UNLEASHING PROSPERITY IN TODAY'S ECONOMY...

Is the Economy Holding You Hostage...?

"Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."

-John Wooden, Legendary UCLA Basketball Coach

Over the last seven years, many explanations have been offered as to why the economy is "in the tank".  Taxes are going up, government regulations are on the increase, investors are going overseas with their money, the big corporations are down-sizing, consumers are cutting back on spending, and so it goes...

While all these factors and many others are a matter of record, are you "allowing" them to determine your present and future prosperity?  Are you letting circumstances determine your outcomes?  Are you being "held hostage" by economic circumstances?

Amid this turmoil, there are a number who are prospering.  What are they doing? Taking a closer look you will find they focus on three things:  change, principles, and choice.

With that in mind, consider three things you "can do" right now (and in the coming weeks, months, and years) to make sure "the economy" doesn't hold you hostage.

1) Learn how to become more agile; increase your capacity to tolerate uncertainty in a rapidly changing world and then act appropriately.  Change is with us round-the-clock; without it life would become rather boring and useless.  The more you embrace change the greater will become your ability to respond effectively to it and prosper in so doing.

What can you do now to respond to the changes in the world that affect your prosperity?

2) Discover and hold fast to universal, timeless principles.  The law of cause & effect is ever present.  As you learn, apply, and master the principles upon which your prosperity is based, your power to make choices that benefit you and others increases.  In a rapidly changing world, you are able to navigate a course that frees you from being held hostage by any circumstances.

What timeless principles are involved and how can you apply them now to maintain and enhance your prosperity?

3) Understand and believe that you "always" have a choice.  Certainly, the overall economy has been "in the tank" in the recent past and many have experienced financial setbacks; we must confront reality. However, you can always choose your response.  When you choose to "act", you increase the control you have over your outcomes; instead of circumstances determining them, your choices do.

What can you "choose" to do now to maintain or increase your prosperity, financial or otherwise?

Remember:  Focus on what is changing, the principles involved, and make your choices accordingly.

Next Post

We will resume: Finding The Resources You Need (Step Two of Three)


What Do You Think?

As always, your constructive comments are welcomed.

******

The Silver Creek Economy 2014 blog is sponsored by Partnering Technologies, an Arizona-based Learning & Development Company.  Their focus is helping individuals and organizations learn, consistently apply, and master a skill-set that is always in high demand, always highly valued, and always highly paid.  Its founder is Jim Sanderson.

Visit their website at www.partneringtechnologies.blogspot.com and find out what they are doing to build a more prosperous economy for our community in 2014.

Finding The Resources You Need (Step One of Three)

The following post is part one of three. Taken in order these three steps will help you get the resources you need to accomplish what's important to you... even making our local economy more resilient and prosperous.

Step One: Believe that You Can Do It!

"[Luke:] I can't believe it.  [Yoda:] That is why you fail"

Question for Consideration:  How important is the power of belief to strengthening our local economy?

It’s been said that faith or belief is the moving cause of all action. Indeed, it is the very foundation of all achievement. Very seldom, if at all, do we attempt anything we don’t genuinely believe we can accomplish.  When we undertake to accomplish a goal or objective our belief is “I can do this”.  As we work towards the completion of our objective we encounter obstacles that require us to find ways to remove or overcome them.  As we deal with each obstacle we consciously or unconsciously decide if we are able.  At each of these junctures we make the choice whether or not to “keep going” or to “give up”.  If our habitual mindset has been to give up at the first sign of opposition, we will more than likely “give up”.  If our mindset has been “I can”, we will more than likely find a way to accomplish our objective.  The choice is ours; either we can or we can’t!  What we think matters; what we believe is very powerful and determines whether we will act or not.

Many examples of this principle could be given, but the following three provide adequate evidence how the belief that “we can” makes a significant difference.  

