A Higher Purpose
December 13th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
“Hi Coach, I’m ready with the assignment,” Jake said.
“Good.” I set aside my pen and paper. “Let us hear your definition of determination.”
“It means,” Jake said, “strength of character, intent of purpose , persistence, courage and tenacity.”
“And what would be the opposite of determination?” I asked.
“Weak resolve,” Jake said, “fear of failure, and quick to surrender.”
“The definition seems to be familiar to all,” I said. “The word is not hard to understand. It is just hard to live out as do many of the values.”
“Why is it that way coach?” Jake asked.
“You mentioned it all,” I said. “But mainly fear and a lack of purpose.”
“I think everyone can relate to the fear of failure,” Jake said.
“People are afraid to make mistakes,” I said, “even minor ones. The emotions of many are weak to handle criticism.”
“But coach,” Jake said, “we must avoid mistakes, right?”
“Right,” I said. “I do believe that we should make as few mistakes as possible, however…”
“However?” Jake interrupted.
“Those we know who succeeded in significant ways dared to fail,” I said. “And they did fail, some many times, until they got it.”
“It sounds like learning by doing,” Jake said. “But I am sure that they asked helped from others.”
“Of course,” I said. “No one knows everything.”
“You mentioned that the lack of determination is also brought about by lack of purpose,” Jake commented.
“If you look at the people who influenced history, those who dared to dream, and acted upon their dreams, are those who had a sense of purpose that is much bigger than themselves,” I said.
“I see. You are saying that if my heart is consumed by a purpose, a cause that is bigger than my needs, bigger than myself then I will develop a strong sense of determination,” Jake said.
“Fighting for a higher purpose without neglecting your needs,” I said, “is better than fighting for selfish interests.”
“I get it coach,” Jake said.
“Jake, whatever you do in your career or new enterprise,” I said, “align it to a much higher purpose. You will be amazed at what you can do.”
“You mean it will bring out my determination?” Jake asked.
“It will bring out the best in you,” I said. “And all the obstacles you will face will seem small compared to your purpose.”
“That is why some people just never give up!” Jake mentioned.
“For some, the sense of purpose grows to become a sense of responsibility,” I said.
“I see,” Jake said. “They feel the responsibility to keep trying.”
“For them, life is no longer complete if they do not live out their purpose,” I said. “They take responsibility with what they think, do, spend on, plan, and all.”
“This is strong stuff coach,” Jake said. “I will definitely reflect on this.”
“Yup, this is not for babies,” I said. “This is meat to chew upon and think over.”
“I am speechless,” Jake said.
“See you next week, Jake.”
© Eduardo R. Pilapil Jr. 2010
Use the Pen to Target
November 26th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
“Jake! Now that you are getting the rhythm of how to use your circles of influence to open doors for you to offer your service, I believe it is time that you make your life goals more specific,” I said.
“Why only now coach? I expected you to make me list down my goals earlier,” Jake asked.
“Sometimes I ask my clients to write their goals early in the coaching program but sometimes I wait because I want to validate if their passion and skills are truly aligned,” I explained.
“Well, my goal is to be a successful speaker,” he said while raising both shoulders.
“That is too broad. You must be more specific and you must write it down,” I said. “And I know you will ask why.”
“Not really. I heard about the value of written goals. But alright, why?” Jake asked.
“Have you heard about the Harvard story with regard to goal-setting?” I asked.
Jake shook his head.
*“In the book, What They Don’t Teach You in the Harvard Business School, Mark McCormack tells a study conducted on students in the 1979 Harvard MBA program. In that year, the students were asked, “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?” Only three percent of the graduates had written goals and plans; 13 percent had goals, but they were not in writing; and a whopping 84 percent had no specific goals at all.
“Ten years later, the members of the class were interviewed again, and the findings, while somewhat predictable, were nonetheless astonishing. The 13 percent of the class who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84 percent who had no goals at all. And what about the three percent who had clear, written goals? They were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent put together,” I echoed. “I’ll give you the link before you leave.”
“Wow. Amazing,” Jake reacted.
“Write down, what you want to be, what you want to accomplish, and what you want to have. Be as specific as speaking to ten thousand people in a year in 4 continents. Or, to earn $8000 per speaking assignment…” I emphasized.
“Coach, I feel like I want to go out of town to reflect on these goals and write them down,” Jake said.
“Go do it Jake. See you next week,” I said. “Oh, here’s the link.”
