I really was a model! But not like you might be thinking! Oh, I did model a suit way back in high school but that’s not exactly what I am talking about today. There’s a saying from NLP (neurolinguistic programming) that says “If one person can do something, others can too. That’s the modeling I am talking about.

My good friend David Gordon teaches people how to do what another does. He is one of the early practitioners of NLP and is quite well known in the field. He was teaching a multi-day course on modeling in Chicago which I was fortunate enough to be enrolled in. My fellow classmates picked four from the course who they all felt had a sense of humor and I was one of the one picked. Imagine that!
Here’s what happened… they put each of us in a corner of the room and asked us several questions to elicit what and how we thought about being funny. (there’s actually a book about all this and this very case study)

When the groups were finished asking each of the four of us (separately each in his/her own corner remember) several questions they charted our answers on separate pieces of flip chart paper and hung them on the wall. The results were spooky to say the least. With very few exceptions, the charts were the same!

So what does this mean to us today? I know for sure, I’ve seen it, I’ve done it! If someone is exceptional, good or proficient at performing their job… it can be modeled and then taught to others! It’s a process that works!

It amazes me how, when a person has too, they can handle multiple priorities at seemingly one time. There is a danger in that though… if you don’t have a way to track the projects you have and are committed to blocking specific times to work on each… you’re doomed!

I know from first hand experience that if the two, tracking methodology and time blocking, are missing… it’s a rough way to go. Thankfully, my good friend Scott Manning, known for getting “a ton of c*@p done” has taught me some of his magic. I’ll share it with you in just a minute.

When you go to a great restaurant do you tell your friends about it? Do you recommend it to your friends and associates? I know I do and although I shouldn’t take it personally when a person doesn’t go to taste and see for themselves… but I do! I am working on that, but I’m just not there yet. You might be wondering, “Did you forget what you were talking about Jack?” The answer is a simple “NO.” You see I have recommended Scott to many of you and although he’s not a restaurant, he does provide nourishment! Nourishment for your wallet and well being that is!

Here are just 2 of the many things Scott taught me… 1.) Block time for the things you need to do. More than that… block enough time for each thing. I wasn’t doing that so consequently, many “things” would be about half cooked and I would jump to something else. 2.) Tie the list of things you have to do to the money they’re worth to you. The priorities quickly rise to the top. Something else I wasn’t doing.

In the remaining 33 days of 2011, make your list. Tie money to the items and then block enough time to get the things done!

We all have many things and reasons to be thankful and because we all have so much it’s easy to forget or just as easy to take for granted what we have.

There have been times when I wished for more, more money, more time, more patience, you might be somewhat similar. There’s one thing I know for sure, I don’t remember the times when I reflected on the things I am truly thankful for in my life.

I think it might be true for most of us too, that we don’t take time to just be thankful. My mentor Tommy Richardson always has an attitude of gratitude and I admire that very much. This week, in your journal, (you do have a journal don’t you?) make a list between you and you of all the things that you’re thankful for. More than just the “things” list the non-things too. Things like; awareness, sense of humor, creativity, you know… the non-things in your life. Those things that God gave you and you have developed or that you are still developing.

Then, when you have those times when things don’t go exactly as planned and you begin to fret… read the list. It’s awfully difficult to be angry, mad or depressed when you’re thinking of all the things that you’re thankful for.

I want to let you know about one seemingly little thing that I am really thankful for and it’s all the comments I get about this weekly e-mail. You have no idea how much it means when someone I admire and/or respect tells me “Jack, you’re a really good writer.” Writing is something I never thought I would be thankful for but now I am!

Thank you for reading this weekly note and know that I send wishes for the Happiest of Thanksgiving’s to you!

Sounds like a very strange question doesn’t it? It’s not “What do you think?” it’s “Where do you think?”

Where do you go when you want to create? A paper, a message, a proposal? If you don’t have a place you retreat to when you want to create you might think about having one.

A few years ago I subscribed to an audio tape (those were the way to listen to portable audio before CDs and before iPods) program by a guy named Mike Vance. Unfortunately Mike discontinued the subscription program. Mike was the very first Dean of Disney. He was there in the beginning when Walt Disney was creating the Disney experience. As a matter of fact, Mike said that Walt told him he (Mike) was the most creative guy that he (Walt) knew.

I saw Mike talk at a program in Indianapolis many years ago and I was blown away. I got it! I absolutely loved his style and creative thinking and I absorbed as much as I could of Mike Vance!

Mike always talked about creating a “Kitchen for the Mind” in your home or office environment and I took it to heart. We have a room at our house that is our Kitchen for the Mind. It’s where we go to create, to read, to dream and to make plans. Unfortunately, the room isn’t as big as I would like it to be… but it’s what I have and I enjoy it.

There are books galore in that room, audio, video and DVD programs there. There is a stereo, a TV, a VCR (again what you used to record TV shows or movies on before DVDs) a DVD player… Pictures, white boards, cork boards, a drawing table and flip charts.

You don’t have to have a dedicated room… Starbucks, Big Apple Bagel or a State Park could be that special place you retreat to to create. You could use headphones on your phone to listen to inspiring music and utilize some type of portable writing / drawing surface.

Try it sometime. Make a special place you go to think. Then when someone asks “Where do you go to think?” you’ll have an answer that will inspire and cause them to dream a little. I’d like to hear where you go to think.

I know, the title of this week’s e-mail sounds like a cocktail but it really isn’t…

This happened few years back when I was with a major property and casualty insurance company in the role of recruiting and training new insurance agents, an executive from the corporate office, we’ll call him Jim, was talking to a group of us and asked a very strange question.

