Make a different between effective and efficient

Hola my friend

Today I will talk you about a very important distinction.

You could be very happy to achieve your goals. But let me ask you something.

How much is costing you?

Do you sacrifice your personal or your professional life in order to get your goals?

You need to make a distinction between effective and efficient.

Effective means to get results.

Efficient means to get the best balance between your investment in resources and the results you get from it.

You can get the same results with different investments.

It is very unusual to stop and think about the different options you have to get the same result or a similar result with lower investment.

Everybody can do this analysis. You do not need a high degree.

You will save money and time.

You will avoid personal and professional problems.

Be proactive. Do not wait until to late.

To your Grow and Win success

Fernando Manzano

PD; Have a nice conversation with your friends or colleges about this subject. Invite them to join our newsletter

How to get more fun in your life

Do you laugh enough?

Do you have fun in your life?

It is amazing the amount of people do not having fun in their lives.

How often do you laugh?

I ask you about laughing because it is a clear signal of having fun.

To laugh is healthier than just smile.

The post powerful tool you have for having fun is your mind.

Fun is all about perspective.

Make your friends laugh. They will life longer.

Do you want to know some simple tips to have more fun everyday?

A simple and efficient strategy is to change with your imagination the colour of what you are seeing.

Paint the scene of pink. Or yellow, or orange. Find the colour you prefer.

Try to do it right now. Close your eyes. Imaging a scene and paint it.

Play with different colours until you get the funniest side of the scene.

Now change the speed of the motion. Speed the scene or slow it.

Changing the voices of the different actors for cartoon voices is a nice trick as well.

Use your imagination to have fun in your life.

Have you tried to have a walk seeing everybody naked?

Do not try it if you are shy. Step by step.

Try to image everybody in medieval clothes.

How does your boss look if you dress him with stone times clothes?

Does he look different? ;-)

Use your imagination to have more fun in your life.

To your Grow and Win success.

Fernando

Step one your business plan

Hi, lads!!

Today I have been in a conference for local entrepreneurs. They have been talking about the support you can get from the mayor house.

It is not to bad. They help you with legal papers. They give you some advise about banks and credits. Even you could get some subsidies after a year if you are very lucky.

But they will not help you on step one. Step one is to build your business plan.

Some people have true difficulties to write down the business plan. They have an idea, but they are unable to specify.

Are you one of them?

To be honest I sweated blood the first time I did one business plan.

Just to see all the requirements made me sick.

But after a few of them things look different.

If you suffer thinking on your business plan building process we could do it simple, fun and efficient.

Just mail me to fernando@growandwin.com

To your Grow and Win success.

Fernando Manzano

Take the small details in acount

Hi my friend,

How are you today?

This Sunday I enjoy a sunny day in Madrid Mountains.

It is a lovely day.

I have been re- reading a Times article about something I wanna comment with you.

To be aware of this subject it will help you to recognize and prevent its effects.

Do you ask yourself why does your boss ignore you? You are not able to explain it but you feel you are not considered at work. You feel insignificant.

You cannot avoid this feeling, even if you cannot tell why.

Now we can explain some aspects of this situation.

Have you hear about micro-inequities? Micro-inequities is a term coined by a MIT professor at 1973. Now Stephen Young, a former consultant of JP Morgan Chase is addressing audience in all fields to emphasize the importance of this concept.

How can we define micro inequities?” Microinequities puts a name on all the indirect offenses that can demoralize a talented employee.” (Times, 03/20/2006)

Let me tell you some examples.

You try to tell something to other person and he or she is checking the mail box or the sms in the mobile.

In your department your boss speaks to you with some distant and give a big hug greeting to other college.

In a meeting, you give an idea and it is ignored.

These kind of small details create a feeling of discomfort. You begin to consider that you are not welcome at work.

You feel they do not acknowledge your work

This phenomenon is currently costing millions of dollar to companies in low productivity, stress, depression and claims.

This is a kind of moobing. Lawyers tell that people is claiming things as “being not considered” or “ to feel the group is not accepting them”.

We should take this matter seriously.

To be or to feel you are significant is a basic human need.

Are you a boss? Are you suffering micro inequities?

IBM, Wells Fargo and others are taking trainings to prevent these misbehaviors.

Do not wait until be suit or need to suit and you will need a lawyer.

We already can help you to prevent this microinequities.

First at all, open your eyes to what happen around you.

Do it now before to suffer the unpleasant effects of these small details.

To know more about this and other subject talk with us in my blog
Or mail me to fernando@growandwin.com

All the best

Fernando Manzano

Are you ready to change?

It is amazing how many people is desperate looking for change. At least is amazing for me.

During my coaching practice I have had the opportunity to accompany some handsome men and beautiful women in their quest for change. Don’t call me Doctor Change, please. I just do my job.

