YES YOU CAN!!!

"CANI" stands for Constant And Never-ending Improvement. It's an acronym that Tony developed more than a decade ago and he was influenced by Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Dr. Deming is credited as one of the leaders who brought one of the first quality movements to the Japanese. His basic premise was that the secret to help the Japanese achieve world power and economic success was if every single person and organization commit to constant improvement.

The Japanese have a single word for "constant and never-ending improvement" and it's called "Kaizen." Kaizen is from the Japanese words Kai and Zen where "kai" means change and "zen" means good. Yes folks, change is good.

It is very easy to get caught up in your goals and desired end-outcomes...to the point of becoming overwhelmed. CANI offers a solution and a point of reference to focus your attention on. If all you did was improve one tiny aspect of your life every single day, you would achieve mastery in uncommon time.

This links in with many other thought teachers:

Waitley..power of 5.

Canfield...top 5

Amongst many others. 

Benefits of CANI include:

• Creates a personal and business momentum that will be hard for your competitors to catch up with.
• Personal satisfaction and fulfillment because it will cause you to grow personally.
• Leads to innovation. Innovation creates leverage.

Tony Robbins once said, "We only learn our limits by going beyond them." CANI! is a principle designed to encourage you to make small incremental improvements daily...and in doing so, you will be forced to find a way to go beyond your current set of self-imposed limitations.

Which areas of your life do you want to apply the principles of CANI! Today?

o Prosperity & Financial

o Family Relationships

o Friendship Building

o Health & Fitness

o Spirituality

o Recreation & Pleasure/Joy

o Education & Career Advancement

o Public Service/Volunteering

If you define your success as a "journey" rather than an end-destination, you can take comfort in the fact that personal growth and satisfaction can come from constant and never-ending improvement (CANI!).

Igniting lives on fire


www.fraserstirling.co.nz

LESSONS FROM A 3 MONTH OLD

The aim of my blogs are to challenge, inspire and motivation you gain a new perspective on certain things and to look at life from a fresh point-of-view. I have no doubt that they will be of great value in helping you pursue and achieve your dreams.

As I mentioned a while ago, our first-born son, Malachi, came into the world on the 29th of February 2012. 

From that very first day of his birth I have learnt several valuable lessons and some things I took for granted before have taken on a deeper meaning and significance. As I write this he is only 3 months old, but he has taught me so much already.

I know you’re probably wondering what a 3 month old baby can teach anyone. A lot – if you are willing to learn and you can see beyond the obvious.

One evening, when I was about to go to bed, I noticed our son, Malachi, trying to reach out to grab my jersey while he was having his bed time cuddles. . The jersey was just a few inches from him and he had his left hand stretched out towards it. He had a look of intense concentration on his face. There were other objects around which were within reach, but somehow the colours of my jumper had caught his attention.Watching him trying to get it, I had no doubt from the look on his face and the way his arm was stretched out that, at that time, stretching out for his object was the only thing on his mind.

I thought to myself “hey, he has started setting goals already!” Yes, I mean that. It may seem small, but when he started reaching for the jumper, to him it was a worthy goal. He decided that he wanted the phone. He was able to focus on it and decide on his own that stretching out was the best way to get it.

I found that fascinating. At 3 months old he was able to decide what he wanted, decide how to go about getting it and even able to focus all his attention and energy on getting it. I don’t know about you, but I think he was doing a lot better than most adults!

Over time he will find he has other means to reach out and get things. Instead of just stretching out he will be able to wiggle on his belly and get closer to the object. One day he will crawl..watch our Zippy!!!(Our Dog)

There is something to be learnt in this. When you decide to do something it is not necessary to immediately think about how to go about getting it. Sooner or later, once you start the project, you will find there are other ways to get what you wanted which you did not and could not know when you started.

Deciding what you want is always the most important step. “How” comes later and, if you ask me, is the easier part.

It did not take long for me to notice, however, that Malachi would lose interest in whatever he had been trying to get soon after getting it. Once he had it in his hands he’d suck on it for a while and then allow his attention to be drawn by something else around him.  

No sooner do you get the car you want and then you decide you want a Porsche next. 

