W.I.N. Wednesday: Want to grow? Do this.

Maximizing human potential through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Dare to Be Great, Not Perfect.

April 22, 2015 / Brian Willis

During my presentations on What's Important Now? and the Pursuit of Personal Excellence I have begun to challenge people to Dare to Be Great. Greatness is a choice. Greatness is a process. It is the result of making the commitment to be a little bit better tomorrow than you are today.

In my presentation yesterday at the ILEETA Conference titled Dare to Be Great, I shared some insights from Eric Greitens great book Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for a Better Life. I am going to share two of those insights with you, and strongly encourage you to read the book.

The first insight is:

“You don't need to know what perfect looks like you just need to know what better is. Use better as your guide.”

The pursuit of personal excellence, and the journey to be great requires that you strive to just get a little bit better every day. You do not have to reinvent yourself each day. You do not have to change the world in a day. You do not have to put a dent in the universe each day. You just need to focus on 'better', and get a little bit better every day.

On that journey to be great you also need to allow yourself to be human. To be human is to make mistakes. To be human is to have failures. To be human is to stumble on the journey. To be human to is have good days and bad days. To be human is to be imperfect. The goal is to Dare to Be Great, Not Perfect. Eric Greitens reminds us to be human with this insight from Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for a Better Life:

“Accept that you are imperfect and always will be. Your quest is not to perfect yourself, but rather to better your imperfect self."

Are you willing to accept the challenge to Dare to Be Great? If you are, then allow Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now? - to serve as your guide along the journey.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Maximizing human potential through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Yes, it's that simple.

April 15, 2015 / Brian Willis

"The time is always right to do what is right."

Martin Luther King Jr.

As you go through life you are faced with many choices and decisions. Some are easy and others more complex and challenging. In order to make better decisions it is helpful to have a guide or filter. Here are two:

What's Important Now? Three simple, but powerful words that can help you drastically enhance the decisions you make in your life.
Do what's right. Doing what is right is not always what is popular and not always what is expedient, but it is always what is right.

Doing what is right and focusing on What's Important Now? are not always easy. Some would challenge and suggest this as too simple a strategy to be effective as a life guide. There is a difference between simple and easy.

Simple: Lack of complexity.

Easy - Lack of effort.

W.I.N. and Do What's Right are simple strategies, not easy ones.

The next time you are struggling with a decision ask yourself, "What's Important Now?' and "What's the right thing to do?". You might be surprised at how simple the answer is.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Maximizing human potential through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Why you need to become a Whistle Blower.

April 08, 2015 / Brian Willis

While riding the exercise bike at home I like to listen to podcasts so I can exercise my mind as well as my body. This past Saturday I listened to an episode of Unlocking the Minds of Athletes podcast hosted by former NFL player Isaac Byrd. In this episode (#15) he was interviewing sports psychologist Stephen Walker.

One of the things that jumped out at me what his reference to What's Important Now? Since you are reading this blog you know that for the last 13 years I have been speaking and writing about What's Important Now? and referring to it as Life's Most Powerful Question.

During the interview Isaac asked Dr. Walker to talk about getting players to focus on "playing in the now". Dr Walker shared a story about Pat Summitt, the former coach of the Tennesse women's basketball team and the all time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history. He said Pat used to carry two whistles at practice. One was a sterling silver one she was given as a gift in recognition of one her many milestones and the other was a plain red whistle. The red whistle however, was the What's Important Now? whistle. During practice she would blow it at critical times and call out a player's name. That player had to immediately explain what their assignment was, where they should be on the court and what they should be doing. Brilliant.

How does this apply to you? You need to find your own version of the 'red whistle' and be your own Hall of Fame Coach. At key times in your day blow the imaginary red whistle on yourself. Ask yourself "What's Important Now? What do I need to be doing? How do I need to be thinking? What do I need to do at this moment to get myself back on track or refocused?"

You could carry a red whistle in your pocket to remind you or wear a W.I.N. wristband as a reminder. You could make yourself signs or posters with W.I.N. and the picture of a red whistle on it and place them in strategic places in your home and office as a constant reminder.

The key is to become a W.I.N. Whistle Blower for yourself.

If you are a coach consider teaching the W.I.N. Philosophy and having your own red whistle at practice.

