Anyone been watching the Leafs lately? The past week was quite a roller coaster. On Tuesday of last week, the Toronto Maple Leafs got pumped by the Florida Panthers
8 – 0. Not a fun game to watch, let alone play in. Looking forward after game, they had to get ready to meet the red hot Montreal Canadians on Thursday and then on Saturday, the first place overall Detroit Redwings. Uh oh!
Let’s face it, losing 8 – 0 in a hockey game is like losing 56 – 0 in a football game, pretty embarrassing either way. Little did we know, the Leafs would take out the Canadians and the Redwings over their next 2 match up's. Not too many would have thought of such outcomes. The Leafs on the other hand dug deep and bounced back in a way no one would have imagined. Although the Leafs still have an uphill battle to climb their way into the playoffs, I believe the last 2 games have shown some light in the right direction.
So how does one or a team for that matter, bounce back from adversity? Some self reflection is a good start. However, it’s important not to get stuck in that rearview mirror. If you fail to look forward and your eyes are staring behind for too long, you’re bound to crash. With some examination of what could have been done differently and some determination to make the minor adjustments moving forward, you’re on your way.
We have all made the mistake of dwelling on the past. Once we accept that we can’t change it but we can learn from it, the better off we are. It’s not reasonable to believe that we are going to do everything right the first time. It’s how we learn from our adversities and not dwell on them, where we can truly grow.
In the Leafs case, keeping a defenseman in front of their own net, blocking the passing lane through the crease and cleaning up the occasional rebound totally changed their outcome of the 2 games after an embarrassing loss. Think of a time where you’ve made minor adjustments and pushed through a time of pressure or hardship. When you’re done, give yourself a pat on the back!
Scott Wain
Showing posts with label Accomplishment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Accomplishment. Show all posts
Monday, February 11, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
What Drives You?
After reading a comment on the Law of Attraction post earlier in the week about finding your true passion, I’ve had some time to think. It may not be easy to find what it is that truly drives you. So, if you’re working for a company that doesn’t give you fulfillment, how do you make a shift to something that does? First, you can look at what experiences you posses, what value you could bring to another company or an entire different industry for that matter.
One way of going about it is, you can begin to talk with friends and family with different backgrounds. Ask them questions about what they like and dislike in their respective careers. How did they get to where they are today? Did they need any type of qualifications or specific education to work in their field? Is there room for advancement?
Another great way of finding a job that you’re passionate about is to ask yourself, what do I love? If you love to inspire people in any way you can, like I do, learn what types of things you would need to do to become a motivational speaker. Or maybe start writing so you may have an opportunity to write a book some day.
Maybe you love to play video games! So, you could start looking into what types of jobs there are out there to be involved in making video games. Do you know anyone who is connected to the field at all? Most people find jobs because of someone they know. Does anyone you know have any connections in the industry? These are good places to look and find out if you’re qualified and what you may need to do, to become qualified.
If it’s something you love and are passionate about, maybe you could provide some great inspiration to the industry. We have the ability to achieve anything we focus our energy on. It may not happen overnight. But with due diligence and a dream, it’s closer than you may think!
Scott Wain
One way of going about it is, you can begin to talk with friends and family with different backgrounds. Ask them questions about what they like and dislike in their respective careers. How did they get to where they are today? Did they need any type of qualifications or specific education to work in their field? Is there room for advancement?
Another great way of finding a job that you’re passionate about is to ask yourself, what do I love? If you love to inspire people in any way you can, like I do, learn what types of things you would need to do to become a motivational speaker. Or maybe start writing so you may have an opportunity to write a book some day.
Maybe you love to play video games! So, you could start looking into what types of jobs there are out there to be involved in making video games. Do you know anyone who is connected to the field at all? Most people find jobs because of someone they know. Does anyone you know have any connections in the industry? These are good places to look and find out if you’re qualified and what you may need to do, to become qualified.
If it’s something you love and are passionate about, maybe you could provide some great inspiration to the industry. We have the ability to achieve anything we focus our energy on. It may not happen overnight. But with due diligence and a dream, it’s closer than you may think!