You will wonder looking to people who know they have to change, but they are not really confident about what they have to change.

I will try to explain. You know you are living an average life. Every day the same routine. The same job, the same friends, the same house and the same woman or man.

Something that you are not able to describe is definitely wrong. It is a feeling hard to explain with words.

So you feel you have to change something. You decide to break with everything and get a new life.

You try to do it by yourself first. When that is not enough you get a coach or a psychologist. So Hire someone like me.

I do not know your case. So I have to explore what on Earth happen to you.

Hey, I love that part. Exploring is the most challenging part of the process. A good transformation process is 95% about to get information and 5% about to apply the right techniques.

During this exploration we walk through the conscious and the unconscious using the body as a translator. We discover part of ourselves that were well hidden long time ago.

I am not psychoanalyst. So walking together we do not stop on childhood. We will look ahead from present to future.

But what happens when after abandoning your daily routines and jumping into a new life you find yourself alone and you star to feel scary.

The change will scare you to the bones. You will ask yourself time and again why did you abandon the comfort of your past life. You will star to think that it was not so bad. You were living in a comfortable way with a good salary, a good girlfriend or boyfriend and even your boss was not so bad.

The Change can be very scary experience. Thus, it is the only way to improve your live.

Be wise. You do not need to break with everything to improve your live. Plan ahead. First think and after act. Measure the risk you take.

And do not forget the most important thing. Enjoy your journey.

To your Grow and Win success

Fernando

Thinking on dating a single mum

Dating a single mum is for some men like honey to meat fly. Testosterone rises and a primitive instinct wake up from the animal brain.

Why are single mum so attractive?

Are you a single mum? Are you friend of a single mum? Are you a single mum hunter?

Do not make mistake. This is not a trivial issue. Figures show that the number of single mothers is rising. This is not just because non-desired pregnancy, the main source of current single motherhood is separation and divorce.

Ok. To be honest that is not the point today.

The point is because my coaching activity. I have been dealing with single mothers' issues for a while. One of the main issues is the desire of building a new relationship with a new love.

This need crashes with vultures looking for an easy prey.

I am not a saint. I like women very much, but what disappoints me is to see how some men are trying to take advantage of this weakness.

Being a single mum is an experience which changes life completely. Some women will have to renounce to their professional dreams or even worst, renounce to their life dreams.

Thus, to others becoming a single mum will give them the courage to go forward and take whatever will take to maintain her family. They are brave women who deserve the respect of the whole community.

If you are a single mum hunter probably you don’t care about this. Thus, if you are just a man interested in a woman and this woman is a single mum, remember, she is a goddess. Respect her, take care of her, adore her and before take your willy out think in your own mum.

If you are a single mum, please remember, life is a continuous source of surprises. Do not give up. Enjoy live. You will have as many opportunities as you invest for.

Life is the most challenging experience.

To your Grow and Win success.

Fernando

Opening the community to Spanish speakers

Do you speak Spanish?

You can go to Crece y Gana blog, our Grow and Win blog in Spanish.

We are doing an effort to reach everybody. Help us.

Do you think your friends can benefits from our work? Tell them about us.

Your comments are welcome.

To your Grow and Win success.

Fernando

Easy tip to get rapport

Could I assume you know what is rapport?

Probably you know something about rapport. You could be conscious of how important is rapport. Even you could know something about how to create a good rapport.

If you have no idea about what rapport is I will give you a quick definition.

Rapport is a relationship, especially one of mutual trust or emotional affinity.

Would you like to establish a relation of emotional affinity with someone? May be just a relation of mutual trust?

You can improve the chances to get it. It is simple, fun and effective.

Can I have your attention, please?

People like themselves. At least, most of the people like themselves. People like people who are similar to them. Do you follow me?

How can you improve you similarity to somebody else and still being yourself?

A very simple key is to mirror that person. Be subtle. Do not try to be a monkey imitating everything your partner is doing. Don’t do that!!

Be gentle. To mirror to somebody else is like dancing with him or her. If she touches her hair wait to five and touch your head. If she folds hers legs wait awhile and fold your legs.

Physiological rapport is one the most powerful rapport you can establish. Take this challenge as a game. Enjoy the game of mirror others.

Once you are into that dance first you are a follower but after some practice you will learn to lead the dance.

Try today.

Enjoy the game.

Know the basic tools for Coaching

Are you interested on coaching?

If you want to become a coach or you want become a coachee will be better if you know forward what are the tool you will have to use during the coaching process.

Coaching process is a transformation process. You know how you go into it, but you do not know how are you going to go out from that process.

I say that you know “how you go into the process” instead of “who you are before the process”. You could be in the group of people still trying to answer the question “who I am?”. I am on my way too.

The basic tools any coaching process will contain are:

Active listening

When listening to others forget about you. Stop your inner conversation. Focus your attention on your partner.

