When I grow up..
Monday, May 3, 2010 at 2:00PM Don't forget to help support Western Mass literacy programs and the Springfield Public Libraries. Use that donate button in the left side bar!!
This is going to be a little bit about who I am a few tips that I work by to keep my practice and life bumping along. This post was inspired by my friend Melissa over at http://insuranceinenglish.wordpress.com/. So, forgive me if it’s a little personal but I thought it was about time you readers had some extra insight into who I am aside from the About Me page.
When I started college I knew that I belonged somewhere in the business world but I had no idea where I fit in. It’s almost ten years later and I’m still looking for where I fit in but all the things I’ve learned along the way still very much apply. In college I had a knack for economics and finance classes and a passion for people, too bad I couldn’t major in that. I spent most of my extra time being part of whatever organizations would have me and out in the community. Working as part of Service Learning still is one of the best college experiences I’ve had (even participated throughout grad school); whether as a staff member or as part of continuity planning committees for these non-profit programs. I knew that being a part of people’s lives was where I belonged and sharing what I knew to help make their lives better was my charge.
So, let’s fast forward a bit to now. I love being able to share my thoughts and some advice on this website. I love the consulting that I do, bringing businesses to places they didn’t think they could be and helping families plan for financial goals they didn’t think were attainable. Like everyone reading this though I’m always looking to do more. I’ve even served as chairman of boards for non-profit hospitals to being involved with the planning of one of the biggest charity chocolate tastings in the Greater Boston Area. The financial services industry is a funny industry because you have the opportunity to wear a lot of hats and get exposed to industries and professionals that the typical nine-to-five might not. It’s always keeping me on my toes.
What I want to be when I grow up is the real life version of Dr. Gregory House, “House M.D.” on Fox, but since that probably isn’t going to happen for me anytime soon I want to share three tactics I use to keep me motivated and directed.
- Invest in Moleskine notebooks and write. I try to write for at least 20 minutes a day about whatever happens to be on my mind. It ends up being about goals that I want to accomplish that day, things I can’t forget to do, and sometimes even what I dreamt about the night before. The point is to get your brain started in the morning and focused. When you write things down it helps keep track of the goals you have (you should also have written down) and it keeps a running tally on what your spending energy focusing on. If when you flip through it at the end of the week and there’s a recurring theme about a job or situation you’re unhappy with now you can act on it. I stole this little tip from Jefferey Gitomer, one of my favorite authors.
- Setting, reaching, and setting new goals. Sounds trivial and cliché but I have goals or at least To-Do lists for almost everything I think I need help getting to. From my own personal financial plans to yard work on the weekend. I might not always get to all of it and some of it is wishful thinking but they help me to see my end results and take action to get there.
- This one’s a little more passive but after most projects I sit back and take a moment to do two things. First is revel in the work that I so proudly just produced and second is ask myself if this is the stuff I still want to do. If the answer is yes then I plug away starting the next project and if it’s no I try to break down what was bad about the experience. When I find out what didn’t go so well I try to implement into my practice safe guards to avoid those experiences. I’m not ready to burn myself out just yet so I make sure whatever tasks I take on will have positive influences on my practice. I try not just to “do it for the paycheck” because that affects what I produce and my attitude towards the business that I am building. Debriefing and reflecting are very important to the business process, they help to keep you directed much like setting and reaching goals.
So I hope that this post gave you some extra insight into who I am and how I am constantly looking for who I want to be when I grow up. I encourage you all to take a few minutes a day and invest a few dollars to pick up a Moleskine notebook, it just makes me feel cooler writing in these things, and get those thoughts down. Try the reflection as well I promise you’ll flush out all the little frustrations from whatever you’re doing and it will make your next experiences worth that much more.
Cheers!
Goals, Planning, When I grow up in Goals 
Reader Comments (3)
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. :)
Excellent points. Particularly about the Moleskins... I adore those notebooks.
Loved your 3 bullets! Having a clear idea of what you want to accomplish and then reviewing what you've done is a great way to stay motivated. Sometimes I forget how much I've achieved and focus too much on what I haven't gotten to, and that's no good. As a consultant my number one goal is to stay positive and energized, so I need to make sure I don't dwell too much on the negatives. Thanks for your post!
Great point!!!replica mens rings