BE SMART AND IT’S A WRAPP

I was cleaning out the garage and came upon some old notes about setting goals. Now that I am done with all that cleaning fun (yeah, right), I thought I’d share my notes with you. The notes are pre-1989. Yes, they are vintage! But, I think this different angle on setting goals may resonant with you.

Both methods use an acronym to keep the process memorable.

SMART Goals
First, what are we doing here in the 21st Century? We are all about SMART goals. You know:

Specific – Have a narrow scope for your goal. If your goal is huge, use smaller goals to get to the big one. E.g., “get a job” is too big of a goal. Break it down into “send out 10 résumés per week tailored for each job posting” is a better goal. Is this something you can accomplish?

Measureable – Find a way to measure your progress. You want to be able to see and measure your progress. The above “ten résumés” nails this requirement.

Achievable – Ensure your goal is in your control. Yes, it passes the test. Sending out résumés is entirely in my control. The quantity could be problematic. How many job openings do you really find? Is it possible for you to succeed at this goal?

Resonate – Does your goal excite you? Do you really want to do this? If you don’t want a job, then this is not your goal. It might be a family member’s goal for you. Who is driving this goal? If it isn’t you, change the goal!

Time-bound – Have deadlines. In the job search, sending out ten résumés per week might be a stretch in this economy. You might only find five opening per week. When will you do it and when will you finish it?

“I’ll publish my book.” This goal is not in my control. That makes it unachievable. It is not specific enough either. It does resonate with me. Sending it to 10 publishers is in my control and is achievable. Sending it out to 10 publishers by September 15th ensures it will get done. That’s a SMART goal.

WRAPP Goals

There are multiple words for each letter. Here they are:

W – Willing, wants

R – Readiness, risk
A – Abilities, assets
P – Possibilities, predictions
P – Probabilities (future)

Create alternatives to what you are currently doing or what is currently available. Get information and be broad in your application. For example, you want to be a teacher. But, a broader view means you could teach in public schools and private schools.

Using the acronym, define your problem. Gather all the information you need to find a way to move forward. When you have two or a bunch of alternatives, begin narrowing them down. Take action on your alternative of choice. Review the decision. Take responsibility for your decision – right or wrong. Take responsibility for making the decision and in acting on the decision. Keep on track. If wrong, start again with the new information you have now gained.

Here are some questions to assist you in WRAPP-ing up your goals.

• What are you willing to do?
• What do you want to do?
• Are you ready right now?
• What do you need to become ready?
• What risks will you take to achieve your goal?
• What abilities do you have (or need to learn) to accomplish your goal?
• What assets do you have (or need to obtain) to accomplish your goal?
• What are the possibilities that are available to you or that you see to accomplish this goal. Let’s say you want to be a teacher. Both public school and various private schools are possibilities for you to teach.
• Can you predict what the outcome of different paths will be for you?
• What is the probability of this working out for you in the way you have imagined?

Let’s expand the teaching scenario for Pat.

• Pat is willing to teach high school. Pat enjoys kids, so she can say she wants to do it. However, Pat is not ready to teach.
• Pat is ready to go to school and get the teaching credential. During her information gathering, she found out that her BS degree (biology) plus one year more of a full-time class-load will get her a teaching credential. She is willing to take the risk of going back to school full-time and live on the one paycheck her spouse brings home. Is Pat’s spouse on board with her goals and the risk?
• Pat has the ability to accomplish her goal. She feels she has the assets (some savings, unemployment insurance and a student loan) to accomplish her goal.
• Is the only possibility to go back to school for a credential? She could take the C-Best test and become a substitute teacher in biology or general education. She could sub while going back to school. A private school uses only C-Best teachers, but the pay very low there.
• Can Pat predict the out come of both paths? Going back to school full time seems to be easier with the two children and her husband to care for at the same time. Substitute teaching looks like a bigger risk (no unemployment and unknown how often she’ll be called to teach).
• What is the best probable outcome for her? Pat decides to go to school full-time. Since no one at the school district knows her, she feels she won’t be called often enough. Pat decides to contact several schools to network. She thinks this will also provide useful information as she prepares for her new future.

