The events going on in the world have impacted people in multiple ways. For some people who are already used to working at home, this has meant continuing with what they were already doing perhaps. For others it means that they are discovering a new way to work. For most people, communication has changed to less face to face and more reliant on technology. As people readjust to working at home it can be a bit disorienting as they continue their quest for success. However, there are quite a few tips that can help set things up for success on a day to day basis.

Stick to the Schedule

Sticking to a schedule is a very important key to success when working from home. While you may not be going into the office and having your normal morning routines, make new ones for at home. Set a schedule for your day and stick to it. Plan things ahead of time. This will make you more effective on a daily basis and also help you stay productive. It will help you account for what you are doing with your time and what you are doing during your time. Make sure to continue to have meetings, meet deadlines, and push yourself forward on a daily basis!

Along with scheduling your work days, make sure to stick with a daily personal routine for success. This includes getting up at your regular time, going through your morning schedule, dressing for success, and taking care of yourself.

Maintaining both a professional schedule and personal routine will help you to keep pursuing success without burning out. It will also help you evaluate each day and make each day better than the last.

Create Your Home Office or Workspace

An important element for success at home is having a place that will set you up to succeed at home. Create a place at home that is your designated workspace. This should be a place that helps you not be distracted but instead be focused. Ideally it should include a desk and a chair that will help you have good posture and a professional feel. This should be a place that isn’t your place to play games, but instead to be professional and get things done. Use it as your place of work. Also when you leave this place, leave the work there as well. Treat this with the amount of respect and professionalism you would your office in a “traditional” workplace.

Stay Focused

While working, keep working. Stay focused on the job at hand and don’t try to do too many things at once. Multitasking won’t help you succeed. Focus will. Jerry Seinfeld said, “lack of focus is why we have a lack of greatness.” If you want to do great things, keep greatly focused!

When working at home it is very easy to get distracted by family members, pets, chores, a readily accessible kitchen, a nearby TV, or a beautiful backyard. While you are working, keep working during your work hours and make your work time count.

Take a Break or You’ll Break

Breaks are important! Make sure to take breaks and get some exercise throughout the day. In general, it is easier to end up sitting down more when you aren’t getting up and going to work. Take this into account and look for ways to get up and get active. Take a walk. Do a workout. Get your heart beating a bit faster. Not only will it help keep you refreshed, it will also help you be more effective while you are working.

Connect

Warren Buffet recently said that people who become effective communicators up their worth by 50%. Communication is so crucial when working from home. This isn’t just for your own sanity as you suddenly work in a more isolated environment, it also helps make things more effective. Connect with those you work with for both accountability and also for building momentum. Utilize multiple forms of communication. Use text messaging, email, social media, Skype, FaceTime, or Zoom. Learn how to communicate succinctly and effectively. This will help you succeed and also the people you work with achieve success as well!

Be Successful

As with so many things, the path to success begins with a choice to be successful. Choose to be successful. Once you have made that choice, as with all choices to be successful, it takes planning, dedication, and hard work. It also takes a positive mindset! So visualize your definition of success, write down your goals and action plan, and then pursue it until you achieve it.

Working from home can be a mixed bag. It can be a liberating way to work for some and it can be the exact opposite for others. The important thing to remember is that it is all about positive thinking, working ,and also succeeding. With that in mind, set yourself up for success as you work from home. Then push yourself to be the most successful person you can be!

About Post Author

Robert A. Laird

Robert A. Laird is an entrepreneur and also Executive Director - Creative for Shepherd's Grove Presbyterian Church/Hour of Power with Bobby Schuller where he oversees the television show of the same name. He also works with the Reliv Kalogris Foundation as it strives to feed starving children around the globe.

robert.laird@dapsmagic.com

http://robertlaird.me

Happy

0 0 %

Sad

0 0 %

Excited

0 0 %

Sleepy

0 0 %

Angry

0 0 %

Surprise

0 0 %

To say it has been an interesting week would be an understatement. Just a little over a week ago people by in large didn’t really have a care in the world. There were potential fears viewed as an outside chance of happening. However, the reality of it in most people’s minds was that life would continue to go on as normal… maybe with a few inconveniences. However, one week ago that all changed. Since then, they have continued to change.

