Hi everyone, it’s Dan Lier, America’s Coach and today’s success track is about The Power of Encouragement, and how you can impact the people in your life.

Have you ever been in a place in your life when you just needed a boost and someone was there to pick you up, dust you off, and get you back on track? I know I have… and one of the many things I’ve learned from working with companies and people around the world is that too many people don’t have someone around them that’s encouraging in nature.

It doesn’t cost any money or take any fancy degrees to encourage others; it just takes you making a decision to be that way. It makes others feel good and it raises their level of performance.

One of my favorite stories about someone who encouraged me, when he could have said something cutting, was the first time I met Magic Johnson. It was the summer of 1981… I was working out at Michigan State playing organized pick-up games at Jenison Field house.

In order to play in the pick-up games, you had to be a college player and of course, the winners stayed on while the losers had to sit. The games were full-court and we played to ONLY 4 baskets, so each possession was crucial.

I was going into my sophomore year at University of Toledo and Magic has just won the MVP award for the NBA finals… the short story is that the game had just started and on the first possession Magic stole the ball. I had anticipated the steal and he threw me the ball and I just went up to lay the ball off the glass for an easy lay-up. Much to my surprise, Greg Kelser was           right behind me and pinned the ball up on the square and pulled it down… and his team went the other way for a score. We ended up winning the game 4-3, yet that turnover could have cost us the game.

Magic pulled me aside as the next team was coming out to play us and he said, Young Man, you’ve got to put that ball down. You’re alright, let’s go.” I was so impressed. Here was Magic Johnson, the toast of L.A. and the NBA, who could have said something negative, yet Magic understands how to get the most           out of his players, and he “picked me up” rather than tearing me down.  Encouragement builds self-esteem and encouragement makes the one who is receiving the encouragement, want to dig in and perform.

So, who can you encourage today? Is it one of your co-workers? Is it someone who is working for you? Maybe it’s your husband; your wife or one of your children.

Think about someone you can encourage today… and better yet, make a decision to encourage someone in your life each and every day. Imagine if we all did that, what kind of world we could create.

Let’s make it happen!

Your Coach,

Dan

Watch the video and let me know what you think!
 

One morning, a blood vessel in Jill Bolte Taylor’s brain exploded. As a brain scientist, she realized she had a ringside seat to her own stroke. She watched as her brain functions shut down one by one: motion, speech, memory, self-awareness …

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What’s Your Recovery Time?

How do top performers stay “on top?”… This is a question I often times hear from people wondering what the secret is to performing at a high level with consistency.   Just last week on my flight from Los Angeles, the person sitting next to me was intrigued by my profession and asked me a similar question… “What do your top clients do when they get faced with a major challenge?”

My answer is simple:  It’s about Recovery Time.

Everyone Experiences Challenges

I say this with the assumption that you already have this knowledge, yet sometimes when we are in the “trenches” so to speak, we think we are the only ones facing challenges or adversity.  I’ve experienced this situation first hand in many casual conversations with people as they share their issues or frustrations with me.  It’s important to establish a baseline… meaning an understanding and clear picture of what’s really going on.  Here are my three quick reality checks:

1.  Your situation is not permanent

2.  Others have faced similar circumstances and succeeded

3.  So what are you going to do about it?

Your situation is not permanent simply brings you to the reality is that it’s not the end of the world… it’s an “event” that is occurring in your business or your life.  Yes, some situations are more “serious” or critical than others, and I’m not making light of very real circumstances, yet all of us go through challenges and will be faced with issues, both big and small.  The event may be permanent, yet your situation is not.

Others have faced similar circumstances and succeeded… this is one of my favorite coaching questions.  Do you think anyone else has ever faced a situation similar to yours?  And of course the answer is always “YES.”  And many people that have faced similar situations or even more severe situations and have succeeded because of their commitment to be the best father, the best leader, the best husband, the best CEO, etc.

So what are you going to do about it?  This is where “the rubber meets the road.”  As I said earlier, we all have faced, and will face challenges and adversity on our journey through life… it’s how you respond that will determine how high you fly.

Recovery Time

Recovery time is a term I created to apply to how fast someone is willing to overcome their challenges and get back on track to success.   Back to the original question…How do top performers get back on track?  The answer is simple:  They chose to make their recovery time shorter rather than longer.  Have you ever met someone who has had a business situation go the wrong way, and as a result, slipped into a two month slump?  Unfortunately it does happen.  Top performers can be faced with the same challenge, yet make the decision to come out of their emotional wreckage in two days rather than two weeks; and for some it can be two hours or two minutes!

The choice is up to you.  Realize that you cannot change what happened, so your only choice is to saddle up, recover and succeed!

Keep Believing!

Your Coach,

Dan