Thursday, March 27, 2014

How are success and an open mind related...

Dear...

Successful people have an atypical behavior and an atypical way of thinking in many aspects. That's basically what sets them apart and ultimately make them successful.
One of the things most successful people have, is an open mind. Having an open mind is definitely something that you can learn.

Someone with an open mind has the ability to see possibilities in almost any situation, because of this  openminded people see more opportunities than others.

Openminded people listen without judgement, they take critic really well and can weigh what people say objectively. They listen with intend and seek for understanding first, that means they really make an effort to grasp what's been said to them and that they look less for being understood.

As a result of the previous point, open minded people know that they know it all and don't pretend that they do. This makes them vulnerable and no matter how scary that may seem it puts them in the best learning position.

Because of this drive to always want to learn, openminded people are not afraid to make mistakes in fact they have experienced that a lot of learning comes from making mistakes.

Open minded understand that there is almost never an absolute truth for anything. They make a conscious effort to see things from different perspectives, which makes them also highly empathic.

Maybe one of the strongest assets openminded people have, is perhaps their ability to embrace and drive change. They adapt to change without losing sight of their goals and objectives, they have the ability to find different ways to reach what they are after.

Bottom line having an open mind  comes down to letting go of control, the willingness to challenge your own beliefs and convictions, allowing yourself to experience what the world has to offer, to see new ideas and endless opportunities. Having an open mind, means letting go of judgement of others and yourself, this puts you in the seat of learning and is giving you the ability to use your unlimited potential.

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
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"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD








Sunday, March 23, 2014

The 7 don'ts of successful people

Dear...

Successful people make sure they do certain things, but are also adamant to ignore certain things

The 7 don'ts of successful people

1. Don't get trapped in the past...
The past makes you what you are, but only if you don't get caught in it. The past cannot be changed, make sure your past mistakes guide you and don't define you. Successful people learn from everything they have been through, the good and the bad things, they make sure they remember the past but they don't get trapped in it.

2. Don't try to control things that can't be controlled...
Thinking that you can control all aspects in your life is an illusion and trying to do so is a waste of energy.  Successful people know how to roll with the punches and how to adapt to constantly changing  circumstances.

3. Don't let fear get the best of you ...
Most fears are completely unfounded. You know the saying anything you want is just outside your comfort zone and your comfort zone ends where fear begins. Successful people realize this well and choose to be comfortable by being uncomfortable at all times. They know that if you don't risk anything you risk everything. We all have our fears. Being successful is doing things despite your fears.

4. Don't be afraid to change ...
If you want to achieve something you need to change. Change is simply inevitable, the question is in what will you change. Successful people embrace change and envision the person they need to be in order to be successful.

5. Don't sweat the small stuff...
To be successful many things need to happen and need to be done, but that doesn't mean that you have to sweat the small stuff. Successful people won't lose focus by the small stuff they simple get them done when necessary or ignore them when possible, but they keep an eye on the big picture at all times.

6. Don't let others people judgement guide you...
Asking for advice and learning from others is a great thing, but at the end of the day it's your own judgement and intuition that should drive your decisions and actions. Don't let other people's perception of you control you, if you do, other people start to define who you are and what your actions should be. Successful people consult others, but they make sure that their decisions are not influenced by the judgement of other people.

7. Don't overthink things too much...
Making plans is a good thing even necessary if you want to achieve your goals. However overthinking your plans and next actions will stop your progression and cause you to worry too much. Successful people are people who take massive actions and if they made a wrong decision or a mistake they change it up and do it again until they reach what they aimed for.

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/



"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD




Thursday, March 20, 2014

A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are.

Dear...

"A good coach will make his students/athletes see what they can be, rather than what they are. "
- Ara Parasheghian

I think no one will dispute the positive effect sport plays in the development of a person.  In addition to improved physical health, active sporting has proven to lead to higher academic achievement, higher self-esteem, fewer behavioral problems, and better psychosocial. Sports contribute positively to the five 'C's: competence, confidence, connections, character, and caring. All these are considered to be critical components for personal development. The many facets of playing sport like: the discipline of training, learning teamwork, following the leadership of coaches and captains, learning to lose, can provide lifelong skills for athletes. Beside all this sport stresses the positive effects of participation in learning the important life skills of goal setting and time management combined with enjoyment; the development of a strong sense of morality; and the development of an appreciation of diversity.

Understanding the importance of sport combined with the fact that the majority of athletes see their coach as the number one influential element in the their competitive experience begs us to look closer at the role and responsibilities of a coach.

It is the coaches role to help their students to improve their skills, perform to their best ability, develop strong character, and build confidence. They can maximize the positive value of sport and competition, and they can enhance the intrinsic motivation to play sport. An athlete with the right intrinsic values of sport and the positive experience of mastery is more likely to apply fair play, good sportsmanship and is more likely to have a healthy attitude towards the sport, the fellow sporters and itself.  However when winning is overvalued it can create an environment in which unsportsmanlike behavior flourishes and it often breeds a mentality where one thinks that results justify the means.

