Thursday, October 28, 2010 — — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — — Fall Edition #140

Russell R. Shippee
Author, Speaker, Life Coach

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To whom are you accountable? Of course yourself.

You can try to kid yourself, go into denial and avoidance. It doesn't work. Do you have an accountability coach/friend/mentor? A good one will gently hold you to your commitments. It'll be good for you You'll do more, accomplish more and feel better about yourself. I have two spots open for accountability coaching. Sure, use me. But, most importantly, use someone.

It's true, muscle weighs more than fat. When weight lifting you tone but also gain weight. That was my excuse when someone at the gym noticed I had gained a few pounds. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. What about you?

It's easy to slip back into old habits. That is why I weigh myself on a regular basis. When I see those few extra pounds then I focus more on what and how much I eat. Small adjustments are easy to make. Big ones are more challenging. What's your challenge?

Want an amazing book to read? Worried about the economy? Want to learn what is really going on? Read Web of Debt. It's at the bookstore on the left. It's comprehensive, it's long, and it's a fast and spellbinding read. If you are concerned about the good old USA or the world economy I would urge you to read it. Yes, urge you to read it.

I was asked why one should sign up for the ONE SALE teleseminar. Well, here we go:
• Do you need to know the most important sale you'll ever make?
• Do you know what moves you forward?
• Do you know what holds you back?
• Do you want to be more effective?

If so, I'd suggest you sign up for the teleseminar. I'd urge you to sign up for it. But, that's me. What about you?

PS: Why is the ONE SALE important to You?

I said, "I want Mimi, I don't want Pop"

Surprised? Well, don't be. Pop was holding me accountable for taking my nap. I did not agree to being accountable for taking a nap and I did not want to take one. So, I had to tell him. No, he wasn't happy. Neither was I. He must have gotten over it because I still get to write my own column.

I told him, it's what we agree to be accountable for and not what someone else expects us to be accountable for. Right?

You know you are accountable and responsible for your own life.

No one, no one else is accountable for your life. It is your life and while you can’t control what others do, you can control your reaction to what they do.

Blame does no good. Avoidance does no good. Denial does no good. The only good is when you face yourself and your own accountability. You are in control. You get to decide. You get to choose.

If you do not finish something on time who is responsible? You are. Sure, there are interruptions. But, you should be able to work ahead of time and should always allow for interruptions as interruptions are a part of life. In all that we do the key is to plan ahead. Plan so that things are done ahead of time. Busy people get things done. They have the same 24 hours a day. They just make themselves accountable to a focused plan. They plan and then the carry out the plan, adjusting as needed.

Too often we commit and then we allow ourselves to get distracted. Once distracted we drift off and, without a plan, we fail to do that which we had wanted to do. Then we feel bad, we feel let down, and we feel we have failed. Well, let’s just say we have been given a lesson. But, have we learned anything?

There is no value in beating ourselves up nor any value in denial. When we ‘miss the mark’ the key is to calmly, without judgment, review why and what we can do in the future to prevent that from happening again. Now we have value and we have learned. Next time we can be better. Next time we won’t make the same mistake.

We feel good and successful when we are accountable to ourselves. Success breeds success.

An accountability coach, mentor, or friend has great value. Having to report to another makes us more apt to follow through and do as we committed. Just the responsibility of reporting makes us focus. So, get someone. Get someone and watch how much more you accomplish and how much better you feel about yourself.

To be accountable we need to start with our priorities and what we truly want and need to get done. First things first, as they say. You need to make a plan and then execute the plan adjusting as needed. Planning ahead is key.

Farmers plant their crops at a given point in the year and then harvest at another point. They plant and harvest based on the weather. If late, they can’t catch up. If they don’t harvest when it’s time they lose crop. It’s as simple and as difficult as planning and executing the plan.

Be accountable and execute based on a plan. We all have the same 24 hours each day and we all have different priorities and interruptions. Don’t plan for more than you can do. Don’t accept accountability to do that which you do not want to do or do not have time to do.

Guard your time and actions based on what you want to be accountable for and what will feel good to you. Then, plan and execute the plan.