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By Roger Crawford. This was originally published on Roger's blog.
Do you remember as a child being so swept up in a thought that time practically stood still? To this day, I can almost recall how wonderful that kind of daydreaming used to feel. It was a peaceful and harmonious state. What about when you would find yourself so focused on something, like a balloon or a bug, that everything else around you simply disappeared? I remember watching my own daughter drift off into such a trance-like state. I would often catch myself saying something like, “Earth to Alexa…” or “Anybody home?” Children have such a tremendous capacity for this kind of focused concentration and dreamlike state. Give yourself permission to dream. Why does daydreaming often stop as we get older? Why do we lose the ability to be totally captivated by the moment? Why do we stop cultivating our imagination? I believe it is because we become “terminally adult.” We have been taught that if we spend too much time dreaming and engaging in imaginary ventures or simply become still for any length of time, we are somehow neglecting our responsibilities. We can even find ourselves feeling guilty as a result. Over time, our minds become so cluttered with practical things that there is very little room left for anything else. Steven Pressfield, author of Do the Work says: “A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable. It’s only you and I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.” One of the valuable lessons I have learned as an inspirational speaker is that people who achieve great possibilities are all great dreamers. Too often we buy into the myth that our possibilities and success require constant activity with little time for creative reflection and dreaming. Our busy-ness erodes our wonder about what is truly possible. High achievers do not let everyday tasks get in the way of thinking about future possibilities and success. They intentionally take time to have childlike dreams about “What if?” What do you dream to achieve in your life? Have you noticed that children rarely believe something is impossible? Ask them, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Their answers are often ambitious and limitless. How about you? What do you want your life to look like in the future? This question is important because anything you desire to change externally must first be changed internally. Therefore, when you create a clear mental picture of where you are going in life and set clear goals, you will become more positive, more motivated, and more determined to make it a reality. I believe that people experience discouragement because they don’t have an inspiring long-term vision that leads them, step-by-step, into the future of their dreams. Here is a clip from one of my presentations talking about clarity of vision. Make your dreams come true. Have you ever thought, “I could make my dreams come true if only I had more time, opportunity, or talent?” Dreams come true for those who are not discouraged by what they don’t have. They are inspired by what they already have! Your dreams are not only worth your time and energy; they are worth your LIFE! Here are some tips to help make your dreams a reality. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success!
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By Steve Gilliland
Might as well admit to you, my closest friends: I never played professional football or baseball, and I never participated in the Olympics. I was never asked to endorse running shoes or exercise equipment either; however, I do love old sports movies. In fact, I would rather watch a sappy, grainy, Black & White sports movie over most anything on television these days. One of my favorite sports movies is Jim Thorpe – All American. I think the movie holds a lot of life lessons for all of us. The movie was produced back in 1951 and is celebrating its 70th anniversary. In this day and age of everything digital, when a young Burt Lancaster took to the screen to play Thorpe, it was old-fashioned Hollywood magic. It was also a movie way ahead of its time. It took on issues such as racism, alcoholism, “amateur versus professional,” and the treatment of indigenous people in a meaningful way. Look Beyond What You Can See One of my favorite scenes from the movie is easy to miss, but it has always stayed with me. Young Jim was a good kid, but he was always getting into trouble. Out of both desperation and hope for his future, Jim’s wise father sent him to the Indian reservation school. Jim would always “escape” and run back home – a distance of many miles. In one, last-ditch effort to get his son to see the future, Jim’s father takes his young son to a fence at the reservation’s boundary: “Look out, Jim, what do you see?” Jim says that he sees the hills, the scrub cactus and the desolation. No, Jim, out there is the future. There is nothing for you here except misery. Go out and make me proud. In that moment, I always think of two things as a man and a father. As a man, he wanted Jim to understand that life on the reservation took its toll. And though his father must have been heartbroken, his father knew the only way his son could succeed was to push forward and have faith in his journey. What the conversation was really about was the topic of vision. Ignore Your Limits Vision is powerful when we allow ourselves to embrace it and to let it empower us. I hope that in 2021 more young people are permitted the space to have a vision; to imagine; to dream and to believe. Having said that, many children are not given the room in which to see that future unfold. A few years ago, the educational blog K5 Learning stated: “It’s becoming more and more apparent that our kids do not only need to have cognitive skills, the kind of intelligence that gets measured on IQ tests but also need certain character traits that will help them persevere when encountering and overcoming failure. Traits such as grit and self-confidence, persistence and self-control.” The author of the piece could have taken a page from the Jim Thorpe handbook. Thorpe encountered many problems in his lifetime, but he never lacked vision. He forged ahead despite all of the odds against him, and there were many. What You Believe You Receive The year 2020 was a difficult one. There can be no doubt about that. By all measures, our vision was tested. Oddly, despite the doom and gloom and all of the factors that often conspired against us, I am also amazed at how some people succeeded to unbelievable heights. I have a friend in Pennsylvania who volunteers as a mentor to academically troubled high school students, and he recently shared a story. A student and his mother were worried about how he would do this year with algebra and biology and his other subjects. The young man, about Jim Thorpe’s age as when the movie opened, achieved a 4.0 (straight-A’s) last semester. My friend told him, “You are not alone. See yourself succeeding! We will get through it together, but you have to believe in yourself as I believe in you.” My friend was talking about vision. With grit and self-confidence, you can develop vision at any age. There is no challenge 2021 will bring that you cannot overcome as people or as a nation. You have to be persistent and believe in yourself. The legacy of Jim Thorpe was much more than about “sports.” If anything, it was that his vision for a better life never dimmed despite crippling setbacks. This year, let’s all help one another rekindle a vision and leave a legacy that no matter how great our challenges, we will not be defeated. Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life because you become what you believe. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Josh Linkner
