practice vs. PRACTICE

There is a difference between practice… and PRACTICE

• practice you do alone…
  • PRACTICE you do with a coach (or coaches)
• practice you do occasionally…
  • PRACTICE you do regularly
• practice you do only when you want to…
  • PRACTICE you do especially when you don’t want to
• practice you do without a plan…
  • PRACTICE you do with specific goals in mind
• practice you reach a point of completion…
  • PRACTICE you continue as long as you’re breathing
• practice keeps you in your comfort zone…
  • PRACTICE pushes you to higher heights
• practice discourages criticism…
  • PRACTICE welcomes feedback
• practice gives you a false sense of accomplishment…
  • PRACTICE gives you quantifiable results
• Practice drives you to competence…
  • PRACTICE drives you to Excellence

Which kind do you do?

by

Stephen V. Richardson

www.stephenvrichardson.com

I Choose!

I drove over a nail on the freeway yesterday… on my way to give an important presentation.  Here is how I chose to feel about what happened to me:

• I felt lucky that my tire did not go flat on the freeway… (I made it to my destination in time for my special event).
• I felt fortunate that I discovered my flat during an unplanned quick trip to put something in my car.
• I felt thankful that everything took place during broad daylight… instead of in the darkness of night (when I was scheduled to use my car to get home).
• I felt happy to have a working spare tire.
• I felt relieved to have emergency roadside service (but chose not to use it).
• I felt capable to know how to fix a flat tire (and I quickly did so because that was my desired option).
• I felt Blessed that the flat happened to me instead of my son (who traveled in a separate car to the same event).
• I felt prepared that I had my camera with me to capture the event.

No situation or person can make me feel anything… I choose how to feel!

by

Stephen V. Richardson

Great Productivity Podcast and Web Site – ‘Get It Done Guy’

How many of you listen to podcasts?

Recently, I have revived the use of my IPOD and become addicted to Podcasts. Now, when my wife asks me to do some laundry or yard work, I happily oblige and grab my IPOD and get right to work!

One of my favorites is Stever Robbins “Get It Done Guy”. Stever delivers his message with a touch of sarcasm and a dash or more of ‘cheeky fun’. Each week there is a five minute or so segment on subjects such as managing email, or handling difficult situations at work (home, or with relationships).

So next time you have some time to listen to your latest podcasts… urr ahh I mean are performing your household chores, download Stever and watch how quickly the painful… ahhh, I meant… chores are even more enjoyable and educational. Honey… Did you need these dishes done?

Oh yea, note that filling your IPOD full of podcasts usually prevents others in the family from “borrowing” your IPOD, as they soon discover that you don’t have much music… only as my daughter would say “boring podcast stuff”…

Stay tuned for more on fun and interesting podcasts, and other ways to fill your IPOD full of boring nonsense that children and teenagers will find no use for

Enjoy,
Ted
ted@tedkinzer.com
Twitter: @terribleted66

Why I Love Toastmasters

I have never been the type of person that shied away from speaking in front of people, but for whatever reason my nerves always got the best of me. I had a hard time thinking on my feet and often had a loss of words when speaking in front of a group of people. I knew that joining Toastmasters would help me overcome these barriers to being an effective public speaker.

What I found with Chamber Chatters is an environment where it is safe to get outside my comfort zone and practice my public speaking skills. I have given 5 speeches so far and with each speech I learn something new, gain new confidence and am more comfortable with speaking in front of a group.

Everyone in the group is supportive, encouraging and friendly…and we have a lot of fun!  We learn from each other not only about becoming better speakers but we also learn from the speeches that are given.

Toastmasters has given me a forum to stretch my comfort zone which has given me a new sense of confidence that goes beyond just public speaking. It is said that people who are confident do better in all areas of their lives and I couldn’t agree more!

Being a member of Toastmasters and in particular Chamber Chatters has been a very positive and beneficial experience that is helping me move to that next level of personal growth and accomplishment. I look forward to many more years of friendship, fun and laughter with my fellow Chamber Chatters as well as receiving all of the benefits I gain from being a member of such an awesome club!

-Lanette

Embrace the Silence!

The power of silence is truly underrated!

I used to be as bad as the next person… The first thing that I used to do when I entered a room… or got into my car… or went anywhere quiet… was automatically turn on some NOISE…  99.9% of our NOISE options come from: televisions, computers, music devices or phones.  (Note: You get bonus points if you listen and watch your NOISE selection simultaneously.)

It doesn’t matter if we’re not paying attention… It doesn’t matter if the NOISE is neither educational nor entertaining.  It doesn’t even matter if the NOISE is distracting us from doing what we should be doing.  We have conditioned ourselves to prefer NOISE over being left ‘alone’ with ourselves, thoughts or tasks.

If you want more Time, Peace & Enlightenment in your Life, try turning off the NOISE… and

Embrace the Silence!

Stephen V. Richardson

The Positivity Challenge

What if you could win $10,000,000 on the condition that (starting right now) you had to be 100% Positive for the next 24 hours?  Could you do it?

Before you automatically answer “Yes!” and start dreaming of how you’d spend that money, here is a clarification of the rules:

• You are held 100% responsible for the positivity of your environment (internal and external… outgoing and incoming)
• Every action must be positive
• Every conversation must be positive
• Every question must be positive
• Every song, TV program, website, article, book must be positive
• Every person in your surrounding ‘world’ must be positive
• Every thought must be positive

Most people say that they want the world to be a better, more positive place…  Don’t you?  With all of the negativity we initiate and allow in our lives… what are we doing to make the world a better, more positive place?

While you nor I will probably be collecting our $10,000,000 any time soon…  let’s try anyway by accepting the Positivity Challenge Every Day.

- Stephen V. Richardson -