You Could Be Your Own Worst Enemy

What is your performance potential? I'm guessing it's greater than you think. The bigger question you should ask yourself is “How much less can I interfere with my potential for greatness?”

Every day in my music classroom I work with highly talented teenagers. These young people have huge amounts of performance potential. Most have one or more of the following that contribute to their potential: natural ability, high levels of intelligence, desire and/or work ethic. The same holds true for the adults that I associate with at school and in my private life.

However, I think you'll agree that the percentage of people (and I count myself in this group) who fall short of consistently reaching their full potential is much closer to 100 than 0.

What gets in the way of fully realizing our potential? I argue that it is our inner conversation that interferes with doing our absolute best. We talk to ourselves thousands of times per day. Among all the mundane self-chatter is self-talk that either elevates or deflates us.

Deflating self talk like “I'm not good enough,” “I am not ready,” “I will make a mistake,” or “I am afraid of what others will think of me” robs us of our true potential.

In the mid 1940's Claude Bristol referred to the incredible power of positive self-talk in his book “The Magic of Believing.” Modern day “success coach” Tony Robbins teaches the positive power of what he calls “incantations” to change your life. Further, Dr. John Izzo writes about the concept of minimizing negative self influence in his most recent book “The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die.”

Years ago, I read “The Inner Game of Music” by Timothy Gallway. In it, he outlines an equation that has stuck with me and that I continue to use with students today:

Po-I=Pe

This equation sums up this blog post rather nicely. Our potential (Po) minus our self-interference (I) equals our performance (Pe). The closer we can move “I” to zero, the greater our performance will be. Further, if you were able to overwhelm negative self-interference with positive self talk, your performance could conceivably supersede your potential!

This will take an intentional effort and much practice, but on the quest to be a better person, it will be well worth it!

Are You An Energy Sucker?

Are you an energy giver or taker?

I had my hair cut today. Rather than wait for the stylist to start conversation like usual, I began with a simple "how are you today?" What ensued was a 15 minute discussion detailing much of what was wrong in her life at present: two family members in the hospital, a manager that treats his employees poorly, and a slow work day were just some of the highlights. I wanted to leave.

I believe we can sense when we are with someone who is environmentally energizing or someone who is de-energizing. We are naturally attracted to people who are vivacious, bubbly, engaging, smart, interested and giving. Similarly, if we ARE those people, others are drawn to us.

Think about a bank. At its simplest, you walk up to teller and either make a withdrawal or a deposit. Challenge yourself to move throughout your day conscious of whether you're withdrawing or depositing into the emotional and energy banks of people around you. And just like investing, the returns usually take time to be realized.

In my afternoon high school concert band rehearsals lately, I prod my students -- many of whom have sat passively in other classes for a good part of the day -- to use their instruments to send vibrant sound energy and personality into the room. I tell them that they are either adding or subtracting to the environment, so work to add positively to the room. My request has yet to fail in creating a better sound and better results!

So it is with emotional energy as well. You have the choice. Make the investment and choose wisely!

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LeadershipNow 140: January 2013 Compilation

LeadershipNow 140: January 2013 Compilation:


Here are a selection of tweets from January 2013 that you might have missed:

• 4 Attitude Choices Every Leader Must Make by @leadersbeacon
• 10 Choices You Will Regret in 10 Years via @donhornsby
• Leading Change by @LollyDaskal
• @TheAtlantic: Why parents need to let their children fail
• Building the Skills of Insight from @stratandbiz
• The ability to experience negative emotions w/o falling through the floorboards is vital to leaders.
• What Happens When Executives Freak Out by @ScottEblin
• When Leaders Flame Out by Brian Evje
• Fake Amazon Page Is Best Online Resume Ever
• FT: From failure can come success
• Mike Henry Sr: 5 Harsh Truths Every Aspiring Leader Needs to Know
• Leading With Love: Just Say It by @LollyDaskal
• Why You're Not A Leader by @mikemyatt
• Ten Resolutions The Most Successful People Make And Then Keep by @theideamonkey
• What Does Success Really Look Like? by @TanveerNaseer
• How Multitasking Hurts Your Brain (and Your Effectiveness at Work) - Forbes
• Good resources from @MaxMckeown: If you want innovation, here's a mountain of creativity
• @GoodEthics: Marines piloting training prog using non-religious mindfulness practices for stress reduction @USMC
• 7 Simple Ways to Be a Positive Influence As a Leader by Christina Lattimer @pdiscoveryuk
• How People Learn by @farnamstreet - Shane Parrish
• Ideas are the Core of a Leadership Philosophy by @GeorgeAmbler
• Tyler Brule thinks people should pay to comment on columns.
• Building the Skills of Insight from @stratandbiz
• You're an Example, Like it or Not by Steve Keating @LeadToday
• The Introvert’s 2013 Business and Leadership Success Pledge @by lisapetrilli
• Read > The Leadership Gap by @LollyDaskal
• 10 Leadership Lessons for Gen-Y from Inc
• @MargieTrains: INFOGRAPHIC: Sittng is a Death Trap
• Hmmmm, that's interesting by @wallybock
• Nine Rules for Stifling Innovation by @RosabethKanter
• Richard Branson makes a case for leaders at all levels: “While it’s true that every company needs an entrepreneur...
• @adiversal: VIDEO - Funny Volkswagen commercial from Spain
• What Is Executive Presence? by @ScottEblin
• @harvardbiz: Your Employees Are Not Mind Readers by @DougConant
• Are Your New Year Resolutions Big Enough? by @jamesstrock
• As Augmented Reality Blurs Lines, How Will Companies Respond? by @jhagel and @jseelybrown
• Good rebels vs. bad rebels @LoisKelly
• @jhagel: Icarus myth warns us of dangers of standing up standing out making a ruckus-or does it @justinemusk on Godin
• The real definition of insanity by @TomAsacker
• David Brooks - those who don't suffer fools are just ill mannered. NYTimes - Suffering Fools Gladly
• @_robin_sharma: 50 Business + Life Lessons for Giant Goal-Getters
• How We Learn from @ucdavisexeced

