by john@johnhagerman.com |
How do you create the kind of success you want in your business, your career, and your life? It’s a question most of us spend a lifetime trying to figure out, yet we never seem to be satisfied with the answers we find. The answer to the question actually is very simple, but we don’t really want to hear that. Too frequently, if we’re honest, the question we actually want answered is, what’s the easy way to success? The steps to success are simple, but that doesn’t mean they’re easy. And as human beings, we love to make even simple things much harder than they need to be. Let’s look at 5 steps to success and try to figure out how to keep them simple. Step one, have an unstoppable purpose. An unstoppable purpose is about the kind of world you want to create and not about how much money or how many possessions you can accumulate. So how do you know if your purpose is unstoppable? Your purpose is unstoppable if it is a purpose focused on making a positive difference in the world, and, it’s a purpose that everything else takes a backseat to. In other words, you’re willing to give up everything else in the world to fulfill your purpose in life. Ghandi defeated the British empire with an unstoppable purpose. He stood for non-violent attainment of dignity and self-determination for the Indian people. He would not be stopped. If you knocked him down, he got back up. If you locked him up, he would continue the protest from prison and immediately return to his protests...
by john@johnhagerman.com |
Who would have thought an interesting career/business concept would come to me while letting my son practice his driving in preparation for getting his license? We were driving on a usually busy four-lane street when I noticed that the lane we were in was fairly tightly packed while the lane next to ours had long gaps between cars. I was reminded of something I learned early in my college career when I was paying the bills by being a driving instructor, and I told my son to, “take the lane of least resistance,” and move over. He changed lanes and, instead of being tensed up with cars close in front and behind, I could see him relax and start enjoying the drive. That’s when it struck me, taking the lane of least resistance could be a good metaphor for business. So how does a driving instruction translate into business sense? Think about it, when you’re driving in a busy lane have to constantly contend with distractions like tailgaters, bunched cars in front of you, and having to keep your head on a swivel to avoid an accident. In business, when you’re in a busy lane, you have to go at the pace everyone else is going or you might get run over. Sometimes there are people so close behind you they distract you from what’s ahead to the point where you miss opportunities. When traffic is so tight in front of you don’t have the space to learn what you need to learn before being forced to move forward. It’s stressful because you become more worried about not making...
by john@johnhagerman.com |
By John Hagerman Business owners and managers tend to spend a fair amount of time thinking about how to increase productivity, profits and retention. They recognize that happy employees tend to be more productive, making more profits for the company, and they stay with the company longer, meaning the company doesn’t have to spend as much on hiring and training new employees. Better working conditions, more generous paid time off, and other enhanced benefits are just of the few ways employers are looking at to accomplish these goals. Fortunately, more and more of them are also beginning to understand that one way to these goals actually comes from letting employees to step away from work. They’re discovering that encouraging employees to volunteer in the community, and actively supporting community projects, is good for business. Too many companies tend to think in terms of simply writing a check to a nonprofit. Some do a sponsorship, but limit it to putting an image on their packaging and websites saying they support a particular cause. These are fine, but they’re cookie cutter solutions that allow companies to say they’re doing good rather than using more conscious choices and approaches that can achieve much better results. Instead of check writing or basic sponsorship, companies who find causes that take into consideration the company history and values, products, employee values, and what’s most important to their constituencies, achieve far better results. The good they are doing in the community is a true reflection of the company’s values and their customers notice it and tend to buy more products and services from the company. But...
by john@johnhagerman.com |
By John Hagerman Are you totally happy with every aspect of your life? Family, friends, fitness, home, money, spirituality, experiences and work – most of us dream of success and happiness in all these areas when we’re growing up. Unfortunately, by the time we reach the age when we think we should have attained a high level of success and happiness, most of us are disappointed. Our family life isn’t as happy and tranquil as we think it should be. We don’t have the number and quality of friends we want. We don’t have time to get in shape, or enjoy activities we love like fishing, skiing, golf, etc. Our bank accounts are anemic and our spiritual lives are lackluster or non-existent. And work has become a chore where we struggle to keep up, are constantly looking over our shoulder fearing we’ll lose what we have, or, and maybe worst, work has become a place where we find ourselves outwardly successful but inwardly disappointed and empty. Life just isn’t as rewarding, fulfilling or fun as we think it should be, and we don’t know why. If you find yourself anywhere in the above description, then the first place you need to look for explanations is in the mirror. If you don’t have the level of success and happiness you want, the person staring back at you is the person who got you stuck where you’re are. The good news is that whoever is looking back at you is also the person who can change it all for the better. There are 7 things most of us do everyday that...
by john@johnhagerman.com |
By John Hagerman Anthropologist Joseph Campbell spent his life studying the myths and stories that built our world. He discovered that there really were very few stories and that they kept being told over and over again. He discovered that great stories had certain components in common, 12 to be exact, and if a story had all of these components, it was far more likely to resonate with the people who read, heard or saw the story, than a story that didn’t. Stories that didn’t have all the components rang false and fell flat. Stories that had all the components resonated with their readers because they felt real, authentic and believable. Today, the work of Joseph Campbell has been discovered by marketers and corporations. They’re trying to hit all the right notes to motivate people to buy their products, and its working, sort of. I discovered Joseph Campbell over 30 years ago. The myths he wrote about resonated with me and motivated me to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing and moved me to get my MFA in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute. At AFI, I learned from the best of the best on modern storytelling, like James Cameron, Bill Moyers, Sidney Poitier, Kirk Douglas, Gary Marshall and Charleton Heston. They fostered a passion in me for discovering great stories and sharing them. I still have a passion for stories. When I speak, I tell stories. When I hear other speakers, I’m listening for their stories and how they resonate in me. When I go to a movie or a play, or watch TV, I rejoice when...
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