Whether you WRAPP up your goals or make them SMART, here are two techniques for you to use. Two more tools for your toolbox. Both methods will help you make better and more informed decisions.

If you make a mistake – it is OK. You did the best you could, with what you knew at the time. That is how you learn. When you first started to walk, you made many mistakes. You fell all the time. It was OK. It was expected. You lived through it. I’m sure Mom or Dad have cute stories about it too. The important part is that you kept trying until you were successful.

It isn’t the mistake; it is what you do afterwards that counts. If the mistake makes you curl up in a ball and not try again – that is wrong. If it makes you want to try again – that is right. Examine your mistakes, decide what you need to learn from them, let them go and move onwards and upwards. People who don’t make mistakes don’t do things. You are doing and trying. All good.

This Week’s Coaching

Set some goals. Use one method for some, and the other for the rest. Let me know which method appeals to you. Which method will you actually use? Which method worked best for you?

All things are possible,

Elisabeth

Elisabeth Adler-Lund

Executive and Life Coaching
Telephone: 916 • 803•1494
E-mail: eal@EALCoaching.com

3 KEYS TO PERSISTENCE

What do you want to happen? Do you have a plan? Are you sticking to the plan? Is your discouragement keeping you from sticking to the plan?

Whatever is in your plans, from getting a new job to obtaining a healthier weight to cleaning the bathroom, persistence is the key to getting the work done and accomplishing your goals. There is an old saying, “plan the work and work the plan.”

It can be hard to “work the plan” when there are a myriad of impediments and reasons that get in the way of getting it done.

Key 1 – Is it YOUR priority?

If it isn’t at the top of your priority list, you won’t get it done. If it isn’t important to you, it just won’t happen. Ask yourself: “Is this important to me? Do I really want to do this?”

If the answer is yes, then focus on the solutions to your goal. Perhaps the reason you see so many impediments, roadblocks and reasons not to do it, are that you are focusing on them, instead of focusing on the solutions. If you don’t really want to do something, you will see every reason not to do it. If you really want to do something, you may not even notice the roadblocks. If you do see them, your perception will be that it is just a bump in the road, not a full-on roadblock.

For example, I’m trying to get to a healthier weight. When invited out brunch, what should be my focus? All the delicious food? The people I’m dining with? Just the healthy, low fat/low calorie food? Right, I should focus on the people I’m with and the food options that will support my goal of a healthy weight. Yes, it means passing up on eggs Benedict (a favorite), but I can eat all the fruit I want. I can have scrambled eggs with asparagus. I focus on the fruit for dessert. When I have reached my target weight, then I’ll come back for eggs Benedict in my skinny jeans!

Key 2 – Don't Worry about Criticism

Do the very best you can with what you have available at the time. That is all anybody can expect. Your best will change over time. Your best will change from moment to moment and day to day. Just do the best you can at that particular time. Under any circumstances, simply do your best and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

When you do your best, you learn to accept yourself. However, be aware and learn from your mistakes. Learning from your mistakes means you practice, look honestly at the results, and keep practicing. You know you are doing your best when you are enjoying the action or doing it in a way that is positive for you and those around you.

Analyze your own mistakes and draw out the lessons you learned. Apply the lessons you learn so you don’t repeat your mistakes. Life is a learning experience. Action is about living fully and expressing what you are is taking action.

Remember too, that unjust criticism is often a disguised compliment. So if people criticize, ask, “What is this really about? Is it justified? What is the evidence?”

Key 3 – Keeping Your Energy and Spirits High

How do you keep your spirits and energy high? Get enough sleep. Rest before you get tired. Learn to relax. Eat right and exercise. These basics are basics for a reason. This will provide the foundation you need to deal with challenges. If you are rested, you have the brain-power to think of solutions. A creative mind is a rested mind.

If you are tired, if you aren’t eating right, you will not have the physical stamina to be resilient to setbacks and challenges. When you are resilient, you can face challenges and take them in stride. When you are tired, doubt creeps in. Once doubt has a foothold, insecurity moves in and confidence moves out. Then you’ve lost before you really began.

