Sunny Notes

Good morning,

Happy Friday! We’ve all heard the saying, ‘time is money.’ But Delatorro McNeal pointed out in his recent Yes! Network seminar that this statement isn’t true.

Time is more valuable than money.

Life is over when our time is over, not when our money runs out, Delatorro reminded everybody. So just as we wouldn’t let others reach into our pockets and spend our money, we shouldn’t let them reach into our lives and spend our time.

Money lost can be replaced by money earned, but time lost is gone forever. By guarding our work time we’re able to be more productive, and by guarding our personal time we’re able to enjoy more of life’s most precious moments.

Today, let’s keep time on our side – and have a sunny day!

Clarity

P.S. “You may delay, but time will not.” Benjamin Franklin

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Good morning,

Happy Friday! Have you noticed that getting started is usually the hardest part of any task? Especially the distasteful ones! It certainly is for me, and apparently I’m not alone. We all inevitably face unappealing tasks, sometimes as distasteful as eating a frog – raw! So what’s the solution?

Eat the frog for breakfast.

These are wise words I try to live by, which I originally heard some time ago from Pamela Jett, an expert on how to manage pressure and stay positively focused. The concept is simple. Since you have to eat the frog eventually, get it out of the way first. Without the distasteful task (whatever it is) hanging over your head, suddenly the day is sunnier and more productive.

But what about the big roadblock: getting started? I use another simple, helpful technique: set a time limit. Tell yourself you’re only going to work on it for ten minutes. Then you’ll move on to something else and get back to it later. Ten minutes seems palatable so the concept gets you started; then the magic happens when the ten minutes have passed and you suddenly discover you’re on a roll with the hardest part behind you.

Best of luck eating today’s frog – and have a sunny day!

Clarity

P.S. “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” Mark Twain

P.P.S. I always enjoy hearing from you and I thank you for sharing Sunny Notes with others. You can help spread the sunshine by inviting others to subscribe to Sunny Notes atwww.joinsunnynotes.com.

Good morning,

Happy Friday! A friend shared a Chinese Proverb with me that I found especially relevant this week.

“He who asks a question may be a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.”

What great advice, especially in the business world where inaccurate assumptions can cause major consequences.

So today’s Sunny Note is simply a word of encouragement to take responsibility for asking questions instead of assuming answers. This kind of foolishness can really pay off!

Let’s be the “five minute fool” – and have a sunny day!

Clarity

P.S. “Never assume the obvious is true.” William Safire

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Good morning,

It’s Friday and that’s reason to smile. Even though or especially because sometimes the chaos around us – at home or work or on the news – gets so intense that we need to step back for a moment to regain some positive perspective.

When we find ourselves thinking things like, “This is impossible!” Then it’s time to take a deep breath (pause for breath) and remember:

The impossible just takes a little longer.

I love that saying. It’s a one line pep-talk I give myself periodically. So when situations seem impossible, hang in there. Have faith and confidence that your efforts will pay off and that with perseverance – especially perseverance – you will succeed.

Stay strong and have a sunny weekend!

Clarity

P.S. “Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done.” Louis Dembitz Brandeis, United States Supreme Court Justice from 1916 to 1939.

Notes on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SunnyNotes. To receive Sunny Notes each Friday by email, simply visit this link to subscribe.

Good morning,

Happy Friday! Today’s sunny thought is a piece of practical advice a friend of mine gave me recently. It’s simple, helpful and worth sharing with you this morning. When weighing important decisions, this approach helps put the decision and the potential consequences in perspective.

It’s the “10-10-10” principle.

The principle boils down to this. When facing a difficult decision, it helps to ask ourselves: How will this affect me in 10 ten minutes? In 10 months? In 10 years? Three slightly different questions that can generate three very different answers. Sure, the answer to the immediate question is important, but sometimes we don’t consider far enough into the future. Often it’s the long view that gives us the best perspective.

After hearing my friend’s story about how helpful he’s found this principle to be, which he originally heard about from another friend, I did a little Googling. I learned that 10-10-10 was authored by Suzy Welch, who has written a whole book on the subject. So if you’d like to know more, you can check out SuzyWelch101010.com.

Best wishes for all your decisions and have a sunny day!

Sincerely,
Clarity

P.S. “You are as powerful and strong as you allow yourself to be, and the most difficult part of any endeavor is taking the first step, making the first decision.”

Notes on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SunnyNotes. To receive Sunny Notes each Friday by email, simply visit this link to subscribe.

Good morning,

Happy Friday! This morning I woke up thinking about someone I met years ago, who is one of the sunniest people I know. His name is Willie Jolley and he’s the author of a delightful book whose key message is right there in the title:

A Setback is a Setup for a Comeback.