Consideration #1

On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister ran the first sub 4 minute mile in recorded history.  Up to that time only a handful of people considered this humanly possible.  The overwhelming belief of “it’s impossibile” was the limiting factor.  Yet despite this generally accepted mindset of “impossible”, Bannister and the handful who believed refused to be buried by the opinions of the numerous nay-sayers.  In reflecting on the event some 50 years later, Bannister commented that the obstacle to running the sub 4 minute mile was more or less a matter of believing "it couldn't be done".  Until he and others believed it possible and took action to accomplish this objective, the “belief” that it was impossible made it so.  Once it was believed possible and acted upon, the barrier vanished and the sub 4 minute mile became a reality and soon a benchmark for others.  The ‘thinking” or power of belief and acting on that belief made the difference.

Consideration #2

The Middle East has long been a region of unrest between the Arab and Jewish peoples.  The prevailing belief is it is impossible for these two peoples to live together in peace.  However, Stef Wertheimer, self-made industrialist and billionaire, brought together a significant number of these two peoples through his businesses and entrepreneurial efforts.  The mainstream media would have us believe this is an “impossibility”, but Stef Wertheimer made it a reality.  Arabs and Jews working together to accomplish a common purpose... successful businesses and prosperity for their families.  Wertheimer’s belief that “I can” bring peace to a troubled region through my business ventures was confirmed when he acted on that belief. (http://www.roberttercek.com/2010/11/meetings-with-remarkable-people-my-conversation-with-stef-wertheimer-in-tel-aviv/)

Consideration #3

One of my favorite poets is Edgar Guest.  He had the rare gift of being able to express the basic wisdom of life in simple, easy to understand verse.  The following poem, It Couldn’t Be Done, reflects how the power of belief and acting on it is vital to winning against overwhelming odds.

It Couldn’t Be Done

by Edgar Guest

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done

But he with a chuckle replied

That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one

Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.

So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin

On his face.  If he worried he hid it.

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

That couldn’t be done, and he did it!

Somebody scoffed, “Oh, you’ll never do that;

At least no one has ever done it;”

But he took off his coat and he took off his hat

And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.

With the lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,

Without any doubting or quiddit,

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

That couldn’t be done, and he did it!

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,

There are thousands to prophesy failure,

There are thousands to point out to you one by one,

The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle in with a bit of grin,

Just take off your coat and go to it;

Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing

That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173579

Belief is incredibly powerful, whether it limits what we can accomplish or unleashes our potential. The following quote by Mahatma Gandi communicates this fundamental truth:

"Men often become what they believe themselves to be.  If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it.  But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn't have it in the beginning."

Questions

As you consider the importance of the power of belief, what are some of the ways we can apply it to strengthen our local economy within the next 12 months?

 

How can it increase the focus of our efforts?

 

In what ways does it help us engage and overcome the obstacles we encounter as we work toward this important goal?


Next Post

Finding The Resources You Need (Step Two of Three)


What Do You Think?

As always, your constructive comments are welcomed.

******

The Silver Creek Economy 2014 blog is sponsored by Partnering Technologies, an Arizona-based Learning & Development Company.  Their focus is helping individuals and organizations learn, consistently apply, and master a skill-set that is always in high demand, always highly valued, and always highly paid.  Its founder is Jim Sanderson.

Visit their website at www.partneringtechnologies.blogspot.com and find out what they are doing to build a more prosperous economy for our community in 2014.

How To Create Power Questions That Get Results!

"Ask, and it shall be given you..."

The following suggests a number of power questions that can help you build a more resilient and prosperous local economy.  Whether you are a business owner, an employee, manage an organization, lead a group, or just want to make a difference, these questions can help you create power questions of your own to get the results you want!

Exercise Initiative

Accept responsibility to make good things happen.  Accepting responsibility for producing a desired outcome gives you the power to decide a course of action and account for the results.  In terms of our local economy, some good questions might include:

1) Why is it important for me to accept responsibility for building a more resilient and prosperous local economy?

2) What contributions of time and effort can I make to building our local economy?

3) Who can help me take action today to strengthen our local economy?

4) How will my accepting personal responsibility for strengthening our local economy make a positive difference?

5) Where can I find the resources to make a positive difference in our local economy?