Focus on thing at a time. Give that part of the whole, your full attention. You’ll be surprised and pleased at how fast you’ll move through it. Do things in the order of their importance. That way you’ll always be ready for the next step. When you face a problem, solve it then and there if you have the facts necessary to make a decision. Then move on. Don’t second-guess. Don’t analyze it to death. Just move on to the next part or next step.

Put enthusiasm into your work. As long as you have to do it, do it enthusiastically. See last week’s Resistance is Futile if you have questions. Even if you don’t really feel all that enthusiastic in the beginning, do it wholeheartedly.

This week’s coaching questions:

I sprinkled many questions through out the article to sharpen your thinking. It all comes down to:

What are you doing to make your goal happen?

1.       Write down all your “priorities” now. What number is the goal? Honestly, how much of a priority is it to you?

2.      Are you letting criticism get in your way? Are you consistently doing your best?

3.      Are you focusing on one thing at time, enthusiastically?

4.      Are you planning the work and working your plan?

A dream with a plan is a goal. A goal without a plan is just a dream.

All things are possible,

Elisabeth

Elisabeth Adler-Lund

Executive and Life Coaching

Telephone: 916 • 803•1494

E-mail: eal@EALCoaching.com

NEW YEAR, NEW POSSIBILITIES

What are your new possibilities for the New Year?

Today I want you to take a step back from your life and look at the bigger picture. Look at all the events that have brought you to where you are today. I’m sure you’ve had some crooked paths, some back-tracking, some do-over’s and a few straight and narrow paths. Thinking about just 2009, have you advanced your cause? Are you closer to your goals? Or, did the year just disappear into busy-ness?

This is the traditional time to take stock and think about resolutions. So, we promise to live like monks (not spending money, saving all we can, going to the gym, not eating as much as we want to) and then find out in February, we are NOT cut out for the monastic life. No surprise there. This year I am taking a different path.

My theme for 2010 is, “All things are possible.”

I am going to focus on all the things that I am good at now and improve them. I spent a lot of time trying to improve my weaknesses in 2009. I think now, that I just wasted my time. Why work on something I am not good at or is not in my character to do, when I could accomplish so much more by focusing on a strength? I think that by reinforcing my strengths, I will correct some of weaknesses as part of the process.

One of my (many) weaknesses is I don’t have a neat office. I have a tendency to stack stuff. I get busy and don’t file things away. One of my strengths is being organized. I think by shifting my focus to “being more organized,” I will file things away as part of the process of being more organized.

This is not just semantics. It is really a shift in how you see the world and yourself in that world. It is shifting from attacking yourself to accepting yourself. It is shifting from being part of the problem to being the solution. It is shifting away from fear and towards love.

I invite you to think positively too. Instead of trying to change who you are, go with your strengths. Improve the best parts of you and the rest will take care of itself.

A dream with a plan is a goal. A goal without a plan is just a dream.

All things are possible,
Elisabeth

Elisabeth Adler-Lund
Executive and Life Coaching
Telephone: 916 • 803•1494
E-mail: eal@EALCoaching.com