Scott Wain
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
The Law of Attraction
Are you truly passionate about what you do? When you wake up in the morning, are you excited to get your day going? Or are you like the people in the Monster.ca commercial where the whole town climbs the hill on the horizon to fight the sun rise on Monday morning? If you answered yes because you’re passionate about what you do, congratulations! If you answered no, then, I’m sorry to hear it. My next question then would be, why?
There can be many different reasons why you don’t follow your dreams and passions. A popular one would be financial security. You took a job and made decent money, then you probably bought a house, a car and you like to go on vacations and you have bills to pay. So, in a way you can’t follow your true dreams because your financial responsibilities, right? So, what to do? You could continue to get up in the morning and walk through the same painful routine as always. In this case you will naturally reassure yourself why, you can’t take a risk and do what you love.
I’d like to reference a great movie “The Secret”. For anyone who hasn’t watched it, I recommend it. You can watch a good chunk of it for free when you search in Google Video. Again, I highly recommend it for anyone who hasn’t watched it. The law of attraction is the entire concept of the film. Whether we like it or not we attract everything in our lives. It can be a tough pill to swallow for some of us out there. However, the sooner you can finally swallow that pill and face reality that we control our fate, the sooner you can give up that job you can’t stand and begin to live your life to the fullest.
Before I wrap up, I want to make reference to Jack Canfield. Jack Canfield is the author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul collection. He is also going to be in London ON this month too! In The Secret, Jack shares his experiences with the law of attraction. As a struggling author with little money he was facing some very tough times mentally. Finally at one point he decided he was going to make 1 million dollars! This is a huge goal and in most minds a distant dream. So what he did next was very powerful. He took a marker and turned a bill of low denomination into a 1 million dollar bill. Next, he taped the 1 million dollar bill on the ceiling above his bed where he would see it each and every morning as he awoke.
Less than 1 year later Jack had made his 1 million dollars. He actually made much more than that. His first edition of Chicken Soup for the Soul took off. He had taken the power of the laws of attraction and turned it into his dream. If you are thinking this is a scam, good luck to you. I say that for one reason, if you think it is a scam, then you’re telling yourself it could never happen. You’re thinking, yeah right, like I’d ever be able to make a million dollars with a stupid bill taped on my ceiling. You’re right. with that state of mind you’re attracting your results. It’s a simple cause and effect.
Visualize your dreams, talk about them with others and believe you can make them happen. This is the first step in achieving self fulfillment.
Scott Wain
There can be many different reasons why you don’t follow your dreams and passions. A popular one would be financial security. You took a job and made decent money, then you probably bought a house, a car and you like to go on vacations and you have bills to pay. So, in a way you can’t follow your true dreams because your financial responsibilities, right? So, what to do? You could continue to get up in the morning and walk through the same painful routine as always. In this case you will naturally reassure yourself why, you can’t take a risk and do what you love.
I’d like to reference a great movie “The Secret”. For anyone who hasn’t watched it, I recommend it. You can watch a good chunk of it for free when you search in Google Video. Again, I highly recommend it for anyone who hasn’t watched it. The law of attraction is the entire concept of the film. Whether we like it or not we attract everything in our lives. It can be a tough pill to swallow for some of us out there. However, the sooner you can finally swallow that pill and face reality that we control our fate, the sooner you can give up that job you can’t stand and begin to live your life to the fullest.
Before I wrap up, I want to make reference to Jack Canfield. Jack Canfield is the author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul collection. He is also going to be in London ON this month too! In The Secret, Jack shares his experiences with the law of attraction. As a struggling author with little money he was facing some very tough times mentally. Finally at one point he decided he was going to make 1 million dollars! This is a huge goal and in most minds a distant dream. So what he did next was very powerful. He took a marker and turned a bill of low denomination into a 1 million dollar bill. Next, he taped the 1 million dollar bill on the ceiling above his bed where he would see it each and every morning as he awoke.
Less than 1 year later Jack had made his 1 million dollars. He actually made much more than that. His first edition of Chicken Soup for the Soul took off. He had taken the power of the laws of attraction and turned it into his dream. If you are thinking this is a scam, good luck to you. I say that for one reason, if you think it is a scam, then you’re telling yourself it could never happen. You’re thinking, yeah right, like I’d ever be able to make a million dollars with a stupid bill taped on my ceiling. You’re right. with that state of mind you’re attracting your results. It’s a simple cause and effect.
