2 Solid Tactics to Get Things That May Seem WAY Out of Reach

Six Degrees of Separation is the theory that everyone and everything is six or fewer steps away by way of introduction, from any other person in the world.

Quite simply, the people around you can lessen the degrees of separation between you and what you want and you can do the same for them. This is an enormously effective way to make progress in your life and career.  The most successful people in the world know this and do this all the time. And you don't have to be some gregarious networking whiz to use this method. 

If you're willing to put yourself out there and share what you're looking for, it will begin to happen naturally. I first succeeded with it before I knew it was a recognized principle of success.

In high school and college, all I wanted to do was travel, in particular to go to England. And since this was something I wanted very badly, with very little encouragement (i.e. usually none) I'd tell people that was my aim. A classmate my Sophomore year had a uncle who owned a summer English language camp outside of London and that introduction resulted in me spending the next three summers working at that camp and happily traipsing up to London on my days off. I was in heaven.  

I went from having no connections and not even daring to imagine living and working overseas to having a regular job in my dream location there every summer through college.

Queen's Day in Amsterdam

I did the same thing when I got a job with an international company after college. I still had the desire to live and work overseas (and now even had overseas work experience) and I made that goal known to my peers, colleague, boss, etc. and without my asking them,  anytime anyone heard about an opportunity overseas or a contact, they would let me know. Within 6 months of becoming eligible, I was living in Amsterdam working at the company's international headquarters.

#1 Begin to see that people in a new light 

Realize that just about everyone has the potential to link you to a person or resource that can make a big difference in your life or career, and likewise, you may have connections that could put them dramatically closer to their goals.

This summer, I was in Edmonton, Alberta to speak at TEDx. Most of volunteers organizing the event were students at the University of Alberta.  A young man named Goran shared with me that he wanted to work with the International Olympic Committee.  Immediately,  I thought of a friend, Lynn,  who was involved in organizing the Summer Olympics in London and would certainly know someone from the IOC. I told Goran "I know someone you could talk to who might be able to connect you with someone at the IOC." We exchanged information. 

Follow-up is critical ... 

Because getting help from strangers is not something a lot of people are comfortable with, unless we are in dire straights, I knew from experience that the chance that Goran would actually follow up with me was about 30%. Many of us, especially at the beginning of our careers aren't comfortable asking for help or pursuing leads. We don't want to bother people, etc. when the fact is most people enjoy helping others and connecting people for their mutual benefit.

It's the Universal Law of Compensation. You get what you give.

About a week later Goran did follow up with me.  It showed me he was serious about going after what he wanted, so now I'm  feeling even better about introducing him to my friend, because he's shown that he's someone who's not afraid to go for it. After an email introduction, they were in contact. As it turns out my friend Lynn, had plenty of IOC contacts.

Your greatest successes will often come from the small connections from people you barely know who just wanted to do a good turn and help someone.  

#2 Share your goals, hopes and dreams with people and ask other people about theirs

Sometimes it happens organically, you say you have an interest or need something and someone provides you with just the thing you need. Serendipity.

But many times people don't speak up and if they speak up they don't follow up.

Similar things inspire us all. We love to see people with a fire in their belly for their dreams and we love to hear about people going for what they want, so don't be afraid to put what you really want out there and invite other people to do the same. 

Try it here. If you could get one connection what would it be, to who or what?  

Prove it to yourself. This week, make a concentrated effort to try and close the degrees of separation between yourself and anything, and see what happens.  

Let me know how it goes.

Make your move,

Courtney Kirschbaum, 

Connect with her next move on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube or on our website

 

A Different Kind of Six Pack

What do you want above all other things in your life right now? 

Have you thought of something?  Is it a new job? Better physique? Promotion? Travel ...?

Why don't you have it?

  
"I don't know where to start." 
"I have so many things to do, I don't know which one to do first." 

These are two of the concerns I hear most often at my seminars and workshops. Not knowing where to start or what to do first can be debilitating - it's called 'analysis paralysis', you're so busy worrying about what to do and how to do it, you end up doing nothing or you do things that don't get the results you want, because you're shooting at the wrong targets.

Here's a simple, effective rule of thumb to get into action and start hitting your targets.  Whether it's a job, a promotion, getting published, or creating a larger following, whatever it is ... ask yourself this simple question: 

What are the 6 things that will impact the outcome of getting this thing more than all other things?

What six things, that if you focus and act on consistently would move you closer to the thing you want?  

What if you wanted to lose 20lbs, the "six-pack" of high-impact factors might be:

1. Establishing your daily calorie intake vs. calories burn and making sure the latter exceeds the former.
2. Having healthy foods available
3. Getting enough exercise 
4. Avoiding triggers 
5. Getting support from others
6. Maintaining motivation

If you mastered these 6 things and could maintain that mastery for 6 weeks, you'd probably lose the 20lbs and if you didn't, you'd have 6 measures to assess what worked and what didn't.  If you're dieting, was it old triggers that tripped you up? No Support? Were you unable to get enough exercise? What undermined your success and what can you do about it?

This is important because you can't change what you can't measure and your six-pack gives you a way to break things down.

Maybe you're looking for a job. Your six-pack might be:

1. Making contacts in your field or profession
2. Researching people, company, opportunities 
3. Developing a good online presence and resume (marketing)
4. Cover letter(s)
5. Finding job openings
6. Interview tactics and meaningful follow-up

After you document your six-pack...

Take it to the next level

Rate each of your 6 on a scale of 1-10 based on which ones will be easy for you (10 is easiest) and which will be more challenging.. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1). Work on the areas where you are scoring the lowest.



These low score items represent challenges and internal blocks or fears you need to overcome to see results. The items that will need more of your focus, discipline and determination.  

Once you Identify the things that are holding you back.  You can focus your energy on facing them, improving them, doing whatever you need to do to start getting results.

So, what do you really want and what are the 6 things you need to dial in very well to get it? Start right now.  I invite you to share what you want and your "six-pack" plan for getting it
Have a great week and ...

Make your move,
Courtney Kirschbaum, 
Connect with her next move on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube or on our website

 

3 reasons to recharge yourself and not your phone.

Rest, not excessive hard work, is the key to success

Work smarter not harder, it's true. Despite or seemingly indefatigable belief that hard work is noble, honorable and the answer to everything, including success, the fact is that like so many things,  even work is better in moderation. Even if you love what you do, a break can improve your performance, your creativity and problem solving abilities. On this post, you'll get insights on how easing off the work can bring your closer to your brilliance, your best ideas and what you want most.

1.)     Don’t be Pavlov’s dog: when you are constantly responding to the dings and whistles of your technology, you begin to confuse activity with accomplishment. While you feel you are making progress or getting things done by being so responsive to the never-ending dings and bells, often, you're merely satisfying the simplest part of your brain - the part that has Whack-a-Mole mentality; it gets a buzz from finishing something, no matter how minor, i.e. responding to an email 20 seconds after it arrives.  While you fritter away your mental energy on the minor things technology provides an almost endless stream of,  the important things - the 20% of your goals that are going to get you 80% of your results, are languishing. People who live in this response zone often don’t know how to prioritize the important things in their life, so  they respond to it all. 

How to break the pattern: Identify and work on your most important tasks in chunks of time during which you turn off all alarms for messages, mail etc., and if possible disconnect from the Internet. Start small 10-20 minutes, and lengthen the chunks over time 

2.)         Technology taxes your body: Mental waters need to be calm for the effervescence of creativity and problem solving to rise to the top.
This was brilliantly illustrated in an article “The Making of a Corporate Athlete”, by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, in which they point out that the most successful athletes are the ones with the most consistent recovery rituals.  Complete breaks from focus on work allow your brain to recharge and absorb all the information coming at you everyday. It  facilitates creativity and problem solving. This happens most productively when the brain (and body) is at rest. 
Even in the minor state of anxiety that you are in when subconsciously “waiting” for the next ding is causing the body to dump Adrenaline and Cortisol into your system, overworking your adrenals.  Usually the first symptom is the 3:00 p.m. “crash.” If you find that your nodding off and having to head to the snack or soda machine for a sugar buzz (the average soda contains 30-40 grams of sugar), your adrenals are already showing fatigue, which is diminishing your ability to perform and to recover and dulling your edge. Eventually, even the mid-afternoon sugar/caffeine bomb won’t be able to resuscitate your mind or body.
How to break the pattern: I played softball as a kid, when one of us made a bad play our coach, would say “walk it off.” It meant, walk away from whatever happened. Let it go.  It's great advice. Leave your phone on your desk and walk for even 10 or 15 minutes does wonders to let your body come down and let your mind stop spinning. It also helps you realize that it’s not the end of  the world to leave your phone in your desk drawer.  If you work out for an hour or more a few times a week, even better, provided you leave the technology in the locker room or at home.

3.)        You teach people how to treat you:
Anything that is readily available is usually not considered precious, it's taken for granted. So, in addition to resting your mind and body, you can increase your value by making yourself more scarce in the virtual realm. When you respond to every email the second it comes in, you may think it make you look like the employee of the month since you're always “on,” but in fact the opposite is true. It suggests you don’t discriminate the minor from the major and that you're ready to jump anytime someone snaps their virtual fingers.  
How to break the habit: communicate to people what your availability is and isn’t. If you have be available for certain people, customize their ring tones, or ask them call you. Most of our interruptions are not phone calls but electronic messaging of some sort. Leaders discriminate.

A final note: If you think your productivity will decrease when you disconnect your umbilical cord to the technology mother ship, keep this in mind: since 1971 productivity in America has decreased, not increased.


I'd love to know what you think.

1. How do you disconnect and re-charge? 
2. Have you had an experience that showed you that resting, not working harder, brought about a better result?

Courtney Kirschbaum
Founder, Her Next Move