The 5 Question Problem Solving Test..(try it)

THE 5 QUESTION TEST

1. What is success in _____________? How would you define success in ________________?
2. What specifically has to happen with ___________to achieve this success?
3. Can you do it?  Is it doable?
4. Will you commit and do it?
5. When you do it how will you reward yourself?

right and left brain

Right Brain vs. Left Brain

Definition This theory of the structure and functions of the mind suggests that the two different sides of the brain control two different “modes” of thinking. It also suggests that each of us prefers one mode over the other. Discussion Experimentation has shown that the two different sides, or hemispheres, of the brain are responsible for different manners of thinking. The following table illustrates the differences between left-brain and right-brain thinking: Left Brain Right Brain Logical Sequential Rational Analytical Objective Looks at parts Random Intuitive Holistic Synthesizing Subjective Looks at wholes Most individuals have a distinct preference for one of these styles of thinking. Some, however, are more whole-brained and equally adept at both modes. In general, schools tend to favor left-brain modes of thinking, while downplaying the right-brain ones. Left-brain scholastic subjects focus on logical thinking, analysis, and accuracy. Right-brained subjects, on the other hand, focus on aesthetics, feeling, and creativity. How Right-Brain vs. Left-Brain Thinking Impacts Learning Curriculum--In order to be more “whole-brained” in their orientation, schools need to give equal weight to the arts, creativity, and the skills of imagination and synthesis. Instruction–To foster a more whole-brained scholastic experience, teachers should use instruction techniques that connect with both sides of the brain. They can increase their classroom’s right-brain learning activities by incorporating more patterning, metaphors, analogies, role playing, visuals, and movement into their reading, calculation, and analytical activities. Assessment–For a more accurate whole-brained evaluation of student learning, educators must develop new forms of assessment that honor right-brained talents and skills.

Scott Hammond Introduction

Nice basic introduction of Scott and his background, vision, and content behind www.BecomeabetterFather.com

scott-hammond-intro

KHUM RADIO FATHERS DAY INTERVIEW

KHUM is the local FM “radio without the rules” …very hip folks, format, station, and culture…

This is my 1st Radio interview with Cliff Berkowitz…nice guy and dad.

khum-interview-6-13-08 Check it out….short and full of content…

10 Things More Important than Money$$$ on Fathers Day

10 THINGS MORE IMPORTANT THAN MONEY $$

Remember, there are many things in life that are far more important than the size of your investment portfolio or the size of your latest paycheck.

Too often in our capitalistic society, we place too much emphasis on financial achievement and too little on the importance of living a purpose driven life.

1. Family… your spouse, your parents, and her kids should come first. Just simply providing for them does not make your family, your number one priority. There is far more you can do for them with quality and quantity time. Love is spelled…. TIME.
2. Friends… the older some of us get, the less time we have for our friends. Some people get too busy climbing the success ladder and may not even make time for friends. Big mistake. So many things in our society are disposable, and sadly, friends too often fall into that category. Take time to invest in your friendships, both old and new. How hard is it to schedule a Starbucks coffee, pick up the phone, or write an e-mail?
3. Your health… stress, poor diet, lack of exercise, poor relationships with you and your family… all of these can adversely affect your health. Getting caught up in your career and working endless hours can also lead to neglect of one’s health. Workaholism can be deadly. The lack of discipline in making exercise, sleep, a good diet, and a healthy lifestyle can be dangerous if not deadly as well. You get one body, take care of it and treat it with the respect it deserves.
4. Kids… investing in your kids is absolutely one of the best investments you can make. Understanding how to relate to, love, care for, and communicate with your kids is vital to becoming a more fulfilled and complete person. Our future is our children. What kind of legacy are you leaving behind? Relationships that are fully orbed or just a fat portfolio?
5. Education… being a lifelong learner is a lifelong process. It’s not about being enrolled in the school or a fancy college or receiving a piece of paper. It is, however, about being someone who is hungry to learn, willing to change, and ready to embrace new ways of looking at life and the universe. As long as you have your mental capacities, you can keep learning and building on what you already know. Your mind is a terrible thing to waste.
6. Having fun… people get so caught up in society’s money game that wealth becomes an addiction, an obsession, and the purpose for their existence. How many wealthy people aren’t healthy people who spend far too much time and energy chasing promotions, money, and possessions. We can end up with lots of toys and turn out to be pretty unhappy people… big mistake.
7. Solving social problems… how can you be a voice in society for those who do not have the ability to speak for themselves? Whether it’s poverty, divorce, suicide, teenage pregnancy, name your issue… you can have a voice and be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Your community is full of opportunities for you to volunteer, donate time or money, and get involved.
8. Your neighbors… give the neighbors a chance. Don’t write them off because they aren’t the same age, race, or occupation as you. What’s the sense of neglecting neighbors, since they can be sources of friendship, if given a chance? Part of our connection to the greater society is defined by our neighborhoods, which are full of neighbors— who could be friends we haven’t met yet.
9. Appreciating/valuing what you have… right now make a list of 10 things that you really appreciate. What is on your list? Despite our overall affluence, we still lament material things we lack rather than appreciating and valuing the material and nonmaterial things we do have. Don’t forget relationships.
10. Your reputation… a good name is to be had above riches. It takes a lifetime to build a reputation, but only moments to lose it. We chase after many things in life, and we often de-value and under-invest in relationships which should have our focus and priority. How many men have thrown it all away in a quick but twisted attempt at some forbidden fruit?