Visualize your dreams, talk about them with others and believe you can make them happen. This is the first step in achieving self fulfillment.
Scott Wain
Monday, February 4, 2008
Attitude is Everything - It's a State of Mind
I enjoyed Super Bowl XXLII this weekend. It turned out to be quite the game too. Not too many had given the New York Giants a chance. I mean, they were facing an 18 – 0 New England Patriots team who had been flawless all year. Earlier on Sunday while I was watching some of the pre-game, I heard a story that gave me a funny feeling the Giants were going to win. Way back before game three, the New York Giants season started off 0 – 2. As they got ready to face of the Washington Redskins, Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson gave a 15 minute pep talk to the team and coaching staff.
Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson was wounded in Iraq while driving his HMMWV or Hummer (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle). He drove over an explosive device which threw him from the vehicle completely vulnerable losing both of his legs. His “team” risked their lives to get him to safety. The act of his fellow soldiers was completely selfless and came without any hesitation. The new perspective and motivation the Giants team gained from his speech guided them all season long. The old cliché “there is no I in team” cannot ring more true for this Giants team and coaching staff. At one point before and important game Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson surprised the team when he showed up not in his wheel chair, but standing on his own with his new prosthetic legs. It was clear that even when the odds are against you, an individuals’ resiliency and determination can surpass insurmountable odds.
The entire Giants team felt that Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson is a part of their team. Without him, they wouldn’t have had the opportunity to be the road warriors they became and finally upset the perfect season of the Patriots. During the story many of the team members made it clear that Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson was to get his own Super Bowl ring. If he wasn’t to have one, multiple players would be glad to give him their own.
I wanted to share this story because it reminded me of a few of things. First off, we need to place more faith in people. As I’ve talked about before collaboration can achieve amazing feats. Secondly, too often it takes great tragedy or near death for us to open our eyes to see what is before us. Plus, we can all provide more selfless acts without looking for something in return. We have the ability to make the world a better place. One selfless act at a time. Remember, we are in control of our own destiny. If you allow outside pressures to discourage you and keep you down, it’s your own choice. Be resilient, control your thoughts and attitude and great things will happen. Look at Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson. and the New York Giants.
Scott Wain
Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson was wounded in Iraq while driving his HMMWV or Hummer (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle). He drove over an explosive device which threw him from the vehicle completely vulnerable losing both of his legs. His “team” risked their lives to get him to safety. The act of his fellow soldiers was completely selfless and came without any hesitation. The new perspective and motivation the Giants team gained from his speech guided them all season long. The old cliché “there is no I in team” cannot ring more true for this Giants team and coaching staff. At one point before and important game Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson surprised the team when he showed up not in his wheel chair, but standing on his own with his new prosthetic legs. It was clear that even when the odds are against you, an individuals’ resiliency and determination can surpass insurmountable odds.
The entire Giants team felt that Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson is a part of their team. Without him, they wouldn’t have had the opportunity to be the road warriors they became and finally upset the perfect season of the Patriots. During the story many of the team members made it clear that Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson was to get his own Super Bowl ring. If he wasn’t to have one, multiple players would be glad to give him their own.
I wanted to share this story because it reminded me of a few of things. First off, we need to place more faith in people. As I’ve talked about before collaboration can achieve amazing feats. Secondly, too often it takes great tragedy or near death for us to open our eyes to see what is before us. Plus, we can all provide more selfless acts without looking for something in return. We have the ability to make the world a better place. One selfless act at a time. Remember, we are in control of our own destiny. If you allow outside pressures to discourage you and keep you down, it’s your own choice. Be resilient, control your thoughts and attitude and great things will happen. Look at Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson. and the New York Giants.
Scott Wain
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The Power of Collaboration
I was thinking of how many people have a voice these days? It’s pretty amazing when anyone who is anyone can have their voice heard across the world using the internet. Have any of you heard of Web 2.0? I imagine that some of you have. I have been reading up on it these days and its pretty cool stuff. However, for the most part it is beyond me. That is exactly why I’m trying to read up on it as much as I can.