TAKE INVENTORY OF YOURSELF

Periodically it is a good thing to take inventory. Retailers do this annually. And we all know the IRS requires us to do an income inventory annually too. We sometimes take stock somewhat informally, and call the patches to improve ourselves, "New Year’s resolutions." Do you need to do a more complete self-inventory? Well, that depends. Are you happy with your life now? Are you on a defined and definite path to your goals? Do you have a plan? Are you working your plan? Can you describe your goals quickly and succinctly to a stranger? Do you have a mission statement? If you answered "yes" to these questions you are probably don’t need to do a self-inventory. Congratulations! You are one of the few people (less than 5%) who have defined who you are; what is important to you; where you want to go; defined what is required to get to your goals; and have created a plan to reach your defined goals. For the rest of us, if you think you need to make changes or you want something different or you don’t know where you want to go – a self-inventory may be the answer. At the very least it can point you in the right direction. "If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there." Said Lewis Carroll, in "Alice in Wonderland." So you want to do a good job so you actually end up where you want to go. This is even more important if you don’t know where you want to go. Determining who you are and what is important to you will help define the "where" and help you choose the right road. WHO ARE YOU? Inside, you are the same person you were ten years ago. Your life experiences may temper some of your actions to similar events today, but your essential internal reaction is the same. For example, you observe someone behave rudely to another. Your reaction (shame, anger, amusement, sadness, satisfaction, etc.) is the same. Your actions to this event may have changed over time. Ten years ago you may have confronted the attacker. Whereas today, you may decide to not become involved in the event. An easy way to know yourself is to write down all the adjectives you can think of about yourself and all the values that are important to you. Then begin to group them according to how important that characteristic or value is to you. After you have decided on your top ten list, determine your top five, then your top three and finally your single most important value or characteristic. How to narrow your list down, start by asking yourself which one of two values is more important to you. Then keeping the important value, compare it to another value, keep that one, and so on. As an example, let’s take three values: compassion, honesty and trust. Which is more important to Pat, compassion or honesty? Pat chooses honesty. Which is more important to Pat, honesty or trust? Pat again chooses honesty. Thus honesty is Pat’s most important value. Which is more important Pat, compassion or trust? Pat chooses trust. Thus, for Pat the order of these three values is Honesty, Trust and Compassion. USING YOUR LIST In searching for a job, honesty needs to be a component for the job to be meaningful for Pat. Thus any job with a high-pressure sales element would not be a good fit for Pat. In relationships, the ability to be honest and open will be important in a partner or spouse for Pat. Here are some questions to get you started in aligning your values with your goals and with your life. If you feel like something is missing in your life, perhaps it is simply that your goals are out of alignment with your values.

• What values do you want to be part of your work environment?
• Are they there now, or are they missing?
• How do you reinforce your values in your life?
• What values are reflected in your goals?
• Are my actions and choices moving me closer to my goals?
• Or are they getting in the way of my goals?
• How much of your time are you devoting to attaining your goals?
• What plan or plans do you have for attaining your goals?
• Are you working your plans persistently, through organized effort, or working them only intermittently, when the notion strikes you?
• Are you dedicated to your goals, or are they merely a wish or a weak hope?

I know you can do this. I know this is a valuable exercise. Right now, open up a document and start listing your values. The rewards will be high for you. Let me know your top three values. The first five people to do so, will get a free hour of coaching.

A dream with a plan is a goal. A goal without a plan is just a dream.

Warmly, Elisabeth

Elisabeth Adler-Lund Executive And Life Coaching Telephone: 916 • 803•1494 E-mail: eal@EALCoaching.com

ARE YOUR GOALS IN FOCUS?

I have been doing some reading lately on success and what it takes. Each book or newsletter I read, all talk about the same things.

• Focus
• Hard work
• Perseverance
• Dedication

Some of these people are household names and some have quietly worked to gain their success without fanfare. Without exception, they all talk about thinking about what their goals before they go to sleep and first thing when they wake up in the morning. Some even keep pen and paper by the bed, so they can capture inspiration whenever it hits in the night. That is a lot of immersion into your goals. You have to believe in your goals. You have to really hunger for (not just want) your goals. In a sense, you have to be in love with your goals. Top Athletes Athletic champions are famous for their sustained concentration. They concentrate their energy and effort on what they want and block out anything or anyone who threatens that focus. Think of your favorite top athlete in the middle of a performance. A bomb could go off and they wouldn’t know it until AFTER they won. Picture Jackie Joyner-Kersee crossing a finish line, or Tiger Woods putting out a birdie, or Michael Phelps swimming the last lap, or Michael Jordan dunking the basketball, or Mia Hamm kicking the soccer ball over the goal line, or Joe Montana finding and making the connection to Jerry Rice for the touchdown – all are masterful in their focus and concentration. Champions What is true for athletes is true for champions in all fields of endeavor. Average people pursue loosely defined goals; champions concentrate on the attainment of a singular purpose with an almost obsessive intensity. Top performers invest significant time and energy in selecting their major goals. The masses consider making changes every New Year’s Eve. The goal setting and planning process is an everyday habit of champions. When goals are set, it is with persistence and ferocious tenacity that champions put on mental blinders and move forward. World-class performers create such an intense level of concentration to overcome challenges and achieve goals that it is the last thing they think about before they fall asleep and the first thing they think about when they wake up. In a real sense, the ‘breakfast of champions’ is goal setting and progress review. While average people see world class performers’ successes as a matter of intelligence or luck, champions know sustained concentration of thought and action is usually the true key to their successes. This becomes readily apparent when they do a celebrity game show, such as Celebrity Jeopardy. They usually don’t appear to be a genius; instead, they appear to be “regular folks.” Sustained concentration is a learnable skill. It is not something you’re born with; it’s something you develop through daily practice. So start your practice now. The Questions of Champions

