Bountiful Results

Most great accomplishments start out as a vision of what could be.  A plan for success is then created.  Short and long term goals are put to paper.  Now, it is time to act on the vision and turn it into a reality.  Do you really believe it is possible?  If not, don’t go any further with your plan.  We must act boldly on our plan.  We must have confidence in ourselves and those that we have chosen to be part of the plan.  We must be able to visualize ourselves being successful.

So how do we act boldly?  There are 3 key steps:

• Proclaim your intention to be successful.  Share your vision with others.
• Get started as soon as possible and overachieve early on.
• When you hit your first obstacle – adjust and keep going.

Acting on your plan is at the heart of achieving; any shortcuts or feeble efforts will show up in your results.  I am reminded of some of the basics of planting vegetables.  If we skip the breaking up of the soil part or in haste toss the seed on top of the ground,  some plants will manage to grow, but it will be significantly less than what is possible.

I wish everyone bountiful results, but more important, I wish upon everyone the heart to act boldly on their dreams.

Success and Failure are not opposites. On quite a few occasions, I have experienced failures(of a plan) on the way to success.  We all are so unique in so many ways – our personalities, our past experiences, our body types and the list continues.  There is not a single plan that will work for everyone.  Honestly, each of us needs our own customized plan because we are so unique.

In my opinion, failure is not trying to achieve our dreams and goals.  Failure is setting goals and quitting after the first or second plan doesn’t work.

Thomas Edison created over 3,000 variations of the incandescent light bulb before he came up with one that would burn for 13 hours and was safe to use. Those were not 3,000 failures – they were just ways not to make the light bulb.

When we are driving a car,  we do not steer by looking at the yellow lines beside us or directly in front .  We are aiming high by looking out ahead of us. We should do the same with achieving success. Aim High!  Our first plan may fail, that is when we utilize the 5th and 6th components of Bountiful Results, look to our motivation and adjust the plan for another try.

The path to bountiful results is lined with ways that are not right for our unique circumstance.  We often do not know that until we try.

Success will come to those who persevere. Aim for the stars and if you fall short you can still land on the moon.

The second component of getting bountiful results is The Plan. Like most plans it should have the key components such as the who, what, when, where & how long. I then start constructing SMART goals . The word SMART spells out an acronym.

S – specific, significant, stretching

M – measurable, meaningful, motivational

A – agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented

R – realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented

T – time-based, timely, tangible, trackable

I will not go into detail about each aspect.  Wikipedia has great information you can read.

One additional aspect of planning for bountiful results is identifying and planning for the critical issues of the task, event, or mission. I define critical issues as the most difficult or challenging part of getting great result.  For instance, when I made my most recent career change, the critical issues were the hundreds of procedures and policies that I needed to learn.  It wasn’t managing the people or interacting with all the new team members.  I will always remember what my trainer told me about taking in all of the information in such a short period of time.  He said, “It is like getting a drink of water from a fire hydrant.”

What are the critical issues that you are facing?  Identify them and make a plan to deal with them.  What could potentially pop up and create a road block while you are trying to achieve your goals?  Create a solution now and then act on your plan boldly knowing that you thought it through and believe that you have addressed the things that would keep you from achieving bountiful results.

How many times have you said to yourself, “Things are going smoothly and I am ahead of schedule, so I am going to quit and move on.”  I do not say that either.  It is the tough times, the road blocks and resistance that discourages us and often causes us to fall short of bountiful.

Deal with the critical issues up front and plan to succeed.

One day while working in the garden,  I realized that getting results at work and in life are so very similar to getting results from the garden.

The components for Bountiful Results are:

1. The specific and detailed need.
2. A plan that identifies the critical issues and has SMART goals.
3. Act on the need and plan boldly.
4. If not already in your possession,  acquire and utilize the tools and training necessary.
5. Develop sustaining motivation and/or accountability.
6. Effectively adjust and adapt as the circumstances and the plan changes.
7. The proper amount of time.

I have had successes and I have had failures.  When I reflect back on some of the failures, I am finding some common tendencies.  I did not develop enough motivation and was not accountable to the results(5).  I did not understand what the critical issues would be and when they popped up, I did not adjust to them(2)(6).

As I have shared with you before, I have read many articles and books on how to be motivated, how to execute, and even books on speed reading.  I didn’t understand why the new found information was not setting me free. I was not doing much with it during and after I read it.  All 7 components are necessary.

Give this a try.  Reflect back on some of your successes and failures – I am sure you will see how each of these components impacted your results.

I would love to read your perspective on getting bountiful results.

For me, one of the keys to a winnerss mindset is the realization that I am the only person that controls my reaction to a circumstance or situation.  This lesson was provided by Viktor Frankl in the book Man’s Search for Meaning, he says this: “…everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” (1963, p. 104) Viktor was a prisoner of the Holocaust. He barely escaped with his life, but his family was not so fortunate.

This meant that I could no longer blame someone else for me quitting.  No more scapegoat for my lack of focus on the mission.  I now must choose to succeed.  I must accept sole ownership of my reaction to an obstacle or an unforeseen consequence of my plan.  At first this can be a little frightening,  but don’t worry, this freedom now empowers you to adjust and adapt to still get the bountiful results that you seek.  “Adjust and Adapt” is the 6th component to getting bountiful results.

What can you do with this insight?  Are there projects or dreams that you should revisit?  I believe that each and everyone of us can get bountiful results in that one thing that we have blamed on someone’s negative opinion of us or our capability to complete.

I choose my own emotions and I am happy to share this with you.