Active listening is not just to hear with your ears. Active listening mean to open all your senses to what the other person is telling you with his voice, look, breathing, movement, etc

Practice and repetition is the secret.

Rapport

Rapport means to establish a relationship of complete trust and emotional affinity.

Powerful questions

You will be challenge for the question your coach shot to you.

To get better answer you need to make better questions.

Feedback

Feedback means to get information about your outputs and use it as an input to improve you performance.

The way you get that feedback will determinate how much can you use to improve. That is the reason because a good coaching process must guarantee a proper feedback.

Humour

You do not find humour as a basic tool for coaching in all the authors. I consider humour as a basic coaching tool because coaching pretend to facilitate you a new way to look at life.

Humour is a natural and powerful resource to get this new perspective.

Get the funny side of everything you do.

To encourage to take action

After a coaching process you should not be the same. You should be closer to your best. This is only possible if you take action to implement your decisions.

No one can do this for you. There is no easy way.

You will get according to your investment in the coaching process. Remember this.

Do not hesitate to contact me for more information.

To your Grow and Win success.

A fundamental key for listening

Hello my friend,

As you decide to choose this article you are showing your interest for this subject.

Congratulation!! You are standing out the crowd.

Are you willing to improve your listening skills?

Do you feel you are not listened enough?

I will give you a very simple tip to skyrocket your listening. This key is not a secret. To be honest is common sense. But you know that common sense is the less common of the senses.

First thing to understand this key is to remember what is listening.

To listen is to make an effort to hear something. To listen is to pay attention.

To make an effort means an active attitude. That is because n psychology and coaching we make a distinction between listening and active listening.

Active listening means a complete focus on the person talking.

The most valuable implication is a renounce to oneself attention. Think about this.

Most of the times you are listening what you really are doing is listening to your own thoughts to prepare the reply. Doing this you are losing what your partner is telling you.

Next time, try to be aware of this circumstance. Make a conscious effort to keep your attention just on your partner and avoid your internal conversation.

Tell me about your results

To your Grow and Win success

Basic job interview questions

Do you remember last time you needed to prepare a job interview? Were you nervous at that time?

I will give you the basic job interview questions. These questions are the base for any other question in job interview or in life.

Stop worry about what kind of tricky question your interviewer will do.

They are people just like you and my. They are suffering for the same learning conditioning. Their brains work in the same way your brain is working.

Basic questions you will find in theirs brains.

What?
Who?
How?
Where?
When?
Why?
Whom?

So take your CV and read it again with this questions in mind.

Divide your history in chapters and use these questions to prepare your interview.

Tell a fringed to help you. It will be funnier.

Make this work a play. How are you going to enjoy it?

Use these questions on daily basis.

Tell me your results. I love to share your success.

To your Grow and Win success.

5 Basic rules for personal finance planning

Personal finance planning can be gorgeous or can be boring. May be you are one of those who think that planning is a waste of time. Your personal finance success will be determined for your ability to make a personal finance planning.

Tired of being hours just talking about what are we going to do! You have to many things for do to be wasting time thinking.

And after that time talking someone asks you for write down the session. Write down the session!!! You have too many things waiting, and those things are work.

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

Wake up! Open your mind!

My friend I was wearing those shoes before you. I was the most stupid guy you can image. I jumped over the projects without any planning. Planning!!! Me!! I did not need it.

Too many people are broke having good salaries because of a lack of personal finance planning.

I will give you 5 very simple tips for basic personal planning:

Clarify your goals

What you want?
What do you want from your finances?
How much money are you looking for?
When do you want to reach your financial target?
Is just money or we are talking about more things?
How do you know you have reached your goals?
Are your goals realistic?
Are your goals achievable?

With your goals you know where you go.

Decide your outcomes

Knowing your outcomes you will know when you reach your target.

Be outcome driver.

What you want to enjoy at the end of your actions?

Be specific.

How can you measure it?
Are you realistic?

Write down you expected outcome. Set it in a visible place or make something to have it present.

Get the whole picture

Look for all the information you need to take decisions.

Do not stop looking for critical information until you are able to see the whole picture.

In this point you will fight between the tendency to a poor information collection and a tendency to over search and be lost in information collection.

I will give you something that can help you. Do I have your attention?

Before look for information set the questions to be answered.

I will repeat it. This is very important not jus for personal finance planning. It is important in every each for information.

Set the questions you want to answer before you star to look for information.

Use long-term thinking

Fight the sort term thinking. Use long term thinking.

This should not be a choice. Before any action think on a year implications of that action. Think on a five-years implication of your actions.

Think on the implication to your family, couple, kids, etc

Ask for others perspective about your issue.

This simple rule can save you from bankrupt. You probably are not the first on your situation. Learn from your predecessors to anticipate your future.

Divide your path on small steps

Decide give a step forward at a time.

