inspiration Archives - John Hayns

Being Kind is your business super-power.

How do you Be Kind in Business? By applying the MAGIC formula:

Moving
Attuning
Giving
Inspiring
Connecting

It applies to:

Yourself
Your clients
Your team
Your prospects

—

Emotions are a much more powerful driver than logic. Inspire your clients and you could be the catalyst of life-changing action.

You can inspire your clients in several ways:

Help them to see their achievements in a different light,
Help them to describe themselves differently,
Help them to imagine possible future scenarios, and
Help them to set goals to achieve greater things.

But What You Actually Did Was…

Sometimes what we do feels very ordinary, but looks extraordinary to people who are looking on. You can help your clients to see their achievements as something special.

Help your clients to identify defining achievements. This may well involve working with them to reframe what they have already done, to look back at their work and personal lives and realise what they have accomplished. And then re-label it. This can be very affirming and inspiring.

They suddenly realise that they are something that they didn’t realise they were – for example, a facilitator, manager or mentor.

Maybe they have successfully raised four children as a mother? The time, resource and people management lessons and experience from this are significant and all-too-often go unacknowledged.

Did You Realise That You Are Actually A…?

When you enable your client to reframe their past experience, it could inspire them to explore previously unconsidered future roles. Maybe your client has not yet realised that they could legitimately describe themselves as a coach, a mentor, a manager, or some other role?

Look together at what they have done and explore together whether they could describe themselves differently. And once they have started describing themselves differently to themselves, they can be inspired to describe themselves in that way to others as well.

Encourage them to take up a daily mantra or affirmation which they say to themselves first thing in the morning, e.g. “I am a successful manager of people and resources. My work enables others to work together well and ensures that time and materials are used most effectively.”

Repeating this to themselves will shift their self-image and inspire them to see what could happen next.

What Could Be?

Help your clients to imagine possible future scenarios.

You can be brave for them, and imagine a possible future reality which they may be too nervous to imagine for themselves. Whereas they might think it is impossible at the moment, you can ask them the questions, “Why not?”, “Could you possibly do it?”, “What would have to be necessary for you to achieve that?” You may also have ideas that they have never thought of. Help them to create an image of them achieving it, so they can picture it in their mind.

Then encourage your client to identify obstacles. Some may be real, but most are probably perceived and imaginary. Some may be real but possible to overcome, maybe with a little training or some outside help. Again, ask “Why not?” and enable them to picture the obstacles disappearing or being overcome.

Goal!

Inspire your clients by aiding them to set challenging goals.

Michael Hyatt is excellent on this. He identifies three areas in which we can set goals:

our comfort zone, goals which are too easy to achieve and therefore don’t stretch us;
the delusional zone, goals which are too difficult, and we will never attain them, and thus get discouraged;
and then there is our discomfort zone, the sweet spot for our goals. Projects that will stretch us slightly, but we can get there. We will be challenged and learn things along the way, and grow as a result.

Inspire your clients to set goals in the discomfort zone.

What About Accountants and Lawyers?

You might think that professionals like accountancy and the legal profession have little room for inspiration. But why not?

Identify pain points for your clients, and then show them how you could help them overcome them. Suggest what life could be like for them after they have worked with you. This will inspire them to go ahead and to keep going when things get tough.

Inspiration is potent. It is a real driver. Be kind to your clients, inspire them.

—

Download my free eBook “Be Kind to Yourself” and learn how to:

Adapt to new ways of working
Harness the power of habits
Optimise the use of space in your home
Use clothes to boost productivity
Focus on what matters
Plan for the future amidst uncertainty

Be Kind to Yourself – Free eBook

Being Kind is your business super-power.

How do you Be Kind in Business? By applying the MAGIC formula:

Moving
Attuning
Giving
Inspiring
Connecting

It applies to:

Yourself
Your clients
Your team
Your prospects

Self-Inspiration

How do you inspire yourself?

It’s all about asking questions.

Questions about:

– your dreams,
– people you admire, and
– the situation or the task at hand.

Dream on, Dreamer

Give yourself space and time to ask yourself, “What if?”

Do you have a dream? What do you want to do? What do you love doing?

What would you love to do if you could?

Why can’t you do it? Is there a reason why not?

Think about what you love doing. Could you do that as a business? Would you want to? If you can, talk to people who do it as a business already. Find out if it is as much fun doing it for a job as it is in your spare time. Maybe you just want to keep it as a hobby?

But if you wanted to take it further, what would have to be true to make that happen? Could it work? What would have to change to make it possible?

Interrogate the Pedestal

I’m sure that you have people that you look up to, role models. People you look at and think, “I wish I could be like them.”

Maybe you know them personally? Perhaps they are famous? Ask yourself, “How are they different to me?” And, “How are they the same as me?”

“Could I do what they’re doing?”

“What would I have to do so that I could do what they are doing?” Maybe the answer is just some training, a bit more experience and/ or a bit more self-confidence.

If you know them, talk to them. Ask how they got there. How did they get to do what they’re doing now? If they’ve written one, read their autobiography. Ask yourself, “Could that be me?”

Everybody’s story will be different, but you may find inspiration for your own journey. Would you really like to have the life that they are having, or your own version of it?

What Is and What Could be

Asking ourselves about possibilities for our work situations can inspire and motivate us.

In leadership, ask, “What could the future look like, what might be possible? What would have to change to make that possible?”

In sales, ask, “What would be made possible by closing this sale? What improvements will be made for my company, or my life?” “What difference will this make to my prospect, how will their life be better as a result?”

If you work with clients, ask, “What difference will my action make?” Picture your clients’ lives being better as a result of your involvement.

Allow yourself to imagine these things, and it will inspire you.

Goal setting

Once you are inspired, you have the emotional fuel to allow you to achieve your goals, but first, you have to set your goals.

Michael Hyatt is insightful on this. He observes that we could set goals in

– our comfort zone,
– our discomfort zone, or
– our delusional zone

Goals in our comfort zone are too easy. They don’t stretch us, we won’t make progress. Goals in our delusional zone are unachievable. We will never achieve them, and we will get frustrated and discouraged if we try.

He advises setting goals in our discomfort zone.

Stretching ourselves slightly, going slightly beyond what we’ve done before. Achievable, but not easy. Set goals in the discomfort zone, and you will grow.

Once we achieve them, we will feel great.

How will you inspire yourself today?

—