As a leader create your version of the red W.I.N. whistle to use at meetings to get everyone refocused and back on task.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Maximizing human potential through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

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W.I.N. Wednesday: The one thing that makes the biggest difference.

March 18, 2015 / Brian Willis

"There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. That little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative."

Robert Collier

Last week while waiting to catch a flight at O'Hare airport in Chicago coming home from teaching in Fort Wayne, Indiana, I had the pleasure of having Joe as the United agent working my gate. I have encountered Joe before and he always has a great attitude. I watched him deal with cleaning staff, customers, and the flight crew. He treated everyone with respect and sincerity, even the First Officer for the flight who treated Joe like he wasn't even there.

I took the time to tell Joe how impressed I was with his great attitude and the way he treated everyone. Joe was very appreciative of the compliment and stated, "We are all here for the same reason, to get you out on time and make sure you have a great flight."

My responses was, "we may all be here for the same reasons, but not everyone brings the same attitude to the job." and I told him again how much I appreciated his attitude.

Im my travels, in my business and in life I encounter a lot of people who all allegedly have the same goal or mission. Some have great attitudes and make it a joy to deal with them. Some have crappy attitudes and make dealing with them a miserable experience.

The attitude you bring is infectious not only with your customers but with your peers.

I have written about attitude before, and will write about it again as it is often the one thing that makes the biggest difference.

What's Important Now? - Understand attitude is a choice. Choose well.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Maximizing human potential through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Please share this with your friends, family and co-workers and encourage them to go to www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com and subscribe so they never miss an issue of W.I.N. Wednesday.

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Our service sucks! Wanna still do business with us?

March 11, 2015 / Brian Willis

On a recent flight I was surprised to hear one of the flight attendents telling two of the other business class passengers that the service with their airline is horrible. She was telling them about a bad experience she had as a flier on the airline she worked for and was commiserating with them as they complained about some of the service they had recently received.

The flight attendant went on to tell this couple that the airline had hired a company that did the 'secret shopper' experience so they could provide the airline with feedback on every aspect of the customer experience with the aim of improving customer service. I am not sure how she knew they were not 'secret shoppers'.

As a customer the last thing I want to hear from any employee is that the service with that company sucks. Bitching about your employer, the company who pays your salary, in no way enhances by my view of you, or the company. If enough customers listen to you and leave and go to another airline, or another service provider then you may find yourself out of work.

What's Important Now? - If your organization has a reputation for service that sucks then do something about it. Ensure that I have a great experience in dealing with you. If I am bitching about the company to you then tell me you are sorry to hear that I had a bad experience with someone in the company and let me know that you will do whatever you can to ensure I have a great experience. Be an agent for change. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Maximizing human potential through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Please share this with your friends, family and co-workers and encourage them to go to www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com and subscribe so they never miss an issue of W.I.N. Wednesday.

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W.I.N. Wednesday: I suck at this, but I am working on it.

March 04, 2015 / Brian Willis

Ok. The theme this week in the three blogs that I write is to stand up and confess two areas where I struggle badly, in fact I suck at these:

Vulnerability.
Asking for help.

I struggle with being open about my feelings, my fears, my past failures and my insecurities. I am surrounded by a loving and supportive family and a network of friends and colleagues who who be glad to help me but, I am just not good at asking for help when I am struggling with aspects of my business or things in my personal life. I am not good at asking for help or just saying no when I get to the point of overwhelm.

Why? I am not sure. I am not sure if it is just my make up, the introvert in me, a man thing or a cop thing. Maybe it is a fear of appearing weak. Maybe it is a fear of being judged. Maybe it is a fear of appearing weak. Maybe it is all those things and more.

For years I never talked in my seminars about my struggles over the years with my weight, being bullied in school, or the decision I made as a teenage that resulted in me dropping out of high school part way through Grade 11 and living in the back seat of a car for months. I rarely talked about the point in my life at 18 years old when I was 60 pounds over weight, a high school drop out, a pack a day smoker working at a job that paid $325.00 per month and I made the decision to change my life and go after my childhood dream of becoming a police officer. Then a few years ago someone at the end of a full day seminar I taught asked me, “Have you always been like this?” When I nervously asked for clarification on what she meant by “Like this”, she said, “You stand up hear for 8 hours without notes and rattle off all these names, stats and stories. Have you always been this confident, dynamic speaker.” While I was embarrassed and flattered by the compliment built into the question it made me realize I had been speaking to this group for 7 years and never once spoke of my past. So that day, for the first time, I did reveal some of my ‘homeless living in a 64’ Plymouth’ story. I was nervous doing it but it seemed to resonate with the crowd.

