Are You Prepared to Take Risk With Imagination and Innovation?

We all have risk and either we embrace it or do everything in our power to avoid it. Imagine the playground where a group of children are jumping off the top of the monkey bars and then there are the few who stand at the edge pacing waiting for the school bell to ring so they do not have to jump.

I want to encourage you to JUMP! Not in the sense of physical, mental, or spiritual harm but to really jump back into a childlike state and use your imagination, create, and innovate right where you stand. Ken Robinson states the risk of imagination eloquently, be prepared to be wrong. When you are prepared to risk, be wrong, and basically stand there looking like an idiot you are onto something!

Society has taught us to no longer within our natural gifts but to test out in an educational standard. Highly successful people have bunked the standard and create success by risking standing alone. The risk takers are the ones you watch rise to the next level, the risk takers are the ones who are creating original ideas.

When you are prepared to imagine, innovate, and risk within your gift set you are no longer living within a standard of average! ~ Tracy Worley

*Take time out and reflect on your life, career, and significance your natural gifts offer the world.

*Reflect on what you loved doing as a child (natural gift).

*Reflect on all of those assessments you have taken over the years (natural gift).

*Reflect on your voice of doubt, do it afraid, do it anyway.

* Reflect on discipline in your daily agenda, are you taking time to risk.

*Reflect on the ideas popping into your head and write them down, some will make sense and some will not.

Step forward with one of the above where clarity comes through and start moving forward without knowing how, details, or held up in the paralysis of perfection.

You are meant to have a life and career of significance so embrace your natural gifts, talents, wisdom, and knowledge to create original ideas. Look back in history and innovation, most of those who risked standing alone where mocked but now we have light bulbs after ten-thousand tries, we have flight because the Wright Brothers believed with imagination, risk, and perseverance it was possible.

Society standard of average is not where you are valued. Create value by standing alone in the edge of the monkey bars and JUMP!

Look UP & OUT!

Tracy Worley

Fire It Up Friday | 6

Summer 2017 Series Episode 6

Are you DOA when showing up  personally and professionally? What is DOA: Dead on Arrival or Dead on Attitude.

My questions to you are:

  • Are you Dead on Arrival?
  • Are you showing up to work, home, and life: filled-up to serve your clients, employer, and self?

Dead on Arrival vs. Daily Opportunity of Action

This past week I had the privilege of attending our Innovate Montana Symposium. Before going I set the intention with an end in mind. My end in mind was meeting people to help my clients in their next endeavors and a current project I am working on…

 

I was ALIVE ON ARRIVAL! As humans we should show up with intention and ‘alive’ in everything we do. There are always the few who show up because they have to. These are the individuals I like to “light” up! Giving them other perspective and a reason for being there and how they add value.

Albert Schweitzer, “Truth has no special time of its own. Its hour is now-always.”

When I work with organizations in employee engagement we always start with a survey to see where the engagement needle is and the culture. I can say 99% of the time when engagement is low there is little trust and/or respect to and from leadership.

Here are a few steps to engaging yourself:

  • Discuss and outline your vision and navigate where you are going. The more people you share this with the more likely you will find the resources needed to launch to the next level.
  • Set exceptions by creating and modeling the who you want to show up in  your personal and professional life.
  • Connect with clients on personal level (i.e. paraphrase what they  have said, or remember your last conversation such as if they mentioned a soccer game ask them how it went)
  • Connect and collaboration with peers by setting parameters of expectation, timelines, etc. . .(this always resolves who is responsible for which task, and accountability for the entire team)
  • Connect with people by having one-on-ones (be candid and transparent where you are, and they will be candid and transparent where they are on projects, hurdles, and how they plan to overcome them) “I CAN’T RAISE THE BAR FOR OTHERS IF I HAVEN’T RAISED THE BAR FOR MYSELF.

The core of engagement is transparent humility (this is not showing employees or clients how to weep but to let them know you are human, everyone wants to know they are  on the team with someone who has heart)

 If you and your team are not making individual efforts , then everyone is DOA when they walk through the door every day. ~ Tracy Worley

 

Thank you for joining me on our Summer Fire It Up Friday Series.

Look Up & Out, 
Tracy Worley

The Summit of Success:  There is a Higher Peak

All success comes from an individual perspective in measurable increments. For organizations it comes from their perspective initiatives and the perspective of gain or loss.