Somehow having the object is not as motivating as striving to get it. Once one goal is accomplished, you want to reach out to the next.

I think that is healthy. In pushing ourselves to get something better we are always redefining our boundaries and pushing the bar higher and higher. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you should not be happy with what you have or what you have achieved.
I am saying no matter what you have or what you have achieved, you should realize that you can always do better. I think also that you should try to do more, not so much for the thing itself, but for what it does to you when you set a goal and achieve it.

Motivation essay - stretch beyond your comfort zone
Every time you stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone, something about you changes. You grow. Every time you grow, you are irreversibly “stretched” to a new level of thinking and being.
Many people are living corpses today because they have stopped growing. They wonder around in life aimlessly. They could live another 10, 20 or even 50 years, but they might as well be buried today because there is nothing worthwhile they are going to do with that time. They just exist. They’re just passing time.
“I ain’t goin’ out like that.” Every year that I live I want to do something I could not do the previous year. Every year has got to be better than the previous one. Otherwise, what’s the point? That is my philosophy, and I hope you will make it yours if you haven’t already.
Motivation essay - keep Growing
Reach out – set your goal, focus on it until you achieve it and then…set another goal! The harder the better.Never stop reaching out. Never stop growing. Never stop living!


Igniting lives on fire
www.fraserstirling.co.nz

Getting better and better

Just been reading a great book for the second or third time.

This is an excellent book that was written early last century. Yet the concepts have timeless principles  that echo through for us today.
I heard of someone today who recently got a finance loan and they thought that they were onto a winner as they now had extra cash to spend. 
They are in fact just spiraling into a trap.  
If you want to be better off that where you are right now, then take the ideas from this book.

Seven Cures for a Lean Purse

1. Start thy purse to fattening 2. Control thy expenditure 3. Make thy gold multiply 4. Guard thy treasures from loss 5. Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment 6. Insure a future income 7. Increase thy ability to earn

The Seven Ways of Filling Your Bag

1. Start filling your bag From every 10 coins you earn, spend only nine of them. You will see how your bag starts filling quickly. You will see that you can arreange anyway with this income and you will be earning money quickly.

2. Control your expenses What we call obligatory expenses grow in proportion of our income, if we don´t do something to avoid this. Don´t confuse your desire with your needs.

3. Make your gold fructify Make your gold work for you, then its sons and the sons of this sons. Investing your gold: Loans, oportunities. Gold multiplies fast.

4. Protect your gold from any lost If you have got gold, you will be tempted to invest in any atracctive proyect. Asure your capital. Its not true romantics make a fast fortune. Ask the wise people about what they know.

5. Make your property a rental investment If you can eat grapes from your vineyard and have a nice house its inspires you to finish your duties.

6. Asure future incomes Foresee some incomes for your old age and your family. For this porpuse you can buy lands and houses.

7. Increase your hability to adquire goods More knowledge we have, more money we earn.

The Five Laws of Gold

1.Gold comes easy and in greater cuantites to the man who safes the tenth part of his income for his future and family.

2.Gold works with speed and diligence for the wise owner that finds for it a productive use.

3.Gold mantains itself under the protection of prudent persons who invests with the counsils of wise people.

4.Gold scapes from people who invest without a pourpose in places that are not familiar.

5.Gold runs away from people who force gold to imposible profits and follows the seductive counsils of impostors.

It is alot better to take one step towards what you want each day.

www.fraserstirling.co.nz

Igniting lives on fire

KEEP GOING

OVER RECENT DAYS I HAVE STRUGGLED TO KEEP GOING...


But thankfully I read, and something I read reminded me of:
The going is always hard on the road to greatness. If success were easy, everyone would achieve it. 


NFL All-Pro lineman Brian Holloway recalled that when he was playing for the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Raiders, there wasn’t a single day when he didn’t feel like giving up because the road was too tough and the sacrifices were too great. 


He didn’t quit, of course; he was willing to pay the price because he was determined to succeed. True thoroughbreds never quit. Competition only spurs them, and obstacles merely reinforce their determination to succeed. If you have not yet achieved greatness in your life, it is because you have been willing to settle for less. You may not cross the finish line first every time you try, but if you stay in the race, you will eventually prevail. 
At the moment I am reminding myself of the importance of keeping the momentum going.