*Harvard Business School Goal Story. “Lifemastering”. Accessed November 26, 2010 <http://www.lifemastering.com/en/harvard_school.html>
© Eduardo R. Pilapil Jr. 2010
Short Mission Statements
October 24th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
To prove my point, I asked a gentleman who was sitting with us in the table, “Sir, please recite the mission statement of your organization.” He paused, prepared to speak then sighed, “It’s too long to remember.”
I looked back at my friends in the table, one of them a business consultant, and exclaimed, “See! This is what happens to most employees if you make your mission statements too long.”
This is a gap that must be addressed.
Mission statements give the organization a higher purpose other than making a profit. Everyone in the organization should have this strong sense of mission and purpose otherwise, the employees will be there just for the pay check.
These statements, are also placed on the walls of our offices for a purpose. And that is, to unite everyone’s mind and heart, so the members of the organization may be influenced to behave in a certain way. Aside from posting on the wall, it should be reinforced with pep talks from executives and managers. It would really help everyone if the mission statement is ABC: accurate, brief and concise.
I recently read an article written by Eric Hellweg entitled, “The Eight-Word Mission Statement.” His article narrates the practice of Kevin Starr, executive director of Mulago Foundation. This foundation “channels investments to socially minded business.” One way for Starr to sift through the many proposals is to look for clear, short, targeted mission statements. They must use the format “verb, target, outcome.” A sample, “Improve African children’s health.”
If your partners and employees fail to recite your organization’s mission statement with ease, change it.
The statement, “Preserve human life through research” is easier to internalize compared to, “Our company exists for the purpose of developing and testing medicine through extensive research done in the highest form of discipline and to distribute our high quality products to the market through dependable partners in a responsible way.”
Cut the clutter. Keep it short.
© Ed Pilapil Jr. 2010
Try Crazy
October 20th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
The most common strategy employed by many entrepreneurs is benchmarking. Find what works for others and copy it. If you cannot copy then hire experts who are good at copying. Let them guide us in our implementation because we must do it to the dot. Some entrepreneurs follow this like a religion. Do not take the initiative. Do not innovate, that is risky. Somebody else might copy us, right?
If everybody thought this way, we would still be stuck in the dark ages. Do not question the religion in power or else, “Heretic! Off with his head!” Some business owners actually sound the same. If you dare innovate, you will hear a yell (figuratively), “Heretic!”
The world changed because there were people who could not stand the status quo. They despised the present standards of their time. Change must happen!
Do not get me wrong. Benchmarking can work well for some entrepreneurs. Doing business under the shadow of the giants seems safe. By all means, we must learn from each other. Find what is suitable, absorb it and puke the rest. But if you are an entrepreneur who does not want to be under anyone’s shadow. Do something else.
Forget benchmarking for a while. Try crazy. Think crazy, outrageous ideas.
Carriage without a horse? Personal computers? That sounded strange decades ago. One day mail delivery? Who needs it. A coffee for $3? Outrageous! A movie screen 3-4 times bigger than the regular theater screen? And pay 3 times more? It won’t work. Phones in our pockets? With camera? With email? Impossible! But nay! We have them today.
Some “nutcase” thought it, was willing to sound ridiculous, yet dared, then wow!
Their inventions stood out. Why? They were different. Crazy. But now, they are the status quo. We need crazy again.
As an entrepreneur, I ask myself, “Are my ideas outrageous enough?”
I want to be an expert on Crazy.
© Ed Pilapil Jr. 2010
What are Your Goals?
January 16th, 2008 § 1 Comment
“Most of us serve our ideals by fits and starts. The person who makes a success of living is one who sees his goal steadily and aims for it unswervingly. That’s dedication.” – Cecil B. DeMille
What is a goal and what is it not?
A goal is a specific target that you aim at. It is not vague, broad or general. The goal of the hunter is to shoot the prey where it is fatal. The goal of the football player is to kick the ball in the goal. The goal of the basketball player is to shoot the ball in the basket. The goal of the boxer is to prevail over his opponent, hitting him where it hurts the most. If these athletes aim broad, they will never hit their targets. They will never succeed.
A goal is not a philosophy in life. It is not a mission statement that gives meaning and purpose to ones existence. It is not as big as a vision where you picture an end result that can be life-long to achieve. It is tangible. You know when you have achieved it. It can be measured. The score in a game will say who won. The judges scorecard determines the winning boxer if there is no TKO. A goal has a deadline. The hunter cannot wait forever otherwise the prey will run off. The games of football, basketball and boxing also have time limits.
Success is setting a series of goals and hitting them one at a time until you reach your dreams. Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevski expressed, “Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another.”