“Adaptability is about the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win.” – Max Mckeown

When the world finds itself on the other end of this crazy time, it will come out changed. This is inevitable. How people react to that change will, in many ways, determine their future. Some people will be proactive and recognize that change is coming and prepare for it as they analyze the events that are happening. Others will wait to see what the changes are and then react accordingly. Still others will wait for the changes and deny that they every happened. All of these approaches to changes will have different results. Those who have read The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People and embraced those seven habits will try to proactively approach the change and see the opportunities that can be found. Those who wait for change to happen and then react will find themselves approaching things already a bit behind. And those who refuse to acknowledge the change happened will have a whole other set of challenges unto their own.

What is needed right now is the power for people to be levelheaded, proactive, adaptable, and all of this with a level of creativity. All of this will need to come with a focus on how to not just get through this, but how to turn the challenges of our time into a way to win. This will mean embracing new ideas, new ways to communicate, and new ways to succeed economically.

This is the time where people can succeed through adversity. People can focus on just attempting to survive or thrive. Here are a few tips for leaders who want to thrive through adversity.

Attitude is Everything

The power of the mind can’t be underestimated. As people are approaching adversity it is very easy to get caught up and overwhelmed with everything that seems to be coming at them. To succeed moving forward, people need to have an adventurous attitude that also has a sense of humor. There are two important reasons for this. Having a sense of humor and an ability to laugh and the decision to face the future as an adventure to be overcome. Through it all, it is absolutely crucial to maintain a positive attitude! 

A part of having that positive attitude is a firm belief in the fact that “you can.” It is amazing what people can do when they believe they can do it and refuse to be told otherwise. I know in my own life I have been able to achieve things that people said would never happen over and over again because I’ve been crazy enough to believe it. Because of this, I directed a professional symphony at 21 years of age, have run non-profit organizations, and now am the executive producer on an international television show. If I can, you can!

Use the Past to Push through the Future

Your past can determine your future. I’m a strong believer in the fact that the decisions we make today determine the future that we live tomorrow. I also am a strong believer in learning from past experiences to be better during future ones. Those past experiences helped mold you into the person you are today and build up your strength for future successes. As they say, what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger! Keep that in mind when facing new tests and challenges. They will just help build you as your stretch your comfort zone through each new adventure.

The Serenity Prayer is Your Friend

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can,  and wisdom to know the difference. – Reinhold Niebuhr

Be at peace with the situations you are in. Recognize that some things you can change, others you can’t. That’s ok. Just focus on making the things better that you have the ability to. Let the things that you can’t control be. The worst that can happen is for the things that are out of your control get into your head and drag you down. Instead, think of the serenity prayer and focus on what you can do and the adventure that is being had. Mindset is incredibly important.

Don’t Give Up!

The people who succeed during times of adversity are the people who absolutely refuse to give up. Not giving up is a mindset, a choice, a commitment, and a mission. It is not letting anything stop you from where it is you are going to go. Sometimes that means finding a way around an obstacle. Sometimes that means recovering from setbacks. It ALWAYS means that you “keep moving forward” as Walt Disney once said.

A big part of not giving up is knowing why you are doing what you are doing and why you shouldn’t give up. Knowing the reasoning, or your motivation, will help you to continue moving forward. This belief in why you are doing what you are doing will reinforce your ability to never give up!

About Post Author

Robert A. Laird

Robert A. Laird is an entrepreneur and also Executive Director - Creative for Shepherd's Grove Presbyterian Church/Hour of Power with Bobby Schuller where he oversees the television show of the same name. He also works with the Reliv Kalogris Foundation as it strives to feed starving children around the globe.

robert.laird@dapsmagic.com

http://robertlaird.me

Happy

0 0 %

Sad

0 0 %

Excited

0 0 %

Sleepy

0 0 %

Angry

0 0 %

Surprise

0 0 %

Being successful is about boldly going towards whatever definition of success one is pursuing. For some people this is cause and for other people it is a result or destination. Whatever the outcome, a successful outcome requires effort, boldness, and the drive to reach whatever the successful outcome is.