We’ve all suffered through the misery of a typical brainstorm session. Flat, mediocre ideas tend to carry the day as the breakthroughs remain elusive. An incremental idea here. An obvious cliché idea there. Short on inspiration, the suggestions lack originality and potency. The culprit of bad brainstorm sessions is the deadly cocktail of fear mixed with historical anchoring. We’re afraid to share our whacky ideas, unwilling to risk the appearance of foolishness or an admonishment from the boss. In an effort to play it safe, we look backwards for a reference of what worked in the past rather than forging new ground for changing circumstances. In a nutshell, most ideation sessions revolve around what we ‘should’ do. At the risk of sounding cheesy, should is the enemy of good. ‘Should’ ideas are rooted in fear instead of imagination, thereby restricting our best thinking. As an alternative, swap out ‘should’ with ‘could’. This single vocab shift will unlock creative potential faster than a bank robber can crack a bike lock. When you focus on ‘could’, several things immediately change. First, you’re no longer responsible for the idea. You’re simply saying what might happen while providing no personal endorsement. You’re now absolved from any executional hurdles, funding challenges, or how the idea might be received by senior leadership. The pressure is off when you’re merely pondering. In addition, you now shift the reference point from the past to the future. From what was to what’s possible. When the anchor of the past is hoisted off the ground, your imagination is able to soar. The goal of any good ideation session is to push the boundaries of creativity, and the simple shift from ‘should’ to ‘could’ can push your thinking to the next level. What could be done if you had unlimited resources? What could happen if you could use technology that hasn’t yet been invented? What ideas could make you grow 500% in the next 24 months? Start with that beautiful, unrestricted ‘could’ and the ‘how’ will become apparent as you progress. Marconi wondered if wireless communication could happen. Picasso imagined what could be done to advance fine art. Lady Gaga just knew she could be a star, and let her vision guide her actions each step of the way. The history makers are firmly rooted in could. This week, let’s ditch the should in favor of the could. Let’s stretch our imagination beyond our norms to discover a fresh path forward. In today’s hyper-competitive environment… we really should could. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Mary Kelly
Feeling overwhelmed by lunchtime? You’re not alone. Leaders are responsible for more moving parts than ever before. Let’s take a look at seven of the common – but complicated – reasons why leadership isn’t an easy role.
Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Tim Hague Sr.
There is a local pizza joint that at one time ran television commercials with the tag line, ‘It’s All About the Sauce’. The claim being that they had the corner on how to make a great pizza and the secret was their sauce. I remember the commercial spots primarily for the fact that I disagreed; I did not believe they had the best pizza in town. I liked a competitor considerably more and the commercials bugged me just a bit. Not to mention that ‘the sauce’ has never been my favourite part of a pizza anyway. All of this talk of pizza leads me to a confession: I have not been stretching as I should be. If you follow me with any regularity you will know the emphasis I have always put on this part of my physical exercise. Of recent I have changed some of my routines and gave myself ‘permission’ to let go of the stretching for a time. This has been foolish. Despite the fact that I continue to work out regularly I find that in this environment of Covid-19, my overall activity is down. Yet I have progressed in other ways. The new routines have added a freshness to my workouts that I was needing to keep me motivated. I’ve also noticed the subtle changes though of not stretching, the return of symptoms that I have not struggled with for some time. I find I stumble more when first rising from a seated position, that I’m reaching for the arm of a chair or a wall for balance, my feet drag more, my posture is more hunched and it’s difficult to stand straight. I find my lower back, shoulders, arms and legs hurt more. That is quite the (un)impressive list of ailments. All, for the most part, self-inflicted. When I stretch regularly I typically don’t struggle with these. Not everyone likes pizza or for the sake of our conversation exercise. The amount of sauce on a pie can make or break it for some. But, here is where I am going to tell you my long-held secret to living well with Parkinson’s. Not only is exercise of absolute importance but the secret to exercise is in ‘the sauce’. While the masses await a silver bullet of a cure that will simply take Parkinson’s away there is a critical core who are dedicated to the belief that ‘exercise is medicine’ and who participate in regular, intense exercise. There is an even smaller group of warriors who have discovered the secret of stretching. They experience a nimbleness and fluidity that impacts everything else. I have come to a place where I have very little confidence in a ‘silver bullet’, however, I have found what I believe to be my #secretsauce in living my best with Parkinson’s. My advice to you now is, “Shhhhhh, don’t tell anyone! They’re not going to believe you anyway”. Just do it. Live Your Best! Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Beth Boynton
The butterfly effect is a property of Complex Adaptive Systems and refers to a small thing happening in one place, like a butterfly flapping it’s wings, contributing to a large thing happening someplace far away, like a hurricane on the opposite side of the world. There are all sorts of communication-related skills that contribute to positive or adverse events in healthcare that can be explained at least in part by this property. How We Interact Matters Human Factors, Leadership, and Communication involve human interactions. They are also long-standing root causes of sentinel events. As these examples illustrate, respectful and effective communication contribute to desirable or adverse outcomes.