• Are my habits, actions and behaviors congruent with the vision I have for my life?
• Are my goals sharply defined with deadlines?
• Am I focused on my goals, concentrating on the finish line?
• Am I tenacious and persistent in my execution, not letting challenges get in my way?
• Have I made a commitment to achieving my single most important goal in the next 12 months and am I willing to concentrate on achieving it – no matter what it takes?

These are the questions of champions that I gleaned from my readings. As the old saying goes, “The only place success comes before work, is the dictionary.” What are you willing to think about that much? Are you willing to work that hard for your goals? As Confucius said, “Get a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” That is the real secret to a champion’s success. They love what they do. Thinking about and relentlessly working on their goals, is fun for them. What would be that much fun for you? Do you need help finding that ‘fun goal’ for you? I can help you. We will sort through your skills, experiences and your dreams to get your ‘fun goals.’ Don’t wait, contact me now. A dream with a plan is a goal. A goal without a plan is just a dream. Warmly, Elisabeth Elisabeth Adler-Lund Executive And Life Coaching Telephone: 916 • 803•1494 E-mail: eal@EALCoaching.com

What Have You Done To Make Your Intention Happen?

“The Secret doesn’t work for me. I sent my intention out and nothing happened.” So said “Gail,” an acquaintance I was talking with. The other people with us, all started nodding their heads in agreement or said something along lines of, “If it was that simple we’d all be rich/successful/etc.” I asked the question, “What did you do to make your intention happen?” As one, the group all looked at me as if I had sprouted a tree out of my head. Then someone said, “Oh, you haven’t seen the movie, The Secret! You send an intention out into the Universe, and somehow you get it.” Somehow? Sigh. As a coach, I am supposed to help people clarify their goals. One of the best ways to do that is to keep asking questions until the person has clarified in their own mind, exactly what their goal is, and most importantly, how to get there. Things do not magically happen. Things do not “somehow” happen for you. The Secret is not a magic formula that will do all the work for you. This is why, for the group of people I was with, “The Secret doesn’t work” for them. Fuzzy thinking For most of the people who do not believe in The Secret, it is this fuzzy thinking that they find so amusing. If those people had truly understood The Secret, they would not have explained it by saying that “somehow” you get your intention. They would have known the formula ... the secret! This is wishing. This is daydreaming. Some hallmarks of wishing for success are jumping from opportunity to opportunity, not persistently following something to conclusion or fruition. They watch the news and focus on it. They wait for things (the economy, life, their job or relationship) to get better. They have vague aspirations at best. They don’t have real, concrete goals with deadlines. They find deadlines restrictive, because they want to be “open” to the next opportunity. They don’t measure their progress, because they will get to it when … things get better, a better opportunity comes along, whenever. They haven’t built in accountability. Things do not magically happen If you send out an ‘intention’ into the Universe, without any actions, the Universe thinks you are dreaming or wishing. So no response is necessary. As the saying goes, the only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. Again I ask you, “What have you done to make your intention happen?” If you don’t back-up your intention with an action or series of actions, things will not happen. Wishing will not one day, with little effort, make abilities to suddenly bubble up inside you, and, miraculously, rewards will appear. It is as simple as daily planning, so you focus on your next step to reach your goal. It’s as complex as knowing the whole goal and seeing the next step to take on the journey. The Secret for Success To be successful, you need to have a sense of urgency about becoming successful. You have set the BIG goal and all the intermediate steps for the achievement. You have to put deadlines on your goals and measure your progress. You have to stick with your goals persistently, consistently and work hard to make them happen. You have to take charge of your future and focus on the prize! Yes, you have to be open to see the opportunity. Yes, you have to hone your abilities so you can take advantage of the opportunity. These things do not belong to those who are more privileged or talented. Right now, you hold all of the potential in the world. Work with it, stay with it, and you’ll be able to accomplish anything. Then the Universe will swing into action, showing you opportunities you didn’t know where there before. Luck is just being prepared for opportunity when it comes along. That way you can take advantage of it. Coaching will help to define your goal and see your opportunities. We will build in accountability so you attain your prize, and release your full potential! A dream with a plan is a goal. A goal without a plan is just a dream. Warmly, Elisabeth Elisabeth Adler-Lund Executive And Life Coaching Telephone: 916 • 803•1494 E-mail: eal@EALCoaching.com