Divide your path in small and achievable steps.

Take just one step at a time.

Once you have your personal finance target and your desired outcome written down you can look backward from that point.

Locate yourself in that wonderful future. Look backward. What should be your situation just one small step behind you? Name that situation as –1. Describe the situation. What you need from that step to reach you final target? Write it down.

Repeat this from –1 and name next situations as –2, -3 and so on. Do this until you reach your present time.

Try! And tell me about your process..

This information is about personal finance planning but could be used for any other subject planning.

Personal finance planning is today a great need. We are confronting to many temptations and society demand a certain level of consume. Look like or you consume or you are not in this society. So some people jump over their credit card and go broke.

Next time before go to shopping make your plan ahead.

To your Grow and Win success.

Grow and Win in Spanish!!!

Hello my friend,

May be you realise you already can read the Spanish version of Grow and Win.

This Grow and Win blog will have its Spanish version too very soon.

In the middle time you can visit my blog “Libera tu potencial”.

Your comments are welcome.

To your Grow and Win success.

5 Basic rules for personal finance planning

Personal finance planning can be gorgeous or can be boring. May be you are one of those who think that planning is a waste of time. Your personal finance success will be determined for your ability to make a personal finance planning.

Tired of being hours just talking about what are we going to do! You have to many things for do to be wasting time thinking.

And after that time talking someone asks you for write down the session. Write down the session!!! You have too many things waiting, and those things are work.

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

Wake up! Open your mind!

My friend I was wearing those shoes before you. I was the most stupid guy you can image. I jumped over the projects without any planning. Planning!!! Me!! I did not need it.

Too many people are broke having good salaries because of a lack of personal finance planning.

I will give you 5 very simple tips for basic personal planning:

1.Clarify your goals

What you want?
What do you want from your finances?
How much money are you looking for?
When do you want to reach your financial target?
Is just money or we are talking about more things?
How do you know you have reached your goals?
Are your goals realistic?
Are your goals achievable?

With your goals you know where you go.

2.Decide your outcomes

Knowing your outcomes you will know when you reach your target.

Be outcome driver.

What you want to enjoy at the end of your actions?

Be specific.

How can you measure it?
Are you realistic?

Write down you expected outcome. Set it in a visible place or make something to have it present.

3.Get the whole picture

Look for all the information you need to take decisions.

Do not stop looking for critical information until you are able to see the whole picture.

In this point you will fight between the tendency to a poor information collection and a tendency to over search and be lost in information collection.

I will give you something that can help you. Do I have your attention?

Before look for information set the questions to be answered.

I will repeat it. This is very important not jus for personal finance planning. It is important in every each for information.

Set the questions you want to answer before you star to look for information.

4.Use long-term thinking

Fight the sort term thinking. Use long term thinking.

This should not be a choice. Before any action think on a year implications of that action. Think on a five-years implication of your actions.

Think on the implication to your family, couple, kids, etc

Ask for others perspective about your issue.

This simple rule can save you from bankrupt. You probably are not the first on your situation. Learn from your predecessors to anticipate your future.

5.Divide your path on small steps

Decide give a step forward at a time.

Divide your path in small and achievable steps.

Take just one step at a time.

Once you have your personal finance target and your desired outcome written down you can look backward from that point.

Locate yourself in your wonderful future. Look backward. What should be your situation just one small step behind you? Name that situation as –1. Describe the situation. What you need from that step to reach you final target? Write it down.

Repeat this from –1 and name next situations as –2, -3 and so on. Do this until you reach your present time.

Try! And tell me about your process..

This information is about personal finance planning but could be used for any other subject planning.

Personal finance planning is today a great need. We are confronting to many temptations and society demand a certain level of consume. Look like or you consume or you are not in this society. So some people jump over their credit card and go broke.

Next time before go to shopping make your plan ahead.

To your Grow and Win success.

Fernando Manzano

The power of rejection

Hello my friend,

Have you been rejected anytime?

Welcome to this club!!

You know the bitter experience of be rejected. Doesn’t really matter the reason they gave you.

Recently I have received a rejection for one of my articles. The person in charge for review said it is not proper English.

He could be right. I don’t mind to review the grammar.

What I am wondering is why the same article has been accepted without any problem for five other websites.

The spelling is right. Thanks to Mr MS World.

During the last days I have been thinking on sign some of my article with a pseudonym. Something like Joe White. What do you think about this?

I cannot change the person I am. I don’t want to change the person I am, but I have no problem with change my presentation if that help me to go through the entry barriers.

Entry barriers are obstacles you must overcome to reach the opportunity to show your work is honest, helpful and outstanding.

Think about this…..if you have the power to help somebody else and you give up just because they are not able to see further than their limited mindset, then, who is failing?

Are they failing because of their narrow-mindedness?

Or you are not giving your best?

