Creating Good Habits

Creating Good Habits

Follow these steps to develop good habits in your daily life, and to kick-start positive change.

1. Identify What you Want to Achieve

First, note down your personal and professional goals. You'll need to develop new habits to achieve these goals, so it's important that you're clear about what they are.
Now choose one goal, and think about the habits that you'll need to incorporate into your schedule to reach it. What do you need to start doing every day to make this vision a reality?

2. Build Good Habits Into Your Routine

Find ways to build your new habit into your routine. Block out a regular time for it in your schedule, so that you can give your positive habit your full attention.

3. Reflect on Your Habits

As you progress with your new habit, reflect on how it's working for you. If you're struggling to stick to it, think about why this is. Were you too ambitious? If so, consider setting a more manageable short-term goal to remotivate yourself.
Or, if your new habit isn't delivering the change that you expected, reflect on what's gone wrong. You may need to tweak your habit to make sure that it's delivering real change

The Power of Good Habits

Using High-Performance
Habits to Achieve Significant Goals

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Good habits make positive change part of your daily life.

© iStockphoto/enot-poloskun

If you've ever learned to play a sport or taken up a new personal interest, you'll know how satisfying it can feel to reach a significant goal.
As well as learning something new, you've changed yourself for the better. That's an empowering thought!
Good habits lie behind many of these positive changes. The repeated actions – attending a weekly sports practice, for example – help you to build the change into your daily life.
In this article, we'll discuss how good habits can help you grow, personally and professionally.

How Goals Affect Habits

You are more likely to achieve worthwhile goals if you have good habits.
Illustrating this, a 2007 study suggested that we're not motivated by goals alone. In fact, once we've decided upon a goal, we're more motivated – on a day-by-day basis – by the habits that we have set up to reach it, than by the goal itself.
We're also motivated by reflecting on our progress towards our goals. A 2010 study reinforced this: here, researchers monitored people who were trying to form better eating habits. They found that those who were encouraged to reflect on how they were doing, and who adjusted their habits accordingly, were ultimately more successful.

Live the moment

" Life is what happens to you while you are making other plans".
John Lennon

It is so true...we are so busy planning and working and worrying life has a way of just passing by.

Live the moment.

I find myself repeating this line to remind me to just shut it down and stop thinking so much and just -
-live the moment-.

It is hard sometimes , and even harder now that we are connected 24/7 by email and the Internet.
But life will pass us by if we are not conscious of it. Stop - look up- and live the moment.

Rather you are just hanging out in the backyard or you are on vacation or just hanging with the family , take the time to enjoy it. Tomorrow will be here soon enough. Repeat it to yourself so that it remains on your forefront of your mind...live the moment.

Put down that electronic device, shut off the phone, that's right shut it off- (even for just a few hours)- look up and look around. Take a deep breath, now exhale and do it again.

Life is short...LIVE THE MOMENT.

Jerry Maguire

I saw this and just thought I would share..

I’ve always found it difficult to pinpoint my core values because I believe that as humans, we are always changing and adapting to our environment.
Then, I happened to catch Jerry Maguire while flipping through television, right at the pivotal scene in which Jerry admits that he’s not happy with the state of his life or his job:

"Two nights later in Miami at our corporate conference, a breakthrough. Breakdown? Breakthrough. It was the oddest, most unexpected thing. I began writing what they call a Mission Statement for my company. You know — a Mission Statement — a suggestion for the future. What started out as one page became 25. Suddenly I was my father’s son. I was remembering the simple pleasures of this job, how I ended up here out of law school, the way a stadium sounds when one of my players performs well on the field… And suddenly it was all pretty clear. The answer was fewer clients. Caring for them, caring for ourselves, and the games too. Starting our lives, really. Hey, I’ll be the first to admit it. What I was writing was somewhat ‘touchy feely.’ I didn’t care.”

 


Everywhere you look, the word “core” is touted as important – to have a healthy body, you must build up your core muscles. When looking for a new job, you need to find something that matches your core competencies. When considering a romantic relationship, you search for someone with the same core values. Without a strong core, everything else just seems … lacking.
So it goes without saying that if your organization’s core values drive your business objectives, then employees need to understand and align themselves with it, even if they don’t always agree with it. Otherwise, your business objectives are likely not being met.

Your work

I work so I can live....I do not live so I can work.

I have worked full time since I was 17 and I will be 56 this year...that is a long time and I have learned every step of the way.

I enjoyed every challenge. My first job I moved up from stock boy to manager, I was the youngest store manager in a  chain retail store , at 21 I ran a million dollar store. I watched and learned and just kind of naturally progressed because I saw how it was done but more important I saw how to improve how it was done. I enjoyed learning about people and how to train and motivate, sometimes without even knowing that was what I was doing, I just fell into that role. I went on and set record numbers of increase in a already successful store.

I changed jobs because I had a young family and wanted more security and opportunity so a friend of mine suggested I put in for his job because he was moving up into sales. he dispatched servicemen for Honeywell. I knew nothing about it but applied because it looked like a good opportunity. I was hired and once again I found myself learning and watching and I reshaped how they dispatched and did their inventory room completely over. I liked the people and the company but once again I found myself looking for my security. Their main office was in Minnesota and I worked in R.I., I wanted to work for someone that knew me, I did not just want to be a number. Enter Paul Arpin's.

Arpin was a family owned business in my backyard. I answered a ad for a customer care person. I did not feel it was for me but they asked me back to interview, this time with David Arpin. David asked me to join their dispatch and he was very honest and sincere. I knew nothing about the household business but I now had 8 years of business and learning people to look back on.

I joined Arpin in 1985 and worked my way up to Senior Vice President. When I joined we did about 7 million dollars and we are now a 200 million dollar company. I had a small hand in that I hope. I certainly learned the most here and I am still learning every day. I reshaped how they dispatched and have implemented a complete computerized dispatch that still has our personal touch that Paul Arpin demanded but helps send and gather data and information without today's technology. Because as he said time and time again- without our drivers we are nothing- being a driver once himself he always built that into my DNA.-
Respect- others- work hard- and then work a little harder !

All that said I do not think my work is what defines me. My family defines me and at the end of the day that is where I have my most pride. I certainly am proud of my accomplishments and I am blessed to have met and hopefully helped many people along the way but when my kids first said daddy I heart melted, and it still does. Then they grow up and your grand kids come in and they call you Papa.
Life just does not get better.

I love working...and I love challenges and learning and training and motivating. It is pretty cool to shape and re-shape and step back and see what you have done.

Your work certainly does help define who you are but in the end your relationships, friends and family is what you truly embrace.

It is all a part of each other.

A reminder

Last week was a reminder on how precious life is and how vulnerable we all are.

Boston is about one hour from R.I., where I live and work and that is where the Boston bombings took place.

Innocent lives lost.

Lives changed in a instant.

Another reminder on how precious our lives are and how we just never know when and if it will take a turn.

Take today to stop the worries, to stop the hustle and bustle and thank God for all the blessings and the people in your life. Take a big inhale and exhale and take a look around.

Enjoy the day and pray for those who's lives were changed through this ordeal and for all those that may be going through a tough time.

And to all those people in my live at work on in my family I say thank you and may God bless each and every one of you.

Driving

How cool is it to be your own boss and to see the Country?

That is the opportunity that drivers have.

And mix in having the opportunity to effect another person's life and you have a pretty cool job.

Drivers in the household moving industry have all that.
They enter a person's life in what is one of their most trying times, when they have to pack up all their belongings and say good bye to loved ones and friends and move hundreds or thousands of miles way.

That is their challenge.

They are away from home themselves, and separated from their loved ones but they need to put that aside and do their job and in that that job they find it necessary to comfort the people in front of them too.

It takes a special kind of person.

That said it is those bonds that they make that have a tough time duplicating elsewhere.
At the end of a stressful move when that mother or wife or mom or dad hugs them and looks them in the eye and says thank you- wow- that is a pretty good feeling.
That is what hooks them...that is their true reward.

How great it is to have a job that allows you to be your own boss, see the country, meet people from all over the map and befriend them !
Pretty special.

Times can get tough but on those days that stressful we all need to remember what is good about what we do and the true rewards that we draw for it. It is not always about the money, actually most times our true rewards are not always monetary.

Training

Always strive to improve and train.

No matter how long you have been doing what you are doing continue to learn, train and change.
Adapt.

When we stop learning we stop growing. There is always a better way or a way to improve.

For our drivers and agents I strongly suggest viewing our training videos, they are the best in the industry.
Sure many of you will say I already know how to pack or load or prep a house but what can it hurt.
Sometimes it just helps to reinforce what you already know or who knows you may even pick up something new.

Same goes for those in management or coaching or in business, we can all learn. I constantly read auto biographies and management books as well as coaching books. I love to learn and force myself to think about how I can apply it to my life.

All that said, I mess up every day and say the wrong things sometimes. I am human.
It is just as important to forgive yourself as it is for you to forgive others.
Just try to learn from it and move on.
And trust me you will will probably make the same mistake more than once...that's OK...learn, forgive and move on.

Training is a always a work in progress, the day you think you know it all is the day you should retire.

Possessions

Possessions ...

Do not allow your possessions to possess you.

Times are definitely tough...especially for those of us in the 99% group. Tough is probably putting it mildly. We all need to adjust our minds and how we buy and we need to separate "want" from "need".

My generation was the first to rely on credit cards. In my parents time if they could not afford it they did not buy it or they saved up for it.
In my generation we put it all on plastic- buy now- pay later.

We need to go back to how the older generation did it- it can be hard and it does take discipline but it can be done. What happens when we run up our credit and dept is we allow our possessions to posses us.
We end up working longer and worrying more and not even enjoying all these things that we bought that we are working longer and harder for.

Simplify your life.

Business

Mind your own business...

If I was to advise drivers, agent owners or anyone in business or Even in every day social circles it would be..
Mind your own business.

I see where most people always concern themselves with the other guy, so much so they allow it to consume them.
They spend all their energy trying to find out what "they" said or what "they" do-   they waste all that time and energy when they should just focus on themselves.

I have seen it in every job that I have had and in very faucet of growing up.
I could never understand it and still don't.

A driver once asked me years ago on how he can succeed and I simply advised him to just worry about himself. Do not get sucked into the gossip and people always asking about his work and his loads. He said some time after that he got to understand who is true friends were by the ones that first asked him how- he- was or his family and the ones that just wanted to know what he had on and how much his load paid.

The same in the work place, people always want to know what the other person gets paid and if it is more they start to dis-like that person. I never even thought of that, it never came into play with my thoughts or direction. I was to concerned about trying to learn MY job so I could improve. What they earned or what they did was their concern.
That is still my philosophy.

That is the biggest cancer in business.. if people just worried about themselves and spent all the energy to improve what THEY do- they would enjoy their job and free themselves of ALL that negative energy and time spent.

Mind you OWN business...and you will lighten your load..trust me.

Think

Action Steps

1. Spend more time thinking about your goals, direction, and the outcomes you desire.
2. Put those thoughts to words, whether on paper or with a trusted colleague.
3. Get to work – take action on those thoughts and plans.

My Thoughts

Lots of people talk about taking action (me included). And action can not be underestimated in the scheme of achievement. But as this quotation reminds us, the best results will come from starting some place besides action.
Thinking comes first. We must think about our actions, have a plan, and consider the implications, but even more important than that, the things we think about all the time will impact the decisions we make and the actions we take. You have heard that you reap what you sow. If you want to reap the sweet fruit of success, you must be thinking about valuable, important, and positive things. It starts with our thinking.

Crazy business

Crazy Business... this could be said for pretty much any business.

If you place a dozen people in a room all with different jobs and professions you would see that they all share the same ups and downs...it is actually pretty eye opening.

I guess it really feeds into " the grass is greener " theory.

It also proves that you want to find happiness and feel a sense of any type of reward you need to look within.

In conversation you will see that their are always people that will try to get out of work or try to push the blame. There are good people that care and others who are just plain selfish.

It does not natter what you do or where in the country you are or how big your workplace is...trust me it is all the same.

If you think it is any different somewhere else think again.

So that means to succeed and feel good about yourself you need to learn to work within the structure and with the people that surround you....find a bridge.

Most important  thing to remember is to stay above it, do not sink to lowest but be better than that. Everyone has their own agenda, and their is nothing wrong with that, your challenge is to try to do your best and to stay away form the gossip and the negativity.... easier said then done some days.

