19
September
2011
As Rugby World Cup mania sweeps the country, and indeed the world around us, inspiration and motivation abound. The energy and positivity is electric – the momentum we’ve created with the world cup is inspiring. It’s a truly amazing experience to be part of, and it got me thinking – wouldn’t it be great if this energy, this motivation and positivity continued? It got me thinking – there’s no reason in fact that it shouldn’t!
As a trainer and speaker specialising in empowering people to drive better results and outcomes, it strikes me that what people want is actual fact very simple, and yet can seem entirely elusive to us most of the time. To perform optimally people need to work in an environment in which they find every-day inspiration, and it’s important that we can, because inspiration that is triggered from an external source, is outside of our control, and the essence of empowerment, is to put power in the hands of the people so they are motivated and able to perform optimally. Yet so often we rely on energy and inspiration from some external source, like a motivational speaker, or major world event or achievement like the RWC. But imagine with me now just for a moment how amazing it would be if our motivation and our excellence was NOT reliant on a visit or speech from some ‘larger than life’ person or event? What if it was in fact, right in front of us, able to be tapped into at any time?
It is! I realised it is when watching the All Blacks first game with Tonga (Go the AB’s). I realised that the power to engage our excellence doesn’t require an amazing external influence – it’s actually deceivingly simple and as a rugby nation, we’ve had the key, the formula all along. The key to success is so simple, that it can be summed up in 3 simple words that rugby enthusiasts have heard thousands of times before. In these 3 words lie the key to your success too.
The 3 words? Touch, pause, engage. These are the 3 words uttered by the ref who uses them to ensure both teams are set up appropriately going into a scrum. These 3 words can form a 3 step process that will set too you up for success in whatever you’re engaged in – this formula is particularly powerful for achieving success in sales, speaking and relationship building contexts.
How can these 3 words help you? Let’s explore!
Step 1: Touch – We need to initially connect with our audience or prospect by finding an emotional bond that gets their attention, interest and generates a rapport between you. You might achieve this via research you’ve done on the organisation or person prior about what’s important of interest to them, or it may require you to listen and observe the person to find their ‘touch points’. These touch points are centred on the things they value, and the ideas, aspects or benefits that later on become their buying motives. A good percentage of your interaction with the audience/prospect can be spent developing their need and touch points. This is about ensuring you have their attention and interest before you lead them toward the solution you have to offer.
Step 2: Pause – often when we go in with a set agenda (for example to sell a message, product or service) we can become so focused on achieving that outcome, we can push or rush a little, and when we put out that sort of energy, we risk bowling them over (in a less than positive way) and losing our audience.
We’ve already engaged their heart/emotions in step 1, now is when we need to help them assimilate their thinking and develop their rationale to support their intuitive decision. If we push at this point, we risk a collapse in communication and that connection is lost. A simple pause to observe and listen, get feedback and assess their reaction can be our saving grace.
Remember, successful sales and influence are not made through pushing, but rather by creating interest in a solution and indicating the path or direction to reaching it, thereby pulling them along with you by earning their interest and gaining their curiosity and buy-in. The decision and impetus to move must come from the individual or audience, when we push we simply create resistance – so pause to see where they’re at, and then match the pace they set and are comfortable with.
Step 3: Engage – Only once you have completed steps 1 and 2, do you get to the action - where it all starts to happen. Essentially, when you first engage them (via touch and pause) they’ll respond positively by engaging you in return. When they do, remember, this is just the beginning of the process, now is not the time to rest – now is when you put your head down, and really work - now is when you push through and ensure you outperform the competition and deliver the results your there to provide.
In 3 simple steps you have your own formula for success
A success that is completely self-determined, leaving you completely independent of the need for external inspiration; so you can achieve your end game with clarity and confidence - be your goal a closed sale, a strengthened relationship and happy client or a message taken on board, all it takes is those 3 steps – touch, pause, engage.
And the inspiration to do so is right here, right now, in front of you.
Have a positive, productive and pro active week.
jakigt 
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11
August
2011
So often, people feel shackled or caged in by the expectations placed on us... The norms we conform to based on our role, position, gender, age, peers, community etc alll have a part to play in the decisions we make, how we think and what we do - have you stopped to consider how that shapes your life? This podcast explores some of these boundaries and how they limit us, and challenges you to go beyond them. Find out the bottom line on towing the line, and consider what all of it means to you, your journey and your destination!
Please visit www.jakigt.com to find out more about speaker Jaki GT or visit www.fusionatwork.com to find out more about Fusion development programs and please rate the podcast to let us know what you think and what you want in the next one!
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29
June
2011
Here it is! Part 2 of the 2 part series on 'getting to can'. Sometimes its not us that is suffering from the limiting beliefs or negative thinking - but the people around us. This podcast gives you powerful and simple tools to help others when they are stuck in can't! For more on this topic check out our weekly program 'Pro Activate' at http://www.fusiontraining.co.nz/Proactivate.html
jakigt Uncategorized Comments (0) » |
1
June
2011
It’s a truism that the quality of the answers you get depends first and foremost on the quality of the questions you ask. This podcast is part 1 of a 2-part series, designed to help you start to ask the right questions and to challenge your limited thinking patterns. Let’s start with something really big and really negative - let’s tackle the 'C' word, recognising that, like it or not, we all use the 'C' word way too often, almost without thinking (consciously at least).
The problem with can’t (the 'C' word) is that it doesn’t get us anywhere - it stops us dead in our tracks. It’s big and daunting so it often seems insurmountable - like a brick wall smack bang in our path. It’s so big and daunting that it draws our attention and we focus so much on the ‘can’t’ that we don’t stop to consider that something good must be behind it...(That’s right - ‘can’!). I mean, you don’t bother to build a wall unless there is something to protect, do you? When we start focusing on the wall and how big and hard it is instead of focusing on what’s behind it, we cut off our drive and overwhelm ourselves.
But in reality the problem started a long time before we actually got to the wall…come and explore the path to Can, with me, by way of a story about a boy called Jackson...
jakigt Uncategorized 1 Comment » |
28
May
2011
Have you ever considered what makes the truly ridiculously successful people so successful?
Here's your chance to explore one common characteristic - to discover one trait commonly found in the seriously successful, the wonderfully wealthy, the positively powerful few that are leaders in their field, icons, infamously famous!
In this short podcast we explore this factor and how it is linked to success and I challenge you to make some changes to your thinking and success strategies, so you can start achieving unreasonable success in your life too.
Enjoy and please remember to rate and review this podcast or feel free to email me directly if you prefer.
jakigt Uncategorized, powerful thinking, NLP, thoughts, JakiGT, Success 1 Comment » |
25
May
2011
One of my passions is public speaking - it’s why I keynote, why I love to facilitate workshops and it’s also why I’m an avid Toastmaster. Yet for many people, the very idea of getting up and talking to a crowd is the stuff nightmares are made of - it intrigues me how people can let themselves suffer this way by buying into the belief that speaking is scary. What if you rethought that? Challenged that illicit belief? That begs the question: How else could you look at the phenomenon of public speaking so that it empowers and excites?
Audiences, and only audiences give you the chance to inspire people en masse. When I focus on the end result, any nerves I may otherwise have felt fade into the background because I’m tapped into my drive - it becomes less about the speaking, and more about the audience and the results we can achieve together.
And yes, I think sometimes people get excitement and nerves mixed up. Isn't the idea of excitement so much more … well, exciting? Positive? Motivating… compared to anxious? And yet physiologically the are very similar… The butterflies in your stomach, the electrifying energy that buzzes all over your body, the adrenalin that keeps you so much more focused and ready to act! Its amazing how the way we think about something - even thinking about the way we think - changes it for us! Worth thinking about, isn’t it?
For example, the other day I heard a fellow Toastmaster speak about taking the ‘dis’ out of disability - the speaker spoke about dyslexia and suggested that rather than being a disability as commonly accepted in current society, that we could instead look at it as being just a different ability. It was a speech that truly made me think; one that challenged a commonly held belief and opened up a world of new possibilities. And as often happens, as I stopped and gave my thoughts and attention to it, the universe sat up and took notice of my noticing - and it sent me more.
It sent me more in the form of a Ted Talk I discovered and downloaded off iTunes. This speech was entitled ‘Looking past your limits’. Caroline Casey told her tale of how she went through life until she was 17 years old, with absolutely no idea that she was legally blind. I mean ‘no idea’, literally no concept or understanding that she had a so-called disability, and as such her belief (that she could see, that she was able) helped her through life as well as you or I. She had no special needs schools or concessions, and more importantly, she was not shackled with the social labels that can hold people back. She went on to live a high performing life, following from the attitude and beliefs her parents had nurtured in her. Hers is a truly inspirational story, and it made me think, it made me question how we think, how we define what is possible, what is normal, what limits us.