I am not proud of that time in my life. I am not proud of how those decisions hurt my feelings. I am not proud of it but, I am the person I am today partly because of that experience. I was very nervous the first time I revealed this part of me to a law enforcement audience but the message seemed to resonate with many in the audience.

Over the past year I have begun to power the power and importance of vulnerability. I have had discussions with fellow law enforcement trainers about this. Watching Brene Brown's TED talks on vulnerability and then recently reading her book Daring Greatly opened my eyes and my mind even more to the importance of vulnerability.

I then watched a TED talk by Amanda Palmer, listened to her being interviewed by James Altucher and recently read her book The Art of Asking. The book is about vulnerability and the importance of being willing to ask our 'community', our 'tribe' and our family and friends for help when we need it.

I would encourage you to watch the TED talks, read the books and explore these issues in your life. I am very much a work in progress. I have begun asking for help in small ways and will start to ask you, the W.I.N. Community for help occasionally. When I ask for help it will be to help with something that serves the greater good and not just something that serves Brian.

So, I have a favour. I am continually amazed and inspired by the ways people find to apply W.I.N. In their personal and professional lives. Over the next week I would be grateful if you could get 3 to 5 new people to go to www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com and sign up for the W.I.N. newsletter. We currently have about 3000 people that subscribe to the newsletter and I would love to get that number over 10,000 so that we can continue to spread the message and change people's lives through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Take care.

Brian Willis

February 25, 2015 / Brian Willis

Maximizing human potential through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Do you have these two characteristics?

"When I look at the people that I enjoy working with most, they share two characteristics: they are humble and they are hungry. These individuals often don't come with the label of 'blue-chip'. They may not have the resume that some do, but they make up for it in discipline and determination. They are hard workers who treat each day as a new opportunity to live greatly."

Don Yaeger

Are the words Don Yaeger uses in this description words that people use when they talk about you: humble, hungry, discipline, determination?

Are you hungry? Hungry for new knowledge? Hungry to find a better way? Hungry to end the scourge of mediocrity and inspire people to embrace the pursuit of excellence? Hungry to be of service to others?

Do you stay humble by taking the blame and giving away the credit?

Do you have the discipline to create daily rituals? Rituals like reading every day, listening to educational and inspirational podcasts or other audio material, working out regularly, eating healthy, and getting adequate rest.

Do you have the determination to keep going when things get tough? The determination to accept failure an opportunity to learn a better way and as a natural part of growth?

What’s Important Now? – Stay humble and hungry. Maintain your discipline and determination. Embrace W.I.N.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Maximizing human potential through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Please share this with your friends, family and co-workers and encourage them to go to www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com and subscribe so they never miss an issue of W.I.N. Wednesday.

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W.I.N. Wednesday: When eggs learn to fly.

February 18, 2015 / Brian Willis

“It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight

harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg.”

CS Lewis

In order for you to grow as a person, you need to change.

Change is hard. So, too often we do the easy thing and refuse to change. We embrace the status quo, remain as the egg and then wonder why we cannot fly.

You need to learn to embrace change. Not change for the sake of change, but change for the sake of growth.

Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” You need to be the change you want to see in your family, your workplace, and your community. Be the change you want to see in your life.

What’s Important Now? – Embrace change. Be the change. Learn to fly.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Maximizing human potential through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Please share this with your friends, family and co-workers and encourage them to go to www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com and subscribe so they never miss an issue of W.I.N. Wednesday.

February 11, 2015 / Brian Willis

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W.I.N. Wednesday: 7 Keys to change beliefs and harness your power.

Within you right now is the power to do things you never dreamed possible. This power becomes available to you just as soon as you can change your beliefs.

Dr. Maxwell Maltz

We all have beliefs about ourselves. Some of those beliefs are positive, some are negative. The negative beliefs serve to limit what we can accomplish and achieve. These are beliefs about our ability to lose weight, our ability to get a promotion, our ability to a marathon (or run a sub 3 hour marathon), our ability to earn a certain amount of money, our ability to be successful in job interviews, our ability be a great speaker, our ability to write a book or our ability to sell a product or an idea.