3 Top Mistakes Dads Make

1. Not Having Family as #1 Priority….Not having and keeping family relationships at the top of life’s priorities.  Identifying and making your wife and children the focus of your life and existence.

2. No Time Management/Execution….Not really living and investing your resources(time, money,focus,gifts, and life units) in family life/relationships.  Allowing the urgent to dominate the truly necessary.

3. No Accountability/Responsibility….Answering to no one at any time.  Not having someone who will hold you accountable and ask the hard questions about living your said family/fathering priorities.

Why Do we Struggle?

WHY WE STRUGGLE

Do not be an indentured servant to your business, employees, and customers. Avoid the traps that if allowed to run amuck will conspire to tighten the chains of business bondage and kill your spirit.

1. TUNNEL VISION: Habits determine destiny. A lot of business owners are former technicians now masquerading as owners. They think they’re owners, but they don’t act the part. As once-accomplished technicians, they have a hard time letting go of such expertise and familiarity. They remain trapped in a technical tunnel vision comfort zone and mindset. Technical expertise is not enough when it some to managing a growing and thriving business. That takes an involvement in the big picture and in the strategy and in the leadership skills necessary to run a business successfully for the long haul.

2. BUSYNESS: Too many business owners confuse activity with accomplishment. They confuse busyness with results, hard work with working smarter, perspiration with purpose, and efficiency (doing things right) with effectiveness (doing the right things). Instead of working smarter, many hold tight to the delusion that working harder and harder is the solution. They keep trying to shift into higher and higher gears. The more the business grows, the harder they work, the more imprisoned they become. Truth is no matter how much energy you expend, the wrong strategies will inevitably lead to poor results—less freedom and more headaches. It’s like trying to catch fish in a pond with your bare hands. No matter how many hours you work or how deep you wade, a poor strategy leads to poor results—no fish dinner!

3. DOPEY DOER-SHIP: Instead of leadership, many business owners excel at doer-ship. They micromanage, like to touch and control everything. They trust no one but themselves. They believe no one does it as well as them. They seldom delegate, if at all. They mistake activity for leadership. Instead of thinking and leading like owners, they think and behave like employees. Instead of reflecting and planning, they excel at sweating and doing. They act like they have a job instead of owning a business. To lead effectively, you must trust others. Failing to develop leadership skill can cost you dearly.

4. INADEQUATE OR MISSING SYSTEMS: Most business owners don’t know how to re-engineer their operation to be more systems-dependent and professionally equipped with plans, policies, and procedures. They don’t create and document the specific processes outlining repeatable ways to do things right. They don’t write down the policies and procedures it takes to create a well-organized, smoothly running, easy-to-manage operation. Without defining and documenting the work that needs to be done, you can’t delegate effectively and in so doing, gradually remove yourself from your technician role. Tragically, you may unknowingly, reactively, and accidentally create an owner-centered and owner-dependent business. Until systems run your business, you’ll

always feel a little out of control and you’ll be trapped, and that’s never good.

5. ESCALATING COMPLEXITY: All business owners struggle against escalating complexity. Some lose the battle. As growth brings them an increasing number of customers, transactions, and problems they eventually reach a limit, a tipping point. Then the next little straw crushes them. Of course growing pains are unavoidable but if left unchecked they can make predictability nearly impossible. The good news is that with decent leadership and good systems, complexity can be restrained so your growth issues won’t overwhelm you.

6. MISSING MEASUREMENT AND POOR SCOREKEEPING: It’s easy to screw up when it comes to keeping score. Many business owners fail to install the most telling and helpful measurement devices. They don’t check on the status of “the money” often enough or they don’t understand the data they get, let alone know what do as a result of either bad news or good news. To end the struggle you have to keep track of helpful indicators. The money for sure, but other things too, like the degree of customer satisfaction, time spent working, and stress levels, especially yours. Master measurement and scorekeeping and you can predict the future more accurately. Then everything can get better, much better. And that’s a good thing.