Next time you will get a rejection give them a big smile and say a thank you. May be even if you insist they will continue with their narrow-mindedness, but they are allowing you to train your persistency.

God luck, my friend.

Get in touch with your deepest feelings

Could be not the first time you feel you have a great potential inside waiting to be liberated.

Do you feel a deep frustration feeling in your bowls because you are not doing your best?

You have a feeling about what you should do, but you are not able to express it or take appropriate action.

My friend, get in touch with your deepest feelings.

I can tell you from my first hand experience that feeling is not pleasurable and is not going to disappear.

I can also tell you, you can use that pain for good.

I make my way and now I manage my time, finances, work and relationships.

You can manage your time, finances, work and relationships.

It is not easy. Thus, is worth it.

Become a doer.

Accept the risk of be congruent with your deepest feelings.

I can walk with you. I cannot walk for you.

Seven keys to learn from the great explorers

Sometimes when you try to cope with your daily problems you wonder how on Earth someone can face so many problems and still keep going. You could think everyday represent a complete set of challenges. You feel you don’t have the energy and the skills to confront this uncertainty. I help you to learn how great explorers prepared.

Great explorers give us the advantages of learn from their experiences.
They dreamed and envisioned adventures and marvels.
Thus, what really makes a different is they got them? That is the main reason to learn from them. The reading of The Exploration of the Future of Edward Cornish inspired me to write this article.

Only you have the power to go into ACTION, take advantage of this knowledge and make permanent changes to improve your life.

You are not alone never more. I walked the same paths and I am a success. You can take me with you. We’ll walk together. Step to step.

Do I have your attention now?

Let’s me introduce the first key.

Key 1. Prepare for what you will face in the future.

Are you prepared for what you will face in the future?

Most of us are not. Future is something unpredictable to most people.

Great explores prepare for what them will face in the future.

How are you preparing for what you could face in the future?

Do you have a clear vision of what our future could be?

Preparation is a MUST. As much you invest on your preparation you will have more chances to success.

So to defy the odds, prepare yourself to what you will face in the future.

How much time do you dedicate each day to predict your day or your week, or your year?

Key 2. Anticipate future needs.

Great explorers invest time on thinking about what future could they face.
They envision the path, the issues, the problems are likely to find on their ways.

How much time do you dedicate each day to anticipate your day or your week, or your year?

Do you use to prepare your holidays? Do you anticipate what could you need on your trip? If your answer is YES, why in hell you are not doing the same to live a better life?

“Our business with the future is to improve it, not to predict it” E. Cornish

Key 3. Use poor information when necessary.

Are you one of those who need to have all the information available to take action?

How many times have you procrastinate taking a lack of information as excuse?

I will tell you a secret. You never have all the information about anything.

You MUST act with the information available. You are dealing with a certain level of uncertainty. We don’t need to know everything about future. Most of what will happen is not important to us. Thus, there is a small portion, which is important and is accessible.

Not only great explorers do. Intelligence analysts do as well.
They must deal with poor information to decide the best path of action.

Key 4. Expect the unexpected.

The unexpected is not necessarily bad.

Surprise is almost a need. Tony Robbins said Variety is a human need.

You know that the unexpected can be scary. We all have some bad feelings about be waiting and don’t know what is going on.

Great explorers prepare for every thing could happen, even the unexpected.
Future studies call it the Wild Cart.

Are you considering the Wild Carts on your future planning? Do you have a future planning?

Things happen for a reason. Sometimes cost us a fortune to discover the reason. Sometimes is not worth it to invest on discovering the reason.

For whatever reason you have to face the unexpected, be prepare to it.

Key 5. Think long term as well as short term.

This is a very important point, my friend.

Currently we are suffering a short term thought disease. You are witness of millions of people just moving around trying to cope with daily routines. They are hanging around without any thought about tomorrow.

Great explorers know it will be a time, many times a long time, between your dreams and the moment your dreams come true.

Take a moment to remember Columbus. He took many years around Europe trying to get support to his venture. How much time was he thinking ahead? How many NO did he receive before he was listened by the Spain’s Queen?

NASA is one of the most important research organizations worldwide. No doubt about it. And it’s probably the most important explorer’s organization. It took us to the moon and far away.

Once President John F. Kennedy decided to go to the moon, it goes done in eight years, creating and building whole new technologies.

Long-term thinking is a MUST to success, because success is a process, not an event.

Reading this article you are on your way to get the lifestyle you want. Let’s me walk with you. I assure you it will be easier, funnier and simpler than you thought.

Key 6. Dream productively.

Dream is a God given tool to plan your actions. Dreaming you fantasize about future events. It is natural. It comes with your genetic backpack. It’s up to you to use it properly or to waste it.

Great explorers are doers.

They use productive dreaming as a tool to achieve their visions. They use productive dreaming to plan ahead, to think strategically and to keep the motivation fire alive and high.