Crazy business... yea probably but it is still a good life and you still have opportunity.

The Four Elements of Trust

The Four Elements of Trust

 

1. Able is about demonstrating competence. Do the leaders know how to get

the job done? Are they able to produce results? Do they have the skills to make things

happen—including knowing the organization and equipping people with the resources

and information they need to get their job done?

2. Believable means acting with integrity. Leaders have to be honest in their

dealings with people. In practical terms, this means creating and following fair processes.

People need to feel that they are being treated equitably. It doesn’t necessarily mean

that everyone has to be treated the same way in all circumstances, but it does mean

that people are being treated appropriately and justly based on their own unique

circumstances. Believability is also about acting in a consistent, values-driven manner that

reassures employees that they can rely on their leaders.

3. Connected is about demonstrating care and concern for other people.

It means focusing on people and identifying their needs. It is supported by good

communication skills. Leaders need to openly share information about the organization

and about themselves. This allows the leader to be seen as more of a real person that

a direct report can identify with. When people share a little bit of information about

themselves, it creates a sense of connection.

4. Dependable is about reliably following through on what the leaders say

that they are going to do. It means being accountable for their actions and being

responsive to the needs of others. If leaders promise something, they must follow

through. It also requires being organized and predictable so that people can see that the

leaders have things in order and are able to follow through on their promises.

 

 



 

More on Building Trust...

Rebuilding trust has become a top priority for companies that are looking to break out of the

negativity that has become pervasive in many organizations. A self-centered, “What’s in it for

me” attitude robs an organization of the best that employees have to offer. When employees

perceive that an organization—or its leaders—are less than forthcoming, employees

become unwilling to contribute any discretionary energy or make any commitments to their

organization’s well-being beyond the absolute minimum.

Lack of trust creates cynicism, doubt, and anxiety that leads to “time off-task” speculation

and generally low energy and productivity. When people don’t trust their leaders, they

don’t come toward something; they pull back and withdraw instead. They doubt rather than

cooperate.

Often, the result is that employees will stay with the organization and do their job because

they need a paycheck, but not much more. It becomes purely a transactional relationship

with employees asking themselves, “If the organization does not do right by me, why should

I do right by them?” Sometimes employees will even leave an organization where trust is

lacking. Blanchard’s research with more than 1,000 leaders reinforces this point. Fifty-nine

percent of respondents indicated they had left an organization due to trust issues, citing lack

of communication and dishonesty as key contributing factors.

Building Trust

Building Trust

Trust has taken a hit lately in all facets of our life. Chalk it up to the combined effects of the

economic meltdown, financial mismanagement, and an increasing sense that, in business at

least, everyone seems to be in it only for themselves. The result has been dwindling levels

of trust in organizations. In fact, a recent poll by Maritz indicates that only seven percent of

workers strongly agree that they trust their senior leaders to look out for their best interest.1

And a survey by MasteryWorks indicated that a lack of trust correlated highly to employee

turnover.

Trust is a primary factor in how people work together, listen to one another, and build

effective relationships. Yet many people are unaware of the actions that influence trust. Trust

is a critical link to all good relationships, both personal and professional.

Studies show that productivity, income, and profits are positively or negatively impacted

depending on the level of trust in the work environment. Trust can be created or destroyed

through personal perceptions and behaviors. Trust means different things to different people.

It’s predicated on who we are and how we were raised and is shaped by our experiences and

perceptions of other’s behavior.

More on this on our next blog piece..
 

FROM DRIVER SKIP....

http://reloroundtable.com/blog/commentary/rip-rubber-band/....Really good points,I remember,Jim Davis’s truckstop in San Jose,from 1980.It’s now a bank...What it was....TO WHAT IT IS.....Lets move on....

 

Stretch Wrap: The Rubber Band Replacement

Today it appears that the familiar hooks of reuseable rubber bands that once hung inside every professional mover's truck or trailer have been replaced by cases of high-priced new stretch wrap rolls and heavy duty – and equally expensive – packing tape.

