The Accountability Coach: Business Acceleration|Productivity

The bottom line is that anyone who has a demanding career or runs their own business has to practice excellent time management, effective delegation and learning to say the word, “No.” It’s just not possible to maintain the simple life while achieving a high level of success and with today’s technology; it’s harder to hide when you need a break. Your email inbox is dinging, your cell phone is ringing, and your spouse or significant other is trying to call you on the car phone because your cell phone is busy. It is at this point that you have to filter the input so you can begin to regain control over your life. As good as you think you may be with your time management; there are probably “time-wasters” that can be eliminated from your daily life. The goal is to slow down and be focused on the highest pay-off activities that will produce the results you desire in the timeframe you want – personally and professionally. The goal is not to figure out how to move faster. It’s impossible to create more hours in the day and it’s simply not healthy to run at full tilt constantly. Learn how to eliminate the time-wasters in your life to improve your quality of life and success. Stop trying to make something “perfect” right now when it is effective the way it is. It may never be “perfect.” Time-wasters do nothing but impede or delay the ideal life you are committed to creating. The good news is they are simple to eliminate. They simply become something you used to do when you were okay with staying where you were. The difference now is that you are ready to move on and create your ideal life – and letting them go is a snap.

The bottom line is that anyone who has a demanding career or runs their own business has to practice excellent time management, effective delegation and learning to say the word, “No.” It’s just not possible to maintain the simple life while achieving a high level of success and with today’s technology; it’s harder to hide when you need a break. Your email inbox is dinging, your cell phone is ringing, and your spouse or significant other is trying to call you on the car phone because your cell phone is busy. It is at this point that you have to filter the input so you can begin to regain control over your life. As good as you think you may be with your time management; there are probably “time-wasters” that can be eliminated from your daily life. The goal is to slow down and be focused on the highest pay-off activities that will produce the results you desire in the timeframe you want – personally and professionally. The goal is not to figure out how to move faster. It’s impossible to create more hours in the day and it’s simply not healthy to run at full tilt constantly. Learn how to eliminate the time-wasters in your life to improve your quality of life and success. Stop trying to make something “perfect” right now when it is effective the way it is. It may never be “perfect.” Time-wasters do nothing but impede or delay the ideal life you are committed to creating. The good news is they are simple to eliminate. They simply become something you used to do when you were okay with staying where you were. The difference now is that you are ready to move on and create your ideal life – and letting them go is a snap.

Following through is the key component of goal achievement. When you stop procrastinating and follow through on your good intentions, you turn your intentions into tangible results. Yet our intentions don’t always control our actions. Even when we start out strong and act on our good intentions, most people will slip back into their old habits in a short period of time. All the enthusiasm, gusto, and zeal in the world cannot guarantee results. Even the best of intentions will not magically move us forward. The best excuses in the world are still just excuses – and excuses are just another obstacle on your journey to achieving your goals. The biggest problem most people face when trying to achieve their goals is lack of accountability. If you are only reporting to yourself, procrastination becomes easy. “I’ll start tomorrow,” or “I’ll make this my New Year’s Eve resolution,” or “I’ll eat this cheesecake now and start my diet tomorrow,” is most people’s mantra. Unfortunately, tomorrow becomes next week, next week becomes next month, and eventually next month becomes never. People think they know what they want, but believe that they don’t have the will power or determination to actually take steps toward their goals. We are all human. We all need help and support. Nobody succeeds alone. So how do individuals who are lacking the “follow through” gene still produce results? How do you alter your good intentions to produce the follow through necessary for action? Listen and find out. Begin enjoying the experience of an even greater life quality and total life balance. Aim for what you want each and every day! Until next time, make it a great day, today and every day!

Following through is the key component of goal achievement. When you stop procrastinating and follow through on your good intentions, you turn your intentions into tangible results. Yet our intentions don’t always control our actions. Even when we start out strong and act on our good intentions, most people will slip back into their old habits in a short period of time. All the enthusiasm, gusto, and zeal in the world cannot guarantee results. Even the best of intentions will not magically move us forward. The best excuses in the world are still just excuses – and excuses are just another obstacle on your journey to achieving your goals. The biggest problem most people face when trying to achieve their goals is lack of accountability. If you are only reporting to yourself, procrastination becomes easy. “I’ll start tomorrow,” or “I’ll make this my New Year’s Eve resolution,” or “I’ll eat this cheesecake now and start my diet tomorrow,” is most people’s mantra. Unfortunately, tomorrow becomes next week, next week becomes next month, and eventually next month becomes never. People think they know what they want, but believe that they don’t have the will power or determination to actually take steps toward their goals. We are all human. We all need help and support. Nobody succeeds alone. So how do individuals who are lacking the “follow through” gene still produce results? How do you alter your good intentions to produce the follow through necessary for action? Listen and find out. Begin enjoying the experience of an even greater life quality and total life balance. Aim for what you want each and every day! Until next time, make it a great day, today and every day!