Tired to daydreaming wasting time. You don’t remember the last time you dreamed. You use to don’t remember your dreams. Then, You are not using your natural capabilities to the best.

Life is to short. Life comes with too many challenges. You cannot afford an inappropriate use of your natural skills.

Key 7. Learn from our predecessors.

A long time ago I heard that an intelligence man is the one who learn from his own mistakes. And a wise man is the one who learn from the others mistakes. Who you want to become in? I have a clear choice.

How long are we, human beings, walking over the Earth for? Those are a lot of mistakes to learn from. I will make my own mistakes. Of course, I will, but I will try to do new mistakes and avoid the old mistakes.

You can be thinking we as human being, sometimes do not look very intelligent. We keep doing the same mistakes for years, even for generations.

I will tell you something. You are right, but not completely right. A characteristic successful people have is they learn very quickly from mistakes, from oneself mistakes and from others mistakes.

Great explorers review all the information available about others previous attempts to achieve the same or similar aims.

I was loss before. I found the way to take control over my life. I made my life simple, fun & efficient. I teach to other to do the same thing. We share experiences. Join us and learn from our experience. Make your way easier, funnier & more efficient too.

To your Grow and Win success.

Fernando Manzano

The seven lessons from the great explorers is
inspired by the book The Exploration of the Future of Edward
Cornish. Used with permission from the WorldFuture Society, 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 450, Bethesda, Maryland20814. Telephone: 301/656-8274; Fax: 301/951-0394; http://www.wfs.org/

Three Questions to choose your Peer Group

I am very excited today. We could be talking for hours about today’s subject. But you know me I don’t steal you too much time. You will have the chance to open your mind and after that it’s at to you to act in consequence or to be passive.

I can walk with you, but I cannot walk for you. And you know I
love you.

Your relationships are a measure of the quality of your life and your success. Discover what you need to know in order to choose the right company, the right friends.

Do you have the experience of being hanging around with the
wrong people? There is a strange feeling of known you are not
in the right place. Even if everything looks fine, you are not
satisfied enough. You are forced to go into activities you actually
don’t want to just because your friends do.

What an uncomfortable feeling!!

Something that truly helps you to make your life simple, fun &
efficient is your peer group. You could create one or join one.
Before you join one you must answer some questions.

You cannot choose your family, and your options to choose your
friends from childhood are very limited. Thus, you can choose
your Peer Group.

Looking into the dictionary “a peer group is a group of people
of approximately the same age, social status, and interests.
Some groups are socialized by peers rather than by their
families or conventional institutions. They define themselves as
a gang.”

Well, forget about the gang. Concentrate on the same interest. I
must recognize it will be easier if they are of approximately
the same age and social status, but those are not mandatory. In
fact, new rules are broking those walls.

Here we will focus on three main questions you should consider
before to join or promote to a peer group. I will talk you about
other interesting aspects of peer groups in others articles.

Three Questions to choose your Peer Group:

What are your peer group goals?

The mean of a peer group is give and receive support, advice,
understanding, resources, etc. You want to be in the right
place.

The right peer group is going to demand you as well as give to
you.

Before to join a peer group you should consider if your goals
are lined up with the goals of the peer group.

What do you want from your peer group?

There are a great variety of peer groups. You will find them
under a huge variety of labels. Not all of them have the same
structure. Some have not formal structure at all.

Clarify your needs and wants before to look for one. Ask to
current and former members. Look for an outside point of view.

Do you look for support? Are you asking for advice? Do you try
to get references?

Be honest. You could lie even to yourself. But you don’t want to
waste your time and resources. Soon or later, true will come
out.

What is the level of ACTION that your peer group is currently
having?

Is this group still alive? Or is just a name on a wall?

You are looking for an objective measure. Do you have access to
their program of the last six months?

What the annual program? What are the activities they are doing?

How are they supporting each other?

This could not be easy to find talking to non-structure peer
groups. Sometimes rules and program are not written. Thus, you
could ask for testimonials and reference in an informal way.

Dear reader, may be you are not conscious of the important of
the right peer group yet. I just wish you to be aware of this
matter before is too late to choose.

We will talk about how to create a peer group next time.

I wish you the best.

Fernando Manzano

I am back.

Dear friend,

I`m back. Did you miss me?

I have been giving training to BOSCH. Yes, the multinational company. You probably use some of its products at home or inside your car.

They have a wonderful program to improve their process. The Continuous Improvement Process Department recruit a group of volunteers who are leading the workshops of this company.

They are making meetings more effectives, simpler and funnier.

This is the second time I help them on this mission.

My work is to facilitate them coaching skills to do a better performance. They are great and, of course, they are the ones who know about their jobs.

My mission is to help them to think outside the box.