Now, you have to remember this was before the days of the internet (yes I’m that old) and prolific e-mail. There certainly weren’t any smart phones either. Anyway, the question was regarding our business cards and he asked, “How many ways do you have for people to reach you?”

Even though the it’s the twenty first century the question Jim asked is still a very good and pertinent question. How many ways do you have for your clients and prospects to reach you? Think about it… there’s Facebook, Linked-In, Twitter, Cell, Web, e-mail and a myriad of other social network and ning sites out there. I think ol’ Jim was kind of bragging about having 3 or 4 phone numbers on his business card.

As I remember it, I was the only one in the room that had as many phone numbers and ways of contacting me as he did. Even back then I knew the importance of being available to clients and prospects… yes that’s a shameless brag… or as Walter Brennan would say… “No brag just fact!”

When the team doesn’t win and plans go awry as they sometimes do… here’s a little something to keep in mind.

Tommy and I sat down this morning to talk about some upcoming trainings, coaching and speaking engagements as we do every Monday morning. But today, we began the conversation about the Zionsville, Brownsburg and Colts football teams. What did they all three have in common… they all three lost this past weekend.

Tommy reminded me about the S.C.O.R.E. acronym and how it can help us all when things don’t go as we expect and I wanted to pass it along this week.

The S stands for Self Discipline – It’s the homework you need to do to get ready for the event. Both the mental and physical part of the preparation. You have to take the necessary time to get ready to excel with your mind-set and physically. Practice!

The C stands for Concentration – You have to focus on your role and what you need to do, especially the small seemingly insignificant things.

The O stands from Optimism – You must have positive expectations about your desired outcome. First to have a desired outcome and secondly to see it come to be before it actually does. Believe!

The R stands for Relaxed – You see once you know you have done all you can to prepare and you’re focused on what you are to do and you believe you can accomplish the task at hand then and only then, you can relax and enjoy the execution. This might be a place where my beloved Colts are falling short. They are so focused on making BIG plays and overplaying their role to contribute to a win that they are missing their individual roles. One piece of evidence of this is that players are getting hurt. If you overplay it usually doesn’t turn out too good. You must do what your role is designed to do and be relaxed, mind like water to be your best.

The E stands for Enjoyment – If you’ve done the prep work and you’re concentrating on the job at hand, all aspects, you believe you can accomplish the task and you are relaxed. Then you can enjoy the journey. Enjoy the game!

I hope this little acronym developed by author and coach Jim Fannin helps you be even better in your role and in your results!

Man did I ever get feedback on the story and subsequent lesson about my experience with Ken (remember the soon to be ex-cab driver) in Las Vegas!

Many people were inspired and I must have offended a couple but I got to thinking… What if someone is kind-of stuck? How can I share some of what Tommy and I do to help them… I sure hope you’re ready for the answer!

My good, long time friend, business partner and mentor Tommy Richardson is one of my go-to people on this topic. Tommy is an expert on the principles of sports psychology. I can say that although he never would because he is genuinely humble… and in a great way! I like hanging out with Tommy because I hope some of him will rub off on me!

Tommy and I teach a program called the Winners Mindset where we help teams with strategies to get past that “being stuck” thing.

Here is some of it in a nut shell… It starts with these two beliefs; Your mind is powerful and You DO have a choice in every situation. What you decide in those choices add up to your circumstances. There are basically four mindsets you need to be aware of:

1. The Monkey Mind… also known as the monkey on your back! It’s the little voice (the one that right now is probably saying “what little voice?”) that is always second guessing your beliefs, thoughts, and actions!

2. The Intimidated Mind… this is where you build up the thing(s) you’re facing as if they were bigger than life. There’s a great scene in the movie Hoosiers that illustrates perfectly what to do about the Intimidated Mind.

In the movie Gene Hackman, the coach of Hickory High School (the Cinderella story of all time based loosely on the 1954 Milan H.S. State Champs) takes his players to Butler (now Hinkle) Fieldhouse (where they used to play for the State Championship in Indiana High School Basketball). Whew… so the coach takes the team to the court in Hinkle Fieldhouse and he has them measure the distance from the Free Throw Line to the back of the back board… It’s the exact same distance, 15 feet, as in their tiny gymnasium back at Hickory High. Next he has one player get on another’s shoulders and has them measure from the floor to the rim… 10 feet… it too is the exact distance as back in their Hickory gym. Hackman points this out… It’s the same. He just defeated the intimidated mind in all his players. He didn’t want them to think that the measurements of the court in expanse of Hinkle Fieldhouse were any different from the basketball court they had been playing on and winning on the entire season.

3. The Determined Mindset… this is the mindset of high focus and concentration. You know, like when a child tries to stay within the lines when they’re coloring their favorite picture… tongue out, face squinted and all! Focus on the solution or the correction needed. Practice intentional thinking.

4. The Natural Mindset… also known as “in the zone” or “flow” when you just know you’re on your game! This is the goal! That when you play your game, be it sales, teaching, fulfilling customer needs of any kind… you want to be here in this mindset.

Here’s a simple four step process to get you from the first two, Monkey Mind and Intimidated Mind to the 3rd Determined and 4th the Natural Mind:

Step 1. Recognize your thinking! If you don’t like it, change it or change the way you think about it.

Step 2. Refocus your thinking.Use a physical cue (also called an anchor) if needed so you can choose to think about it differently.

Step 3. Cancel the negative thought and replace it with a positive more resourceful thought.

Step 4. Create new Routines or Habits that take you closer to your goal! Use supporting behaviors!