GIGO! (Garbage In, Garbage Out) or KISO! (Knowledge In Success Out).

Which do you prefer?

 If your car runs on diesel and you fill-up with unleaded petrol in, don’t expect it to run without problems! The same is true for us, if we flood our minds with unwholesome things, it will show up in our lives…

 We all know this but very few people act on this! Not many of us take care when we watch television or browse the internet. We keep ourselves ignorant to the influence and impact the content will have on us. Realise that what we think will determine how we eventually act. Not only should we think about what we don’t want to put into our minds, but we also need to decide what to put in!

Consider this example: a Ferrari that is about to race will not use the same fuel as the fuel you are putting into your ordinary family car. It may be the same general type, like unleaded petrol, but it will be designed specifically to increase performance.

 Decide what you want to feed your mind!

 Consciously decide what TV programs, movies, internet sites, newspapers and magazines you will and will not watch or read!

And then commit to your decision!

The difference in perception you’ll experience is remarkable!

I recently attended a seminar of Brian Mayne who is a very inspiring person that is making a big difference in many people’s lives. He told us how he learnt to read at a late stage in life and that this convinced him of the wonderful gift that reading is.

 Therefore he decided that he will not waste his gift on reading meaningless nonsense, but rather use it to better himself. As a result he has read many self-development books and is now one of the top self-development trainers and speakers in the UK.

 Have we become complacent victims of the main-line media monster or do we realise how privileged we are to have such wide variety content to choose from?

The power of reading and feeding your mind is in your hands! So fill-up with only the best!

 If you need some help with this, there are some suggestions of books and audios on HT’s Continuing Education Programme.

Do you eat to live or live to eat…?

This is a very controversial subject and we may have different views, but we have to agree on one thing: food is a very important part of our lives.  Without it we will die physically. It is also often an integral part of socialising. Just consider how many times food plays a central role when meeting up or going out with friends or family.

Although food plays an important role in our society, it is important to remember that the primary role of food: is to be fuel for our bodies. Food is primarily important for nutrition, NOT indulgence! If you want to live with energy and increase our performance, we must consider the effect of different types of food on our physical, emotional and mental states.

For example if you eat loads of sugar and fat you will definitely experience a rise in blood sugar and a temporary “lift”, but soon thereafter you will experience a sudden drop in your energy levels and feel tired. If you want to sustain your energy throughout your day, there are two simple strategies.

1. Eat a low GI diet, (GI = glycemic index.) Foods which have a low GI slowly release energy during the day and in this way sustain you for longer periods of time. You will therefore not experience large variations in your energy levels during the day.

Examples of low GI foods are: full grain, bran, oatmeal, milk and whole wheat bread.

2. Eat around six smaller meals instead of three large means. Blood sugar levels tend to drop after a few hours.

By eating small, healthy portions of low GI food through the day, you will sustain your energy levels throughout the day.

These two eating habits will help you to work with energy throughout the day. Allowing you to work harder for longer without feeling additional strain! This will have a huge positive effect on your performance.

Has it ever happened to you that when you are about to buy a product that you’ve not really noticed before, it suddenly seems as though the whole world decided to buy exactly the same product..? Suddenly it seems that the whole world is driving the exact same Toyota or Volkswagen you plan to get…! Or just when you think you will be the only one wearing Jimmy Choo’s, it suddenly seems that everyone has some already!

Did everyone really decide to buy the same products overnight or could it be that is merely the first time you noticed? Maybe it was there all along, you were paying attention to it?

Let’s do a quick experiment: think of the colour blue, now look around the room or office where you are now. Notice how many blue items you can see.

Now look back at the screen/desk in front of you. Without looking away from your computer screen, can you list red items in the room or office? If you are like most people, you will probably find this hard to do. In fact it may feel as though there is nothing even remotely red in your vicinity! Now look around and compare the number of red and blue items.

Chances are that there will be at least 5 – 10 blue and red items each! More then what you would have noticed without this exercise.