6) When have you been at your best in taking initiative to accomplish what's important to you?

Know Your Outcomes

Identifying the specific results you want gives direction to your efforts.  When you know where you are going, it's easier to come up with effective ways to get there.  You are able to measure your progress and that feedback makes it possible for you to fine-tune your efforts.  Some possible power questions might include:

1) What are three ways you want our local economy to improve and prosper?

2) Whose help will you need to produce those results?

3) Why will those results make a positive difference in our local economy?

4) How will my actions today contribute to achieving those results?

5) When have clarifying my outcomes made it easier to measure my progress?

6) Where can my efforts be most effective in producing those improvements?

Begin Now

Knowing what to do first is important.  It saves time, money, and effort.  Often it will be obvious where to begin.  At other times, a clear pathway of priorities will be less evident.  In either case, the most important thing to do now is act.  If you act and do not make the progress you want, at least you will have some feedback to make a course correction early on and try again; that is why clarifying your outcome is so important.  Power questions that may help in knowing where to begin are:

1) Where should I begin.

2) How will doing this make progress toward my desired outcomes (a more prosperous economy)?

3) Who can help me decide on what to do first?

4) When has making a decision and then acting on that decision made it easier to accomplish my outcomes?

5) What can I do today to move closer to my desired results?

6) Why will starting today give me an advantage?

Create Mutual Benefit

When you create compelling value for everyone involved in your project, you insure cooperation for its success.  Whether it's a customer, employer, employee, a supervisor, etc., a win/win approach always helps produce the results you want.  The following power questions can be helpful in creating mutual benefit for our local economy:

1) Who are the people who will benefit from my efforts?

2) How will they benefit?

3) Where will the see the effects of these benefits?

4) What can I do to communicate these benefits to them?

5) Why are these benefits important to them?

6) When have you created mutual benefit for others that has resulted in greater cooperation from them?

Listen to Understand

Who do you want to benefit from building a more prosperous local economy?  Whoever it is, getting a clear picture off what's important to them is vital to satisfying their needs.  Being on the same page with those you want to serve and influence is key to satisfying their needs and solving their problems.  If they feel that you understand their situation they will be more inclined to consider you solutions and ideas.

These power questions can help you better understand people and their needs and wants:

1) What pressing needs do individuals/organizations have and are looking for ways to satisfy them?

2) Who are these individuals/organizations?

3) Where can I go to find these individuals?

4) How can seeking out and listening to individuals help me better understand them and what they want?

5) Why is listening to these individuals important to building a more resilient local economy?

6) When did my listening to others help me better understand what's important to them?

Multiply Your Options

Systematically and regularly seeking out innovative ways to get the results you want helps you become more productive with your time, money, and energy.  By developing this habit you become a person who creates compelling value for others.  Because you have developed this habit others seek you out and pay you well for your efforts.

Examples of power questions that help you multiply your options are:

1) What should I do to use my time, money, and energy more effectively in building a more prosperous local economy?

2) Who can help me become more productive with my time, money, and energy?

3) How can I systematically and regularly seek out innovative ways to become more productive and help others do the same?

4) When am I most effective in thinking of better ways if doing things?

5) Where can I find good ideas to help build a more resilient local economy?

6) Why will seeking out ways to become more productive help build a more prosperous local economy, now and in the future?

Sharpen Your Skills

Learning, consistently applying, and mastering skills that complement you strengths leverages your time, money, and energy.  When you focus your efforts on your strengths you get more done in less time, with less money, and less energy.  Here are some power questions that will help you master skills that complement your strengths:

1) What are three skills that will complement your strengths and build a more resilient local economy?

2) Who can help you learn, consistently apply, and master these three skills?

3) Why are these skills essential to you being more productive?

4) Where can you apply these skills to get the results you want?

5) When will you learn, consistently apply, and master these three skills?

6) How will you learn, consistently apply, and master these skills?

