Life is Complicated…Time is Simple

Ah, you have chosen to take time to look at this web site, and this article. I hope this means that you feel as passionate about time management as I do. Or maybe it means that your passion has been consumed by your LACK of time management. Or worse, your precious time has evaporated in spite of your best attempts of time management.
Either way, or regardless, this section is intended to be a Blueprint for time management processes that will get you on track, keep you on track and make time management more of “managed time” function.

Here is an important tip for you = Life is complicated. Time is simple.

You see, we can quantify time. It is easily broken down into marked segments of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries, etc. They make devices like watches, clocks, calendars, and sundials to track and record time. I would venture that you own or have in your possession at least one or more of these devices. I would also venture a wager that you use at least one or more of these tools to track the time that passes through your life. My question to you is this.. how much of the time that passed through your life was planned by you? Interesting question isn’t it? Now I am not suggesting that your entire life has to be planned out to get the advantages of time management. I am telling you that the lack of time management will create more stress as those deadlines approach and you get that crushing feeling when you run out of time.

I said earlier that time was simple. Well, life is totally different. We tend to maneuver through life in periods. Youth, Teens, Young Adults, Midlife, Mature, Elderly, to name a few. Although time is an element of the periods of life, we do not necessarily manage it like we manage our life.

My goal and objective through this series of writings is to impart the importance of managing that precious element of time which has been gifted to us. Now, I would be the first person in this life to tell you that there is nothing guaranteed but the precious present.. the very moment that we are currently living in right now… this time you are taking to read this segment. That is all we are in control of. Tomorrow may be a marked formality for some of us. But that does not give you an excuse to live your life in a “non-time managed” state. Just because a small percentage of us will not be here tomorrow, you still need to plan for the events that will occur as the sun rises!

Through this segment I hope to help you accomplish one of the hardest life lessons time management mastered.

I want to hear your questions and your frustrations and successes utilizing your time management systems. As well, I will be sharing my time management Blueprint with you. It has worked to keep me on task, on target, and on goal. Hopefully it will work for you too! Because there is nothing better than the feeling of managing your time instead of time managing you!

Personal Success…Defined by Keith

Your definition of “success” should be determined by you, not anyone else. If you can comprehend this truism, then you are indeed a smart cookie! If you struggle with this theory, then we will work with your thought process to bring you to the realization that success is many things:

Success is:

- Defined by You!
- A Moving Target
- Worth Pursuing

Some people feel that there is a pre determined “success meter” which exists in the Harvard business annals that will indicate whether you have arrived at the gates of success. Too many people tie the meaning of success completely into financial terms. Dollars and cents do not equate complete and total success. Some would argue that the amount of money does not equate success at all. Others take a completely opposite argument. I would venture to say that for most of us, the financial element of the success formula plays some role.

There are “successful” people who have been ordained by the mass public for various and sundry feats. When asked about their success, many of these individuals will state that they do not really see themselves as successful as others do. Why is that? Because these individuals are traveling through a journey of success, and they understand that THEY define the meaning of success for themselves. Those folks are not influenced by the people on the outside of their inner circle lauding applause and accolades. They indeed are working hard for their own success.

For instance, I feel that I have been successful at many things in my career. I have launched many programs and authored various processes that have returned millions of dollars to the companies which I was employed. I have been told that I am successful in my field of endeavor. However, I feel that my ultimate success formula is comprised of some of these key elements:

- A Loving Family
- A Core Group of Friends for Life
- The Ability to be Financially Self Sustaining
- A Complete Giver
- A Consummate Mentor
- A True and Trusting Friend to my Friends
- True to Myself
- As Educated as Possible
- A Lifelong Teacher
- Known for Making Others Lives Brighter

I have not reached success according to my incomplete list above. However I am working towards reaching my success. I am because I have a plan, and I work that plan each and every day.

Do you have a success plan? A Blueprint for success? If not, then this area will be most interesting and important to you. Because as you will see throughout my writings that I frequently mention Blueprinting and its importance in getting ahead in life.

As we move forward together towards our success, we will cover many topics of interest to you.
The most important thing that we plan to discuss throughout this series of articles is how you:

Define Success
Plan for Success
Measure Your Success
Improve Your Success Factors
Teach Success Factors to Others
Reach All Your Success Goals

Along the way we listen to your questions, and answer them with pointed responses that will hopefully help you through your success journey.
Enjoy and send me your questions!

Keith

Need or Want to Become a Personal Coach?

Have you had a coach in your past that made a difference in your life during your sports days, or in a work environment? Successful coaches have that innate ability to instill the best in YOU! They take that glob of clay and masterfully mold it into that striking and gifted performer. Whether you play sports or music or any of the arts and sciences, or worked on a business project, chances are you performed much better because you had a great coach. Great coaches know what buttons to push, and they have a knack of pushing you further then you though you could ever be pushed.