Think about the promises you’ve made to yourself in the past. Of all the promises and commitments you have made to yourself, how many have you kept? Most people find that the gap between their intentions and their actions is too vast, and fall short of doing what is required to achieve their goals. Incredibly, most of us continue to believe that we will follow through “next time” rather than taking action to make our current goal a reality. Our lack of ability to commit to taking action prevents us from achieving personal, financial, relationship, and career goals that would otherwise be well within our reach. Have you ever considered the cost of poor follow through in your life? Think about a goal that you have failed to meet in the past. Was your failure to follow through a by-product of the fact that you were really okay with the way things were to begin with? Or does the poor follow through bother you? Does the knowledge that you didn’t follow through with your goals eat you up inside because you know you aren’t doing what you need to do to get the result you say you want? As long as we continue to expect our “good” intentions to work the way they should instead of facing reality about the probability of following through, we’ll just keep repeating the same mistakes. Maybe procrastination is something that should be no longer acceptable in your life. When we rationalize with ourselves to avoid completing necessary tasks we are only holding ourselves back from getting what we desire. This is why the best performers and athletes have coaches, and so should you. We are human. It’s okay. Get help!

Think about the promises you’ve made to yourself in the past. Of all the promises and commitments you have made to yourself, how many have you kept? Most people find that the gap between their intentions and their actions is too vast, and fall short of doing what is required to achieve their goals. Incredibly, most of us continue to believe that we will follow through “next time” rather than taking action to make our current goal a reality. Our lack of ability to commit to taking action prevents us from achieving personal, financial, relationship, and career goals that would otherwise be well within our reach. Have you ever considered the cost of poor follow through in your life? Think about a goal that you have failed to meet in the past. Was your failure to follow through a by-product of the fact that you were really okay with the way things were to begin with? Or does the poor follow through bother you? Does the knowledge that you didn’t follow through with your goals eat you up inside because you know you aren’t doing what you need to do to get the result you say you want? As long as we continue to expect our “good” intentions to work the way they should instead of facing reality about the probability of following through, we’ll just keep repeating the same mistakes. Maybe procrastination is something that should be no longer acceptable in your life. When we rationalize with ourselves to avoid completing necessary tasks we are only holding ourselves back from getting what we desire. This is why the best performers and athletes have coaches, and so should you. We are human. It’s okay. Get help!

You may have heard it said that it is the little things in life that are worth living for. Similarly, the little things in life are what change our lives for the better or worse. The choices we make in life define who we are and what we will eventually become. The truth of the matter is that a happy life is all about choices and progress. We make choices to the best of our abilities and then progress forward. The most successful people in life believe that they have a purpose and that they will achieve that purpose, goal by goal. Jack Welch, arguably the greatest CEO of our time, held the philosophy, “Tell me the truth, and tell me early.” Truthfulness and believability always have appeal. The truth has power. If you tell the truth, you begin to play in a new league; you walk away from the games of salesmanship and into the realm of reality as a true professional that people seek and want to work with. Sometimes it is good to have a thought you don’t express, as my husband Bill says. On the other hand, it is sometimes good to have thoughts you do express. You almost always have a choice.

You may have heard it said that it is the little things in life that are worth living for. Similarly, the little things in life are what change our lives for the better or worse. The choices we make in life define who we are and what we will eventually become. The truth of the matter is that a happy life is all about choices and progress. We make choices to the best of our abilities and then progress forward. The most successful people in life believe that they have a purpose and that they will achieve that purpose, goal by goal. Jack Welch, arguably the greatest CEO of our time, held the philosophy, “Tell me the truth, and tell me early.” Truthfulness and believability always have appeal. The truth has power. If you tell the truth, you begin to play in a new league; you walk away from the games of salesmanship and into the realm of reality as a true professional that people seek and want to work with. Sometimes it is good to have a thought you don’t express, as my husband Bill says. On the other hand, it is sometimes good to have thoughts you do express. You almost always have a choice.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could have everything you want out of life magically appear with the snap of a finger? Unfortunately as the old adage says, “You can’t get something for nothing.” The secret to achieving your goals boils down to one thing – taking action. There isn’t some magic gene that is only given to a select few at birth – achieving your goals is an inherent ability in all of us. You can achieve absolutely any goal you can imagine, so long as you get moving in the right direction now! One of the benefits of taking action is that your progress is the very thing that bridges the gap between imagining a dream and manifesting it. In other words … Action = Results! Take action now and jump start your 2009!

Wouldn’t it be great if you could have everything you want out of life magically appear with the snap of a finger? Unfortunately as the old adage says, “You can’t get something for nothing.” The secret to achieving your goals boils down to one thing – taking action. There isn’t some magic gene that is only given to a select few at birth – achieving your goals is an inherent ability in all of us. You can achieve absolutely any goal you can imagine, so long as you get moving in the right direction now! One of the benefits of taking action is that your progress is the very thing that bridges the gap between imagining a dream and manifesting it. In other words … Action = Results! Take action now and jump start your 2009!