Getting Results

Asking power questions guides our thinking and thinking leads to learning those things that produce the results we want.  It's a powerful process that can be applied over and over again.  With each application your mastery of the process increases as well as your ability to get desired results in less time.  Whether you're building a more resilient and prosperous local economy or accomplishing any worthwhile purpose, power questions leverage your efforts.  They get results!

Question

Why not ask yourself one power question each day that will help you and others take action to build a more resilient and prosperous local economy in 2014?

Next Post

"Where To Find Resources You Need."

What Do You Think?

As always your constructive comments are welcome and appreciated.

*********

The Silver Creek Economy 2014 blog is sponsored by Partnering Technologies, an Arizona-based Learning & Development Company.  Their focus is helping individuals and organizations learn, consistently apply, and master a skill-set that is always in high demand, always highly valued, and always highly paid.  Its founder is Jim Sanderson.

Visit their website at www.partneringtechnologies.blogspot.com and find out what they are doing to build a more prosperous economy for our community in 2014.

Opening the Doors of Economic Opportunity & Prosperity: Power Questions Are the Answer...

"If I had an hour to solve a problem, and my life depended on the answer, I would spend the first 55 minutes figuring out the proper questions to ask.  For if I knew the proper questions, I could solve the problem in less than 5 minutes."

-Albert Einstein

When we ask power questions, we invite power answers.  Regardless of our purpose, goals, or objectives, asking compelling questions open the doors of opportunity for greater prosperity in all areas of life.

Power Questions help us focus, think, and learn better.  Indeed, they help us make good choices, take appropriate action, and accomplish our desired outcomes in a more timely, cost-effective manner.

The process is ongoing and productive.  It can be likened to a baseball player getting as many at-bats as possible.  It's a continuous process of getting better and better; as we improve our batting, we improve our batting average.

Focus

By asking power questions we quickly and effectively focus our minds on getting our desired outcomes.  Questions of power focus our minds on what we can do.  They concentrate on our strengths and our taking action that makes a positive difference.  Therein lies our ability to accomplish what's important to us.  As it applies to our local economy, therein we find the keys to achieve greater prosperity.

Think

The very process of asking questions causes us to think.  When we ask power questions our thinking processes become powerful.  As we ask compelling questions about how we can build a more resilient economy, our mind thinks of and creates opportunities to do so.

Choices

By asking power questions, we increase our options.  Not only does it increase the "possibility" of getting our desired results, it increases our "probability" of producing those results.  What was once only an idea, becomes a blueprint for action that builds a more resilient local economy.

Action

The who, what, when, where, why, and how of what we should do is clarified to maximize our efforts in accomplishing our objectives, achieving our goals, and fulfilling and maintaining our purposes.  Asking power questions guide our actions in accomplishing what's important to us.  Regarding a more prosperous local economy, asking power questions helps us take power actions that produce the physical results we desire.

Learn

As we focus, think, choose, and act, we should ask and search for valuable feedback that will help us fine tune our efforts to build a more resilient local economy.  By repeating this process over and over again, the actions we take become more and more effective in getting the outcomes we want.  Power questions provide us with power learning as to what we should do.  The more quickly and more times we repeat the process of focusing, thinking, choosing, and acting, the more quickly we learn how we can improve the quality and quantity of what to do.

Power Questions

Learning, consistently applying, and mastering how to ask power questions is the keystone for developing inspiring leaders and cultivating entrepreneurs, thereby building a more resilient local economy in 2014.  It is a process that empowers each of us to make a meaningful contribution.

What power questions will you ask yourself and others today, and in the coming weeks and months of 2014, to build a more resilient local economy for the Silver Creek Community?  What you can and will do makes a difference! 

Next Post

"How to Create Power Questions That Get Results!"

What do you think?

As always your constructive comments are welcome and appreciated!

********

The Silver Creek Economy 2014 blog is sponsored by Partnering Technologies, an Arizona-based Learning & Development Company.  Their focus is helping individuals and organizations learn, consistently apply, and master a skill-set that is always in high demand, always highly valued, and always highly paid.  Its founder is Jim Sanderson.

Visit their website at partneringtechnologies.blogspot.com and find out what they are doing to build a more prosperous economy for our community in 2014.