See more on Twitter.

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Live With Integrity: Trust Your Gut

I've learned that to ignore the still, small voice -- of logic, conscience, or whatever you may call it -- inside of me is a Bad idea. Too many times have I pretended that a decision that I made was the right one when all along my gut was telling me otherwise.

Moreover, marginalizing that still, small voice and delaying a decision is usually just as difficult as making the wrong decision. In my career as an educator, I have procrastinated making a phone call or sending an email because the results could be painful. If only I could bottle the feeling of relief after resolving conflict. That would indeed be a valuable and potent elixir. One swig would remind me that to take care of a problem quickly and with integrity is nothing to fear.

My "gut" and I had our first professional "run-in" about 15 years ago. I was running a university summer music camp that had clearly defined rules and regulations that governed student behavior. During the first night of the week-long camp, two campers chose to break the rules. The following morning, it was my responsibility to call their parents and tell them to return to the university, pick them up, and take them home without the refund of several hundred dollars each. The plot thickened, as one of these two was the daughter of a university regent. For the sake of the other campers, I took swift and decisive action and trusted my gut. Luckily, the result was anything but painful. The parents understood, the campers went home, and my sense of relief is still memorable.

Some of us deal with important and difficult decisions every day in our profession. If not there, our personal lives are full of decisions that need us to be honest and forthright because they can -- and do -- affect other people.

What I found over time, though, is that confronting a decision and trusting my still, small voice has resulted in better outcomes than I could hope for.

Whether or not a decision was ultimately right or wrong, if I have made it based on integrity and/or my best intentions, I know that I will be more comfortable with dealing with any possible, difficult aftermath -- I have moral ground upon which to stand.

What is your still, small voice saying to you? Trust it.

 

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Share, Share and Share Some More!

I was just recently thinking... Why keep what I learn from personal development books, blogs, articles and quotes to myself in the workplace? While it's true I post things on Twitter and Facebook quite a bit, and have found a lot to both read now and save for the future, there is a whole community of students and educators (in my case) that are not a part of my little connected universe.

If the information I come across is interesting or important to me, there's a better than even chance that those with whom I work and are in my “in person” circle will find value in it too.

The director of my church choir pauses about 2/3 the way through most rehearsals and reads to the group. Sometimes it's from the Bible, other times it's from a text that reflects the season of the church year. A choir rehearsal suddenly becomes more than a music practice. We pause to listen and reflect on a common theme and are drawn together by the importance of the purpose our music serves.

Why not do this in a meeting? A classroom? With an email? Perhaps on a break from business we can shift gears and share a thought or two that has come from some of our recent learning and reading. Could that be a better use our influence in a conference room, classroom or boardroom to transcend what we currently do?

I've been sharing more on Facebook lately as well as Twitter. Each place has different kinds of connections for me. Twitter is a place where I am connected to thinkers, educators and leadership pros. Facebook is where family, friends, colleagues and former and present students are. Two different audiences, yes, but both can (and do) express thanks for an occasional item I find and post. Your connections anywhere can benefit by what you are learning.

As online, the worst thing that could happen to you by sharing what you're learning in person is that you're ignored. No problem, though. Through even my limited experience I have found that “putting it out there” is far and away better than not. The chances of someone being enlightened by something you've not shared is zero anyway!

If you have it (and you probably do if you're reading this), your fire to learn and be better was kindled sometime in the past. Perhaps you don't recall when it was that you became interested in personal development. What could be the chances that a three minute summary of what you've read recently at your next sales meeting be the presentation that lights a fire in someone else to learn more about being better people and professionals?

There are side benefits, too. If this becomes part of your culture in the workplace, you'll read even more so you can share even more. Further, digesting and processing what you're reading so that you can “teach others” means you'll store the information differently in your head and retain it better.