The positive beliefs and images are things we are good at and have a positive self image for.

The limiting beliefs are those areas where we feel we have limited strengths and talents and believe we can never be any good at, or at least never be great at something. The limiting beliefs are the ones holding us back from achieving what we are often fully capable of. So, how do we change those limiting beliefs.Here are 7 keys to changing those limiting beliefs:

Identify one goal that you truly want to achieve, but feel something is just holding you back.
Come up with your why. Why that goal is important to you? If it is not important and meaningful to you then they it is someone else’s goal, and not yours.
Create a powerful image in your mind of what you will feel like, look like, act like, think like and be achieving when you accomplish each goal. Identify what will be different for you in positive terms. (I will have more confidence, I will have more energy, etc)
Identify one main limiting belief that is holding you back. Hint: This is that little voice in your head that keeps tell you you are not good enough, strong enough, smart enough, educated enough, too big, too small, too educated, not educated enough, the wrong body type, etc.
Change your self talk regarding the goal and your ability to achieve it. Take your future desired end state and start talking to yourself like that is already your reality. The key is to start talking to yourself like you have those skills and abilities.You can:
- Act as if, or
- Fake it until you make it, or
- Believe it until you achieve it.
Make an action list of the things you need to do in order to accomplish the goal:
- The action steps (starting small and building) you need to take starting now.
- The resources you need to access.
- The people you need to ask for help to achieve that goal.
Use Life’s Most Powerful Question - What’s Important Now? to ignite your action and continue to use it every day as a guide to keep you inspired and on track.

Make sure you let me know about your successes so I can share them and you can inspire other members of the W.I.N. Wednesday community.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Please share this with your friends, family and co-workers and encourage them to go to www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com and subscribe so they never miss an issue of W.I.N. Wednesday.

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com to arrange for me to speak to your team, your organization or at your next conference.

February 04, 2015 / Brian Willis

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W.I.N. Wednesday: The give and take of credit and blame.

Before the Super Bowl Sunday I listened to an episode of The James Altucher Show podcast while getting in my workout on the exercise bike. In this episode James interviewed Seth Godin about his new book What to do when it is your turn: And it is always your turn. I recently read the book and always enjoy listening to interviews with Seth Godin as there are guaranteed to be gems of wisdom and insights that can be applied to any aspect of life.

One of the gems of wisdom in this interview was a statement Godin made when talking about how to overcome resistance to new ideas in the work place. He said, “Take the blame, and give away the credit.” He went on to explain that you need to be willing to stand up and take the blame when things go wrong, and give away the credit when things go well.

This is a trait Jim Collins talks about in his book Good to Great that is characteristic of Level 5 Leaders. When things are going well these leaders stand up and say, “How can we not be successful? Look at all the great people we have in our organization.” When things go wrong, these leaders look in the mirror and say, “This is on me. I am the boss here, and the buck stops here.”

Just a few hours after listening to the podcast I saw this play out in the aftermath of the Super Bowl. In the dying seconds of the game the Seattle Seahawks moved the ball down the field and then attempted a touchdown pass to win the game. Many questioned the call as the Seahawks were only 5 yards out of the end zone and have one of the best running backs in the NFL. That pass was intercepted and the New England Patriots won the game.

The play call by Seattle was immediately the hot topic with many people calling it the worst play calls in the history of the Super Bowl. Pete Carroll, the head coach of Seattle, stood up after the game and said, “This is completely on me.” He took ownership for the call and did not blame the quarterback or the offensive coordinator. The following day he continued to take full responsibility for the call. He also made an interesting point when he reminded all the critics of two things:

1. As a team they never run a play without a belief it will be successful. They ran that play because they believed they would score a touchdown and win the game.

2. He also reminded everyone that many people criticized his decision to run a passing play and score a touchdown at the end of the first half instead of kicking a field goal and taking the guaranteed 3 points. They did complete that pass and scored 7 points to end the half instead of 3. Because it worked, it was considered a courageous call. When he spoke about that success he referred to ‘we’ and gave the credit to the team.

