Tag Archives: Brian Smith

What I’ve Come To Know So Far

Personal Development, Uncategorized • Tags: ,

I spent Sunday morning reflecting on my past and what I have come to know so far? These appear here in no particular order.

I have come to know that:

  • The Rolling Stones are right – “You can’t always get what you want”.
  • Shit happens and sometimes there is nothing you can do about it.
  • There is no such thing as “Common Sense”. They should call it “Life Sense”. It just seems the older you get the smarter you get.
  • There are slow learners and it may not be their fault.
  • Life is a planned event. Wishing and hoping won’t make it so.
  • Getting married won’t complete you.
  • Without having both a physical and emotional attraction with your significant other you stand very little chance of having a long-term relationship.
  • There is smart – and then there is smart.
  • You don’t know what you don’t know until you know that you don’t know it.
  • Golf is a whole lot harder than they make it look on TV.
  • Your “Sole Mate” is out there somewhere. Don’t settle – keep looking.
  • Some people are surprised that I got this far. Other people aren’t
  • Age is just a number. Of course that depends on what type of medication you’re taking.
  • When you fall in love – your rational brain stops working.
  • Life is not perfect but it beats the heck out of the alternative.
  • When I was growing up I wanted to be an artist or a truck driver. I became a College Professor and Published Author instead.
  • Never ever give up. Keep at it because you’ll eventually get there.
  • You can never go home again is true because nothing stays the same.
  • Nobody is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes – so learn to forgive but never forget.
  • You can’t have it all
  • There is no such thing as a balanced lifestyle
  • I have a lot more to learn about everything
  • Life isn’t fair – get over it and move on.
  • I have a lot more things I want to accomplish, but time is not on my side.
  • You can’t make time – but you sure can waste it.
  • They say money can’t buy you happiness but I’d like to give it a try
  • The “Beatles” are the greatest band – ever
  • You don’t have to know everything but you need to know who does.
  • Your Mother is always right.
  • Respect your elders. They know more stuff then you do because they have lived longer.
  • Being married is not a life sentence. If you aren’t getting what you want out of that relationship it’s time you moved on. Life is too short to settle.

Now it’s your turn. What have you come to know so far?

Copyright (c) 2015. Brian Smith – Reformed Control Freak. Looking for a keynote speaker who can entertain as well as inform on a variety of soft-skills topics? Give Brian a call. http://briansmithpld.com

Heart Trumps Talent Every Time

Enduring Principles, Leadership Development, Personal Development, Personal Values, Self-Help • Tags: , , , , , , ,

heart 2The will to win is often more powerful than the talent or skill to win. The difference between those who are successful and those who are not is that successful people never, ever give up. In spite of all the odds against them they persist in following their dream. They understand that every time they failed it moved them one step closer to achieving their goal. They understand that no one achieves anything great by staying where they are. You have to stretch yourself in order to grow. Think it, act it, eventually you’ll become it. No one is born knowing all they need to know to accomplish what they want to accomplish in life. Success and being successful is a learned behaviour. Once you decide on the “what” – the “How” will reveal itself.

Worth Remembering … “The depths and strength of a human character are defined by its moral reserves. People reveal themselves completely only when they are thrown out of customary conditions of life, for only then do they have to fall back on their reserves” – Leon Trotsky 

Attitude isn’t something – attitude is everything! Henry Ford knew all to well that if you think you can – you can. If you think you can’t – you’re right. Attitude is a choice. It’s 100% in your control. Only you get to decide how you want to react to every situation. You can decide to quit or not. It’s your choice. Only you get to decide if you want to put in the effort to achieve your goals or not. It’s your choice. No one can make you give up on your dreams but you. How bad do you want it? What are you willing to do to achieve your goals? There will be sacrifices. What are you willing to give up to move yourself closer to living your dream? Heart – your heart – trumps talent every time. It’s the difference maker.

Worth Remembering … “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedeness or skill. It will make or break a company … church … a  home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is your attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you … We are in charge of our Attitudes.” – Charles Swindell 

Copyright (c) 2014. Brian Smith – Reformed Control Freak. Are you looking for a keynote speaker or someone to deliver a workshop on a variety of soft-skills topics? Contact Brian today. He will work with you one-on-one to insure your event is an overwhelming success. To find out more about Brian and what you can do for you and your organization visit http://briansmithpld.com – or email: brian@briansmithpld.com

Soft Skills for a Hard Place

Personal Development • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

millennials-200x192Daniel Goleman in his groundbreaking book “Working with Emotional Intelligence” might have said it best: “We are being judged by a new yardstick; not just how smart we are, or by our training and expertise, but also by how we handle ourselves and each other”.  Times have certainly changed. I think there has been a dramatic shift in people’s attitudes. Their wants and needs are changing. For the first time in our lifetime we have the potential of working with 4 different generations in the same workplace at the same time. Each generation communicates and interacts differently and want to be managed and manage differently. Each generation have a different set of values and career aspirations. For the newest generation – the Millennials – life outside of work is just as important,  if not more important,  then life inside work. Each generation is motivated by different things. What you need to decide now is – will the management style that got you here – be the same style that will sustain you or get you to where you need to go? Is one style of managing and leading others good enough?

Worth Remembering … “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing – expecting a different result” – Albert Einstein

Productivity is still the name of the game and that will never change. One of your roles as a manager or leader has always been to minimize the input and maximize the output. In today’s ever-changing, competitive global marketplace you need to produce more with less. Your survival and your company’s survival demands it. To accomplish both – managers and leaders must change from being task-focused to being people-focused. People like to work with people they like. People like to feel wanted. People like to feel that they are appreciated and respected.

Worth Remembering … “One of the most important things about being a good manager is to rule with a heart. You have to know the business, but you also have to know what’s at the heart of every business and that’s people”. – Oprah Winfrey

Technical skills are important but, for the most part, you can get that out of a book or Google it. What is needed to be successful managing and leading others in the 21st Century are soft-skills, sometimes referred to as people skills. Successful managers and leaders will be those who have developed great soft-skills for a hard place. Successful managers and business leaders are F.O.C.U.S.E.D. (C) on their most important asset – their people.

Friendly: Someone who can smile and say hello. Someone who can make the other person feel important.

Observant: Someone who can recognize those that need help and those that don’t. Someone who will get out of their way and let them do the job.

Consistent: Some who is consistent in the way that they apply policies and procedures. Consistent in the way they treat people and deal with situations.

Understanding: Someone who tries to see things from the other person’s point of view. Empathy is a valuable 21st Century skill to have.

Sincere: Someone who truly wants their people to be successful at what they do. Managing and leading others is a team sport – create win-wins.

Energized: Someone who is enthusiastic. Someone who looks and acts like they want to be there.

Dependable: Someone whose word they can depend on. Someone they can trust. If they can’t trust your word they won’t trust you.

Are you F.O.C.U.S.E.D.?  🙂

Copyright (c) 2013. Brian Smith-PLD. Brian is the author of “Confessions of a Reformed Control Freak – The Top Ten Sins Most Managers Make & How to Avoid Them”. Looking for a speaker? Planning a lunch-n-learn or organizing a workshop? Contact Brian. briansmithpld@gmail.com