What is your dream? What are your series of goals to achieve that dream?
Ed Pilapil Jr. ©
It is Never Too Late to Set a Goal
December 27th, 2007 § 2 Comments
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis
Col. Harland Sanders believed that it was faster for a man to rust than to be worn out. He obviously acted on this belief. Retired at age 65, with only $105 from Social Security, he ventured to sell his recipe. He offered it to more than 1000 restaurant owners. His deal was that he earns 5 cents for every piece of chicken sold. One thousand eight restaurant owners rejected his offer. But the Colonel did not give up. Prospect 1009 was the first to agree.
He started franchising his chicken in 1952. By 1964 he had more than 600 franchised outlets in Canada and America. In the same year he sold his interests for $2M to a group including John Y. Brown Jr. who became the governor of Kentucky in 1980.
There are many success lessons we can learn from the life of Col. Sanders. One of them is that it is never too late to set a new goal to work on.
Are you retired? What is your new goal?
Ed Pilapil Jr. ©
An Entrepreneur Should Write Down Goals
December 19th, 2007 § Leave a Comment
“Goals that are not written down are just wishes.” – Anonymous
This is really elementary but it is surprising that quite a number of small business entities do not write down their goals. Maybe they do not see the importance of writing them down.
It is my observation that most of these entrepreneurs have general goals rather than specific. Generalities in terms of goals will not help you succeed. It is not enough to say, “I want to earn more than enough every month.”
General goals will allow you to see your target in a blur.
Your goal must be more specific like, “I want to earn $10,000 a month.”
If you are more specific with your goal, the target becomes clearer.
That means you can aim more accurately. Accuracy is not possible with general goals.
With a more accurate goal, your planning process will be more fine-tuned. The activities you put in place will be aligned towards the specific goal.
There is always an advantage to writing down your goals. They remind you and they keep you in track. It is so easy to be swayed from our goals if we are not focused. Having written goals that you commit to helps you focus your energy, time and resources.
Ed Pilapil Jr. ©
Don’t be an Entrepreneur without a Goal
December 18th, 2007 § 1 Comment
“A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder.” – Thomas Carlyle
Without clear and specific goals, you will end up nowhere.
An entrepreneur without a goal could be the most pathetic entrepreneur ever, not to mention boring. His business drifts where the waves throw it because it has no direction.
An entrepreneur with a goal on the other hand knows where he or she is going. What must be accomplished is clear. The future has been envisioned.
All business activities or series of efforts are orchestrated toward the goal.
The goal motivates the entrepreneur to think and work. His/Her daily routine could not be a drag or a bore. It is very exciting especially when there is progress.
Write down your goals, post them where you always see them, establish a process to reach them, make a timetable for each part of the process, estimate the cost, and act on them!
Ed Pilapil Jr. ©
A Tale of Two Salesmen
November 10th, 2007 § 2 Comments
“The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight, but has no vision.” – Helen Keller
“The poorest man is not he who is without a cent, but he who is without a dream.” – Pennsylvania School Journal
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Maybe you have heard of the tale of the two salesmen who went to Africa. The story goes like this.
A western shoe salesman went to Africa to scout the market. He wired his manufacturer, ‘I want to come home. Nobody wears shoes in this part of Africa.’
They brought him home and sent another salesman. The new salesman hurriedly wired an order, ‘Everybody here needs shoes!”
Seeing everyone barefooted in that area of Africa may have discouraged the first salesman.
He must have thought, “Geeesh, nobody uses shoes here, not even a hand-made footwear. How in the world can I sell shoes here when they don’t see the benefit of it? I better go home.”
He missed the opportunity to make it big. He could not see.
On the other hand, the second salesman thought, “If I can only convince them to wear shoes. If I can show them the benefit. I can almost imagine whole villages buying my shoes. Wow! Aside from helping them enjoy the benefit of wearing shoes, I am going to make a great profit! I can get married and start a family and I can buy that dream house…”
When I first heard this story, I said to myself, “I am determined to be the second salesman who saw the opportunity rather than the trend.”
I must admit though that there were moments in my life that I stayed on the “what is” and accepted it rather than on the “what can be” and dared to make a difference.
Now I cannot imagine life without vision. It is not worth living.
Which of the two salesmen are you? The one who could not see the potential or the one who could see the vast opportunity?
If you choose the former then you have destined yourself to be average or less. But if you wish to be the latter then you have taken the first step to a great life.
By Ed Pilapil Jr. ©