What’s Important Now? - Take the blame and give away the credit. It will enhance your credibility and help you on your way to become a trusted and respected leader.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Please share this with your friends, family and co-workers and encourage them to go to www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com and subscribe so they never miss an issue of W.I.N. Wednesday.

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com to arrange for me to speak to your team, your organization or at your next conference.

January 28, 2015 / Brian Willis

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W.I.N. Wednesday: The true meaning of 'can't'.

"If someone tells you, "You can't" they really mean, "I can't.""

Sean Stephenson

How many times in your life has someone told you that you can't do something? You can't accomplish a task, achieve a goal, learn that second language, make a million dollars, learn to play a musical instrument at your age, be successful in opening your own business, lose that much weight, climb that mountain, get that promotion, ask that person to give you advice, win that race, compete "against the big boys", etc. Is it that you can't, or as Sean Stephenson says, is the reality that they believe they can't and they are trying to impose their limitations on you.

Next time you hear someone tell you "you can't" simply say thank you, then walk away acknowledging that is their perceived personal limitation and not your reality.

""I Can't" means one of two things: I don't want to, or I don't know how."
Bob Brenner

How many times have you told yourself "I can't"?

The next time you hear yourself saying I can't stop and ask yourself whether it is a matter of you don't want to or you don't know how. If you don't want to, then probably you don't have to. If you don't know how, then find a teacher or a coach or go online and find a course or an instructional video. If you don't know how you can always learn.

What's Important Now? - Learn to step back from the limiting beliefs created by the statements, "You can't" and "I can't" and choose a different reality. Understand that just because they can't does not mean you can't. If the task is important to you choose "I can learn" over I can't do it.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Please share this with your friends, family and co-workers and encourage them to go to www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com and subscribe so they never miss an issue of W.I.N. Wednesday.

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com to arrange for me to speak to your team, your organization or at your next conference.

January 21, 2015 / Brian Willis

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W.I.N. Wednesday: To doubt is human.

Recently I was having an e-mail discussion with an elite athlete I have worked with for a number of years. In the e-mail he expressed concerns that he was having doubts regarding certain aspects of his performance.

My response was, "to doubt is to be human". There are times when we all have doubts regarding our abilities, our level of preparation, our level of education, or our level of fitness. We have those doubts before the big presentation at work, or the first time you speak on a stage in front of hundreds or people (or in front of your role models and mentors), or before the first face at a new distance, or the first race where the results matter, or before the big test. To doubt, is to be human.

The key is to take control of the response to those doubts and use the doubts as a stepping stone to positive self talk, a positive attitude and a positive result. When the doubt creeps in start by turning it into a question, “Can I….?”, “Will I be able to….?”, “ Am I….”. Then answer the question with an emphatic, positive response. "Hell yes I can.” “I have done it before and know I can do it this time.” “I have done the work and I am ready.” “I am strong, fit, healthy and ready to conquer this challenge."

Enhance the self talk with imagery by imagining past successes and achievements. Use those images and the accompanying positive feelings and emotions to turn the doubt into a belief that you can and you will succeed. Imagine all the work and preparation you have put in so far and allow yourself to feel confident knowing that you have done the work and that you are ready, you are capable and you are worthy of success.

Dealing with doubt is really about ‘Reframing’. Reframing is taking a potential negative whether it is thoughts, environmental conditions or circumstances and reframe it into something positive. Reframe the ‘obstacle’ into an ‘opportunity’. It may be an opportunity to share your message with a whole new audience, an opportunity to pitch your idea directly to the decision makers, the opportunity to challenge your mental and physical fitness in a new event or the opportunity to compete on a world stage for the first time.

To doubt is human. Allow yourself to be human, then reframe the doubt and allow yourself to celebrate the work you have put in and to focus on success.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Please share this with your friends, family and co-workers and encourage them to subscribe so they never miss an issue of W.I.N. Wednesday.

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com to arrange for me to speak to your team, your organization or at your next conference.

January 14, 2015 / Brian Willis

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W.I.N. Wednesday: You want it? Earn it.

"You are not your resume, you are your work."

Seth Godin

On an audio recording I was listening to a few years ago the speaker (I believe it was John Maxwell) said, “The best you will ever look is on your resume when you apply for a new job.” He is absolutely right. We can all make ourselves look good in a resume, on a CV, or in a bio or introduction for a presentation.

