It has been a hard and fast insight to the world of motherhood and my hat goes off to all mothers, especially those with three kids under the age of 6!

One thing that has intrigued, amazed and inspired me is the clarity and honestly of kids. They seem to naturally embrace the Zero Filter concept very well! More on that later...

In one of our longer taxi rides the girls were fascinated by all the scooters buzzing around like a constant swarm of mosquitoes.

Whilst the rest of us were just generally gazing out the window Sasha - the very switched on, savvy eldest child - was very good at spotting interesting, entertaining, or surprising sights along the way. 

She pointed out scooters that had four people on, a massive "Sydney Swans" flag [it was actually the Balinese independence day flag - but the colours were definitely Sydney Swans!] and a beautiful kite in the shape of a bird that was high up in the sky.

Whilst we were generally gazing, she was specifically looking for interesting things...

It wasn't that there was anything wrong with generally gazing, I guess Sasha's journey was just richer, more full and engaging than the rest of ours.

I told her I was very impressed with her ability to spot such fun things when we didn't see them.

She promptly told me, "Well that's because I'm looking for them..."

Roger that...

The starting point is to first work out what that is. For many people that can be harder than it seems.

Here's a great 4 step technique many of my clients learn to use and have gotten some great results from:

Get a big sheet of paper and get ready to do a complete brain dump.

1 - Write down all the things that come to mind that you think you Need to do..

Keep writing until you can't think of anything else. Then change pens and keep writing. Do that until you have really run out of things to write!

2 - Write down all the things you Want - either to do, or Have...

Use the same approach of changing pens to open up new ideas until everything is written down.

3 - Write down the things that you Already have, or are happening in your life already that you want to Keep...

You know what to do with the pens...

With all that down on paper you can look over it and notice the things that may be a common theme. If there are any then that's a sure sign that it's a priority for you.

Looking over the rest of what you've written, pull out the 3 or 4 most important/compelling/influential things.

From there you can start to make a plan of what you'll need to do in order to progress on and achieve those things.

If you do this process and are really honest with yourself you will come away with a sense of clarity of what's most important to you to work on and towards right now.

It's also very liberating to free your mind of carrying all those thoughts around, now you've created the space your brain can go about making a plan for How you can go about achieving the things that are most important.

Now all you have to do is step 4... Do something to move you towards achieving it!

The shop is on a corner of a reasonably busy road, and so every day many, many people would drive passed it - at least once each day - and never stop to see what was inside.

I found the phrase got stuck in my head and as I considered it across the day, it rang more and more true.

If something is 'missing', then you don't, and can't know 'what' it is you are missing. 

What exactly does that mean for you?

What 'you're missing' -

• Are you missing details in your execution?
• Are you missing a point that's trying to be made by someone else?
• Are you missing a level of education, or training that would otherwise catapult you to the next level?
• Are you missing the mark in your communication with others?
• Are you missing a bigger picture 'point' of why you're doing what you're doing?

It's been said that it's what you don't know that can trip you up, or hold you back. 

We all have blind spots, areas where we cannot see objectively, areas that are by their very existence a point of weakness.

That's why we can all benefit from objective support, feedback and challenge from strong friends, or family, a coach, or mentor.

We all have moments of thinking there must be more, or literally asking 'what am I missing?'. The next time you have one of those moments - maybe even like now - choose to have a closer look...

Who do you have in your support network who can help you get some perspective on what you might be missing? 

How can you take one step to broaden and clarify your view of your situation, options and end goal?

Who knows what you might find inside...

It's commonly said that these days, particularly in Creative and Media roles, just having the technical skill, appropriate training, or experience is not enough. Cultural fit, character, values, and a stack of other personal attributes are all elements that contribute to professional progress.

So what is it that you do, and you bring to your role that's different from anyone else?

What is it that is authentic to you, that you communicate and deliver consistently?

This is your Personal Brand at work, literally.

It's the little things, and the big things that set you apart and create the lasting impression people have of you and what you're capable of. It's these things that come to mind when people are asked to recommend someone for a job, a promotion, or an industry award.