I walk with them exploring new experiences. They grow on confidence, skill and techniques expertise.

To do this work I have the invaluable collaboration of my partner, Blai Garcia. He is a wonderful coach and trainer with residence in Cataluña.

Taken in account the wonderful feedback we have received we could say we make a good couple. Hahahaha

Seriously, you know I am not humble. Blai and me make a number one team.

I will tell you more about the subjects and techniques we use tomorrow.

Now family is waiting for dinner. And family is a priority.

Be good.

All the best.

A central question to simplify your life

How many times do you find yourself wasting time?
I have that experience. You look around and you think
“what the hell I am doing here? I could be doing something
good. I could be doing something more productive”.
But you continue hanging around and wasting your time
with your gang.

If we’ve met before you may know my mission is to make your life
simple, fun & efficient. In order to do this sometimes I have to
tell you things you don’t want to hear. Today could be one of
those days.

You are not willing to allow a stranger to tell you what you can
do or not?

You are right. I am not here to tell you what you have to do. I
have my own mistakes to take care from.

You’ll read this article. You will get some knowledge from it.
You could agree or disagree. Doesn’t matter. Thus, you are going
to win the opportunity to choose what could you do with this new
knowledge.

Self- improvement is not an event. Self-improvement is a
process. Personal growth does not happen at one. Most of the
times you must receive several impacts from the same information
to recognise it can be useful to your.

A central question could change your life forever. If you give
an honest answer to this question you have the power to simplify
your life once and for all.

Who are you hanging around with?

The quality of your relationships is the quality of your life.

You could start asking yourself where your problems come from.
You also could ask yourself where your solutions come from.

You know it can be painful, but putting your friends in a
precision balance, are you winning or losing? May be you believe
doesn’t matter the result because friends stand whatever it’ll
take.

I only can talk to you about relationships and friendships for a
while. You are the one who must decide who you are hanging
around with.

Just take in account you only have one life. If you waste it,
there is no way to recover it.

Take care of your friends. Give to them not expecting return.

But be honest with yourself to use the word “friend” properly.

Best wishes.

Fernando

Are you passive or active? A self-improvement question

Every day I listen to the same comments; “They should improve
this”, “They must change that”, “They have to do something about
it”, “It is unfair that…”. Moans, sometimes fair complain,
sometimes not.

Do you use to adopt a passive attitude with most of the matters
related to your own life? Do you leave your self-improvement and
personal growth on others hands?

You go to work on time. You do your tasks and you leave on time.
– May be not because you are working overtime and don’t getting
payment for that. - You do not care about anything else. This is
fair if you are only worried about your fortnight or monthly
payment.

Have you asked yourself what could you do to improve your life?

You have the potential to make generate ideas that will help you
to reduce cost, improve your productivity, improve your health,
and improve the satisfaction of your customers or, simply, with
a positive impact in any of the matters of your interest.

Among these, could be improving your level of co-operation and
integration in your community to show your wishes of being a
person respectful with your environment and supporting at local
level.

But, my friend, to have the potential is not enough. You must
take the reins of you self-improvement and personal growth.

What is amazing me is that you are constantly asking for
feedback about your performance. How you did on your last date?
How good are you at work? How good are you on bed? You know you
are asking for this kind of things. So, what are you doing with
so much information?

You are full of talents and should not be only a responsibility
for your managers to help you to show them.

I will tell you something that could burst your mindset.
Something you already have and possibly you are not able to use
properly yet.

INFORMATION IS PASSIVE.

Doesn’t matter if you have a lot or a few. Information does
nothing by itself.

ACTION DOES.

Have you try to move a glass? You know how to do it.

Just try. If you are moving the glass you are not just trying.
You are actually acting and moving the glass.

It is your responsibility to express your talent, not only to
your personal benefit, but to get the World that we all desire.

I encourage you to express your talent. I am totally convinced
that you will get a double benefit, self-improvement and
positive contribution to achieve the better World we desire.

PS: I write this article firmly believing that “the Earth’s
Soul” come from the souls of whom, with their actions, made this World a reality.

When pain is your best ally

Hey !!

Do you have a hard day? Do you ask yourself why did you wake up this morning?

My dear friend let me tell you something.

You are not bad enough. I don’t want to be rude. You know I love you and that is why I have to talk you in this way.

You and me, we are not super heroes. We are just human beings. I am proud of this fact.

So we both respond to certain natural tendencies.

You try to get pleasure and avoid pain.

But…..pain could be your best ally.

You are comfortable, too much comfortable.

Only when you get the unbearable feeling of “I cannot stand one more minute” you will be able to move your ass and try something different.

Do you know what I mean?

I don’t say you must be silly and look for pain. Not at all.

Our brain makes no different between real experiences and experiences imagined as real.

Take this advantage to speed up your transformation.

Change is not an option.

You lead it or you follow it. It’s your choice.