My favourite phrase popped up once more, ‘what if’. What if we, as a race, had an ‘enable’ focus, a focus on what we can do, on abilities rather than a focus of what we cannot do? This podcast further explores this concept and challenges you to make some changes to your thinking, to empower your success and results. Remember to rate and review it when you've listened - I value your feedback and will respond to any emails or feedback if you want to contact me. Have a positive, powerful, and proactive week! Email: jaki@fusionatwork.com
jakigt Uncategorized Comments (0) » |
23
May
2011
In previous podcasts we’ve examined the thoughts - outcomes cycle that governs our every day behaviour and we’ve started to consider the empowering implications of what’s possible when we harness this new awareness, and change our thinking.
When we accept the concept that every feeling that we have; every action we take and the results created by them - even the beliefs we hold; all start with, or are driven by our thoughts, we realise that the words we think in are vital. They are the currency of our mind.
It follows that the quality of the words we think in, determines the value of our thoughts and the nature of the actions and outcomes that follow. And with this recognition the importance of carefully selecting, employing and auditing our words becomes abundantly clear.
However, there may well be a part of you (a voice in your head perhaps) that tells you that while certain thoughts and decisions we make in life are important, our every-day thoughts ARE NOT and cannot be life-changing. A part of you that doubts, how powerful can a few words be. I mean research tells us we use between 7000 and 30,000 words a day (and that’s just the ones we speak aloud). Research further tells us that women use 2-3 times as many words as men do each day (and that’s just the ones spoken aloud, who knows how much faster and how much more we think!).
I remember discussing this with a friend one day - the idea that (from his perspective) women talk ‘too much’, or conversely (from my own, if we were generalizing) that perhaps men don’t communicate enough! Being a person who has the gift of the gab, discussing this issue with my friend who is far more frugal with his words, he was excited to find an article on the web that said "Men use about 15,000 words per day, but women use 30,000". ‘See’, he said, clutching at this factoid as proof he was right, ‘you women talk too much!’ Too much? I replied! Hardly, we speak twice as much because we have to repeat everything we say to you men." Confused at how women talking to much suddenly became ‘men’s fault’, a confused look spread across his face, "What?" he responded
I could have rested my case, but being as I had a spare 15,000 words I persevered and we had a good laugh at the irony.
So, my point is that if we (male or female) use thousands of words every day aloud, imagine how many we bombard ourselves with in our thoughts! And each one of those shapes how we feel and act. Each one of them is important; even though there are many. In the same way that just because a sperm is competing against of thousands of other sperm, does not make (him, it’d have to be him wouldn’t it?) doesn’t make him less important than his competitiors. With words too, it’s not how many there are that matters, it’s which ones get through. And the thing about our unconscious mind is that it believes everything we tell it - so they all get through! They all impregnate our minds with their meaning! For better, or worse.
So, if you do have a voice in your mind right now that’s saying ‘hey, we use so many words and have so many thoughts each day, surely one or two words can’t make all that much difference? I challenge you to think again - no really, think again! if they get through, they will make a difference. And the power of just a couple of words is what I want to explore with you today.
Today’s question for you to ponder is this:
“What are the two most powerful words in the English language – for better, or worse?”
That is words that can be either empowering or immobilising depending on how you use them? Given the power behind your thinking, I wanted to get lots of people’s thoughts on this, and I hope you contact me with your answers too. I’d like to share some of the ideas already submitted and explore the reason they hold such power, so stop this podcast now if you want to ponder the question yourself first for a while and come up with your own two words. Don’t worry, I’ll be here when you get back. Talk to you soon.
OK, ready? Here are some strong contenders, for the two most powerful words - maybe some of these occurred to you too!
· ‘I am’ is a powerful phrase. It allows you to create or affirm who you are as a person, to determine your identity, establish your mood or state or list your defining attributes.
· ‘I believe’ is equally powerful. These words recognise your ability to perceive the world as you see it and draws attention to the fact that that is your choice - an idea worth pondering.