Anyone can quit when the going is hard, but a thoroughbred never quits until he wins.


www.fraserstirling.co.nz

Consequences

Consider the Consequences

The mark of the superior thinker is his or her ability to accurately predict the consequences of doing or not doing something. The potential consequences of any task or activity are the key determinants of how important it really is to you and to your company. This way of evaluating the significance of a task is how you determine what your next frog really is.
Long Time Perspective
 Doctor Edward Banfield of Harvard University, after more than 50 years of research, concluded that "long time perspective" is the most accurate single predictor of upward social and economic mobility in America. Long time perspective turns out to be more important than family background, education, race, intelligence, connections or virtually any other single factor in determining your success in life and at work.
 Your attitude toward time, your "time horizon," has an enormous impact on your behavior and your choices. People who take the long view of their lives and careers always seem to make much better decisions about their time and activities than people who give very little thought to the future.
Think About Your Future
 Successful people have a clear future orientation. They think five, ten and twenty years out into the future. They analyze their choices and behaviors in the present to make sure that they are consistent with the long-term future that they desire.
 In your work, having a clear idea of what is really important to you in the long term makes it much easier for you to make better decisions about your priorities in the short term.
Determine the Consequences
 By definition, something that is important has long-term potential consequences. Something that is unimportant has few or no long-term potential consequences. Before starting on anything, you should always ask yourself, "What are the potential consequences of doing or not doing this task?"
 The clearer you are about your future intentions, the greater influence that clarity will have on what you do in the moment. With a clear long-term vision, you are much more capable of evaluating an activity in the present and to assure that it is consistent with where you truly want to end up.
Make It a Top Priority
 If there is a task or activity with large potential positive consequences, make it a top priority and get started on it immediately. If there is something that can have large potential negative consequences if it is not done quickly and well, that becomes a top priority as well. Whatever your frog is, resolve to gulp it down first thing.
Keep Motivated
 Motivation requires motive. The greater the positive potential impact that an action or behavior of yours can have on your life, once you define it clearly, the more motivated you will be to overcome procrastination and get it done quickly.
 Thinking continually about the potential consequences of your choices, decisions and behaviors is one of the very best ways to determine your true priorities in your work and personal life.
Action Exercises
 Review your list of tasks, activities and projects regularly. Continually ask yourself, “Which one project or activity, if I did it in an excellent and timely fashion, would have the greatest positive impact on my life?”
 Whatever it is that can help you the most, set it as a goal, make a plan to achieve it and go to work on your plan immediately. Remember the wonderful words of Goethe, “Just begin and the mind grows heated; continue, and the task will be completed!”

www.fraserstirling.co.nz

Wise persons are those who think twice before speaking once.

Wise persons are those who think twice before speaking once.

I have not entered a posting for a few weeks because I have been enjoying the arrival of our new baby boy Malachi.  I have enjoyed getting to know him and this has reminded me of the importance of listening before I speak.
I am no way an expert in child raising, therefore I have had to listen a lot more than I have had to speak over the past while.
This is also the greatest quality in a leader and the most valuable skill in building relationships is the ability to think before you speak. If you have a tendency to speak hastily you come to regret your actions very often at a later date, the childhood admonition to count to ten before speaking will still serve you well. When you pause — if only for a moment — to consider the consequences, you may think better of what you were about to say. And if you must speak strongly, it’s a good idea to sugarcoat the words — just in case you have to eat them later.
But more importantly, if we listen rather than speak, it is amazing what new insights we will get rather than always offering our opinion.



Its good to be back.
Remember:  Ignite the fire within.

www.fraserstirling.co.nz

STEPS TO SUCCESS IN 2012

We are now one week into the new year and you might be looking around you and noticing how organised people around you are. Maybe--your mother, roommate, co-workers--always seem so organized? Like they were born that way?

While others--often defined as creative or spontaneous-- need constant reminders if there's any hope of getting anything done? Like a sticky note on the bathroom mirror saying, 'brush and floss.'

Even if you're not born organized, you can look and feel like you are. How? By acting that way. By changing what you do so it reflects how you want to be. And how do you do that? By working to develop routines like those of our friends and family who were 'just born that way'.