On the obverse, you have probably experienced the bad coaches. They seem to be the ones who just show up… someone told them they needed to be at this place at this time.. they were “just there” consuming oxygen. Maybe they were asked or ordered to perform a role that they did not really want to do, or were ill prepared to do. These coaches don’t really leave much with you other than their time. And that my friend is a shame. Life is too short for bad coaches!

My theory is this.. Coaching is a gift. Great coaches have it. It can be learned, but like any discipline, it takes time, practice, effort and a constant education. You must learn to read people well, quickly understand their strengths and weaknesses, find their breaking points, and what makes them tick. You must also be able to engage that persons trust and confidence. Most of all, you must protect that trust and never allow it to be broken or damaged. Like integrity, trust is irreparableonce betrayed.. it can never be made whole. Great coaches are remembered. Great coaches are sought out. If you have found a great coach through out your life, chances are you are still in contact with them in some way or another. We seem to not want to let go of the good ones do we?

I hope I fall into the category of a good coach. I have carved my life success plan towards coaching and mentorship. This series of writings is intended for those people who:

Need a Coach
Want to Become a Great Coach
Are Somewhere in Between!

Do you need a coach? Do you want a coach is probably the more important question! Are you a coach and want to become better at it? Then you need to pay attention to this series. My goal is to answer your questions, and more importantly impart some of my learning’s on coaching to you. I hope that you choose to seek out the true pearls of being a great coach. The world will be a better place because of it!

Keith

Become Financially Independent with Good Financial Management

Are you a manager of your financials? If the answer is yes, then congratulations. If the answer is no, then congratulations.

You must be asking yourself… what in the world does that mean? How can the answer to both questions be a YES?

Simple. If you manage your financial situation then you are on top of the game….hopefully! If you don’t manage your financial situation…… then hopefully someone else does.

Either way, congratulations! you own the outcome.

Let’s pull the mystery off of financial management. Someone better be managing your financial situation, or your situation will be a disaster. I particularly enjoy the line of commercials running today that shows how fast life comes at you. And the commercials are sponsored by an investment company. If you treasure your style of living, and hope to continue this style well after you punch the last time clock, or turn off your office light for the last time, then today is the day that you must begin investing for YOUR future.

A lot of folks seem to think that our government will be at the ready to provide us the retirement lifestyle that we so desperately need and deserve. You can give up on that theory. I am afraid that regardless of your age, if you are not quite yet retired, your government may not be there for you. And if they are, it will not be for the amount of money that you feel you need to exist. The cold hard fact is that YOU must take control of your financial future to secure your livelihood. If you have not started, then today is the day. Don’t put it off until tomorrow because it will never arrive.

There are some really good ways to invest your money. This section is not about listing those venues. I am not a broker, and I don’t even play one on TV. I am not a financial advisor, and do not want you to think that I am. I am a business person with a fairly high credit score, and no debt, and I worked at making that happen. Yet I drive new vehicles and live in a nice lake home. You too can become financially independent, or at least secure a better future for you and your family if you just do some simple things.

Here are some of the things we will be discussing in upcoming articles:

Saving and investing at least 15% of your income each year.
Stop and eliminate credit card balances.
Make your money work for you
Establishing your retirement goals
Controlling your financial future
Getting good advice
Who’s broker, you or your broker?

And a host of other financial related items. Our goal is to help you prepare for the future, a bright future!

Feel free to email me your questions, or post your stories here at AskKeithNow.com!

Keith

Want to Be Successful? Learn How to Goal Setting Can Help!

Setting goals is an important ingredient of ones recipe for success. Goal setting is probably one of the most overlooked elements in business, personal and general planning. In order to work towards your finish line, you must have a clear blueprint, plan or schematic. On top of having a goal setting plan in place, it must be a solid, well thought out and dynamic package. It is something that must be revisited, revised and refined. It is not something that is developed and then left on the shelf to go stale.

In this edition, we will discuss the importance of goal setting, and some of the initial steps necessary to bring a good goal setting plan together.

Imagine planning a trip across the country in the family station wagon. There are a number of ways to make that trip. You can meander your way across the USofA stopping off and looking at all the sights. You follow whatever road catches your fancy and take all the pictures you can handle and eat at all the greasy spoon diners that light up the evenings night. Your trip has multiple detours and the only map you buy or use is one that shows the star’s homes in Bell Air! No worries, no schedule, no plan and most importantly, no stress!

The alternative plan is to map out the most direct route from coast to coast, and make your trip with the most unplanned interruptions and detours. In this case the objective is to get from point A to B as planned… on time and on budget.

Which of these 2 examples best fits your reason to goal set? Hopefully the latter. Especially if you are life planning or business planning, goal setting is utilized to ensure that you get where you are going without detours. You want to maximize your time, energy and effort and hit goal setting targets that align with your ultimate life or business plan.