With that in mind, I started thinking about some universal ingredients needed for success. As with so many things, the question must always be answered of “why do I want to succeed at this?” What are the consequences of failure or not trying? What are the benefits of success? Are they worth the effort? These questions should be what is considered first. It will not only help you in the future as you chase after your desired outcome, it will also help you weigh whether or not you actually want to pursue it. Once this question has been answered, and I mean really answered so that you can own it not just in your head but also in your heart, its time to move forward towards where you want to go.

To move forward and pursue your desired successful outcome you are going to need to have a sense of adventure. A sense of adventure is what will help you step out of your comfort zone, try new things, and perhaps most importantly, face your fears. To achieve a new success you must do things you haven’t done before. Recognize that as just a part of success. Recognize also, successful people do what unsuccessful people won’t. They go a little further, work a little harder, face more fears, and push their comfort zones. All of this could be just a little bit more but that little bit more than everyone else can pay major rewards.

Adventure can (and should) have a plan and a destination. Know where it is you want to go. Connect it with why you want to go there. Then combined start facing those fears, working a little hard, pushing a little further, and stretching your comfort zone. Bring a sense of adventure into the journey towards the destination and turn those obstacles into opportunities. Recognize that the adventure is a part of the reward of success. There will be high points and low points along the way. However, with a sense of adventure, these can be a part of the reward instead of the cost of it.

Creativity can change the world. The people who are creative are the people who are taking that adventurous spirit (and I don’t mean being Indiana Jones) to challenge themselves and try something new. For some people this is easier than others. However, creativity isn’t just a gift… it is a muscle. Just like athletes or musicians hone their skills, people can do the same with creativity. If your reason why is strong enough, you will choose to embrace creativity on your adventurous road to success! It just may not look what you initially imagined.

Let’s start off with what creativity doesn’t have to be. It doesn’t have to be someone painting a picture that people will stare at and love for generations. It doesn’t have to be writing a song that is loved by millions. It doesn’t even have to be creating a new recipe that makes people’s mouths water the moment they think of the dish. What it does have to be is a skill that can be intentionally developed over time that can lead to new things. What it will do for your road to success is allow you to look for solutions and new ideas in ways that you hadn’t thought before.

If you want to be more creative the good news is, you can! With the choice to work on being more creative a whole new world can be introduced to you. Once you have made this choice, try a few of these three things to start building up your creative muscle.

First off, do something creative. This can be as simple as doodling on a piece of paper, listening to different types of music, taking pictures with your phone, writing something (ideally fiction), or even reading! I like to do a few of these different things, sometimes at the same time.

Second, learn and be teachable. To do this you want to broaden your knowledge base and put new thoughts and new ideas in your brain. This can be done through taking a course, reading books, going to museums, or attending seminars. It is also a great idea to surround yourself with people you look up to and can learn from. Be teachable from the people who have gone before you and succeeded. Learn from their successes and also their failures. Also be open to learning through doing new things. You never know how a new experience can lead to a new perspective. As all of this is happening, make sure to have some fun along the way. A little play can go a long way.

With all of this, make sure to share what you are learning and experiencing. I remember in school hearing that the best way to learn was to teach. Be thinking how you can effectively share what you are learning with others. This can be done in your head, in a conversation with others, or even on a video online. What is important with this is that you are furthering the development of your thoughts and ability to communicate them.

And third, create an environment for creativity. The proper environment can really help stimulate creativity. Creativity comes from the head and the heart so you want to do what you can do to help those environments thrive. This means doing something as simple as walking and getting exercise, drinking lots of water, making sure you are getting proper nutrition, and also getting enough sleep. These may not seem like big things, but they really do make a big difference. Decluttering your environment can also be very beneficial.

A proper environment for creativity also is also building up that culture around you where new ideas are embraced, failures and the lessons learned from them are celebrated, and the journey is almost as important as the destination. Part of the journey is meeting new people with new ideas. It also is learning to disagree without being disagreeable. It is about creating a culture and environment that is positive and uplifting, not negative and degrading. If you find yourself being dragged down regularly by those around you, it might be time to start asking some questions and making some hard choices.

There are many similarities to the great success stories we hear. Learn the stories of Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, or even Abraham Lincoln. It soon becomes readily apparent that a part of their road to success was choosing why they wanted to do something, having a sense of adventure and willingness to pursue it, and then having some level of creativity to open their mind to new ideas and perspectives along the way. Then they boldly took action to achieve their successes. You can do this too. Boldly choose where you want to succeed and why and success can be achieved in ways you may never have even dreamed was possible!

About Post Author

Robert A. Laird

Robert A. Laird is an entrepreneur and also Executive Director - Creative for Shepherd's Grove Presbyterian Church/Hour of Power with Bobby Schuller where he oversees the television show of the same name. He also works with the Reliv Kalogris Foundation as it strives to feed starving children around the globe.

robert.laird@dapsmagic.com

http://robertlaird.me

Happy

0 0 %

Sad

0 0 %

Excited

0 0 %

Sleepy

0 0 %

Angry

0 0 %

Surprise

0 0 %

“The choices we make today impact the lives we live tomorrow.”

I’ve thought and said that phrase for years. I’m not sure if it is something I came up with or if I read it somewhere. What I do know is that it is true. Our future is influenced by our choices. This is true when it comes to life decisions, career decisions, relationship decisions, and even lifestyle decisions. The choices we make set the trajectory for where we will go. Will we always get exactly where we choose to go? Perhaps not. However, if we don’t make any choices we won’t go anywhere.

Today I’d like encourage you to try something: choose success. It seems ridiculously simple to say this but it also could be life changing. Stop and take a moment to think about this. What things in your life would you like to succeed at? What are the things that you want to do? What are the things you want to change?

Once you have identified these things it is time to evaluate what you want with them. What is the cost of success? What is the cost failure? What is the cost of staying where you are at? Once you have thought about these things it is time to decide the very basic question of is it worth it?

So you’ve decided it is worth it! Excellent choice! Your next choice is to move beyond deciding it is worth it and choosing to actually succeed. Choose success! As simplistic as this sounds, it is a fundamental part of the path to success. Choosing success will not only change your mindset, it will also change your trajectory. When you choose success, you’ve picked a point on the map of life that you want to head toward.

You’ve chosen success. Now it is time to move towards it. Remember why you made that choice with every step you take. Be consistent and proactive about taking a new step forward every day. When you have chosen to succeed and continue the pursuit of success, it is inevitable. It may not end up looking exactly what you imagined it would look like when you do succeed. Often it looks different but even better than imagined. Mainly because the process of achieving success makes the point of achievement that much more satisfying!

So what are you going to choose to succeed at? What choice toward success will you make today? Don’t wait, choose success and succeed!

About Post Author

Robert A. Laird

Robert A. Laird is an entrepreneur and also Executive Director - Creative for Shepherd's Grove Presbyterian Church/Hour of Power with Bobby Schuller where he oversees the television show of the same name. He also works with the Reliv Kalogris Foundation as it strives to feed starving children around the globe.

robert.laird@dapsmagic.com

http://robertlaird.me

Happy

0 0 %

Sad

0 0 %

Excited

0 0 %

Sleepy

0 0 %

Angry

0 0 %

Surprise

0 0 %

It’s a new year and for many people that means new goals, new dreams, and new opportunities. It’s a time to look forward and decide what path will be taken this year to get to a new place for next year. For some people the goals revolve around health and focus on weight loss, fitness, or eating right. For others, it is about pursuing the ‘American dream’ and getting to a better place financially. Perhaps that means getting out of debt, being able to eat out without stressing, or perhaps it is pursuing and achieving financial freedom. Any of these goals and dreams are possible but it really comes down to making choosing what goals you are going to pursue and committing to go for it.

