Michael Smith's Blog

Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #40

Rather than looking for a single, all-encompassing role model, look instead for specific and individual models of excellence that matter to you. 

#ThoughtsCreateAction

 

Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #39

Navigating uncertainty builds resilience. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #38

Achieving extraordinary is not a linear process. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #37

If the pursuit of excellence was easy, everyone would do it

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #36

Dealing with the temporary frustration of minimal progress is an integral part of the path to excellence.  

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #35

Focus your attention on what is good, what is great and what you have. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #34

Create value first and do so without expectation. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #33

If you already knew you’d be successful, what would you do next?

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #32

Enthusiasm creates gratitude. Gratitude breeds enthusiasm. Focus on enthusiasm first. 

 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #31

Build trust. Build credibility. Build momentum. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #30

Having the awareness to identify and acknowledge areas in which you need support is an incredible strength to leverage. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #29

Your commitment to creating value has to outweigh your desire for approval. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #28

If people don’t disagree with you, you’re not making a difference. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #27

Think at scale. Think at 10x. Think about twice as fast. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #26

You may not see yourself as an entrepreneur, but thinking like one will pay dividends. 

 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #25

The goal is to keep playing. Not to win. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #24

Routines set standards. Standards become routine. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #23

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #22

Involving others is crucial to achieving success

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #21

Those who consider greater possibilities create increased opportunities. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #21

Those who consider greater possibilities create increased opportunities.

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #20

Our focus determines our results. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #19

The clarity, uniqueness and purpose of our message ensures that people become advocates. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #18

Provoking thought creates a powerful dynamic for change. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #17

The stories we tell transform what people believe is possible.

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #17

The stories we tell transform what people believe is possible

#ThoughtsCreateAction

 

Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #16

Our offer becomes compelling when we create the desire for change 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #15

Our results are directly proportional to the value we create

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #14

People provide the greatest opportunity for differentiation

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #13

The first hour of every day should include three things - silence, creativity and exercise. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #12

Don’t rush the experience. The experience is everything. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #11

Get comfortable with change. Get comfortable with ambiguity. Get comfortable with discomfort. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #10

If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never have enough. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #9

Worrying about it isn’t going to solve a single thing. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #8

Depression is living in the past. Anxiety is living in the future. Peace is living in the present. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #7

Demonstrate kindness, respect and compassion. 

 

How we show up is a choice.

 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #6

In addition to your ’to do’ list, consider your ’to be list’. 

 

How do you want to show up to people?

 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #5

If the best in the world are doing it, why aren’t you?

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #4

I can think. I can wait. I can fast. 

 

Conviction of decision making. Playing for the long-run. Demonstrating resilience. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #3

People are waiting for you. They’re depending on you. They’re excited for you to show up. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #2

You don’t have to do the right thing. You get to do the right thing. 

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Maxims To Provoke Thought And Action #1

What you choose not to do is often as important as what you choose to do. 

#ThoughtsCreateAction

 

 

Considering Your 'To Be' List

As much as we hold ourselves to account with respect to our 'to do' list, the tasks or activities that we live or die by, it's also worth considering our 'to be' list. 

How do we want to be?

How do we want to show up?

How do we want to get stuff done?

The understandable focus in often on what we do. 

Worth taking a moment though to consider the how. 

 

 

Learning To Lead

If empathy is to understand and share the feelings of another, then the only way to do that is to seek to understand, to listen, and to consider another's position. 

Far from being a short-cut, a trick or sales technique, empathy also lies at the heart of education and progression. 

The only way to evolve is to understand more. The only way to understand more is to seek out an alternative and empathize. 

Leadership is as much about learning as anything else. 

Empathy is key. 

 

Cutting Through Complexity

The only objective: Get to what really matters. 

 

What Tools Do You Use?

Asking someone what tools they use in order to be successful in any chosen pursuit is like asking a writer what sort of laptop they use to write their books. 

 

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter.

 

The writer isn’t successful because of the type of machine they work on.

 

They’re successful because of a core set of skills - creativity, passion, drive and commitment.

 

Those characteristics aren’t altered or defined by the tools.

 

Of course, the tools can help support.

 

But ultimately they aren’t what’s important.

 

Focusing on them is merely a distraction. 

 

 

 

What If You Knew?

What if you knew or had access to the one person who could help create a step change in the work you do?

And what would help look like?

Would it be an idea?

Or a connection?

Or a contract?

It's easy to think that the thing we are missing is something that can be given by another. 

A material contribution that step changes what we do. 

However, the chances are though that whatever is missing would simply be created within, as a result of an idea or a new way of thinking. 

 

Accepting Ignorance

If we take the position that, relatively speaking, we know nothing, then there's always an opportunity to learn. 

If we assume that there is always the possibility to be educated further, then we may uncover new ways or different approaches. 

And if we decide that there is always room to develop, then we don't limit ourselves with conventional norms. 

While it's difficult to accept ignorance in others, it's helpful to assume it's our personal starting point. 

 

Executional Basics

1. Set clear goals 
2. Be clear on priorities 
3. Understand how key projects are progressing 
4. Commit to action and follow up 

 

Intellect v Instinct

It's one thing to know intellectually what needs to happen next. 

It's another thing entirely to know instincively what needs to happen next. 

Both have merit.

And there'll always be some situations that require considered and intellectual rigor of decision making. 

But sometimes even decisions associated with the most complex problems won't be any easier or any more successful as a result of more intellectual consideration. 

The answer often lies in the use of instinct and intuition.