Big Is The New Small

Merry Christmas from Hillsong…  Enjoy!

All of the earth rejoice…  It’s Christmas Time!

Success is one of those things that many want to achieve but only a few are willing to put in the work necessary to achieve it.  Success is a journey, it’s a road traveled and if you want it, you must go after it.  If you want to succeed you must have an unwavering determination.

We have all heard the sayings, the quotes, the inspirational speeches etc.  In a nutshell, “If you want to succeed, you have to stop talking about it and be about it.  Talk is cheap.  Hard work pays off and there is no substitute for determination.”

In the words of our 30th President Mr. Calvin Coolidge: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”

There is power in pressing on…  Be determined, be someone who presses on.

Why are so many people unwilling to press on?  Why do so many people quit before they succeed?  Why are more people not willing to do what the mouse is doing in the above picture?

I’ve shared Tim Tebow posts every Sunday for the last 7 weeks, so I figured I’d keep the tradition going. The Broncos and Tebow didn’t get it done on the scoreboard today against Tom Brady and the Patriots, however there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel for the Broncos. A Raider loss makes that light just a little bit brighter.

Tebow had several highlight reel type plays today and the one highlight that stood out for me is when Tebow went over to injured Patriot DE Andre Carter and kneeled down to pray and put his hand on his helmet as to be praying for him.

Since there was not a silver lining at the end of the Tebow Magic today, I thought I would share this nice Tebow Magic video. This video by @djStevePorter is a super nice and cleverly put together video mix. It’s only a coupe of minutes. Enjoy!

Well another year has passed us by, out with the old and in with the new.  Not gonna lie 2011 was one of the quickest years ever. I can’t believe another year of life and year of blogging has come and gone.

I have been blogging at BigIsTheNewSmall.com for nearly 5 years now.  As a blog approaches the 5 year mark, you have to pay even more attention to relevance, focus, change, growth and direction.

I am looking forward to doing some new things on my blog and with other writing projects in 2012.  I’d like to gather some input and feedback about my blog from the most important people, the readers.  The information in my 2011 blog reader survey allows me to assess the demographics of my readers, as well as get input and feedback so I can continue to provide relevant content while continuing to dream BIG and think BIGGER.

The survey is very quick and is designed to take less than 3 minutes.  Your input is very valuable, extremely helpful and seriously welcomed.  I am also going to randomly choose one survey participant that shares a comment below and give them a $25 Starbucks gift-card.  All you have to do is leave comment and say something like “I took the survey, now give me my coffee.”  Your survey is anonymous; however leaving a comment is the only way I can select a random winner.  If you are not interested in the gift-card, simply complete the survey.  Please click here to take the survey.  

The Coffee Winner has already been selected; however you can still take 3 minutes to take the survey.

Please & Thank You!

BTW- I used Fluid Surveys for my blog survey.  Fluid has more features than many of the other sites and it even has some great options for their FREE version.  Check them out here.

                     You

You were made for more

You must stop settling for less

 

You are a story yet to be told

You must rise up and be bold

 

You need to stop focusing on them

You shall long to remember that You are a product of Him

~SW

Watch this video, marinate for a minute and then share your thoughts.

Leadership is all about having a winning team, unfortunately some leaders are more focused on their individual wins and stats than they are getting a team win.  This is played out in many different ways. What I’m specifically referring to is the mindset and philosophy that some leaders have—the thought process that basically boils down to “I’m Not Buying In Because It’s Not My Idea.”

These particular leaders will turn down, refuse to entertain or flat out dismiss any idea that’s not their own. If it didn’t come directly from them, it’s not happening.  What occurs in these types of situations is team members will eventually stop bringing great ideas to the table, because they already know what the answer will be.  Some team members are witty enough and have the patience to circumvent this inept type of leadership by manipulating the leader into thinking an idea originated from them. Voilà!  All of the sudden the leader is excited about their new concept.

Leadership is about collaboration and remembering that teamwork makes dreams work.  If a leader relies on their ideas to be the only ideas that are implemented, their area of responsibility and organization has a very short ceiling. Leadership is about celebrating the wins of others, giving credit where credit is due and understanding it doesn’t matter who makes the play. The goal is to get a win.

I’m Not Buying In Because It’s Not My Idea is a very bad idea.

Have you experienced this type of leadership?  Share your thoughts!

Each and every week for the last eight weeks I have watched this young man Tim Tebow exemplify what being a winner is all about.  It’s about focusing on the task, giving credit where credit is due, understanding there is no “I” in team, making those around you better and embracing the concept of competitive greatness.

The short and skinny is that against all odds, critics and naysayers, Tim Tebow led the Denver Broncos, and keeps getting it done.  The Mile High team is 7-1 since Tebow took the helm as the starting quarterback and continues to leave many scratching their head, and others are becoming believers by the week.  It’s not simply that the Broncos are winning, but it’s the fashion in which the victories are happening.

Tim Tebow has led more 4^th quarter comebacks than any other QB this season besides Eli Manning.  Yesterday’s win over the Chicago Bears was probably the most improbable as the Bears led 10-0 with 2:08 left in the game.  Let me repeat that, the Broncos beat the Chicago Bears in overtime after trailing 10-0 with 2:08 in regulation.

