Storyboard your 2018

No... it’s not a new snow sport but a way to achieve your goals in the coming year!

You may have heard of Dreamboarding*.. A dreamboard (or vision board) is a visual tool that serves as a visual representation and reminder of your dreams and your ideal life. (A picture’s worth 1000 words!) In addition, some people believe that a dreamboard activates the Law of Attraction* and Reticular Activation*. Many successful people practice this. This is your WHY.

Storyboarding* is breaking the coming year into segments; much like how movie-makers visualize scenes in a movie. What does the end of the first quarter of 2018 look like: what have you done, who do you know. what have you learned, where are you living/working, how do you spend your time? This is the HOW to get to the results you want.

You can create a collage (like the one on the right) to represent the things you want in your life. You can post this on your wall or, what I did, was take a picture of this and use this as my screen saver on my computer... As they say, “out of sight is out of mind” and by keeping your dreams in front of you every day, you will be reminded, every day, of your commitment to the HOW and your WHY!

I’ve mentioned in past articles that one of my favorite words is IMAGINEER (coined by Walt Disney). Dream/Storyboarding is an implementation of this process: IMAGINE what you want and then ENGINEER its manifestation.

Another strategy is to share your dreamboard with others... Accountability is a great way to help you stay on track... Now, time to get your BOARD ON!

Grateful for Community

The news reports have been filled with stories of communities decimated by recent natural disasters. I know many individuals and businesses that have been impacted AND others that have sent donations and/or volunteered to help those communities. Amid all the stories, there is a common thread... one of human compassion and kindness.

So, in spite of the tragedy that has fallen on so many, I am grateful for the reminder that humanity, at its core, is kind, compassionate, generous, and hopeful. After Las Vegas, Paris, and so many other incidents of violence, it is good to know that as a community, whether local or global, people rally together.

I am also grateful to be part of the Rancho Cordova community where I find examples of people helping people ALL the time. Hope you will come out and rally with others in November.

WE Can Help Homeless Students!

In 2008 the Folsom Cordova Unified School District had 680 documented cases of “homeless” students. And that number has continued to grow. It’s hard to grasp that so many local kids are struggling with something as basic as a stable place to live.

The Good News is that many good-hearted people and organizations are working to help these young people. One of these is Project 680 which was named after the aforementioned number.

They started with a sock drive in December 2008. Their goal was to collect 680 pairs of socks. They were overwhelmed with generosity from our community and saw 3,144 pairs of socks come in. Local residents, neighborhoods, organizations, churches, and businesses all teamed up to make this happen.
They are continuing their efforts with a Hoodie Drive this year. Visit Project680.org for more information about how YOU can help.

Small Steps... Giant Leaps

You’ve probably heard about the book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey. Committing to and practicing a habit that will positively affect your personal or professional life may only be a 5 minute commitment each day but the long-term shift it can make in your life could be MONUMENTAL!

Sometimes we KNOW what we SHOULD do but put it off... (That’s another habit.) One quote that sums it up is that “Procrastination is failure on the installment plan”.

Sometimes we don’t KNOW what we COULD do to make improvements. So one habit we could practice is seeking solutions: read, attend workshops, mastermind with others. Speaker Jim Rohn said “Rarely doesa good idea interrupt you.” However, seek and ye shall find!

Check out workshops, videos, tips, tools and resources on ExpandMyBrand.biz (to grow your business and save you time) and TradingFaces.us (to live a happier, healthier, more fulfilling life).

Two Heads are Better than One...

Then it is safe to say that "Many Heads are Better than Ever!" We call it a Mastermind group. The origin of mastermind groups came from Napoleon Hill In his book, "Think And Grow Rich". He defined a mastermind as: “The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony.”

​The benefits of a Mastermind group are many:

1. You gain the perspective and feedback from others so you have an insight into a scenario or situation ​that may differ from your own. It takes a village...
2. You receive support in dealing with a difficult situation and kudos when you achieve a goal. No person is an island!
3. You will be held accountable for your commitments so that you are more likely to achieve them. Procrastination is failure on the installment plan

So if you have a business, a project, a dream... find or form a group who want to achieve something as well and support each other. Chances are you've all just increased your chances of meeting or exceeding your expectations! Go for it!!

Do YOU know the Way...?

If you have ever tried to get from POINT A to POINT B without a map (or GPS), you know it can be a long road... full of wrong turns, potholes and frustration. No one ever gets into a car without having directions in one form or another.

However, in business (and sometimes in life), we often head down a path without knowing the best, most direct way (or sometimes even where we really want to go). So here’s the “well, duh” advice:

1. Know (about) where you want to end up (see “reverse imagineering” article from last month). You may adjust mid-course but at least you’re mid-way there!
2. Get the right tools*: Advice from someone who has already been: read, learn, ask... why reinvent the wheel?
3. Get going! If you don’t take a step, you won’t make any progress. Procrastination will leave you in that rut!

*GOOD NEWS: The right tools and support are as available as the internet which puts all those resources at your keyboarding fingertips! Visit BobPocket.com for some good business resources.

Resourcefulness is ALL you need...

You may have heard it said "Seek and ye shall find" or "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear". Both very true because EVERYTHING you need to achieve your goals is out there. But all the resources in the world mean nothing, unless you have this quality: RESOURCEFULNESS!

One definition is "the ability and initiative to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties or challenges". So if we already know the resources we need to overcome obstacles exist, the only thing standing in our way to solve the problem is the initiative to seek them out and engage.

I've watched a few seasons of the TV show "Survivor". One of the things that has astonished me is the ability and initiative of some players to find a hidden immunity idol on a friggin' island without a clue where to look or what it looks like. Now that is initiative, my friends!

So there is no excuse (or benefit) for any "woe is me" self-pity. The resources are out there... We just need the initiative to start looking! Helpful hint: be sure to "reverse engineer" what you want to accomplish per last week's article (www.BobsPocket.com)... Next week, we look at scavenger hunts and teamwork..