Every time the ol' bedbugger in me sees a piece of furniture poorly wrapped in $200-a-dozen moving pads or skins and then secured with yards and yards of expensive packing tape and/or rolls of pricey plastic stretch wrap, I wonder how much this type of inefficient use of packing material resources and/or inexperienced, untrained labor is costing the industry's independent small business owners, new customers or accounts, and repeat corporate clients.

An even bigger concern for responsible business owners and industry executives is the financial impact this type of reckless behavior is having on the employees and families of those managing the business they rely on for their mutual welfare and prosperity.

Any idea how many car payments, grocery bills or hours of additional labor could be purchased each year by the thousands of struggling small business owners which the full-service moving industry is training to support this type of excessive waste?

What happened to working smarter toward a greener environment?

 

ME.I simply warn everybody....ANY tape hits my pads......They will be tripping over their guts when I open them up like a DEER....Those thing are mine,re-usable and the tape tears my pads up....LEARN to use bands.......

5 Things you should do everybody you lead

Create high expectations – It is the Pygmalion effect in action. People have a strong tendency to rise to the level of expectations placed on them. Some research indicates this as one of the primary factors in the success of firstborn children. Parents unknowingly place higher expectations on them than their siblings. High expectations can be a catalyst for those we lead to excel.

Provide challenging assignments – “A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions,” Oliver Wendell Holmes. We learn most of what we know about leadership from leading. We learn most of what we know in life from failure. When we give appropriate challenge to those we wish to develop, we turbo-charge their opportunity for growth.

Ask challenging questions – I never cease to be amazed by the power of the right question asked at the right time. (I’ve written previously about some of my favorite questions.) As leaders, we need to ask more questions. When we give someone an answer, we’ve given them a fish; when we ask them a question, we’re teaching them to bait their own hook. Ask great questions and teach others to do the same – they’ll thank you for it… later.

Give candid feedback – I hate half-hearted, half-truth feedback. I always have. Truth is a leader’s best friend. It’s also a great ally for emerging leaders. If something is holding you back as a leader, don’t you want to know? Of course you do! So do your people. When you and I fail to give candid feedback, we are self-serving leaders not serving leaders. We’re too concerned with what someone will think in the moment rather than being concerned with their long-term well being. The best leaders are truth tellers.

Share your contacts – This is not a new idea for me, but someone put it in a new light for me recently. The comment was made that to share your friends is the most valuable thing we can give someone. I’d never thought about it like that. I’ve re-doubled my efforts to share my contacts with those I’m trying to help develop. It may be a coach, a friend, a colleague at another organization or just someone I know who may be able to add value in a person’s life.

Thank you

4 Steps to Help Whiners Get Unstuck

1. Hear them out. First, hear them out one more time. When they complain again—and you know they will—take the time to listen to them, giving them your full attention and energy. It is best to do this in a private setting where neither of you will be distracted.
2. Summarize their issue. Next, when you are sure that you understand the problem at hand and the other person feels heard, interrupt them if necessary and gently say, “Let me make sure I fully understand.” Restate the situation and their frustration as you see it. For example, if they have been complaining about being micromanaged, you might say, “What I’m hearing is that you are frustrated because your boss is micromanaging you.” Get their agreement to your summary—but do not let them continue with their rant.
3. Help them consider their options. Now ask this magic question: “Understanding that this is the situation, what are your options?” In a best-case scenario, they will have some ideas and you can help them come up with an action plan. Chances are, however, that they are too stuck to think of any options. If so, lead with some ideas of your own and solicit their feedback. Either way, help them consider their options and decide on their next steps.
4. Make them accountable for next steps. To add an element of accountability, at the end of the conversation summarize the agreed-upon action plan. Ask the person when they plan to take the first step and set up a date and time to check in with them
What do you do if, despite all your efforts, the other person refuses to move on and seems as if they want to stay stuck?
At this point, I suggest a few options:

• Try to help them understand the effect being stuck is having on them and on those around them. Hopefully, you can stir them to action.
• Refer them to someone else for counseling. Perhaps the HR department has some options for them.
• Remember to take care of yourself. It may be time to ask yourself: Is this relationship worth the emotional drain I experience each time we are together?

Friendships

This week are our Regional meetings, agents fly into R.I. from around the country and this year we have record numbers. Hundreds of old friends and new friends visit to catch up and learn and exchange ideas.