Continue Reading…

The term “Leader” carries a great deal of responsibility. Once a person obtains the title of Leader, they also get the bonus baggage of “The bucks stops with me!”  No matter how you slice, sugarcoat, twist, manipulate or make excuses for organizational outcomes; the bottom line is that “It’s All Your Fault!”

Leaders are generally comfortable carrying the “It’s All Your Fault” tag when their team, area or organization is experiencing success. When things take a turn for the worse, wins are hard to come by and “Big Mo” has left the building; the excuses will begin to roll like the Alabama Crimson Tide, or for the sake of the BCS conversation roll like the OSU Cowboy offense.  Stop with the excuses, stop blaming your team and look in the mirror, because “It’s All Your Fault!”

Sometimes it may not seem fair for the leader to take all of the blame, as they don’t have control over every decision that others make.  There are simply too many variables that are out of their control.  Leadership is not about fairness, and the responsibility nature of it is just part of the game.

I remember having a conversation with a leader who had dotted line responsibility for one of the team leaders under my tutelage.   They asked me the following question about this particular team leader, “Is so-and-so’s area successful because of their leadership or in spite of their leadership?”  My answer was, absolutely because of that particular leader and not in spite of.  If things were failing and falling apart it wouldn’t be in spite of that particular leader.  It’s a two-way street.

Dear Leaders, if your organization is failing, people are leaving, people are not being developed, people are not growing, people are unhappy, leaders are not rising to the top, momentum is long gone and you can’t seem to spell suczcess. “It’s All Your Fault!” If things are great and success is happening, enjoy the season because “It’s All Your Fault!”

There is no need to complain about the outcomes, just embrace the reality.  Next time your boss starts complaining and making excuses, simply look them in the eyes and say “It’s All Your Fault!”  Keep in mind, just because it’s their fault doesn’t mean they won’t pull a Donald Trump on you and look you in the eyes and say, “You’re Fired!”

The person who complains about the way the ball bounces, is likely the one who dropped it. ~Lou Holtz

What do you think?

There haven’t been a lot of changes to Twitter as far as the look and feel since it launched. Almost a year ago Twitter launched a new look and I definitely agree that it was an improvement from the original look that we had all become accustomed to.

Well here we go again, as we approach 2012 Twitter has just launched an entirely new look and a cool little marketing name/campaign/hashtag to go with it.  The hashtag and promoted campaign is #LetsFly. I guess flying has something to do with the bird.

I am a big fan of Twitter and was one of the early, early adopters.  Not only am I a fan of Twitter and it’s overall simplicity, but also I’m a fan of the New Twitter.  Below are 10 Great Things About The New Twitter.

• 1. The Simplicity The New Look:  Everything is right there, easy to see, easy to access and is just plain simple.
• 2. More Room On The Border:  (Not referring to the Mexican Restaurant) The one thing that I appreciated about the original Twitter is there was more freedom for customization around the borders.  The earlier new look version condensed the side area leaving less room for customization. The new look has about the same space as the original.  I had never changed my design customization from the original version and now with the New Twitter can see the things that are in the border regions of the page.  Check out my page to see what I’m talking about.
• 3. Home @Connect #Discover:  These are the 3 primary tabs at the top of the new page.  Not only are they the most important, but also the language is more consistent with what they are used for.  @replies @mentions @youname are really all about whom you are making an @connect with.
• 4. Huge Display of Personal Profile:  The personal profile page is very large, easily accessible and has quick connect buttons to all of the things that you need.  Following, Followers, Favorites, Lists, Recent Images, Similar To You and a large panel of your most recent tweets all right there “large and in charge” in front of your face.
• 5. Quick Access To Compose Tweet: You can quickly compose a tweet from the home page in a small box on the left immediately under your brief profile display.  You can go to the right of the page and click the feathered pen icon for a more traditional way to compose a tweet.
• 6. Sensitive To Newbies: This look and feel is much more maneuverable for first timers and newbies trying to navigate around the site.  The new look provides multiple options to get around and access anything.
• 7. Twitter Mobile Is Clean and App-Like: If you interact on Twitter’s website from you iPhone or mobile device, it’s very clean and App-Like.  I’m not sure if App-like is a word, nonetheless I mean it looks and functions like a clean App.
• 8. Continuity: There is not much difference between my iPhone App, Twitter Mobile and The Twitter website.  I’m still browsing around the app; there were a few features that I liked on the previous app; however the continuity makes it a win for me.
• 9. View Photo Feature: There have been several additions over the months for Twitter to interact better with user’s media that they share.  Recent interactive features for photos had already been implemented prior to the new twitter.  The simplicity of the “view photo” feature on the New Twitter is an improvement, as more and more people want to interact with the media of their friends and followers.
• 10. Change Is Good: I like the fact that Twitter is changing and staying fresh.  I’m not saying change for the sake of changing; I’m saying change for the sake of growing.  Most of the changes Twitter made are steps towards forward progress.

Those are my thoughts on the #NewTwitter and the #NewLook.   Share your thoughts!

What do you like, dislike, want to see, want to change, etc.?  #LetsFly

Check out Twitter’s video of the New Twitter below: