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Ultimate Productivity

Guest post by: Jim Stovall

Article Overview: We are all being bombarded daily with reports of business failures, economic downturns, home foreclosures, inflation threats, and the ever-present dreaded monster known as recession. There is very little, if anything, that you and I can do about these conditions on a global or national basis, but we can have an immense impact where it really matters in our own home and business.

Ultimate Productivity

We are all being bombarded daily with reports of business failures, economic downturns, home foreclosures, inflation threats, and the ever-present dreaded monster known as recession. There is very little, if anything, that you and I can do about these conditions on a global or national basis, but we can have an immense impact where it really matters in our own home and business.

My company, the Tulsa-based Narrative Television Network, is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary of serving the 13 million blind and visually impaired Americans and millions more around the world with accessible movies, television, and educational programming. The international success of NTN has given me the opportunity to write a dozen books and to speak to millions of people in corporate and arena events across the country and around the world. These speaking engagements have introduced me to the top corporate leaders, business experts, and entrepreneurs on the scene today.

One thing has become readily apparent: Successful people become even more successful during difficult times, while unsuccessful people use the current challenging conditions as an excuse to justify their failure. I would be the first to admit that there are real business challenges ahead of us, but those of us who seize the opportunities and increase our own productivity will survive and thrive and, eventually, emerge. Once the inevitable turnaround comes, these productive people will find themselves on top of a new business landscape where the less productive organizations and individuals have been eliminated.

When I examine the most successful businesses and individuals across the country, I find that they don’t necessarily have more talent, more money, more education, more skill, or more contacts. I do find that these successful people and organizations have found a way to combine their goals and their passions in a way to make them more productive than their competition.

Productivity is simply a matter of getting the most out of what you’ve been given. Instead of lamenting what you don’t have and wasting energy complaining about the business climate, ultimate productivity dictates that you examine what you do have and make it work to the maximum extent.

In my upcoming book Ultimate Productivity, I brought together knowledge, expertise, and experience from top business and achievement leaders such as Steve Forbes, legendary coach John Wooden, Ken Blanchard, Dr. Denis Waitley, and others. It became apparent that ultimate productivity is simply a matter of breaking down your business and professional pursuits into three basic areas: Motivation, Communication, and Implementation. There are as many strengths and styles of Motivation, Communication, and Implementation as there are people. Too many of us are trying to succeed by playing someone else’s game with their rules.

Motivation is that individual passion that will drive you better and farther than anything else. Instead of trying to motivate yourself and those around you with some kind of one-size-fits-all platitude, you’ve got to discover what makes you tick and how you can find that same core level of motivation in everyone with whom you interact. Some people are motivated by recognition, achievement, publicity, money, or simply the knowledge that they are performing at their best. There is no right or wrong answer to defining your highest and best motivation, but you’ve got to discover what works for you.

Communication is the most overlooked key to success. None of us succeed on our own. We can have all the motivation in the world and the best intentions to implement that motivation in the marketplace, but unless we can communicate our vision to those who work with us and those we serve with our products and services, we fail.

Implementation is the act of lighting the fuse on your rocket to success. We live in a world in which, when it’s all said and done, there’s a lot said and very little done. Many people are motivated to succeed and can communicate their motivation, but unless you implement by bringing real value into the lives of others through products and services in the real world marketplace, you don’t have a chance. All of us implement in different ways. There are people who like to multi-task and work in a number of directions at the same time. There are linear people who need to finish project A before they even begin project B. Either method can be successful for the right person, but they are not interchangeable.

If you are one of the growing number of people today that are working harder and longer while seeming to fall farther and farther behind, you are not experiencing ultimate productivity. Virtually all of us have what we need to succeed if we’re pursuing the right goal, at the right time, in the right way, with the right people, for the right reason. If you continue to play someone else’s game and try to reach their goals, you will be doomed to a life of mediocrity and frustration.

When I write or speak these kinds of statements, many people are quick to say, “That’s easy for you to say, but you don’t know my difficult circumstances or challenging conditions.” The words you are reading right now are being dictated by a blind man. I cannot read these words as you are doing, but I can internalize them and use them to be successful. My challenges and struggles are no greater than yours. We are all only as big as the smallest thing it takes to divert us from where we should be.

In conjunction with my book Ultimate Productivity, I--along with some of the top leaders in the fields of achievement and personal performance--have created a free Ultimate Productivity Profileavailable on the UltimateProductivity websitewhich will generate an individual assessment of your productivity strengths relating to Motivation, Communication, and Implementation. Success is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. It is a beautiful set of custom-made garments designed and lovingly made just for you. When you find your passion and pursue it with ultimate productivity, the current economic conditions will never matter, and you will live a life of success, prosperity, and satisfaction that few have ever known.

Today’s the day!

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Article Tags: business failures, economic downturns, jim stovall, productivity, recession, ultimate productivity



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