Reverse Planning

Or, Why do informational interviews? Reverse planning – what does that mean? Perhaps you are more familiar with the term reverse engineering? Either term means you take apart an object or process to see how it works in order to duplicate or enhance the object or process. The practice has been borrowed from older industries and is now frequently used in a variety of settings and industries. Let’s say you want to design a better mousetrap. You put an existing mousetrap in front of you, see how it works, evaluate the parts that make it up and then you reverse the process of building it. As you are taking it apart, you see ways to improve on the design. Then, when you go to rebuild it, you incorporate those changes and voilá – build a better mousetrap! The same is true of planning. You start with your goal. What are all the elements needed to accomplish your goal? How long does it take to learn what you need to learn? Where do you go for learning? Is there more than one path to obtaining the goal? Are there milestones that need to be reached before the goal? You figure out the steps and time needed to complete the goal. Then you assign deadlines for each of those steps. As you are doing your reverse planning, you may find you have a need for some intermediate steps to accomplish and set those goals too. If you have a really BIG goal or a complex goal, reverse planning can be an invaluable aid to getting where you want to go or what you want to accomplish. Career change can be just such a complex goal. This is really the point of informational interviews. You interview people in careers that appeal to you. In the process of interviewing them, they will often share the path they took. They will tell you how long it took to get them there. People will often tell you they took a “hard way,” or the “long way,” and then tell you how to take a short cut or an easier way. Or, they may say how easy it was because of … something. And then go on to tell how to get that something. You can use that information to reverse plan your foray into that career. People are naturally helpful and informational interviews are a great resource for you in your job hunt. When you set up your informational interview ask for ten to fifteen minutes of their time. Tell them you are NOT looking for a job right now. Tell them it is research for your future. BE ACCOMMODATING. They are doing you a favor, so even though you are not a morning person, if that is the time slot they have open – take it, gladly! Here are some questions (10 minutes worth) to ask during an informational interview.

• What education do you need?
• What experience do you need?
• What would be nice to have?
• What is mandatory to have?
• What is the best part of what you do?
• What is the downside to this job?
• What skills do you need?
• What abilities do you need?
• What is your best advice for someone like me?

Then you take the answers home and develop your career plan. What resources do you need to contact? What learning do you need to do? Are there intermediate steps you need to take? You assign deadlines so that your goals can be accomplished. Then, voilá, your new career! I can help you find a career you want to investigate with an informational interview. Getting to that point is the most work. I can help you narrow down your options to chose the best fit for you and who you are. I can help you demonstrate how your skills are unique and marketable. We will create an action plan to get your Dream Job. I can help you sort through your skills, experiences and your dreams to get the right job for you. Don’t wait; contact me now. A dream with a plan is a goal. A goal without a plan is just a dream. Warmly, Elisabeth Elisabeth Adler-Lund Executive And Life Coaching Telephone: 916 • 803•1494 E-mail: eal@EALCoaching.com