Contact me. We will walk together. You won’t be alone ever again.

To your Grow and Win success

Fernando

How to Open Your Mind and Discover New Perspectives and New Action Paths

10 tips to open your mind and discover new perspectives.

Your worst enemy to self improve is a close mind unable to find new perspectives and new action paths. Your goals and the way you try to reach them are determined by your believes and values, models and bias (ways of thinking).

Are you stagnant? You want to improve, but you are not able to see a way out. All the options you find are cul-de-sac. Doesn’t matter how much you turn your problem over and over in your mind. You always get the same results.

There is a way to open your mind.

You carry a mindset, which is limiting you. Using an analogy is like a pair of glasses. The kind of lent you are using will determinate how you perceive whatever happens around you.

You learn from childhood the meaning of good and bad. And you learn what you can or you cannot do. You learn what you can expect from life.

Let me help you to challenge the status quo. Using these simple tips you will be able to find new points of view, new option, new plans and new action paths. It will be easy, simple, fun and effective. You will enjoy the process. You will discover new skills in yourself. And you will love it.

1. Challenge your assumptions

What is conditioning you? Believes, values, rules, norms, etc

Use the maxim “every assumption is false” or at least “every assumption is questionable”.

2. Make better questions

To get better answers you need better questions.

The quality of your question will give you the quality of the answers you get.

You are not getting right answers. Try to change the question.

3. Make a Clear and deep description of your issue.

How deeply are you describing your issue? Be honest with yourself. Self help you.

Most of the time this superficial description could be ok. But it is not this time.

If you star to rearch your issue with a poor problem description you are taking all the tickets to get a poor solution.

4. Intensity

Intensity is a must.

You won’t believe how much people leave their dreams when they are just one step behind the success because they don’t put a little more intensity on their actions.

Keep trying. Keep working. Keep thinking. Keep moving.

5. Involving.

Who is involved in your issue?

Once you identify and accept others who are involve on the issue you are trying to resolve is simpler to approach the solution.

6. Perspective.

Where are you thinking from? The same figure looks very different from different points of view.

Are you aware of the roll you are taking to look at your issue?

Could you understand others' perspectives?

Do others perspectives give you different information?

7. Options generation

If you are smart person you probably search for at least three options before to buy or take a decision. Doing this you are among the top best decision makers. Most of the people don’t do it. If you only take two options before to buy or take a decision you are average.

Get the whole spectrum of future scenarios and be ready to almost everything.

This is funny, simpler than you think and very very effective.

8. Intuition

Get in touch with your deepest feelings.

Intuition is the flash out from your automatic processing.

Do you have the experience of try to work out a solution for something with none or poor success and leave it for a while and get the solution by itself?

Intuition comes as a flash. Once you get it take it and write it down. Don’t try to elaborate it. If you elaborate an intuition you are allowing to all your conditionings to create a conscious interpretation with will have a tendency.

9. Take the risk. Move your ass.

The famous SAS army corp. has a motto; WHO DARES, WIN. If you try you can success. If you never move, never try, the only thing you get is frustration and fear.

The secret is practice. Practice the habit of taking risk. First, get confident taking small risk. You will see that you are able to do a lot more than you thought.

10. Make a habit of use a method.

On taking decisions and solving issues take the habit of use a method.

Managers, CEOs, leaders, all use a method. None of them just wait for a light over his/ her head.

Make a habit mean repetition; repetition means practice; practice means don’t wait until the moment you need to use it. When you act under pressure because you have a need you will pass details that could give you the best options to your issue.

Thank you for you attention. If you got this point you are on your way to open your mind and improve your performance.

To your Grow and Win success

Immigrants. Take a position

Dear friend,

I am sitting comfortably at home in Spain. To be honest I have not a lot of problems in live right now. I can tell I enjoy a happy life. But when I read about the immigrants taking the streets in USA I remember I was an immigrant as well. I would like to show my support on this issue.

I could be neutral. This is not the typical issue to talk in a self-improvement blog, but in live be neutral most of the time mean to be passive. You probably already know enough from me to realise I am an active person. I was passive, but I am not ever again.

I spent two years in Ireland. I was a first class immigrant because Spain and Ireland are both members of the European Union. So I have no legal issues.

Even being a first class immigrant I got the special look that you get when you are a foreigner and you try to get a job or just participate in any other daily routine as going out and have a drink.

USA is proud of mean a land of opportunities where everybody has a chance.

I ask myself if this is still a reality.

If you are living in USA you have a direct feeling from this situation. You work everyday for a better life. You take care of your people. You try to grow and win.

My friend, whatever is your situation at this moment I will ask you to take a position with this issue and with any other in life.

Be neutral is an option. Of course it is. But before to decide to be neutral think about how the issue you are thinking about can affect your live.

Think carefully.

To your Grow and Win success