Ross Reck's Reminders

"Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant..."

Inspiration, that special stimulus that arouses our thinking, feeling and action is necessary before we can accomplish anything worth of note.  In the words of German Poet, Johann Von Herder, “Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant, they are a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks.”  Those sparks are, of course, inspiration.  The problem is that inspiration is an elusive concept.  As Tara Stiles, founder of Strala Yoga said in a recent article in the Huffington Post, “Inspiration comes and goes when it pleases. It’s independent of our desires, doesn’t respond well to force, and refuses to be controlled.”  Ms. Stiles also provides some advice on how we can gain more consistent access to inspiration:  First, lighten up–inspiration doesn’t respond well to tightness.  Second, take care of yourself–make sure you eat well and sleep well.  Finally, make it a point to hang out with people who inspire you. – Ross Reck

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...happy people are more optimistic...

We’ve all heard the phrase: “Don’t worry, be happy.”  While it may initially sound trite, numerous medical and psychological studies prove that it’s sound advice to live by.  These studies have found that that happiness causes great things to happen across a number of fronts:  Happy people have higher incomes, more fulfilling marriages, healthier life styles, better relationships, superior work performance, are more involved with their communities, have better health and live longer lives.  In addition, happy people are more optimistic, kind, have more energy and are less likely to have heart problems.  As Dr. Karina Davidson, of the Columbia University Medical Center put it, “If you are not a naturally happy person, try acting like one.”  Things like smiling, being nice to people and doing things to brighten their days can cause wonderful things to happen in your life. – Ross Reck

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...picture in your mind of the future...

Succeeding at a high level requires two key ingredients: vision and action.  Vision is the picture in your mind of the future you want to create or the dream you want to come true. If you read the biography of any successful person, you’ll find their journey to success started with a clear vision of what they wanted to become.  The second part of the success equation is action–the willingness to do whatever it takes to turn your vision into reality.  Taking action can be scary, because it involves risk–you have to stick your neck out.  On the other hand, there can be no success without action.  As noted author and futurist, Joel Barker, put it: “Vision without action is merely a dream.  Action without vision just passes the time.  But, vision and action can change the world.” – Ross Reck

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Cheating Never Leads to Success

The formula for success in business has always been pretty straight-forward: You out-work, out-hustle and out-innovate your competition to provide superior products, services and customer experiences.  These are the things that make business both fun and exciting.  Yet, there are a number of people who view cheating as some sort of short-cut to success.  They pass off second-rate goods to their customers as first-rate or they don’t report all of their income to the government for tax purposes or they bribe people in order to get their business.  There are several problems associated with cheating:  First, it compromises your integrity which means you no longer feel really good about yourself.  Second, it takes time and energy away from the true formula for success.  Finally, it eventually does catch up with you and when it does, the consequences can be dire.  Just ask Bernie Madoff or some of the executives from Enron who are currently sitting in prison.  So, do yourself a favor and treat “cheating” as a dirty word.  By sticking to your true self, you set yourself up for long term success. – Ross Reck

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Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes rise to the stars.

If you want to make your journey through life a lot easier, pick a dream that you’re truly enthused about.  Once enthusiasm enters the picture, there’s no procrastination because you won’t be able to hold yourself back.  Also, enthusiasm is contagious and therefore attracts other people.  This means you won’t have to chase after your dream by yourself and your load will be lighter.  In addition, enthusiasm provides the staying power necessary to get you through any rough patches that you’re likely to encounter along the way.  As Henry Ford put it, “You can do anything if you have enthusiasm.  Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes rise to the stars.  With it there is accomplishment.  Without it there are only alibis.” – Ross Reck

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This means the rest are in dire need of some cheering up.

Job satisfaction has hit its lowest point in 22 years.  According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, only 45% of U.S. workers are satisfied with their jobs.  This means the rest are in dire need of some cheering up. The article points out that people can greatly increase their happiness at work, thus making their work situation more bearable, by getting outside themselves and focusing some time on making their coworkers happy.  The article suggests doing things like writing an email to your coworkers every day thanking them for things they’ve done or doing something for someone without expecting anything in return.  This all goes back to what psychologist, Theodore Reik, said back in 1957, “In order to be happy oneself, it is necessary to make at least one other person happy.”  What a beautiful and enduring truth. – Ross Reck

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...new knowledge to take the next step toward your goal.

Over the years a number of people have told me they’d really like to accomplish something worthy of note during their lifetime, but they’re not sure where to start.  My answer is always the same: “You start at the bottom and work your way up.”  A lot of people don’t like hearing this; they think there is some sort of magical short-cut they can take and avoid the humiliation of starting at the bottom.  Unfortunately, there are no short-cuts when it comes to accomplishing great things–you have to “pay your dues.”  Success is all about taking risks, learning from those experiences and then using this new knowledge to take the next step toward your goal.  And, the more quickly you repeat this process, the faster you move toward your goal.  As sales author and lecturer Joe Girard put it, “The elevator to success is out of order; you’ll have to use the stairs…one step at a time.”  – Ross Reck, author of Instant Turnaround!

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Most of us are not afraid to try new things; we just don’t make it a priority.  Then, when we do try something new and realize how positive the experience was, we often kick ourselves for not having done it sooner.  Trying new things enriches your life in a number of ways:  It allows you to learn and grow while adding a dimension fun and excitement.  It also broadens your perspective and gives you a lot more to talk about in your conversations with others.  So, if you want to avoid the “blahs” and make sure that  you don’t fall into a rut this coming year, make it a belated New Year’s resolution to try something new at least once a month and preferably once a week.  I’m talking about things like trying a new restaurant, brightening the day of a complete stranger, baking something from “scratch,” volunteering at a soup kitchen or taking that class that you’ve always wanted to take.  If you do this, you’ll find life to be a much richer, fuller and happier experience.  Just for the record, I tried Swiss chard this past Sunday evening a friend’s house after actively avoiding it my entire life–it was absolutey delicious.  The same thing happened last year with sweet potatoes–and the list goes on. – Ross Reck, author of Instant Turnaround!

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Everyone's A Coach by Ken Blanchard & Don Shula

During 1972-73, Don Shula coached the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League to the only perfect season in league history.  The Dolphins went 17-0 which included a 14-7 Super Bowl victory over the Washington Redskins.  How were they able to accomplish such a feat?  Yes, they were a great team and Mr. Shula was a great coach, but there’s one little known fact that helped to make this accomplishment possible–they were the least penalized team in the league that season. Why? Because Mr. Shula, and his players went out of their way to be nice to the referees and other game officials who called the penalties.  

Instant Turnaround by Ross Reck and Harry Paul

Mr. Shula always made it a point to spend some casual time talking to the officials before each game.  He also instructed his players to always treat the officials with kindness, dignity and respect regardless of what was going on during the game.  The lesson here is that great feats are almost impossible to accomplish with out getting a little help from your friends and being nice ensures that you’ll have some friends around to help you when you need it. – Ross Reck - Author of Instant Turnaround! 

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Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk

Over the years I’ve had a number of people ask me: “How do I go about finding my passion–something I can get truly excited about?”  Each of these people had the idea that finding their passion was like walking through a cafeteria line and picking something out.  In reality, the only way to find your passion is to throw yourself into whatever you’re doing.  Keep in mind that what may appear to be very boring at the surface is often very exciting once you throw yourself into it; but you’ll never know until you dive in.  The lesson here is that finding your passion is not a spectator sport.  Engage life fully and one day your passion will appear. – Ross Reck, author of Instant Turnaround!

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