· ‘I choose’ similarly focuses on what you can do in any give situation and that there are always options, so it affirms your sense of control and accountability
· ‘I can’ often follows from this - and puts you in a positive ‘able’ mind set
· ‘I will’ is a commitment to action, far more powerful to its ugly cousin ‘I’ll try’, the former sends a message of positivity, the latter a message of doubt
Each of these concepts has merit and in a given context could be more or less powerful, however, in my opinion, we can go one better. In my opinion the two most powerful word phrase is:
‘What if’ - as in, what if we did this? What if this happens, what if I could?
· What matters with ‘what if’ is not so much the context or situation, but the attitude and beliefs that they are bound with…
· ‘What if’ to me is all about possibility. When said with a positive, curious mindset, what if will open your world in ways you did not previously imagine. The words ‘what if’ are like the gate way to your potential, to expand your horizons, explore new outcomes and discover new experiences.
· When said in fear, ‘what if’ is equally as powerful, and it will serve the opposite purpose - it will serve to maintain the status quo, ensuring your world stays in stasis, limiting your possibility, stunting your growth, allowing your actions to be dictated by fear and insecurities.
· So while ‘what if’ is not necessarily the most positive of phrases, it is, in my opinion the most powerful - for better, or worse - it’s up to you.
The key thing with any of these 2 word statements is that any of them can be positive or negative, its not actually how or where you start that matters, but how you choose to finish that determines the outcome.
In summary I challenge you to remember, it is not the thought that counts, but rather EACH thought that counts. Remember too that no matter how many thoughts you have, they always get through, so the nature and quality of your thoughts is important. You can work to consciously improve the quality of your thoughts by using affirmations daily or as needed, and by challenging any negative or limiting assumptions that leave you feeling stuck, down or unable.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts (literally) or questions on this topic - the 2 most powerful words for you. You can email me at jaki@fusionatwork.com and I promise to respond to your email.
In the mean time, have a positive, powerful and pro active week.
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20
May
2011
Sometimes (thankfully) it doesn’t take life changing events to change us. This podcast shares a true story about an every day experience I had which was rich in life lessons. I just tell it how it happened for me so you can take from it what you will. The story is about the baggage we all hold on to as we journey through life, and a real character I met along the way, who made me challenge why I was so attached to baggage that was weighing me down.
I hope that as you listen, you get out of the story as I did, and I invite you to rate and review the podcast and contact me to let me know what thoughts and insights it inspires for you, or to share your own stories with me!
jakigt Uncategorized Comments (0) » |
20
May
2011
If you could do one thing today that would make you happier, that would allow you to improve your relationships and free your thinking, would you do it? No, really, would you?
This podcast gives you the chance - the opportunity to simply and easily change your life, improve your relationships and enhance your every day enjoyment of your life in one simple step. How? B removing the B.S. - well, the 's' part anyway!
I could explain more, but I'd rather you listen, explore and discover. Enjoy!
jakigt Uncategorized Comments (0) » |
15
May
2011
Have you ever stopped to consider the nature and power of the words you use? If you have, you too may have noticed that the words ‘I shouldn’t’ are most commonly uttered during or just before you go on to do the very thing that you (apparently) ‘should not’ have done? The sampling of the chocolate again (in case the 5th piece tasted different to the first four...)
Or, perhaps for you, it’s quite the opposite – for you, its when you think or say the words ‘I should…’ which become a precursor to you NOT following through with your own advice or values map as it were! As in, ‘I really should go for that run/finish this now/say how I feel’ - It’s as if the words which so often are meant to motivate or direct positive action serve the very opposite purpose!
In fact the very use of the word ‘should’ depicts that more than one internal reference map is running concurrently, and more often than not, indicates that you are co-existing in two planes of existence - the one you are in (now - the indulging or not exercising) and the one you also recognise but choose not to act on, (the ‘best practice world’ which you choose not to act on though need to pay lip service to). So, congratulations, you are living in an alternate reality - interesting and impressive on one level if you think about it, but very rarely conducive to successfully navigating two worlds - you cant be in two worlds at one time and so navigating by two maps is similarly not useful, nor motivating.
This podcast explores the 's' word as a source of motivation, as well as the power of our thoughts and how we can harness powerful thinking habits for our own success!
jakigt Uncategorized Comments (0) » |
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