Bad coaching can push the psychological, emotional, and physical limits of students to the point of harm, create a hostile and unfair environment, and turn athletes away from sport forever.
Even coaches who love the sport and have respect for their students can lose perspective in the quest to win. This is especially true when coaches are under incredible pressure to produce winning results.

What makes a good or effective coach?

The role of coach is a complicated one. Surveys show that coaches serve as instructor, teacher, motivator, disciplinarian, substitute parent, social worker, friend, manager and therapist. Ideally, coaches should understand the developmental stage and limits of their students in order to tailor practices and learning appropriately. In addition to these expectations, coaches are expected to have an in-depth knowledge of the sport they are coaching, including the rules and the skills and techniques needed to play the sport. At more advanced levels of competition, they need to understand basic kinesiology, sport psychology, nutrition, and basic first aid. It has to be said that at a higher level,  athletes are more likely to work with a team of 'specialized coaches' and to have access to a better 'support teams'.


This blogpost is partly an excerpt from "True Sport Report - Psychological and Social Benefits of Playing True Sport". You can read the full article at http://www.truesport.org

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/



"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD


Monday, March 17, 2014

10 tips to get more things done in a day...

Dear...

Successful people are getting more things done in a day than most other people...
Here are 10 tips to not only do more but also do things better and smarter.

1. Start the day with a full thank of energy
This means make sure that you'll get enough sleep, eat and drink well before the day starts.
Try to get regular sleep at regular hours. Take time for your morning ritual, shower, getting dressed, breakfast. If you start your day in a hurry, you might feel hurried the rest of the day. Get up an hour earlier and you will get more done. Start the day with an hour for yourself (exercise, meditate) and your day starts of flying.
2. Make a daily to do list
Make list of the things you want (and can) achieve during the day. They can be ambitious but need to be achievable as well. Break big tasks down in smaller ones. E.g. your overall goal might be getting fitter, but that's not a daily task, so its better to say today I'll 3K run.
3. Kiss the frog
Do the tasks you have to do but least like to do first. By doing this the rest of the day will be more productive. Turn it around and you will drag everything you have to do that day.
4. Don't multitask
It's absolutely true, most people cannot multitask. Instead of thinking that you are one of the view who can, it is better to organize your work in such way that you work from task to task. You will achieve more and with higher quality.
5. Be smart with your email
Doing email can be a black hole. Set specific times apart to do your email. Try to look at an email only once (answer, convert to task, archive or discard). Keep a zero email discipline... no emails left at the end of the day. Have good email habits: don't answer when you are on the cc list; limit the emails you send out yourself and be careful who you put on your to and cc list.
6. Shut down Social Media
Limit and set specific time aside for social media, this will increase you productivity enormously. Turn off the push notifications on your phone and close social media completely on your lap top for most part of the day. Define specific moments, when you will look at social media... no more than 3 during your work day.
7. Eat well
Never deplete your energy completely. With good nutrition you can make sure that you refill your energy reserve constantly. So eat smart and regularly.
8. Exercise a lot 
Especially if you have desk work, exercise multiple times during the day. Start your day with some stretching or yoga, take walks during your breaks and have a good work-out once a day or at least multiple times per week. It's not only healthy for your body and mind but it will increase your daily productivity.
9. Capture you ideas
Capture your ideas on a list or in a notebook. Write them down when have one. Note them, but look at them at them when you have time for it. It keeps your creative juice flowing but overtime you will see that among your great ideas many of them will help you to get more done during a day.
10. Look at the big picture
If you are motivated you will get more things done. Make sure that once a day you remind yourself why you do the things you are doing. Meditate over it, pray, write ... whatever suits you best, but set at least 30 minutes a day aside to be grateful for what you have and to understand where you are heading and what your goal is in life.

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/



"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Learn to accept imperfection and you can hope to reach perfection.

Dear...

People who want to be successful set high standards for themselves and always put their best foot forward. Their passion for excellence and their strive to be the best drives them to go the extra mile, they never stop and they never relent. Their dedication towards perfection undoubtedly supports them to achieve results. But there is a clear downside to perfectionism. As a matter of fact most successful people aren't perfectionists, they strive for it but they know what is good enough to produce positive results.

Perfectionists are risking to become discouraged when they fail to meet the high standards they have set for themselves. It often even leads to reluctance to take on new challenges or to finish tasks at hand. A drive for perfectionism carries also the danger of breeding inefficiency and causing major delays. It often creates stress overload and mediocre outcome, quite the opposite from the intended  perfect result.

True perfectionists have a hard time to start things and an often an even harder time to finish them.
E.g.: a competitive dancer who is too much of a perfectionist will most likely never feel ready to go on the competition floor.

The world rewards people who take actions and who get things done, it very seldom rewards perfectionists.  The only way to get things done is to accept imperfections at least most of the time.  There is nothing wrong with striving towards perfectionism but realize that only after working through years of practice and experience a level of perfection can be achieved. So take action, get experience, improve with every step, learn and repeat this over and over again.  In other words only by learning to except imperfections you can hope to reach a level perfectionism.

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/



"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD