Billy Arcement’s
News From the Swamp
Issue # 35
Bringing you ideas from The Results
Group Office
on
“Working with business leaders to produce a culture of
teamwork, productivity and profits.”
Please recommend this newsletter to a friend or associate.
Time is the
great equalizer––everyone is given the same twenty-four hours each day. But for many, that’s where the equality
stops. What separates achievers from
wishers? It’s how each uses their time.
Efficient and effective time use is maximized when one has a vision of what they want to achieve with their careers and their life. Vision is developed in concert with our purpose. Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life has been on the top of the best seller list for many months. I believe the book grabbed the attention of the public simply because everyone seeks to identify their individual purpose. They felt this book might open their eyes and hearts to that yet unidentified secret in their life.
When we have purpose, we have a reason to get up in the morning––we have a reason to be excited about life. Our time on earth is part of a grand design and purpose. It’s our charge to discover why we are here and contribute to the outcome. Life is not a spectator sport. It demands participation to be fulfilled.
Discovering purpose requires us to be a keen observer of our gifts and talents. It requires us to reflect and evaluate our successes and failures. Purpose evolves so you won’t get a lightening bolt from heaven to jolt you forward. Becoming a student of your actions eventually allows you to “graduate” into purpose. And that is where the fun begins. Purpose ignites the fires of motivation within us and fuels the vision to make our purpose a reality.
What are you waiting for? Go for it!
As we refine our purpose, we must identify what are the most important activities we should undertake. We don’t want wasted actions. However, most deal with the urgent things in their life rather than the most important. Sometimes it is confusing. But when we have clear purpose, confusion disappears.
In John Maxwell’s Developing the Leader Within You, he says that the two most difficult things to get people to do are (1) to think (2) to do things in order of importance. Truer words were never written. Thinking is the hardest work we have to do and setting priorities can be a daunting task. Because too many of us fail to identify our purpose, identifying priorities becomes a guessing game.
Commit today to evaluate your daily activities. Are you putting our brush fires or are you planting the forest? Focus you life in a direction that brings the most happiness and peace of mind. It isn’t about the money. It’s about inner peace and joy with our accomplishments. Money is the payoff of carrying out the right priorities.
Nothing worthwhile in life is easy to achieve. When we are driven by purpose, life seems to open paths for us thus easing our burden. Find your purpose. It’s an incredibly important use of your time.
Let’s Make Some Plans
Someone once said, “Life is what’s happening to you while you’re making other plans.” Don’t succumb to this trap. Your life plans are created from your purpose and priorities. Your plans are the achievement strategy to get things done. Plan every day. When you incorporate this habit into your life, you will rank among the great achievers. High productivity and effectiveness are not born from a low level of planning.
Write your plans for the day. Review the results of actions created by your plans at the end of the day. Adjust your course daily and resolve to be better tomorrow. Don’t over schedule activities. You want to experience successes to keep your motivation alive. List the six most important activities you must do each day to move you closer to achievement of your purpose. Start with the most important and work your way down the list one item at the time. Each day, create a new list of the six most important things that need to be done.
Disciplined use of this system will propel you forwarded like a rocket. Are you ready for the ride?
Ten Time Tips To Tickle Your Thoughts
There are hundreds of ways to make better use of your time. Here are ten to start using today.
“Anyone
can stay in the rut of mediocrity.
It takes
a different person to recognize ‘rut living’ and do something about it.”
The Professional Speaker:
Billy blends thought provoking ideas with his “Cajun Stories”
to bring audiences a winning combination guaranteed to make your event a
success. Experience
the wit and wisdom of Billy’s messages at your next meeting.
Executive Coaching / Management Consulting: Billy is the choice of corporate
and education leaders who seek help with their own management style or who wish
to provide coaching for their management team or executives on an individual or
group basis by phone or on site. Use Billy’s problem-solving skills and vast
experience base to improve your leadership and management skills.
The School Board Strategist: Billy is one of the premier consultants to work with troubled school boards or to help with strategic planning initiatives. He is also a seasoned presenter at school board association conventions.
The Author: Billy’s
book, Searching for Success, is
making a difference in the life of people around the world. His published articles impact the way b
Call
We Cajuns
are famous for giving a little extra. We
call it Lagniappe. Here is my little extra for the
month: Email me with “Reading List” on
the subject line and I’ll send you my list of great books on time use and
success principles. These books changed
my life and they can do the same for you.
Please notify
Children First! Spread the Word
Children First, my newsletter offering parenting tips, continues to grow
very nicely. If you know of an
organization or group of parents who might be interested in reading this
newsletter email me at barcement@eatel.net
and place “children” in the subject line.
The next issue goes out August 1.
Value Added
Ideas
You may reprint content from
this newsletter or from past issues.
We’re also happy to provide you with articles from our archive of
previously published articles to add value to your publications. Before you do, please send an email request
to barcement@eatel.net and specify
your needs.
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