Walk The Talk Chock full of resources to inspire, motivate, encourage, and challenge you!

“Will you be a hero and choose to take risks necessary to fulfill your dreams?” asks Marcy Blochowiak in her book No Glass Ceiling, Just Blue Sky. Wonderfully inspirational and truly uplifting, this book offers insights for women on life balance, the power of choice, respecting others, and leaving a legacy. Below, you’ll find an amazing story about a courageous woman who chose to dream big!

When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a solid wall of fog. Her body was numb. She had been swimming for nearly sixteen hours. Already, she was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. Now, at age 34, her goal was to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast.

On that Fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was like an ice bath and the fog was so dense she could hardly see her support boats. Sharks cruised toward her lone figure, only to be driven away by rifle shots. Against the frigid grip of the sea, she struggled on – hour after hour – while millions watched on national television.

Alongside Florence, on one of the boats, her mother and her trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn’t much farther. But all she could see was fog. They urged her not to quit. She never had…until then. With only a half mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.

Still thawing her chilled body several hours later, she told a reporter, “Look, I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I might have made it.” It was not fatigue or even the cold water that defeated her. It was the fog.

She was unable to see her goal.

Two months later, she tried again. This time, despite the same dense fog, she swam with her faith intact and her goal clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind that fog was land and this time she made it! Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, eclipsing the men’s record by two hours.

As a leader, the goals for your team must cut through the fog like a beacon in the night.

They must always be in sight. Experts on motivation disagree on a lot of things but one thing they all agree on is that your levels of motivation are directly tied to your expected probabilities of success. In other words, if you believe you can do something (the goals are realistic), you’re likely to be highly motivated. If, however, you think you can’t and your goals are not in sight, your levels of motivation fall greatly.

The lesson here is to continue to DREAM BIG DREAMS, but realize that short-term realistic goals are the real keys to success. – Learn more…

The most absurd and reckless aspirations have
sometimes led to extraordinary success.
–Marquis De Vauvenargues

Today’s Topic: How Can You Motivate Others?

Although leaders cannot fully control other people’s personal motivation, they can certainly affect it. They create the workplace conditions where people want to be motivated and, therefore, motivate themselves. When this occurs, we say the leader “motivates” because he or she has helped to shape an environment where individuals are energized to achieve.

Perhaps the most obvious example of this is in sports. The coach of a winning team never executes a play – the players do! Good coaches do, however, create conditions for players to perform at their best, to contribute, to be part of something special, and to have the best chance at winning. And the same is true for good leaders in business organizations: They create conditions for success and achievement.

Here’s one you can take to the bank: With few exceptions, all people want to achieve, contribute, and be a part of something special. Our inherent drive challenges us to achieve. The task of the leader, then, is to harness and nurture that drive; to feed it and encourage it to grow.

Today’s lesson is from 180 Ways to Walk the Motivation Talk.

You can increase your brain power three- to
fivefold simply by laughing and having fun
before working on a problem.
–Doug Hall

Ability may get you to the top–but it takes
character to keep you there.
–John Wooden

Alone we can do so little;
together we can do so much.
–Helen Keller

I’ve learned that recognizing employees-doing right by those who do right – is one of the best things I can do for my elves and reindeer…and for myself as well.
–Santa Claus

What Are The Leadership Secrets of Santa Claus? Learn more…

Obviously, our job is to give people what they’re looking for. And as their wants and needs change, we have to change along with them. Doing that starts with accepting the fact that the customer is truly in charge of our business…
–Santa Claus

What Are The Leadership Secrets of Santa Claus? Learn more…

Today’s Topic: The Power of Recognition

Here’s a short, two-question survey that you’ll probably be able to answer without investing much think time:

1. Ever feel unappreciated or under recognized for the good work you do?
2. Ever miss opportunities to recognize the people you work with (direct reports, peers, AND bosses) for the good work that they do?

If you’re like most folks, there’s a good chance your two answers were DUH! and OOPS! (a.k.a., yes and yes). Of course, all of us occasionally feel taken for granted. We know firsthand how lousy that feels. And when we fail to give the recognition our coworkers desire, we pass along that same lousy feeling. We do it not because we’re bad people, but because we’re human…and we sometimes lose sight of what’s truly important. But we all have an opportunity to change that.

We need to understand that there are personal benefits to be gained by recognizing others; there IS something in it for each of us. We not only feel good by making others feel good, but we also improve our own lot by encouraging the positive attitudes and behaviors that eventually make life easier for us. And don’t forget “The Law of Reciprocity”: What Goes Around COMES around!

Today’s lesson is from 180 Ways to Walk the Recognition Talk.

In The Simple Truths of Appreciation, a true story told by Barbara Glanz, we are reminded
of the power of simple gestures. Because of an act of kindness, one woman’s life was
changed forever. This story has inspired me to thank the important people in my life…today!

It is my hope that after watching this move, you’ll choose to make a difference.
Enjoy the show!

Click here to view the movie.