For those of you who aren’t up to speed on the web 2.0, I’ll give my interpretation of what it’s all about. From what I can see the new web will be all about collaboration. A classic example of where the web is going is Wikipedia. I’m pretty sure anyone who is reading this is aware of what Wikipedia is. Can you imagine all the poor encyclopedia sales people without jobs now? Who in their right mind would buy a collection of encyclopedias in this day in age? Wikipedia is available in many different languages and is updated real time. No need for anything else really.
Massive collaboration spawns infinite creativity. The internet allows individuals who may not normally speak out, to have their voices heard. By eliminating the conventional boundaries of most enterprises in the corporate world and allowing the “voice” of the people to be heard, amazing things can happen.
An example of this is Goldcorp Inc. Former CEO Rob McEwen was facing some tough times with dwindling gold deposits and falling share prices. Instead of hiring more highly priced “experts” to help him find more gold, he went against all conventional wisdom. He published all of the company’s secret geographic data online in hopes to find more gold. With a prize pool of $570,000 he received over 100 submissions. 80% of which were accurate. He turned Goldcorp Inc. from a 100 million company into a 10 billion dollar company virtually overnight.
That’s the power of collaboration! With the tools we have available to us now, if there was a time where anyone can make a difference, I think it's now!
Scott Wain
For those of you who aren’t up to speed on the web 2.0, I’ll give my interpretation of what it’s all about. From what I can see the new web will be all about collaboration. A classic example of where the web is going is Wikipedia. I’m pretty sure anyone who is reading this is aware of what Wikipedia is. Can you imagine all the poor encyclopedia sales people without jobs now? Who in their right mind would buy a collection of encyclopedias in this day in age? Wikipedia is available in many different languages and is updated real time. No need for anything else really.
Massive collaboration spawns infinite creativity. The internet allows individuals who may not normally speak out, to have their voices heard. By eliminating the conventional boundaries of most enterprises in the corporate world and allowing the “voice” of the people to be heard, amazing things can happen.
An example of this is Goldcorp Inc. Former CEO Rob McEwen was facing some tough times with dwindling gold deposits and falling share prices. Instead of hiring more highly priced “experts” to help him find more gold, he went against all conventional wisdom. He published all of the company’s secret geographic data online in hopes to find more gold. With a prize pool of $570,000 he received over 100 submissions. 80% of which were accurate. He turned Goldcorp Inc. from a 100 million company into a 10 billion dollar company virtually overnight.
That’s the power of collaboration! With the tools we have available to us now, if there was a time where anyone can make a difference, I think it's now!
Scott Wain
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Anything is Possible
I want to talk a little bit about goals today. One of the main reasons is that, I have made a goal for myself to immediately adopt a healthier lifestyle. It isn’t a New Year’s resolution, because I’ve only just started going gym. We could call it a longer life resolution, if you like.
How many of you have goals? I’m sure most of you. Now of the individuals who have goals, how many of you have them written down? Of the few who have them written down, how many of you have your main goal broken down into small manageable tasks? Now, of the fewer, which of you truly review them regularly? By monitoring our progress we can allow for adjustments. Certain things may come up overtime that can interfere with the achievement of one of our goals. Don’t stress! We make a minor adjustment and away we go!
The importance of recording your goals is of the utmost. Taking the time to sit down and review your goals is critical. The significance of evaluating the progress of your goals is to measure where you are and how close you are to achieving them. If you don’t break them down into small manageable tasks, the goal can seem daunting. In this case you can easily convince yourself it was an outrageous goal in the first place. We will justify in our minds why we didn’t accomplish something if we don’t protect against it. Think of each task as a small goal on its own. It’s like a check list. Slowly but surely you check them off as you go. When you’ve reach a milestone, reward yourself with something you love. This will give you something tangible to reach for. You see, once you are underway and you are slugging through the hustle and bustle, you may slowly veer off course. This is the time where you look back and ask yourself “what happened?” Or you tell yourself “it wasn’t possible anyway.”
I am guilty of this many times over. Looking back it’s mainly because A) I didn’t actually record a goal. B) If I did record it, I didn’t review it frequently. Or C) I didn’t assign a timeline to it. It is extremely important that you assign a deal line for completion of the goal. If you want to like me, adopt a healthier lifestyle, you have to assign specifics of how you want to adopt it. For example: Attend the gym regularly, plan my meals for the week, not eating after 8pm, drink lots of water, get on the ice for some shinny at least once a week, etc… The mind is easily distracted these days. We have so many things being thrown at us from all angles. Don’t leave it up to your intuition to figure this out all on its own. Be specific, assign a time line and post it where you’ll constantly be reminded of it.
So let’s take a moment to recap our steps in completing and achieving a goal.
- Write your goal down.
- Break your goal down in to small manageable tasks.
- Assign a timeline for achieving your goal.
- Check the tasks off your list as you complete them.
- Reward yourself for reaching certain milestones.
- Review your progress and adjust for changes.
- Tell everyone you are going to accomplish your goal. This one is powerful.
You are on your way to chasing your dreams. I encourage you to put these practices to the test. Please feel free to share any milestones you have met. I love success stories.
The last point in the recap is about intrinsic pressure. A great topic for another day!
Remember, anything is possible!
Scott Wain
How many of you have goals? I’m sure most of you. Now of the individuals who have goals, how many of you have them written down? Of the few who have them written down, how many of you have your main goal broken down into small manageable tasks? Now, of the fewer, which of you truly review them regularly? By monitoring our progress we can allow for adjustments. Certain things may come up overtime that can interfere with the achievement of one of our goals. Don’t stress! We make a minor adjustment and away we go!
The importance of recording your goals is of the utmost. Taking the time to sit down and review your goals is critical. The significance of evaluating the progress of your goals is to measure where you are and how close you are to achieving them. If you don’t break them down into small manageable tasks, the goal can seem daunting. In this case you can easily convince yourself it was an outrageous goal in the first place. We will justify in our minds why we didn’t accomplish something if we don’t protect against it. Think of each task as a small goal on its own. It’s like a check list. Slowly but surely you check them off as you go. When you’ve reach a milestone, reward yourself with something you love. This will give you something tangible to reach for. You see, once you are underway and you are slugging through the hustle and bustle, you may slowly veer off course. This is the time where you look back and ask yourself “what happened?” Or you tell yourself “it wasn’t possible anyway.”
I am guilty of this many times over. Looking back it’s mainly because A) I didn’t actually record a goal. B) If I did record it, I didn’t review it frequently. Or C) I didn’t assign a timeline to it. It is extremely important that you assign a deal line for completion of the goal. If you want to like me, adopt a healthier lifestyle, you have to assign specifics of how you want to adopt it. For example: Attend the gym regularly, plan my meals for the week, not eating after 8pm, drink lots of water, get on the ice for some shinny at least once a week, etc… The mind is easily distracted these days. We have so many things being thrown at us from all angles. Don’t leave it up to your intuition to figure this out all on its own. Be specific, assign a time line and post it where you’ll constantly be reminded of it.
So let’s take a moment to recap our steps in completing and achieving a goal.
- Write your goal down.
- Break your goal down in to small manageable tasks.
- Assign a timeline for achieving your goal.
- Check the tasks off your list as you complete them.
- Reward yourself for reaching certain milestones.
- Review your progress and adjust for changes.
- Tell everyone you are going to accomplish your goal. This one is powerful.
You are on your way to chasing your dreams. I encourage you to put these practices to the test. Please feel free to share any milestones you have met. I love success stories.
The last point in the recap is about intrinsic pressure. A great topic for another day!
Remember, anything is possible!
Scott Wain
Monday, January 28, 2008
Chasing your Dreams
I wanted to thank everyone for their emails and comments on the first few posts I've written. I'm happy to see the positive responses. I've been thinking about these comments and it reminded me of expectations and opinions and again how important the quality of our thoughts truly are.
Here is a great quote from an inspiration of mine and probably anyone who has read any of Robin Sharma’s “The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari” books. I owe this reminder to Joe.
“The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts”
Keep this in mind as you read this post, actually, write this quote down and put it on the fridge or microwave for a frequent reminder.