To truly leverage your Personal Brand you must do three things:

Discover - 

What is it that you want to be known for ?

What are the words you want people to use to describe you?

What roles and responsibilities do you want people to believe you are capable of?

Define -

Your Brand is not what you want it to be, it's what other people say it is...

So what is it that people actually think and say about you? Not just your mum and your best mate who will just tell you all the good stuff - what about people who work with you, or interact with you on a professional basis?

What do they think of, when they think of you?

Develop -

Your Brand is not a one time event, it's a living, breathing, ever evolving, intangible being and because of that you must manage it.

If you don't manage it, then it will continue to grow [or wither away to nothing] on its own.

Not managing it means your Brand and reputation is likely to either be something different than what you are intending, or you are missing out on progress simply because you are not leveraging the opportunities that exist.

If you are an ambitious professional start considering how you can make the most of your most precious commodity - your brand.

Someone I knew was going through a difficult time and struggling with making decisions about what to do. 

She found herself in a situation where she was about to throw it all in and walk away from something she had been working towards for years.

In a moment of desperation and confusion she was about to jump straight to 'action' before considering what was really going on.

I introduced her to the concept of the three decisions which we are constantly asking and answering throughout our whole life, the three decisions that essentially determine our experience and success in life.

She took some time to consider those questions and as a result of her new found focus, has just secured a great new job and reached a place of certainty in herself that she is now truly on the right path.

The gift she gave me was a beautiful handwritten card thanking me for the support, however the biggest gift was the reminder of how important and influential those three decisions are, so I want to share them with you.

The three decisions you are constantly asking and answering are:

- What am I focusing on?

- What am i making it mean?

- What will I do?

Normally it's only the last one that you are consciously aware of through observation of what you actually do... however the real action is in the first two...

There is a lot more to this concept, however as an introduction I wanted to get you thinking about those three questions and how you could use them the next time you find yourself in a challenging situation, or torn between options.

If you want to know more about this process just let me know, otherwise enjoy playing with these and see what comes up for you.

I'd love to hear about it...

'Suffering from Truth Decay? Brush up on your Bible'

It amused me so much so I had to stop the car and take a photo so i could show others - and include it with this post.

As I got out of the car I thought of Seth Godin's work around the concept of a Purple Cow* - essentially the message is that brown cows are boring and non-talkworthy, a Purple Cow on the other hand... now that would be worth talking about!   

This local church sign is a Purple Cow. It could have just promoted the service dates and times, or a 'straight' message.

Instead, whoever was responsible took a totally different approach and added a sense of humour [well I thought it was funny..] and as a result stood out, instead of being overlooked.

I think it's crucial that we challenge the norm and are prepared to stand out by being a little different - or sometimes a lot different!

So some questions to consider:

• Where are you playing it safe and doing what everyone else is doing?
• Do you take yourself and what you do too seriously? 
• How could you introduce a bit of humour into your world?
• What's the furthest edge you could go to in order to really stand out from the crowd?
• When was the last time you did something that was really talk-worthy?

Is it easy and comfortable to go outside your comfort zone? Maybe not.

Is it worth trying? Absolutely.

Go on. Think about something you could do, or instigate this week that would be worth taking a photo of, laughing at, and talking about. Now go do it!

I'd love to hear how it goes...

* Seth Godin - Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable

However, there is also a line that sometimes gets crossed that can rapidly reverse all the goodwill you have worked hard to build up.

That line is familiarity.

It's where familiarity gets too familiar and the service standard gets lost in a murky blurred world somewhere between customer and friend.

Don't get me wrong I think that when you treat your prospects and clients as friends you can create fantastic levels of rapport and connection that mean they will only ever come to you, and there's simply no other option in their mind.

The danger zone is where you, or your staff, get too comfortable and forget that the customer is a customer, who is paying for a service.

A friend of mine has found himself in this situation. Let's call him... Peter.

He has a regular person he goes to see for a massage. Peter works hard and chooses to have a massage every month or so to unwind and relax. Peter has been going to same massage therapist for years.

The massage therapist is good at what she does, thats why he kept coming back. The trouble is Peter has been coming to her for so long now, it seems she has forgotten that he is a client.