One of the top reasons I adore about living in Montana, USA is the rugged back country is close and tangible. I find myself in a National Forest several times a week and if possible daily. No matter what trail my administrative staff and I hike; there is always an elevation gain or loss.

                                                                   Administrative Staff On Trail

Success also has a measure of gain or loss dependent on your initiatives and goals. I recently read,The only person who needs to move forward little by little is you. Engineer your own evolution” ~ E. Burger, M. Starbird.

When I read evolution my reaction was, “Yes, success is creating your own revolution from the norms of how others have accomplished success.”

As you create goals there are meaningful ways to ensure a gain:

  • Move little by little toward the goal.
  • Reiterate and refine past and current knowledge to create progress.
  • The more you learn; the easier the pieces fall into place toward success.
  • Ask someone to walk along side of you; a team member, partner, or business coach.

Moving little by little is like climbing a trail. It takes step by step, bit by bit to make it to your destination and crest the top. Once you are at the crest you will see a higher peak (next goal) to strive toward. There are times you may need to lose elevation to glean new knowledge, understand the depth of measurable increments, and evaluate timing.

Refining knowledge is where most entrepreneurs and organizations lose traction. The tendency is to gobble up all information, processes, and best practices. This tendency hinders progress of little by little; often creating a stale environment of growth and innovation. To keep on track, define your objective clearly then adopt, adapt, or delete best practices and move forward.

Each goal has its own trail of learned knowledge.  Success can happen time after time hiking the same trail. However, conditions can change and new knowledge is gleaned from season to season. Business perspective; who is on your team creating a stale mate, are clients engaging, is it time to adopt, adapt, or change trails to new success?

The hard truth is not one person or organization creates success on their own. There is always someone supporting them in one manner or another. There are teams who sustain forward momentum to success and community who purchases services and or products. The basic truth not often seen are those who blazed the trail ahead of us.  A back country hiking trail is often not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of elevation gain, loss, gain, loss and keeps going until final destination. A back country trail is not managed and if it is there is a group of volunteers who hike in with band-saws and other gear to keep the trail clear (chain saws are not permitted due to fire danger, there are no motor vehicles allowed). From back country hiking to entrepreneurial paths cleared there is always someone who blazed the trail or idea ahead of us. It is your responsibility to create synergy and innovation from what is already forged.

If I have seen farther than others it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants~ Isaac Newton. Bring someone on board to create and sustain your momentum toward your goals bit by bit. No matter what or who you bring on board it is important to be open-minded about possibilities not seen at the beginning of the trail.

Success is worth the journey bit by bit, little by little! Would love to hear about your journeys and where you have gleaned success and what your goals are today!

Look Up and Out,

Tracy Worley

 

 

 

Are You Creating Success With Courage?

Courage is Earned and Learned

Yes, I am asking you! Are you creating success with courage? Courage is learned, earned, and an added value to your success.

Definition of courage is the ability to do something that is uncomfortable. Strength in the face of pain, risk, or grief.

Recently  I have traveled over 600 miles driving across Montana, USA. In this travel I met entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and government officials. There was a consistent theme with their successes and it comes down to three simple things: faith, passion, and failure.

All three of these simple things take courage to stand up to your success, passion, and ability to create something no one else can. Think about the following as all of them were an idea which took courage and has changed lives across the world and generations: tires, light bulb, flight, internet, space travel, and so many more. . .

Faith: Continue to believe in what you are building.

Passion: Create an inner circle of advisers to keep you on the rails of faith and your why.

Failure: Risk is part of success, it will happen. Take note of what you learned and keep moving.

Courage encompasses all three simple things to create the success you desire and deserve. A few questions to ask yourself:

Blessed,met and learned from so many great leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators today! Lt. Governor and Governor took time for Red Shoe Courage!

Blessed,met and learned from so many great leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators today! Lt. Governor and Governor took time for Red Shoe Courage!

  • Do I believe in myself and the project more than anything else?
  • Am I willing to let other activities pass while I create?
  • Do I have faith in myself to take risk and willing to keep moving forward when there is a fail?

Challenge: like, share, and comment one thing you learned from taking a risk! You have something to teach the world.

Look UP & OUT!

Tracy Worley