Three Essentials For A Resilient Local Economy: Build Trust, Develop Leaders, Cultivate Entrepreneurs

“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."

-John Wooden, Legendary UCLA Coach

The Pain

Over the last seven years our local economy has taken some hard hits.  The domino effect of economic decline has definitely been felt in a number of local industries vital to our economic well-being (construction, real estate, manufacturing, transportation, local businesses, schools, and municipal services).

However, the real pain has come to rest on individuals and families.  Loss of employment, reduced work hours, declining business activity, business closings, loss of homes, financial loss, loss of self-esteem, and sad to say, in some cases the demise of vital family relationships.

The Challenge

Regardless of the cause of these economic ills and their disruptive effects on the residents of our community, the challenge we now face is how to build a more resilient economy amid the rapid changes we presently face and will face in the future?

Fortunately, our local chamber of commerce and businesses have been working on ways to strengthen our economy.  Likewise, our local and county civic leaders have dedicated efforts to promote economic prosperity for our White Mountain Region as well as our local economy. These efforts have resulted in some promising prospects.

Nevertheless, as individuals, we should ask ourselves, “What can I do to build a more resilient local economy?”  The answer to that question may require us to step outside our comfort zone.  More often than not, that's a daunting process.  However, taking it one step at a time, it can be done.  Each of us have a stake in the economic prosperity of our community and each of us can make a difference.  The timely advice of John Wooden carries a practical message of hope, “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”  Additionally, do your best and then take it to the next level.  

We always have a choice and when we focus and act on what we “can” do, the doors of opportunity open and we increase our ability to do more.

The Opportunity

Our most valuable resource in addressing any challenge is our ability to learn, think, choose and act.  It's an ongoing process because life is ever changing and with that change comes opportunity.  As it pertains to building a more resilient local economy, three essentials come front and center:  Learn, consistently apply and master the principles of 1) building mutual trust, 2) developing inspiring leaders, and 3) cultivating entrepreneurs.

Mutual trust is the currency of prosperity.  "It is a function of character and competence... [it] impacts us 24/7, 365 days a year.  It undergirds and affects the quality of every relationship, every communication, every work project, every business venture, every effort in which we are engaged." (Stephen M.R. Covey, The Speed of Trust). Building, maintaining, and restoring trust are essential to our local economic prosperity.

Inspiring Leaders guide through the bad times as well as the good.  They see the potential of not only opportunities, but more importantly the potential of each individual they influence.  They act to bring out the best in people and help them capitalize on promising opportunities and make meaningful contributions.  “Leadership is not a formal position, it is a choice.”   (Dr. Stephen R. Covey, The 8th Habit).  Inspiring Leaders mobilize individuals to accomplish desired outcomes; they're essential to the prosperity of our local economy.

Entrepreneurs create compelling value in the marketplace.  They seize and act on opportunities to make life more prosperous for all concerned.  "Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship.  The act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth." (Peter Drucker, Management & Entrepreneurship Expert).  Entrepreneurs create an ever increasing number of economic opportunities which in turn create an increasing number of good jobs. They are committed to continuous improvement; they are essential to local economic progress!

With these essentials in mind, the opportunity to create greater economic prosperity for our community has never been better.  The Law of the Harvest favors those who act by sowing the seeds that build a more resilient local economy.

Your choices and what you do are important.

The Question

What will you do today and in the coming weeks and months of 2014, to help our local economy prosper?  Your efforts will make a positive difference!

Next Post

Monday, March 10, 2014

What do you think?

As always your constructive comments are welcome and appreciated.

*********

The Silver Creek Economy 2014 blog is sponsored by Partnering Technologies, an Arizona-based Learning & Development Company.  Their focus is helping individuals and organizations learn, consistently apply, and master a skill-set that is always in high demand, always highly valued, and always highly paid.  Its founder is Jim Sanderson.

Visit their website at www.partneringtechnologies.blogspot.com and find out what they are doing to build a more prosperous economy for our community in 2014.