It is always a shot in the arm to see each other, and it reminds all of us that we are in this together.

You hear it so many times  that it is not the final destination or the finish line that you remember but the journey. The people that you meet along the way, the lessons that you learn- that is the real prize, the reason at the end of it all.

In the 28 years that I have been associated with Arpin Van Lines I have met some great people, some true friends. I feel blessed to have a job that allows me to meet people from California to Texas to Illinois and Florida, Georgia, Virginia and the Carolina's, all of New England and New York and everywhere in between.

I learn every day, about the business, about people and relationships and about myself. I enjoy the challenge of trying to do better every day and if I can help someone along the way that is where my reward is and that is where I find the biggest reward. When a employee or a driver or an agent says -thanks- and that I helped them- I feel my best.

It is the many friendships that I will always remember.
In your every day work as you try to deal with the stress try to bring it down to having it all being a learning experience and it will help you deal with the stress.

Look beyond what is staring you in the face and rejoice in the opportunity that you have.

Rick Pitino

Here are some quotes from Coach Rick Pitino, the only man to lead two different schools to a National Championship.

The only way to get people to like working hard is to motivate them. Today, people must understand why they're working hard. Every individual in an organization is motivated by something different.

I just don't deal with the negativity. I can't get involved in that side of it. I don't understand it, and you can't let it take away from your life and what you are trying to do.

Failure is good. It's fertilizer. Everything I've learned about coaching, I've learned from making mistakes.

30 Days

30 Days....that is how long it takes to form a habit.

Whatever it is that you want to start to change or improve you need to stick with-it for 30 days straight. That way it will start to become habit. Try to replace a bad habit with a good one.

For example I quit smoking back in 1985. I could not go cold turkey I had to limit the times and places that I would smoke. I looked at the most crucial times or the times that I always would light up.
You know the times, right after a meal or driving or when have a beer. And those are the times that I had to target first and get my mind out of the habit.
( I was a two pack a day guy unless I went out and was drinking than I would kill another pack-)

One of the habits for instance while driving was just bringing my hand to my face so I replaced smoking with eating a apple. Replacing a bad habit with a good one and satisfying that action of hand to face. After 30 days or so it became habit now to reach for apple.

Rather it is your eating, drinking, swearing or your attention to your work. Think about it and what you can do to replace or change it and than make up your mind to continue it for at least 30 days. Mark it off on the calendar if it helps.

One step at a time...one day at a time.

Start it

What is it that you would like to do?

Lose weight?

Do better in your job?

Better your relationship?

What ever it is start by thinking how can you start? Take one step at a time. It begins by forming a mental plan, take small steps BUT start.

You can do it, you can change and improve but first YOU need to decide to do it. Do not do it for others but make yourself a promise. Set yourself a goal.

Make a long range goal and then a medium goal and and finally a day to day goal. Don't tell anybody because you do not need outside pressure, just tell yourself. Write it down if you want to.

In order to change and improve YOU have to start somewhere. Be your own toughest critic. Do not worry about others and what they think or say. Just make your goals and baby step into it.

You are the change that you want to be....just START IT.

Challenge

Challenge...


" Are you taking responsibility for your life or are you just letting each day pass you by?

I challenge you today,

 - RIGHT NOW, ..

 to do something that will make a positive change in your life."

Forgiveness

By Don Henley..


I've been learning to live without you now
But I miss you sometimes
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I knew, I'm learning them again
I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter
But my will gets weak
And my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore

These times are so uncertain
There's a yearning undefined
And people filled with rage
We all need a little tenderness
How can love survive in such a graceless age
And the trust and self-assurance that lead to happiness
They're the very things we kill, I guess
Pride and competition cannot fill these empty arms
And the work they put between us,
You know it doesn't keep us warm
All the people in your life who've come and gone
They let you down, you know they hurt your pride
Better put it all behind you; cause life goes on
You keep carrin' that anger, it'll eat you up inside

I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter
Because the flesh will get weak
And the ashes will scatter
So I'm thinkin' about forgiveness

Leadership Quotes

There’s something special about a great quote.  It captures an idea in the span of a few short words and that idea is so much bigger than we would expect.  It inspires.  It stirs the soul.  It elicits unexpected emotions from the depths of our being.  There’s a reason we love quotes: they work.