She talks non stop throughout every massage, bringing him up to date with all her latest news and stories. She is overly familiar and now Peter is cornered.

He wants her to be quiet and just do the massage, but the line had been crossed and it seems there's no going back, so the only way is.. out.

Peter's choices are:

- Stay and put up with the chatting

- Tell her he would prefer she didnt talk so much

- Leave and find someone else

All of these choices put Peter in an uncomfortable position which for a business owner is a dangerous place to be.

If you are a business owner then it is your responsibility to continually deliver a fantastic experience for your clients.

Your regulars offer you the biggest marketing potential you could imagine, so why is it that often regulars are the ones that get substandard service becaues you 'know' they'll keep coming?

Five quick tips to ensure this doesn't happen in your business:

Review who your regulars are. Make sure you and your staff are aware of who they are, so they can be acknowledged appropriately. How well do you know them and what they like? Do you know what they do?

Research what they value most about what you provide, and ask for feedback on any ideas they have for improvements.Make sure you actively consider that feedback as it could be the key to untapped revenue opportunities.

Retain your regulars by making sure you and your staff still deliver your service in a high standard. Check the lines of familiarity to ensure you hit the balance of making them feel welcome without taking them for granted.

Reward your regulars with occassional freebees, bonuses, or special offers so they know you appreciate them. If you know what they do, then consider how you might be able to help them, by either using their services, or promoting them in some way.

Referrals are a great way for your happy regulars to promote your business. How can you make it easy for them to refer you to others? Can you provide them with vouchers, or information products that are easy for them to hand on to others who might need what you provide?

None of these things arew hard to do, you just have to make them important enough to do, so which one will you do today?

As part of that process I have developed a summary of the Four Pillars of Success. More on that later...

Success itself is an interesting term as it's definition tends to vary from person to person. In fact most of my clients are not able to immediately articulate exactly what Success means to them. What it looks like, how it will feel when they have it.

Some are able to reel off some general terms, or phrases that they have picked up somewhere along the line, and although they may not realise it, those terms are more likely to be the definition of Success of someone else...

Influenced by our parents, friends, family, peers, education, culture, media and society we are often unknowingly operating on a level of autopilot aiming for measures of Success we think we are supposed to want, or have.

It is rare for people to sit and ask themselves exactly what success means to them. Until you ask yourself, "What am I doing all this for?"

In the area of Performance Management this is a definition that is well worth finding.

If you have never defined it for yourself, how will you know when you have achieved it?

How will you know the opportunities that are going to be right for you and which will take you off your path to Success?

It's the beginning of a new month and a great time to refocus your priorities, so perhaps you could spend a few minutes, a few hours, or a few days considering the questions -

• What does Success mean to me?
• How do I know when I am being Successful?
• What opportunities, behaviours and activities support me on my path to Success?

Even though she's 10 [in dog years thats old...] and walking her is now more like dragging, there are sometimes that she seems to forget how old she is....

When she does, she literally starts running around in circles wagging her tail so hard I think it might fall off, and she starts looking around madly, she's so excited it's hysterical. 

The first time I noticed this was at the dog park, when she saw a certain Giant Black Poodle... to be honest I just assumed she had a bit of a doggie crush...

The next time she did it the Poodle was nowhere to be seen... but Sue was...

Sue used to walk Tika for me - about 6 years ago!

Tika reacted the same way again with a Doberman a few weeks later.... all very curious...

What I have since found out is that Sue used to walk the Giant Poodle and the Doberman when she walked Tika...

So my theory is that when she saw the Poodle at the park, Tika assumed that Sue must have been there too and so started madly looking for her...

What an amazing impact Sue must have had to get that reaction every time Tika sees her and the other dogs she associates to her...

I wonder how our interactions, and service will be remembered 6 years from now?

• How fantastic would it be to be someone who people are instantly happy to see?
• How awesome to deliver a service that creates a truly lasting impression, one that leads clients to be such raving fans. 
• What associations exist in our client's minds that link to us and what we stand for?
• What reaction do those associations create, if any?
• What little things could we do differently to stand out and really make an impression?