You have likely been disappointed however, after you hire the person, or once you see them in action, or listen to their presentation. They looked good on paper but, failed to live up to the hype.

As Seth Godin points out, “You are not your resume.” You are also not your rank, title, or the letters behind your name in your e-mail signature or on your business card. You are not your degrees or the certificates on your wall. You are your work. You are what you do day in and day out. You are what you produce; what you ship.

There seems to be a lot of people who feel their title, position in an organization or rank is what gives them credibility. Those things may get people’s attention initially, or get you a foot in the door. What gives you credibility is the value you bring to others once you have their attention or are in the door. What gives you credibility is treating others with respect, rather than expecting to be treated with respect because of your title or your rank.

Too many speakers feel they need to give a 20 minute bio at the start of their presentation in order to "establish credibility" with an audience. The blah, blah, blah bio does just the opposite. It tends to turn an audience off, rather than tune them in.

You want respect? Earn it.

You want credibility? Consistently deliver excellent results and remain humble.

You want recognition? Do great work and give credit to others.

You want to stand out in a crowd? Be world class at what you do.

What’s Important Now? - Commit to the pursuit of excellence. Stay hungry and humble. Treat others with respect. Give credit to others. Strive to be world class at what you do. Spend your time making yourself better, instead of trying to make yourself look good. It will result in great work, and a great resume.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Please share this with your friends, family and co-workers and encourage them to subscribe so they never miss an issue of W.I.N. Wednesday.

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com to arrange for me to speak to your team, your organization or at your next conference.

January 07, 2015 / Brian Willis

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W.I.N. Wednesday: A year of regret?

According to an article written by a palliative care nurse on "the top 5 regrets people make on their deathbed" the number one regret is:

"I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."

What's Important Now? - As you head into 2015 determine if you are going to live a year true to yourself, or live a year you will regret by living a year others expect of you?

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Please share this with your friends, family and co-workers and encourage them to go to http://www.winningmindtraining.com and subscribe to the W.I.N. Newsletter so they never miss an issue.

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com to arrange for me to speak to your team, your organization or at your next conference.

December 24, 2014 / Brian Willis

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Service. Sacrifice. Thank You.

To all the men and women of the armed forces who are stationed away from their families over the holidays.

To all the men and women in emergency services (police, fire and EMS) who are working during the holidays to keep us safe.

To all the 9-1-1 operators and public safety communications staff who are working during the holidays to answer our calls for help.

To all the medical personnel and hospital staff who are working during Christmas to provide the best care possible to those who have to spend the holidays in the hospital.

To all the staff in hospices and extended care facilities who are away from their homes so they can provide the best possible care for the sick and elderly.

To all those deemed essential services by your municipalities and are working to provide service while others are at home with their families.

To the families of all these people.

Thank you for your service and thank you for your sacrifice. You truly understand What's Important Now and live it every day.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Please share this with your friends, family and co-workers and encourage them to go to www.winningmindtraining.com and subscribe to the W.I.N. Newsletter so they never miss an issue of W.I.N. Wednesday.

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com to arrange for me to speak to your team, your organization or at your next conference.

December 17, 2014 / Brian Willis

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Ask More - Tell Less

In my instructor development course Excellence in Training I teach the key to effective debriefings is "Ask More - Tell Less". Asking questions of the participants about how they felt the exercise went, what they learned from the experience and what they would do differently next time to have a more desirable outcome is more effective in enhancing future behaviour than telling them what they did right, what they did wrong and what they need to do differently next time.

As I pondered the question of what to write about this week it struck me that 'Ask More - Tell Less' may also be the key to leadership, parenting, relationships and success in life and one of the reasons I refer to What's Important Now? as life's most powerful question.

Asking questions of people about their family, their interests and hobbies, their experiences, their successes, lessons learned from their past failures, their hopes and dreams, and their lives will give you insights into who they are as a person and will help to develop relationships, which are so critical in today's world.

Why would asking be more effective than telling to accomplish tasks, get people to perform and achieve success? Buy in. When you ask people questions (and truly listen to the answer) it shows that you are interested in them as a person and in what they have to say. It demonstrates that you value their experience and knowledge. Great questions will cause people to pause, think and reflect and will often generate great answers and great solutions to problems. The solutions they generate will be their idea and we are all more invested in our own ideas than those being forced on us by others.