Now, here is the big question: did it suddenly appear in the 20 seconds between looking for blue and looking for red? Most probably not. The difference was that you decided to look for it. When you were only focused on blue, it was hard to see red, but once you looked for red, even though you were aware of the blue, it was much easier to spot.

The same is true of life. We are sometimes so overwhelmed by all our problems that it is hard to think of any solutions. We feel boxed in / stuck or overwhelmed.

The easiest way to solve this is to stop focusing on issues and problems, and start focussing on options, solutions and positive realities. By specifically looking for solutions and options, you will be surprised at how many you will find. This does not mean that you ignore the problems. It just means that you make a conscious decision to look for solutions instead. Here are some quick fix steps, if you are feeling stuck or frustrated: ask yourself these questions:

1. What did I do to overcome similar problems in the past? Try to list as many solutions as possible, by continually asking yourself: what else?

2. What could I do differently to overcome this problem? Again, try to list as many possibilities as you can, by continually asking yourself: what else?

3. Following this, review what you wrote and identify what the next step is to take. Just the first step. Take this step NOW! Don’t wait! Just do it. This action will break the pattern of feeling overwhelmed. Keep repeating step 1 – 3 until you’re on an automatic recovery.

By changing your focus from problem-focused to solution-focused, it will increase your performance! And the good news: it’s as simple as 1-2-3!

Have you ever said or heard the words: “You’re not listening to me!”

This is probably one of the most common complaints in today’s rushed world. We are forced to multitask, to do ten things at once and to do them NOW!

Everybody wants a piece of us – which is exactly what happens, we only give them a piece (and sometimes even a piece of our minds!). Most of the time we don’t pay full attention, and this while one of the biggest human needs are to feel valued, heard and appreciated. So why is this important? If we give others our full attention and really listen to them, we demonstrate that they matter to us.

So how does listening to people increase my performance?

1) By listening properly, you eliminate confusion, conflicts and future misunderstandings and mistakes. And

2) Secondly you build trust in the relationship, which in turn means that the other party is more motivate to work harder for and with you!

If you value someone and they are important to you, make an effort to really listen to them, because the flip-side of the coin is that no matter how much you say that you value them, if they sense that you are not listening to them, they are not going to believe you. They will feel unappreciated, and productivity and performance goes straight down the drain!
Listening to someone doesn’t mean just keeping quiet. Although that is a good start! Really listening is to communicate to someone that they really matter to you:

1. Stop whatever else you are doing.
2. Look them in the eyes.
3. Reflect back what you heard to check whether you grasped what they were saying and most importantly,
4. Understand the spoken word in their emotional context! What they say and what they really mean might be different!

I challenge you to test this over the next 3 days! Focus on really listening and see the difference it will make to your relationships. Observe how your performance and productivity increase as a direct result!

Please leave your comments and feedback on your experience at …..!

1. Introduction

Over the next few weeks we are going to send you an email coaching series on “How to increase your Personal Performance!”

So keep a close eye on your inbox!

Performance has always been very important! Especially when it comes to business or our careers – we cannot afford not to perform well! This is true now more than ever before! In difficult economic times the pressure is on to stand out from the rest!

Naturally we all yearn to be the best, but we need something that will help us increase and sustain our performance – not just in business or our careers, but in all areas of our lives!

Sometimes we realise (very painfully) that we are so focused on our work, jobs or business that we do not invest enough time and energy in our families or other activities. The irony is that it’s usually these “activities” that give us the energy and motivation to perform at our peak and to carry on in the face of adversity! These are the things that give our lives purpose!

In short, if you want to produce top results, you need to maintain a dynamic balance in all areas of our life: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.

In this e-mail coaching series on performance we will show you how to increase your performance through taking a number of simple, yet profound, action steps. Easy, fun and REAL-life practical action steps!

These suggestions will cover all four areas of your life, to help you improve your own life balance, while increasing your performance. What is more is that you can start to implement these tips and techniques immediately. You might consider some of the suggestions as old news, but do NOT underestimate their POWER! Try it, before you judge it!

What could you achieve if you could increase your performance by 10%..? 20%, 50%, 100%…?