One tool when creating goals that can help with success is choosing to make SMART goals. As you write your goals make sure they fit into the following criteria:

• S – specific
• M – measurable
• A – attainable
• R – relevant
• T – time based

This is just a way to remember that when you are creating goals, make sure each goal is defined and specific. Specific goals are easily identified not only by you but by others that you are explaining your goals to.  Make sure you can measure that success. Know what the definition of success is and what exactly you are trying to achieve. Be able to see how well you are doing on your goals. Goals should be attainable. They need to be something that you can actually do and not something that is impossible and will lead to frustration. Goals should also be relevant. Basically think if your goal is something that helps you get where you want to go in life, is something that really connects with you, does it fit in your life and align with who you are. Finally, goals need to be time-based. There has to be a deadline. A race where the finish line keeps getting pushed further away will never end. That’s not really achieving anything. It also robs you of your ability to see how quickly you ran the race and how well you did. Set a realistic time limit on when you want to achieve your goals.

Setting SMART goals don’t guarantee that you will achieve every goal that you’ve come up with. They do, however, help set you on the right path and empower you to be able to achieve your goals. The rest comes down to commitment, persistence, and work ethic.

What goals would you like to achieve this year? Are you ready to make it a great year?

About Post Author

Robert A. Laird

Robert A. Laird is an entrepreneur and also Executive Director - Creative for Shepherd's Grove Presbyterian Church/Hour of Power with Bobby Schuller where he oversees the television show of the same name. He also works with the Reliv Kalogris Foundation as it strives to feed starving children around the globe.

robert.laird@dapsmagic.com

http://robertlaird.me

Happy

0 0 %

Sad

0 0 %

Excited

0 0 %

Sleepy

0 0 %

Angry

0 0 %

Surprise

0 0 %

Growing up my dad frequently brought out and talked about Robert Kiyosaki books, residual income, and the hope for building wealth. At the time, I really didn’t get the concepts but I did pick up a few facts. These facts eventually turned into concepts and connected as principles for building wealth as I have grown older. Now as an adult I recognize the need for residual income in my endeavor to achieve true financial freedom and wealth.

So What’s The Big Deal About Residual Income?

So many might ask, what’s the big deal about residual income? Isn’t that something that only the rich have and those of us normal people just wish they have? Yes. The rich do have it quite often. No. Normal people can more than wish for residual wealth. Residual income is income where a task is done once and it continues on beyond the initial effort. This is in contrast to many people who do a job, get paid for the job, and then move on. Think of residual income as a book or a song that was written once and continues to sell copies for years on. The Beatles continue to get paid for music that they wrote literally decades ago!

Creating Residual Income

Perhaps about now you are thinking, that’s great but I can’t write music. That’s just fine. Writing music or books and getting a royalty check isn’t the only way to receive residual income. But, you can plant a seed today and continue to cultivate and it and watch it grow. In today’s world, that is the way for an average person to end up with above average income and lifestyle.

The key to residual income is creating something that people will want or need on a regular and reoccurring basis. It won’t do any good to have something that someone gets one and then is set for life. So find a good or product where people will keep coming back for more. Create or find a system that accompanies this product where people can be supported and succeed with it. Finally, implement that system and help other people do the same. The combined efforts will not only help you achieve residual income and wealth but in the process you can help others do the same.

What’s Next?

Life is all about making choices. If you really are serious about residual income, it is time to make a choice. You can choose to create a better financial for yourself or you can stay where you are at. Remember, the definition of insanity is to continue doing the same thing over and over again and expecting things to change. Is what you are doing working? If not, are you ready to try something else? Make the choice today to start looking for a better tomorrow. Once you have made the choice, decide exactly what you want your future to look like. Set some goals and make a realistic timeline. Finally, get to work! Very little in life comes to free. Make a choice to build a better future, find your vehicle* to do that, and make it happen!

*Here is the vehicle that I utilize. Remember, everyone is different and can use different tools to achieve success. While it works for me, success is dependent on the level of passion, work ethic, and consistency put into whatever course of action is taken. 

About Post Author

Robert A. Laird

Robert A. Laird is an entrepreneur and also Executive Director - Creative for Shepherd's Grove Presbyterian Church/Hour of Power with Bobby Schuller where he oversees the television show of the same name. He also works with the Reliv Kalogris Foundation as it strives to feed starving children around the globe.

robert.laird@dapsmagic.com

http://robertlaird.me

Happy

0 0 %

Sad

0 0 %

Excited

0 0 %

Sleepy

0 0 %

Angry

0 0 %

Surprise

0 0 %