People Matter ∴ Do Good

Lead a vivid life that does good

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One step that changed your life.

26 August 2014 /

live-courageouslyYou are courageous.

Seldom have I seen or met a person with the courage and determination that you have.

The way that you replaced your old habit and made the positive change in your life is amazing. I wish I knew how you got it, but the resolve you have is inspirational and I love the humble joy you carry from succeeding.

When I speak to you I’m reminded that ‘a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step’ and that you just took one step after the next. As with any journey worth doing it has been hard. There have been times you have tripped and fallen, yet you just seem to get back up and keep going.

Now, you are so radically changed that people who meet the new you, cant fathom who you used to be.

Thank you for deciding to take the first step.

Your enthusiasm is contagious.

I cant wait to see what you will do next.

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This post is written to YOU.

It’s to Thank You for who you have become a month, or a year, or a decade from today, as a result of the steps you are taking now.

You truly are courageous.

 

How we steal peoples time

19 August 2014 /

I’ve always loved the quote from Blaise Pascal who says, “I have made this longer than usual because I have not had time to make it shorter.”

Nowadays ‘this‘ can be…

handwritten penVideos,

Emails,

Reports,

Blogs,

Podcasts,

PowerPoint,

Public speaking,

And even one on one conversations.

The best of these are short and punchy. And its obvious the creator has taken the time to craft and shape a masterpiece.

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When we don’t use our time to make it shorter … we just end up stealing our audiences time.

Something I constantly remind myself.

 

 

 

What being encouraged by a complete stranger taught me…

12 August 2014 /

Hi Five for EncourageI was fading. The motivation to finish strongly had all but gone. My pace had already faded from run to jog, and I was on the verge of walking home.

At just the right moment I saw a middle-age Māori guy waiting for his bus. As I jogged toward him, we lift our heads to acknowledge each other, as guys do. As I continued to labour toward him something profoundly unexpected happened.

He held out his hand for a high-five.

I took it.

Smiled.

And my jogging turned back into a run.

And I ran all the way to my finish point.

And all it took was a little bit of encouragement from a complete stranger.

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I pondered encouragement as I ran home.

Encouragement can be as easy as a high-five.

Encouragement can motivate people to go the distance.

Encouragement always builds courage.

So go on, right now, encourage someone! Send them a message. Or a text. Or just walk down the hall and give them a high-five.

Why you should love being wrong.

5 August 2014 /

Be WrongI love being wrong.

No actually that’s a lie!  Being wrong, is no fun, frustrating and outright embarrassing. Yet, I don’t hate being wrong either.

As children, most of our learning occurred as a result of being wrong. It’s weird then that most adults I know try to avoid being wrong, and in doing so miss incredible opportunities to discover new forms of right. We have grown to believe that being right about everything is good. It’s NOT.

If we are never wrong, we are never prepared to change.

And if we are never prepared to change, we never get the opportunity to grow.

So… be wrong.

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Sometimes the hardest part of being wrong is admitting that this thing, or habit, or belief you have might not be right. Particularly when you have done it for so long.

Dont be afraid to be wrong every so often.

Without being wrong, we may never learn what’s right.

What do you believe about Global Warming?

30 July 2014 /

Global Warming NZ“Do you believe in Global Warming?” my friend asked sincerely. After thinking for a moment I told him that clearly I didn’t. I do after all drive a Holden Commodore and in reality I do little to reduce my ‘footprint’ on this planet.

Now here is the interesting thing. I know that our climate is changing. I know that as humans we are using too many of our limited resources. I know that if we continue the same way, we will destroy the planet for future generations.

You notice that I use the word ‘know’, and not the word ‘believe’. That’s because ‘believe’ should be followed by action.

Without action, we demonstrate that we do not have deep held conviction and belief. We merely have an opinion. And an opinion without action is a dangerous thing indeed.

Want to know what somebody really believes?

Listen to their words,

AND,

look at their actions!

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Clearly this is not just a post about Global Warming. It could equally be a post about poverty. Or Aids. Or your Neighbours. Or Love. Whatever it is, if you believe you should do some good, then you should do something about it.

What do you believe?

Take action.

Remember a persons name. Remember their favourite word.

22 July 2014 /

Whats your nameFirstly a confession: I love stationery and around 10 years ago when I first started Agoge, I loved buying all the stationery and desks as I set up my new business. As I shopped, one of the team on the floor of Warehouse Stationery, a young guy called Kelly, helped me over two or three trips into the store, and he got to know my name.

Fast forward 10 years and I bumped into Kelly, in a different store, and he still remembered my name. He came up to me with a big smile and greeted me, and said, “How’s it going Andrew?” and asked if he could help.

It reminded me how powerful a person’s name is. I have read that it is generally a person’s favourite word (though few admit it). When someone remembers my name, I feel valued; respected; special; and I become more loyal.

Sadly most organisations do a lousy job of names and as a result lose the opportunity to connect with people in a way that says, “I value you.”