So without further preamble, here are some of my all-time favorite leadership quotes:

- “Never mistake a clear view for a short distance.” – Paul Saffo

- “Equality is not only a right, it is also a noun.” – George Merriam of Merriam-Webster*

- “Run!” – Major General George Armstrong Custer*

- “Golf is like leadership – it’s hard as hell but everyone thinks they can do it.” – Chi Chi Rodriguez*

- “Old man, I’m gonna come at you like a spider monkey!” – Texas Ranger

- “Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers.” – Homer Simpson
Love that one-

- “Never sneak up on a man who’s been in a chemical fire.” – Ian McShane as Frank Powell

- “A committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours.” – Milton Berle
Love this one too

- “Good artists copy, great artists steal. And we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas.” – Steve Jobs

- “I pretty much operate on adrenaline and ignorance.” – Johnny Knoxville

- “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” – Japanese Proverb

- “Every rose has its thorn.” – Poison

- “You won’t like me when I’m angry.” – Bruce Banner

- “One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real bona fide stupidity, there ain’t nothin’ can beat teamwork.” – Edward Abbey

- “Underpromise; overdeliver.” – Tom Peters

- “Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever.” – Lance Armstrong (he totally said this)

Do it for yourself

Set goals.. always try to improve.. and most of all .. DO IT FOR YOURSELF FIRST.

Do not set goals to impress others or to try to gain more control but do it because YOU want to do it. Because it is the RIGHT thing to do.

If you set out to achieve your goals just in spite or to prove something to others you will not succeed.
Because ultimately YOU are the one that you need to prove things to. You know what is right and you know what you NEED to do.
Just do it.

But do it for the right reasons. Then and only then will you feel true satisfaction.

Do not brag or boast along the way. Remember that through your successes will also be failures.
Never get too high and do not allow yourself to get too low.

Life will always throw you curve balls and you may think that it is not fair at times.
Stay strong and carry on.
We all have our cross to bear.

When you know in your heart that you are trying and that you gave it your honest best- that is all you can do.

Do it because it is RIGHT- Follow your instincts and your heart and you will not go wrong.
Things will work out.. maybe not always on your timetable but they will.

Comment on " Plugging Holes "

Road Warrior has left a new comment on your post "Plugging Holes":

In our industry there are way too many things that get in the way "Remove obstacles. Organizations create hoops, sign offs, and regulations that make work harder. Ask, “What’s slowing you down?” When you find out, remove it or smooth the way. ".I  simply find any way around problems....AND simply fix issues myself....It's not hard, getting more folks involved just makes issues bigger....Adapt, Improvise....
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From driver Skip...

Road Warrior has left a new comment on your post "Dream":

This is what I LOVE about our business"If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas."EVERY day,I learn something...I enjoy the loading process,seeing the new guys looking at a hole and coming up with 20-30 thing that will fit(most I never even thought about),I just hit my head and say"DANG"yeah----Bring it on..Pay attention to those around you,there's a wealth of KNOWLEDGE,all you have to do is LISTEN!

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Plugging Holes

Plugging holes:
When boats are sinking you can bail like hell or plug the damn hole! Preventing one bad creates more buoyancy than appreciating one good because bad outweighs good.

Do more good by eliminating one bad.

1. Eliminate negative employees.
2. Remove obstacles. Organizations create hoops, sign offs, and regulations that make work harder. Ask, “What’s slowing you down?” When you find out, remove it or smooth the way.
3. Stop belittling. Work that isn’t valued isn’t meaningful.
4. End frustrations. Explore frustrations with employees, don’t ignore them, end them.

Throw out bad – good comes back.

Still more:

1. Focus on progress constantly. You’re falling behind if you don’t. Better wins.
2. Transform setbacks into progress by making them learning events.
3. Respect. Welcome ideas, for example. Don’t dismiss suggestions, explore them. Off handed rejection belittles.
4. Agree on outcomes then let go. Freedom energizes; control drains.

The pursuit of excellence is fueled by positive environments.

Positive environments aren’t accidents, leaders build them.

Eliminate bad.

Shout the good.

Whisper correction.