Since you are reading this article you probably are interested in setting goals. You are probably convinced that goal setting is important, at least let’s hope so! If not, here are a couple of important things to consider. If you are in business and you do not have a goal. Stop, drop and roll. Get your number 2 pencil out along with your big chief tablet and begin taking notes! If you are an individual looking to accomplish personal objectives and you do not have a blueprint, then it is time for you to start designing your life plan as well.

Blueprinting. This is a term that we will use synonymous with goal setting going forward. I prefer the term blueprinting because it conveys the idea of a master plan that is used to build a structure. Our lives and business are definitely building structures. Blueprinting allows us to use a step by step process for goal setting and life planning. Want to know more about blueprinting and goal setting? Check back often, ask your question, email us and most importantly, get your notepad out because at AskKeithNow.com, we will get you set up for goal setting success!

Defining Team…The Most Important Part of Teamwork!

What constitutes a team? Is it one person.. two.. three.. dozens.. hundreds? Why is a team important? Who makes a team a team? Can we survive without teams? Are you a part of a team? Does a team really matter?

These are all important questions when examining the “Team Concept” that is so prevalent in today’s society. Teams are pervasive throughout our society and can be found in business, family, sport, religion, and almost every element of our life. Team’s make the world in which we live.. go around.

You are probably a member of a team right now. Chances are, you have membership on many different teams. Some teams are temporary.. they may include casual involvement. Others such as family team membership last a lifetime. Teams which involve your job, profession and or current employment may seem to be on your mind the most. This is normal.

When it comes to understanding the dynamics of “Teams” (of which an element is Team Building) we must first understand the definition of Team. Team is defined by Webster’s as “A cooperative unit.” Since having a solid team requires cooperation, then building a solid team must be based on harmony. Some may say that this eliminates a Family as being a team unit, however untrue that is! Although Webster’s definition of Team is based on a “cooperative” unit, we find, especially in business.. that although teams are formed under the premises of cooperation, that they can be a far cry from cooperative. Hence Team Building’s important role in securing a foothold in developing the Team’s foundation.

Our Team Building section will work to develop good blueprints for your team experience. It will teach you the key elements in being a good team player, leader, organizer, follower, and of course manager and coach. We will provide you examples, role playing opportunities and answer your questions about a team situation you may be in.

So, in summary what is a team? It is a corporative unit. Are they important? Yes, if they work efficiently. What makes a team a team? People like you! How many people constitute a team? More than one. Can we survive without teams? I doubt it. Does it really matter? Well as the saying goes..There is no “I” in team.. and when it gets down to crunch time well organized and built teams can make the impossible possible, and solve problems that at one time seemed hopeless. We are where we are today in this world because of successful teams. Welcome to our Team at AskKeithNow.com. We welcome your response, questions and input!

Keith

How Can You Manage Without Management?

Merriam-Webster defines Management as:

1. The act or art of managing the conducting or supervising of something (as a business)

2. Judicious use of means to accomplish an end

3. The collective body of those who manage or direct an enterprise

 

Management is the glue that holds our corporations and organizations together. Proper management makes the difference between successful enterprises and less successful ones. Lets look at the Merriam-Webster (M-W) definition in greater detail and discover what management really means to us in business and in life.

1. The Act or Art of Managing the Conducting or Supervising of Something 

A management Act? I am sure that many of you see your managers “acting” during the execution of their duties, but this is not the point that M-W is making here. Instead the management act is a coordinated exercise involving numerous elements.. people, projects, objectives, budgets, timelines to name a few. Management in its best form resembles a well orchestrated symphony. Thus the reference to M-W’s definition of management as an art. Yes, management is an art form. One that you and others cans learn, enhance, practice, perfect, perform and instill. Management is all these things, and you can be a master of these management tools and skills. 

2. Judicious Use of Means to Accomplish an End

Judicious in its own right is an interesting management concept. Using “sound judgment” is a management critical function. Therefore management is using good judgment in getting tasks accomplished.

What defines good judgment versus bad judgment? Results. Well it is more involved than that, but long term “favorable” results are usually the result of good judgment. It holds up to the litmus test of time. Bad judgment may result in short term results, but they often fail the test of time. So, we know that in order to have good management traits we must be committed to judicious actions in order to see things through.

3. The Collective Body of Those Who Manage or Direct an Enterprise

The collective body is the team of management that directs an organization. Management is a team concept. Whether you are a manager, or you are under the direct influence of a member of management, you work with or around other managers to execute your business plan.

In our discussions on the topic of Management, it will be our objective to help current managers become better managers, and future managers become prepared to be excellent managers. We will also look at poor management and even worse….bad management. In this world we live in.. it will be important for us all to manage to accomplish the end. Lets all work together towards this goal!

Give us your feedback, your insight and we want your stories, your management experiences and most importantly.. your questions!

Keith