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Second confession: I am lousy with names, particularly names I have not heard before.

I hate it when I ask for the second or third time, “What’s your name again?” but in the end remembering a person’s name is more important than my embarrassment of forgetting.

Maybe you can help me.

What tricks, or methods, or ways do you have for remembering names?

3 steps required to become fit and healthy.

18 July 2014 /

JohnsonvilleI was running around the hills of Johnsonville recently, which if you come from a relatively flat Hamilton, can be very taxing. As I ran and navigated the streets that I used to live on, I thought about how I’ve run more in Wellington, since I’ve left Wellington, than when I actually lived there.

When I was in Wellington, I was eating crappy food, not exercising, and really putting on weight.

At the time I thought I was busy, but I was not as busy as what I am now.

At the time I was in my 20’s and thought I was bullet proof, despite the fact that I’d been given high cholesterol warnings from the doctor, and people commented on my putting on weight.

I would like to say that I took those as a warning and started to improve my health, but it’s sad to say that my health got significantly unhealthier and it would be over ten years before I made the change.

As I ran the streets that morning I realised that it would have been good to get healthier earlier. I thought about how much exercise and eating right helps me. It gives me better mental energy, less stress, better health, better fitness, and a better life in general.

I regretted the fact that I hadn’t got healthier earlier, that I hadn’t run the streets of Wellington when I was young and actually lived here.

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I think there might be some strange link between exercise and energy. Shock horror!

Every time I stop exercising or eating well for a season I quickly get stressed, put on weight and feel tired.

At those times I know there are three steps I must take:

  1. Resolve | If I don’t decide to do something, nothing will happen. I need to give myself the proverbial kick up the butt and get moving. Without resolve I rarely make it.
  2. Equip | I make sure I have the tools to build a routine and pattern. Maybe it’s apps like Lift.do, ShapeUp or a gym membership, or a friend to spur me on.
  3. Start | I generally start small and try to do something every day. Just create the habit and then let the habit move me forward.

If you are in that space… you should do something.

Today!

Are you heading for a dead-end?

2 July 2014 /

SignNot far from where I live is this sign. It’s a weird sign because it curves to the right with a big arrow showing that the main road heads that way, and off to the left is a little side road.

I know it is only a warning sign; however the interesting thing about the sign is that the main road, the big arrow, if you were to keep following it, actually ends up at a dead-end. Off to the left, is the best way to exit.

I thought about how funny that is, and how often our decisions are like that sign. We follow the big road because it’s the easy path, without realising that it may end up at a dead-end. We get so fixated on following that path that we miss the opportunity to take the exit and try a new path, one with all the uncertainty that leads us someplace new.

And so we stay on the beaten track, and hope beyond hope that it won’t be disrupted.

We know though, that great leaders are defined by great decisions.

And great decision-making is generally not a massive fork in the road where it’s a choice of one or the other. Rather, it’s a series of small decisions to venture off and try something new.

Something courageous.

Something that changes the course of your life, or business, for the better.

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What decisions are you not making at the moment?

What paths are you following purely because you haven’t stop to review your options?

Is it possible that you’re heading for a dead-end?

Maybe today, it’s time to take the lead and head off somewhere new.

I don’t get time to …

27 June 2014 /

I don’t get time to … think

I don’t get time to … exerciseclock

I don’t get time to … read

I don’t get time to … do good

I don’t get time to … play with the kids

I don’t get time to … relax

I don’t get time to … [fill in the blank]

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You are right of course.

You only get time to do the things you choose to do. You can’t make time, but we can lose it doing the wrong things.

Like me you probably need to stop doing some things, to make time for the things that are really important.

Stuck! – Do you really know the next step?

24 June 2014 /

Next StepIt was a bleak, grey morning, and my 14-year-old daughter sat on the couch in her pyjamas, really struggling to get started on a massive homework project that she had. It was as though the burden of the project hung over her as dark as the clouds outside. The project seemed daunting and unachievable.

After some cajoling, I managed to get her to get dressed and we headed off to a cafe down the road. And that’s when I started to teach her (as best a dad can) to work out what the next step was. I asked her to break down the next step … then break it down further … and then break it down even more, until we got to the real simple achievable next step.

The problem a lot of us have when we’re faced with a big task, or with an assignment or with a massive project, is that we keep thinking about the outcome, and we fail to break it down to the next step.

What is the very next thing that I need to do?

In the case of my daughter’s protest poetry, she had to first narrow down who it was she was going to protest about. She had to find two or three people, or causes, that she could protest about. Once she had those, she had to decide on one! That was the next step.

And then once she had that, she had to break that down and learn something about the cause that she was protesting for. Then brainstorm the verses of the poem. Then she was away.

Easy … or at least easier.

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When you’re faced with a challenge, or a project or an assignment, how can you break it down further?

How can you look for that next step?

What might that next step be? One that you could complete in a few minutes that would move you forward.

Once you are moving it’s surprising how momentum follows.

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