1) What's Important? Goals

What is most important to you? Keeping your house spotless? Knitting afghans for your best friends' babies? Running every morning? Volunteering at your kids' school? Your goals are the basis of your routines. Success isn't a one off event, its lots of little things done over and over. 

2) What's Urgent? Priorities

What are the tasks that you can't put off or delegate to someone else? Driving morning carpool? Working your 9-to-5 job? Taking your mother-in-law to weekly medical appointments? Your priorities are an important part of your routines.

3) What Comes First?

What are the tasks that have to be done first thing when you get up? Dressing quickly for morning carpool? Brushing and flossing? Starting that pot of coffee that helps you get moving? These will be the first steps of your daily routine.

4) What Comes Next?

Then what do you have to do? Wake the kids? Take the dog out? Fix breakfast? These will be the next steps of your daily routine.

5) Making Lists

List your 'what comes first' tasks. Then add your 'what comes next' tasks. Next come your goals. Followed by your priorities.

6) Checking it Twice

Read through your list several times, making sure you've included everything that you really have to get done, and everything that you really, really want to do. Your list might have 20 tasks. It might have 80. Don't worry. You don't have to do these tasks--at least for now. Just get them on your list.

7) Organizing Routines by Time of Day

Divide your day into several segments that make sense to you. Perhaps your day divides into AM; Noon; PM; and Evening. Or into four-hour segments such as 6 to 10; 10 to 2; 2 to 6; and 6 to 10.

8) Dividing Routines into Steps

Now mark, color code, or number your tasks by which segment they belong in. Most will be obvious. Morning car pool has to be in the AM or 6 to 10 segment. Others are tasks you usually do at one time of day or another. Mark these for any time segment, or even have an additional category for 'anytime' tasks.

9) Starting Small

Make your first daily routine list short. At least three items; but no more than five. For example, the five items on your list will start with the first two tasks for your morning routine, followed by one goal and two priorities. Your starting small list might be: (1) brush and floss; (2) start coffee; (3) take morning run; (4) drive morning car pool; and (5) check in with mother-in-law.

10) Building a Foundation

The goal of this exercise is to establish daily routines. At this point it is not to see how many tasks you can complete before you fall into bed exhausted at midnight. By completing the five tasks on your list every day without fail you will start to develop your routine muscle. It's generally believed that it takes about three or four weeks to make or break a habit. So, keep working at your short list of daily routines for that long.

11) Keeping Track

For the first few days, completing the same tasks one right after the other may be difficult, even if your list is only three or four or five tasks long . But keep at it. Possibly even make a chart, checking off the tasks as completed or writing the number of tasks completed.

12) Getting Better

As you find you're able to complete all the tasks on your short list, start adding more tasks, going as slowly or as quickly as feels comfortable to you. You're not in a race. You're developing routines. You're building habits. You have nothing to prove to anyone -- not even yourself.

13) Falling Behind

One day you might complete 20 tasks on a list of 30. Another day you might get stalled after your original five. Or even your first task. We all do. Developing routines is difficult, especially when we're not used to doing things in the same order every day.

14) Not Getting Discouraged

Don't let yourself get discouraged. You can develop routines. Even if you've spent your entire life of 20 or 30 or 60 years doing things as you think of them. Or putting them off for another day or week or month. You just need to keep at it. One day you'll discover that you're completing five or even 25 tasks without even looking at your list.

15) Forgiving Yourself

Even if you drop down to just that first item on your list, don't start dumping on yourself. You would be supportive if it was your best friend who was trying to develop routines, so be a good friend and forgive yourself.

16) Starting Over

Perhaps you've worked your way up to completing 20 items on your 30-item checklist. Perhaps you're still working on five. And then you find yourself in a slump. Several days pass by when urgent items take up all of your time. Or you're depressed for a week. Or your kids are sick. Just start over again when you can. Start by doing the first task on your list. Or the first two. The number doesn't matter. Completing your daily routine checklist does. Even if there is only one item on that checklist.

Soon someone will say about you, 'Oh, he was just born organized.' 

Igniting lives on fire

www.fraserstirling.co.nz