We all face setbacks in our lives. No matter how successful we are or want to be, success involves overcoming setbacks. Sure, let’s make the most of the good times. But we can also bounce back from the bad times.

As Willie Jolley puts it, sometimes you’re the windshield and sometimes you’re the bug. “When you’re the windshield, you are big and strong and invincible; when you’re the bug, you will keep running into obstacles.” He points out that even on the days when we’re the bug, the outcome depends on our attitude.

A positive attitude helps develop resiliency. “When you hit the windshield, you no longer smash and crash and die.” You bounce off the windshield and are “thrust into a higher trajectory and you start to fly at a higher level.”

Willie’s book touchingly reminds us that we can survive setbacks and use them to propel ourselves to even greater success.

Today – whether we’re the windshield or the bug – let’s create a sunny future!

Clarity

P.S. “There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.”  W. Clement Stone

P.P.S. You’re invited to join Sunny Notes on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SunnyNotes. To receive Sunny Notes each Friday by email, simply visit this link to subscribe.

Good morning,

Happy Friday! Dare I say it? Spring is HERE. Never mind the fact that we’ll probably get a little more snow. The bulbs peaking their heads out in my front yard assure me it’s Spring. On this fine morning, here’s my thought for the day.

Do we really know what impact our words or actions have on others?

Most of the time, the answer probably is no. Today it’s on my mind because earlier this week I heard Roxanne Emmerich share the following story during her seminar presented by The Yes Network.

One day an elderly gentleman walked into a bank. He was greeted by a teller who was very nice to him. The next day he came back and told the teller, “Yesterday I came in to withdraw money because I wanted to buy a gun to take my own life. But when you were so nice to me, it gave me hope that life was worth living after all and I decided not to. So I wanted to thank you.”

What a powerful reminder that every interaction we have with another person creates an impact for better or worse, and most often we’ll never know how small or great that impact might be. Life is full of excuses we could point to for being a grouch, but this incident underscores the importance of rising above our own frustrations to help spread joy.

Smiles are contagious; I hope you find lots of reasons to smile today and have a sunny day!

Clarity

P.S. “There are givers and takers in life. Life always seems to work better for the givers.” Roxanne Emmerich

P.P.S. You’re invited to join Sunny Notes on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SunnyNotes. To receive Sunny Notes each Friday by email, simply visit this link to subscribe.

Good morning,

Looking back at this busy and productive week, an important topic comes to mind:

Communication.

Two great examples occurred that demonstrated what a big difference a few words at the right time can make.

The first was a positive example that happened after somebody delivered something to the wrong place. They called immediately and fessed up, even though they’d already taken steps to solve the problem and could have assumed I’d never find out. But moments later the client called me to ask about the delivery and I was deeply grateful to the deliverer for being upfront with me so I could explain to the client what happened.

The second example was the opposite situation. Somebody was working toward a deadline and it turned out they knew in advance they weren’t going to make it, but didn’t mention that until the deadline passed. In that case, a few timely words at the point when the work went off schedule could have reset everyone’s expectations and avoided a lot of grief.

In a world where teamwork is so integral to success, we all experience moments when a little bit of communication means the difference between a project’s success or failure. This week’s experiences reminded me to work on my own communication in an effort to exemplify the first example and avoid the second.

Communicate early and often, and have a sunny day!

Clarity

P.S. “Communicate unto the other person that which you would want him to communicate unto you if your positions were reversed.” Aaron Goldman

P.P.S. You’re invited to join Sunny Notes on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SunnyNotes. To receive Sunny Notes each Friday by email, simply visit this link to subscribe.

Good evening,

Happy Friday! At one time or another we’ve probably all heard “don’t judge a book by its cover.” That’s good advice as an analogy for people, but when it actually comes to books – and magazines, newsletters, presentations, brochures, reports and lots of other things – the cover matters.

Good work deserves a good presentation.

A resume is an obvious example. I see lots of resumes that list great skills but are so sloppy they raise questions about the candidate’s good judgement in deciding the document was ready to distribute.

Whether we like it or not, poor presentation – or even just an unappealing cover – can turn off our audience. Sometimes long hours of good work get misjudged or dismissed because of a disorganized or unprofessional presentation that gave the wrong impression.

That’s why dealerships wash the cars after service – they can do thousands of dollars of quality repair, but if the car comes back dirty the customer is less confident in the work.

Whatever you’re presenting, a few extra minutes to polish up the cover can help make the content shine!

Have a great weekend and a sunny day!

Clarity

P.S. “Clothes and manners do not make the man; but when he is made, they greatly improve his appearance.” Henry Ward Beecher

P.P.S. You’re invited to join Sunny Notes on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SunnyNotes. To receive Sunny Notes each Friday by email, simply visit this link to subscribe.