Without execution, visions will remain just that - visions or dreams. Establishing goals and writing them down in ink sets the wheels in motion to creating your ideal life. Another powerful component of goal setting relates to how you will feel once you have attained each of your goals. This adds the emotional element that helps inspire you even more. Picturing how you’ll feel after achieving your goals is like an emotional magnet that pulls you to do what you need to do so you can experience goal achievement. In theory, working toward your goals is not complicated. Most days, most of the things you do should move you toward your goals. People absolutely must be motivated to work toward their goals. Motivation is the spark that lights the fire necessary for action. Without motivation, a goal is simply words on paper. Your goals can be anything you wish – there are no limits. In fact, it is better if you stretch your visions beyond what you believe is possible. The reason is because you are probably capable of so much more than you currently believe. The mind has the ability to be our best friend or our worst enemy. As our best friend, it serves our limitless visionary, but as our worst enemy it serves as our limited perception. The only limits that exist are the ones set by your perceptions. Think big and aim high! Steven Jobs said: “If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.”

Without execution, visions will remain just that - visions or dreams. Establishing goals and writing them down in ink sets the wheels in motion to creating your ideal life. Another powerful component of goal setting relates to how you will feel once you have attained each of your goals. This adds the emotional element that helps inspire you even more. Picturing how you’ll feel after achieving your goals is like an emotional magnet that pulls you to do what you need to do so you can experience goal achievement. In theory, working toward your goals is not complicated. Most days, most of the things you do should move you toward your goals. People absolutely must be motivated to work toward their goals. Motivation is the spark that lights the fire necessary for action. Without motivation, a goal is simply words on paper. Your goals can be anything you wish – there are no limits. In fact, it is better if you stretch your visions beyond what you believe is possible. The reason is because you are probably capable of so much more than you currently believe. The mind has the ability to be our best friend or our worst enemy. As our best friend, it serves our limitless visionary, but as our worst enemy it serves as our limited perception. The only limits that exist are the ones set by your perceptions. Think big and aim high! Steven Jobs said: “If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.”

Today we are going to talk about The Wheel of Life and how it can help you put into perspective how balanced your life is now, and how using The Wheel of Life periodically will help you make progress and keep on track to continuing your journey for total life balance. The Wheel of Life is what I use as a starting point for the goal-setting process. The Wheel of Life helps you focus on the activities required to achieve your goals and ultimately obtain what is truly important to you in life. The goal of the exercise is to help you create a wheel of life that is as round as possible; therefore, creating total balance in your life. When the wheel is out of balance, life is like a rollercoaster of ups and downs. Your professional life is up, but your romantic life is down. A person could be in excellent physical health, but suffering from their poor relationships with family and friends. These constant ups and downs take a toll on a person’s overall quality of life. The Wheel of Life I use has 8 areas to it and that you continually focus on. 1. Fitness and Health 2. Family & Friends 3. Romance/S.O. / Partner 4. Money 5. Career 6. Fun & Recreation 7. Spiritual Development/Personal Growth 8. Physical Environment Go to www.AccountabilityCoach.com and complete your personal Wheel of Life. Have fun!

Today we are going to talk about The Wheel of Life and how it can help you put into perspective how balanced your life is now, and how using The Wheel of Life periodically will help you make progress and keep on track to continuing your journey for total life balance. The Wheel of Life is what I use as a starting point for the goal-setting process. The Wheel of Life helps you focus on the activities required to achieve your goals and ultimately obtain what is truly important to you in life. The goal of the exercise is to help you create a wheel of life that is as round as possible; therefore, creating total balance in your life. When the wheel is out of balance, life is like a rollercoaster of ups and downs. Your professional life is up, but your romantic life is down. A person could be in excellent physical health, but suffering from their poor relationships with family and friends. These constant ups and downs take a toll on a person’s overall quality of life. The Wheel of Life I use has 8 areas to it and that you continually focus on. 1. Fitness and Health 2. Family & Friends 3. Romance/S.O. / Partner 4. Money 5. Career 6. Fun & Recreation 7. Spiritual Development/Personal Growth 8. Physical Environment Go to www.AccountabilityCoach.com and complete your personal Wheel of Life. Have fun!

Today we are going to talk about a great tool called The Quality of Life Enhancer Exercise. Almost everyone has lamented, at one time or another, about not having enough time in the day. Have you ever said or thought, “I wish I had more time?”, “If I had more time, I would _____.”, “If there were a few more hours in this day, I could _____.” Most of us, at some time or another, have probably thought or said this to ourselves and heard others say something like this too. The truth is, even if we had five extra hours each day, we would probably still misuse the time and bemoan our inability to finish everything with which we task ourselves. The Quality of Life Enhancer™ Exercise is a powerful tool, created by my husband, Bill Bachrach, Founder and Chairman of Bachrach & Associates, Inc. The through-provoking and fun exercise is based on two principles. You will enjoy listening to this Podcast and completing your personal Quality of Life Enhancer(tm) Exercise at www.AccountabilityCoach.com. It is a FREE resource available to everyone. Update yours as often as you like and share this great resource with everyone you know.