lists to see what’s going on with friends from within that list.  Remember though, once you click to another page in Facebook, your last viewing preferences will revert back to your default setting, so then next time you visit your News Feed page, it will again include all of your friends.

You can also use your lists to customize your privacy settings, or when posting status messages or sharing links & pictures.

FRIEND REQUESTS

When I receive “Friend Requests”, I look for either a personal note from that person, or if we might already be connected through mutual friends.  Another thing I will personally do is to view their Facebook profile and perhaps find out a little more about them, and some of the items I will notice are: Do they have a photo? What are their status updates like ~ Are any of them what I deem to be offensive or if they’re affiliated with a business, do they only write about their company or opportunity, with little to nothing noted personally (basically, I look for how they interact with their friends on Facebook, and ask myself if this is someone I want to link with)?

Something I personally do when I request a friend connection on Facebook is to include a short, personal note, especially if it is to someone who I have not personally met or interacted with yet.  And, when my friendship request has been accepted, I will always send that person a short message or post a short sentence on their Wall, letting them know I’m glad we connected on Facebook (Example: “I appreciate the connect & look forward to getting to know you!”)

Something I have made an effort to do each week is to pick three people that I don’t already know well, who I’m connected with on Facebook, and get to know them.   By taking the initiative, I feel I’m creating a real friendship connection, gaining valuable insight into someone else’s world, learning about new things, and I am closer to being able to state that I DO actually know most everyone I’m connected with on Facebook…how many of us with hundreds of Facebook friends can really say this? ;-)

APPLICATIONS

A great way to add more information about you(as well as to individualize your Facebook profile) is by adding applications.  Two applications I use (Networked Blogs & Friend Feed) are included on my tabs, and I also have a direct link to my Twitter account on the left sidebar. If you have a blog, the Networked Blogs application will allow friends to see a listing of all of your blog posts, as well as blogs that you follow. I use my Friend Feed application on Facebook because it shows a detailed listing of all of my activity from my other social media sites, such as Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube —  My friends simply click on this tab and will see what I’ve shared on my social media sites without actually having to visit each one.  How convenient, don’t you think?

If something that I’ve shared has been helpful to you, or you would like more information, please contact me, I’d love to hear from you!  Likewise, if you have any other tips/tricks for Facebook that I didn’t mention & you’d like to share, please leave a comment.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with your “To-Do” list, and consequently did nothing?  We all have.

So, how can you get past this obstacle, and accomplish your tasks?  I have found that an approach to tackling any new project-and certainly a major life change-can be found in this Chinese proverb, which is “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.

You can always find time to do one thing.  And, then another, and yet another.  By focusing on one step at a time, what you’ll find is that you create a bit of momentum that progressively brings  you closer to a goal — with each step, your life is slowly being transformed.

Personally, I have discovered that by writing down tasks (also known as “things to do”) every day, with my most important at the top, I keep focused and find that I accomplish much more than I would have otherwise.  Most people initially resist this suggestion, yet there’s an important reason to doing this: When you write down each step, you remove the guesswork and know your next step, so it’s more difficult to procrastinate.  And, you’ll consistently be reminded of what you need to do, and you’ll stay focused when life happens and something distracts you.

Believe me, if you will do this each day, you will keep moving and create momentum — and will be amazed at what you are able to get done each and every day…what a feeling!!!

Do you know what you want out of life?  Do you feel fulfilled?  In order to achieve a complete and happy existence, you must identify your goal in life — an objective that will give your life true meaning — your “WHY”.

The most important characteristic that enables people to stay the course through great difficulties is that they have a powerful purpose. Whenever you want to make any change in your life, the purpose behind your goal is more important than the goal itself. Did you know that?  In fact, it will keep you going when obstacles appear.  Notice I stated “when” they appear because obstacles are inevitable, it’s all about how determined you are to reach your goals that will assist you through these times.

Regardless of whether you want to start your own business, raise a family, travel the world or be a concert pianist, you can accomplish it once you specify what you want to accomplish and when.  Knowing your “WHY” intensifies your desire and commitment, and if you can create enough reasons why you want to make a change, there’s nothing that can keep you for reaching your goal.

What are some things that you can do to keep you moving in the right direction?

• Write down the goal that you’d like to achieve and list all the reasons why you MUST achieve it. Go ahead, make it a huge list of all the reasons that will excite and motivate you to stay in action every day. What are the specific benefits you will experience? How will you feel about yourself?  How will this victory impact your self-image and confidence? How will it benefit your loved ones?
• What will it cost you to not achieve your goal? Equally as important as identifying the benefits you will receive for achieving your goal, it’s just as important to identify the consequences of not achieving your goal. Give some serious thought about the consequences you’ll experience personally, professionally and spiritually if you don’t take the necessary actions each day to make your goal happen. What will it cost you if you don’t start working out consistently? If you don’t make the prospecting calls you need to make each day? If you don’t stop smoking? And as importantly, how will that make you feel? Our emotions drive our behavior, so fully connect with how it will feel if you don’t achieve your goal. You’ll be a lot more likely to take action and keep taking it if you regularly connect with the cost of not following through.
• Start every day by focusing on why you want to achieve your goal and the cost not to follow through. Every single day, think about how achieving this goal will positively impact other areas of your life.  Allow yourself to feel the joy and excitement that you’ll experience by honoring your commitments to yourself today to make that goal a reality.  And, just as important, review what it will cost you if you don’t achieve your goal. What will it cost you if you don’t start eating a healthier diet, lower your cholesterol, or save money for the future? And how will those consequences make you feel? Our emotions drive our behavior, so fully connect with the pain of failure to motivate you to take action.

I’d like to leave you with this final thought — isn’t it exhilarating to meet people who have a purpose and the drive to make it happen? Well, do you realize that can be you! Remember, goals give you sense of direction and something to get excited about.  Life’s journey will be much more enjoyable if you know your destination.  Take time to think about your goal(s) in life — your “WHY”.