When done with planning and intentionality – on purpose, on point and sincere – you may very well be surprised at the results!  

To Tweet or Not to Tweet. There is No Question!

I like Twitter. I like it a lot.

I created a Twitter account over a year ago, and have to admit that I signed up not really knowing what it was about. For a long time never used it. I used Facebook quite a bit over the past few years to be social online, but Twitter had never really made my radar.

Why Jayson, you may (or may not) be asking, wouldn't you be more involved in this magical world called the "Twitterverse" by the "Tweeple" who inhabit it?

The Boring Back Story

Well, I wasn't sure I needed another social outlet to obsess over, and I'm sure my wife felt the same way. (There was an unholy obsession with “Mafia Wars” for a time, and I am sorry to say there was too much time spent collecting “friends” I had never met who shared my passion for pretend criminal activity.)

Thank heavens I resisted the temptation of Farmville.

Flash forward to November 2012. I was asked to write a guest blog post for the Simpson College Music Department's web page, and I happily obliged. I enjoyed doing it and received positive feedback. That experience led me to begin my own blog (you're reading it now!), and like any good, technologically savvy American, I did research about how best to write a blog, how to get it out to the masses to read and how to get ideas about which to write. It was clear after some poking around that Twitter was a social networking medium that had a track record of providing just these benefits.

I took the plunge just before Thanksgiving 2012, and as of early January 2013, I can honestly say that, yep, Twitter is awesome.

How I Use Twitter...

… may not be how you might use it. I know of many (most often) younger people who use it to create a running diary of their life or use it as a way to dialogue with friends. As a professional and educator, this use for twitter is of no interest to me.

In my view, Twitter is the single best way for me to harness the power of the internet for professional development.

You will easily find thousands and thousands of people using Twitter for this very same purpose, and there are many free resources online that will help you understand how easy it is to get to these people.

My blog, Being Better Today, focuses on personal development. I have found hundreds of people on Twitter willing to share links they have found, quotes, ideas and blogs about this topic. Can I read everything? Of course not. But among the many links thrown my way daily, there are always one or two that grab my attention and get read. I'm learning... and growing... and sharing... and helping.

I am a professional music educator. On Twitter, there are many more hundreds of music educators, music organizations, school principals, district superintendents and curriculum wonks I follow (and who are kind enough to follow me) from around the world. These folks share their online finds and personal knowledge to anyone who cares to read it. It is truly fantastic! My Twitter feed is full of expert thoughts on music technology, teaching pedagogy, educational research and more. Truly passionate teachers contribute to their Twitter following, and I'm proud to be a part of that company!

To Tweet is to participate personally in a global conversation. How do YOU use Twitter? In my best teacher voice, “Please share with the group.”

Oh, and if you'd like to follow me, the link is on the right. I'd love to learn with you!

My favorite Twitter hashtags:

#personaldevelopment

#motivation

#inspiration

#musedchat

#edchat

Short list of my favorite Tweeple to follow if you're just getting started:

@LollyDaskal (leadership, self improvement)

@MichaelHyatt (leadership)

@Scott_Watson (music education)

@AngelaMaiers (leadership, education)

@pisanojm (education and technology)

@mcleod (education)

@garyloper (using twitter, inspiration)

Great Leadership Read: Wooden, by John Wooden

If you crack open the mind of the 20th Century's best athletic coach and dump its 90-plus years of living and teaching experience into a book, what you have is the best 160+ pages of inspiration and instruction you will read in a very long time.

Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court by Coach John Wooden and Steve Jamison is a quick and easy read because it is divided up into small sections of plain spoken, honest thoughts about living, teaching, coaching and leading.

It's a "cut through the bull and babble" book that should be required reading for anyone who wants to be better at what they do.

My copy of The book is dog eared like CRAZY!

I recently finished the book, and rarely has a book ended up with so many dog-eared pages and highlighted lines of text! It's a small book in form factor; easy to carry around, and certainly easy enough to hold a prominent place on my "frequently gone-to" books.


For those of you unaware, John Wooden was the head coach of the UCLA Men's Basketball team from 1948 to 1975. He is the winningest basketball coach of all time, has the record for most consecutive wins (88, breaking the previous record of 36), and has the record for the most NCAA Basketball Championships (10, with 7 in a row).

Lessons learned from his father: never lie, never cheat, never steal, don't whine, don't complain and don't make excuses were the foundation of his philosophy of living.

From there, the book unfolds and the themes of very hard work, meticulous preparation, attention to detail, and controlling all you are able quickly emerges. Narry a page goes by without a reference to hard work or doing one's best.

Coach Wooden expected nothing less than the best from himself and those on his teams. His philosophy of success in any endeavor can be summed up this way: if you do your absolute best, and you know that there was nothing you could have done to prepare any better, it makes no difference the outcome of the contest. You will have succeeded.

 

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