7. LOUSY COMMUNICATION: Communication matters. Most business owners are not communication experts, especially in the beginning. High schools and colleges do not offer courses in how to communicate by talking. They should because there’s not much that matters quite as much, but they don’t. So it’s incumbent upon you to figure out how to speak effectively, how to use words to persuade others to do more of what you want, to willing want to follow your lead. You can find effective communication models described in many books and seminars. Read a book or two. Enroll in a seminar. Do it soon. It’ll be time and money well spent.

8. CRAPPY CASH FLOW: Happiness in business is positive cash flow—the money that comes from strong sales, from collecting what’s owed, and from controlling costs and payables. Planning your marketing and promotional activities so they produce intended results, adjusting systems to accommodate growth, and anticipating future money needs, this is the pure work of business itself. Do this well and become a cash flow wizard.

Freedom is what you want…lots and lots of freedom…and money…and contentment too. To make that happen simply follow the done business recipe. Embrace the seven commitments, work the thirteen commitments, and resolve the reasons why we struggle. Piece of cake!

Thanks to Dr. Richard Borough

Secret#3. Time = Love.

Some fathers spend more time with their kids in one day, and some debts due in one week, or even one month!!

Why?…The difference?

Intentionality.

Time spent with your child shows your love by action.
We need both quality and quantity time with our kids.
We need to include them in our world, and include ourselves in their world.

Here’s some examples of what I do with my kids.

These are areas where we’ve found common ground to play together…

1. hot tubbing
2. trampoline
3. on the swing
4. basketball
5. playing Legos
6. playing boardgames
7. doing crafts…

You get the picture… find common ground and leverage the time with your kids.
You must be intentional and methodical and sequential if you are to be successful in this endeavor of spending quality time with your kids…

This means…

1. date your kids…Go to Starbucks, bagels, McDonald’s, ice cream or whatever
2. put them in your day timer or in Outlook
3. schedule them, as you would your most precious appointment… because that’s what these are.

have daily and weekly schedule routines together, including…

• Meal times… the best place to teach your kids your values, heritage, and spiritual foundation.
• Bedtimes… a key point in showing love, closing the day correctly, and praying together
• Weekly rituals… Friday night pizza, movie night, the family night etc….
• Running errands… always bring a kid with you on car rides… again leverage the time.
• Chores and projects… build relationships and teach a good work ethic… All in one package!

Let’s address the “I don’t have time” excuse.
Everyone has time, no exceptions.
We give time to what we value the most.
Create time today that you would normally spent on TV, the Internet, sports, hobbies, boating, hunting golfing, or just being lazy….. begin to incrementally give it to your children!

Just hang out with your family and kids because you want to and get to.

Not because you HAVE TO…
Make a solid choice of attitude and motivation.
We GET to hang out with our kids.. we are blessed and privileged!
How could you be more intentional and incremental in dating your kids?

Dream it, plan it, write it, and do it!

Follow through…

If not you, who?
If not now, when?

The 7 Wonders of Being a Father

It’s a wonderful thing, being a father. Below are just seven aspects….

1. Conception… we give God the credit for making life. Each individual has a special set of gifts, talents, strengths and weaknesses, all destined for God’s special purposes…
2. Birth... arguably the biggest event in any parent’s life. All your hopes for your child, the bonding, the linking, as you lay down your life for theirs.
3. Your name… as a dad I gave my name to my children to give a piece of myself—my love, my life, my personality, my vision, my walk with God, to each of my kids…
4. Your sleeping child… try this again soon… just watching your child sleep and realizing the peace and seeing the tranquility of this event is profound, if you allow it. To realize that they are God’s heritage and that you are pouring out to them. The love of God, training them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
5. Your dinner table… a family meal is a fun experience at our house. Heaven’s banqueting table. The best barometer of family life. It takes work, but you can impart the heart of God at the dinner table. It’s a time for fun, laughter, questions, comments, and differences to come forth.
6. High school graduation… this recognizes a goal accomplished. It’s good to move on from the family home when the time is right. Remember, it’s a letting-go process. Keep healthy relationships intact as your child becomes an adult.
7. Their mate… it’s a cool thing to watch God put love in the hearts of your kids for their mates. They become a family unit. What’s really cool is that that mate truly loves my child with a deep love that is hard to find. Hopefully they’re tracking with God when they pick a mate.
8. The grandkids… this is the special joy. The attention, the treatment, the fun times when grandparents can really enjoy the process of child becoming parents—the whole experience.

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