Friday, November 25, 2016

Self-Leadership - Getting The Monkeys Off Your Back

What did I do when I felt stuck in my business and personal growth?  Signed up for another business building program sponsored by company, reluctantly.  Although I didn't feel like I need more business building ideas - I have been in the financial services industry for a long time and collected volumes in books, tapes, videos.  I get news letters from all the supplier companies and other industry publication.  I signed up anyway because I wanted to break out of the rut.  The program in question was one offered by +Anthony Morris, a coach specializing in training and development in the financial services sector. Although I considered the program a refresher I thought if I get only one thing out of this, it would be worthwhile.  I did pick up some practice management tips and tools that I implemented and still use as standard procedure in my sales and client service offering. 

The big payoff came on the last day.  Antony Morris opened the final session with the statement " It doesn't matter how much you know, or how motivated you are, unless you deal with the monkey on your back you will not accomplish what you set out to do". (The statement in quotation is paraphrased as I do not remember word for word what was said, it has been five years.) That was it, that was what I need to hear and that made the effort and the price of admission worth it.  Before the session ended I took my bag and binder and left because I know exactly what I need to do.  I had been using part-time assistants in an on/off basis after my last full time person left a couple of years prior. I was "making do" but then and there I knew if I was going to move forward I needed to invest the time to hire and train a "proper" assistant so I can focus on my clients.

The timing was good because it was near the end of the year 2011.  After leaving the workshop I went back to my office and drew up a plan of what I was going to do.  I called an agency that handles job placements and arranged a meeting with a program coordinator.  I revised my practice management guide to incorporate the tools from the Anthony Morris program I'd use.  The ball was now set in motion.

The following month (December) I got together with  a couple of colleagues to do our planning for the new year.  I pulled out a "life plan" document I had drawn up back in 2003.  It was then I realized that hiring an assistant was dealing with monkey #1.  It was a great start.  Construction of a new life was now underway.

Job number one is taking stock, figuring our where you are and where you want to be.  Until and unless you do that you are just going around in circles.  My new found "friend" and mentor +John C. Maxwell was asked if he had a growth plan and he turned that question into a mission that got him on the path to become the number one leadership guru as rated by influential organization Inc. Magazine and others.

My question to you today is "What is the monkey on your back?"  What is holding you back?  The first thing that comes to mind is perhaps the one that need immediate attention. Write it done, find a way to address it.  I can guarantee you other monkeys will surface, and soon you will realize that there was no way you would have been able to achieve your goals and reach your full potential - living a life of significance - with a colony of monkeys on your back.  Start with one, deal with them one at a time and keep focused.  Remember life is, after all a journey!

BEVERLEY ALLEN, FLMI

Beverley

Investment Fund Advisor & Life and Health Insurance Advisor
Desjardins Financial Security Investments Inc.
Desjardins Financial Security Independent Network
Ontario Central Region (OCR), GTA West Branch
5070 Dixie Road
Mississauga, On L4W 1C9

#MoneyTalkwithBevAllen

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Emotional Quotient - Do You Handle Critism Like Donald Trump Or Barak Obama?

I wrote this post on November 6th but didn't publish it.  I was about to do so today November 22nd, and thought I would update it to include this comment.  How timely that the U.S. President Elect Donald Trump schedule a huge "off the record" meeting with TV network executives, news anchors, journalist - a list of who is who in the news business.  This meeting, from what I read, was billed as the President Elect finally making time to meet with the media to work out a way forward for covering the new administration.  Instead, they were further rebuked, insulted, ridiculed - not what they were expecting.  This is not the first time the media "has been had" this way though, it happened a few times during the campaign.

So, really, be honest, do you react like Donald Trump when someone criticizes you or do you respond like President Barak Obama?   May be on a scale somewhere in between?

I became aware of the term EQ or motional quotient back in the mid 2000's while attending an industry conference, Mackenzie University put on by Mackenzie Financial.  One of the presenters (I believe to be Daniel Goldman, Arthur of Emotional Intelligence) spoke on the topic and it was riveting.  Although I have been curious about the subject and have read many personal development books I did not start to focus on the subject until 2007.  I can tell you that raising your emotional health or your EQ does not happen at the snap of your fingers - believe me!

Socially aware, definitely. Politically engaged - somewhat.  My interest in the political discourse was mostly situational but I have always read the newspapers and kept abreast of what is happening both locally and around the world. Up until recently I subscribed to more than one paper.  American politics - before 2007 all I knew was who the contenders were and who one.  That changed when Barak Obama came on the scene.

Barak Obama came to my attention when I read an article about him in Oprah Magazine in 2004.  I was a raising a young man in a society I entered fully developed.  I grew up in Jamaica where people do not wake up everyday thinking about what colour they are.  I lived and raised my kids like that.  But, after becoming aware of the need to ground my son in his personal identity as a Canadian born young man in a family of mixed race heritage I thought Barak would be a good role model for him so I went out and bought Dreams Of My Father for him, one more tool in the arsenal for raising a successful male.  My son is doing very well for himself, by the way!  After that DNC speech in 2006 I became fixated. I have learnt a lot about emotional intelligence - EQ, by observing Barak Obama through a brutal campaign and watching him through his years as President of The United States of America.

Everything I have read about high states of consciousness, being "awake" spiritually and having a high emotional intelligence leads me to believe that President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are people who have achieved extremely highly developed emotional quotients.  Their high EQ's along with their high IQ's have enabled them to be so successful in the face of unprecedented racism, bigotry, unwarranted mean and degrading criticisms and outright obstructions. Compare how they deal with these pile-ons with how Mr. Trump deal with the smallest slight.  I will let you do the grading.

It has been said that a high EQ will take you further that a high IQ and I can tell you that I agree with this as there is much evidence to prove this theory.  One of my favourite motivational speakers, Bob Proctor said "Education alone will not bring you success, the world is full of educated derelicts."  Where to start?  Get a good book on the topic, read it, follow the example of John C. Maxwell and develop a growth plan. Then take it from there, one step at a time.  Let your intuition be your guide.

Today is the day.  Happy journey,

Beverley