The concept can be elusive, yet understanding the connection between soft skills and outcomes is an important aspect of leadership in complex human systems such as healthcare. In short, leaders who build trust and promote positive communication and respectful behavior will be empowering staff to be their best selves. Individuals then bring their best selves into therapeutic and inter-professional relationships including teamwork and leadership. All of which who in turn will influence the culture in the most positive ways. Everyday healthcare professionals are presented with opportunities speak up, listen, lead, follow, delegate, set limits, honor others’ boundaries, give and receive constructive feedback. All of which, for better or worse are influencing outcomes such as patient safety, patient experience, and workforce health. As a leader, influencing the butterfly effect in a direction of positive outcomes requires providing effective communication training, clear expectations and modeling of behavior, and ensuring a supportive culture where these skills can be practiced. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Shep Hyken
Little successes added together make for large success down the road. Small successes add up. To put it in baseball terms, you don’t need to hit a home run every time it’s your turn at bat. So, here’s the question to consider: What small change will enhance the experience for the customer, even if it is just by 1%? My friend and client, Jason Bradshaw of Volkswagen in Australia, was tasked with improving the customer experience for the VW dealerships. Within two years he had made big strides. It didn’t happen with big sweeping changes. It happened with little ones. Even “tiny” ones that he referred to as 1% differences. Back to my original question – what small changes can you make? The way to make small changes isn’t complicated. Here are four steps to help you get there.
Follow these simple steps and start to improve your customer service, even if it’s just by 1%! Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Kristin Baird
We live and work in uncertain times where change is a constant. With the amount of change and demands upon us, resilience is essential. Healthy cultures strive for resiliency at individual, unit, and organizational levels. People and organizations develop resilience. Becoming resilient will help you and others in your organization adapt to change and essentially learn to “roll with the punches.” Resilience, has a direct impact on creating a positive patient and co-worker experience. How? When staff are more resilient, they can adapt quickly to changing situations meaning that there is little disruption for the patient being served regardless of what is going on with staffing, management or other external and internal events. BUILDING STRENGTH IN AN ORGANIZATION To be more resilient, the leaders should communicate openly about circumstances and be prepared to talk with staff about their feelings about the situations. Leaders need to provide recognition, coaching and mentoring that reinforces the individual’s connection to meaningful work. When leaders come across as engaged, empowered and energized in the face of change, the staff are much more likely to reflect the same attitude. When the leader is pessimistic and voicing his or her own fears and anger, they can expect staff to escalate. MANAGING CHANGE Change is hard and middle managers are often the ones carrying the message of change to the front lines. This makes it important for managers to quickly assess the situation, create key talking points, and help staff stay centered on what is most important. It’s also imperative that leaders allow staff to voice fears and concerns and acknowledge their feelings yet redirect and reinforce positive actions. Resilient leaders hold the key to navigating healthcare’s sea of change. I was coaching a nurse leader a few weeks ago during a difficult time in her hospital. She asked how she could be inspirational and optimistic in the face of some unforeseen and unpleasant changes. We talked about the need to model resiliency. The message I gave her is one that works in many situations. That message is this: things may change all around us including regulations, reimbursement and staffing. But what doesn’t change is that every day, patients walk through our doors needing our help. They expect and deserve the best we can give them and we must be up to the challenge. They’re counting on us. Call it resilience, or optimism. Name it it mission-driven, brand-centered or patient focused. Call it what you like, but strive to deliver the message that regardless of what is happening around them, our patients need us and we will deliver on our promise to be there for them. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! |
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