What's Important Now? Strive to Ask More and Tell Less. You might be surprised at the results.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Please share this with your friends, family and co-workers and encourage them to subscribe so they never miss an issue of W.I.N. Wednesday.

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com to arrange for me to speak to your team, your organization or at your next conference.

December 09, 2014 / Brian Willis

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Enough Already.

(I know it is only Tuesday but, I had to get this off my chest.)

You have likely done it.

You may have been the target of it.

The time has come to say enough is enough - Stop Profession Profiling.

It usually starts with the words:

All lawyers,
All salesmen,
All CEO’s,
All politicians
All media people,
All cops,

Enough already. It is inappropriate to lump all lawyers, politicians and members of the media into a single group and profile based on profession.

What has me incensed right now is the campaign by some politicians, special interest groups, athletes and people in the media to portray the men and women of law enforcement as racist thugs who are applying the law differently based on the color of your skin. They would like you to believe that “cops” are maliciously targeting and murdering young black men in America. All of this is crap.

There are close to one million brave men and women in North America who have chosen to serve their community and their country by taking the oath, putting on a uniform and serving as law enforcement professionals. They put their lives on the line every day. More than 60,000 of them are assaulted every year, more than 100 of them die in the line of duty every year (113 so far in 2014), more than 150 of them will take their own lives every year, and thousands more will be injured (some permanently disabled) serving their communities.

The people who are screaming the loudest are claiming law enforcement professionals consistently use 'racial profiling' as a tool to target certain members of society. These same people make global statements about "cops in America" and are disparaging one of the most demanding, challenging, honorable, complex and important professions in North America. They are guilty of Profession Profiling. Where is the outcry about this type of profiling? Where are the citizens, politicians, athletes and media people who need to stand up, speak up and stop this injustice?

It is time to stand up, speak up and put an end to Profession Profiling in America. The men and women of law enforcement (and every other profession) in North America deserve better.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Please share this with your friends, family and co-workers and encourage them to subscribe so they never miss an issue of W.I.N. Wednesday.

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com to arrange for me to speak to your team, your organization or at your next conference.

November 26, 2014 / Brian Willis

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Is this holding you back?

"We are not held back by the love we didn't receive in the past, but by the love we're not extending in the present."

Marianne Williamson

As I read this quote from Maryanne Williamson it struck me that for many of us "the love we're not extending in the present" is self love. In order to truly love others and accept the love of others you have to love yourself.

Listen to the way you talk. Listen to the way your friends family and co-workers talk. How many of us talk about the love we have for others, but we loath, not love, ourselves?

Sit by yourself and say the following statements out loud:

I love myself.
I like myself.
I feel good about who I am.
I am proud of who I am.
I am proud of all that I have accomplished and achieved.

How does that feel?

If it feels real then make it a daily practice.

If it does not feel real then find a way to forgive yourself and set yourself free until it does feel real. You owe it to yourself and to those people in your life who love you. You can never truly embrace their love until you learn to love yourself.

What's Important Now? Love yourself, like yourself and continue the journey to always be a little better tomorrow than you are today.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Please share this with your friends, family and co-workers and encourage them to subscribe so they never miss an issue of W.I.N. Wednesday.

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com to arrange for me to speak to your team, your organization or at your next conference.

November 19, 2014 / Brian Willis

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - They are Not Servants.

People who work in the service industry are not servants. They are people. People with dreams, hopes, families, fears, aspirations and with a willingness to work in a field where they provide valuable services to us.

Instead of treating these people with contempt, and taking them for granted please treat them with respect. They do valuable work. Often work you would not do, but work you want done.

Get off you phone when you are talking to them. If the call is really that important then take the call elsewhere first. Look at them when you talk to them. Call them by name (that is why they wear a name tag). Smile. Ask how their day is going and listen to the answer. Say please and thank you. Thank them for their service. Let them know you are grateful for the important work they do. Tip them when appropriate.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Please share this with your friends, family and co-workers and encourage them to subscribe so they never miss an issue of W.I.N. Wednesday.

You can contact me at winningmind@mac.com to arrange for me to speak to your team, your organization or at your next conference.