It's fair to say that in life we have so many expectations. These are expectations we place on ourselves, and from others. Now, where do you draw the line on what expectations are reasonable and which opinions are of value? An unfortunate practice for most of us is we often place more importance on the expectations and opinions of others.
Over the weekend my wife and I visited some friends of ours and their six month old baby. She is so cute by the way. One of the frustrations our friends have noticed over the last six months is how everyone has their own opinions on how to look after their new baby. Now, all are of good will and mean no harm, however, it’s important not only as parents but as human beings to be able to turn on our internal filter. Are you allowing external pressures from friends and family to influence decisions that don’t line up with your goals or values?
As human beings we long for love and acceptance. Throughout our life this yearning sneaks up on us and places us in positions where we question our goals and values.
Keep in mind, following the crowd can work for you and against you. Which crowd do you wish to follow? The company in which you surround yourself with will often determine the path you are on.
If you wish to have a financial freedom, it’s a good idea to find a way to surround yourself with individuals who are like minded and or have already achieved the status. If you choose to raise a great family, spend time with friends who have raised great kids.
Now, I’m not suggesting that you drop any of your friends who aren’t loaded, I’m merely pointing out that your thoughts will begin to change. When you are accompanied by people on the same wave length and who have achieved what it is you are chasing, amazing things will begin to happen. The quality of your thoughts will change!
I’ve ended my first few posts with a personal quote, “The only things we truly have control over are our thoughts!” I’d like to add to that today. Any goals you may have, regardless of how far or “crazy” they may be, don’t let anyone discourage you. Most people can’t see the big picture, the natural progression, is for them to tell you you’re “crazy”.
Can you picture Thomas Edison back in the day telling his peers he’s going to create a light bulb? I’m sure there were a few naysayers! He failed 10,000 times before he perfected the incandescent light bulb!
Remember, any great discovery or achievement began with a single thought! Tomorrow we'll discuss goals and how to chase them.
Scott Wain
Here is a great quote from an inspiration of mine and probably anyone who has read any of Robin Sharma’s “The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari” books. I owe this reminder to Joe.
“The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts”
Keep this in mind as you read this post, actually, write this quote down and put it on the fridge or microwave for a frequent reminder.
It's fair to say that in life we have so many expectations. These are expectations we place on ourselves, and from others. Now, where do you draw the line on what expectations are reasonable and which opinions are of value? An unfortunate practice for most of us is we often place more importance on the expectations and opinions of others.
Over the weekend my wife and I visited some friends of ours and their six month old baby. She is so cute by the way. One of the frustrations our friends have noticed over the last six months is how everyone has their own opinions on how to look after their new baby. Now, all are of good will and mean no harm, however, it’s important not only as parents but as human beings to be able to turn on our internal filter. Are you allowing external pressures from friends and family to influence decisions that don’t line up with your goals or values?
As human beings we long for love and acceptance. Throughout our life this yearning sneaks up on us and places us in positions where we question our goals and values.
Keep in mind, following the crowd can work for you and against you. Which crowd do you wish to follow? The company in which you surround yourself with will often determine the path you are on.
If you wish to have a financial freedom, it’s a good idea to find a way to surround yourself with individuals who are like minded and or have already achieved the status. If you choose to raise a great family, spend time with friends who have raised great kids.
Now, I’m not suggesting that you drop any of your friends who aren’t loaded, I’m merely pointing out that your thoughts will begin to change. When you are accompanied by people on the same wave length and who have achieved what it is you are chasing, amazing things will begin to happen. The quality of your thoughts will change!
I’ve ended my first few posts with a personal quote, “The only things we truly have control over are our thoughts!” I’d like to add to that today. Any goals you may have, regardless of how far or “crazy” they may be, don’t let anyone discourage you. Most people can’t see the big picture, the natural progression, is for them to tell you you’re “crazy”.
Can you picture Thomas Edison back in the day telling his peers he’s going to create a light bulb? I’m sure there were a few naysayers! He failed 10,000 times before he perfected the incandescent light bulb!
Remember, any great discovery or achievement began with a single thought! Tomorrow we'll discuss goals and how to chase them.
Scott Wain
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