Time is what we want most, but what we use worst. William Penn Over and over again we have heard that time is our most precious commodity , but oh how so many of us waste it. One of the first things I work with my clients on is how to get a grip of their time. If you can manage, protect and increase your time skills, most all areas of your life will improve. Think for a moment, everything that you want to improve in will take time. If you want better health, exercising will take time. If you want to invest more time with your family, it will take time. Study, travel, relax, earn more income, it all requires time. Alan Lakein in his classic book "How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life" makes the following statement "Time is life. It is irreversible and irreplaceable. To waste your time is to waste your life, but to master your time is to master your life and make the most of it." Taking control of your time is difficult for most people. Failing to control your time leads to stress, frustration and exhaustion. My mentor convinced me long ago, that everything I wanted was inside of how I managed my time. I have longed used mind maps to keep me on track of what is important in my life, and how I'm investing my time. 
Above is a picture of what a mind map looks like. You are in the middle, and how and where you invest your time are the branches. The "X's" represent things, people or responsibilities you need to cut out of your life. The "Circles" represent things you need to give your attention and time to.
Your mind map should cover five areas:
Through goals I have learned to take control of my life and create the time for the things that are most important to me. Such as having a strong family, investing time with friends, and leading a life I love. Take the time this week to create a mind map. See where your time and energy is being invested or wasted. This short exercise over time will prove to be invaluable to your success in life and creating a life you love. I love Psalm 90:12, it says "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." Time is life, invest it well. Dr. Will Author, Genius Potential America's #1 Leadership Life Trainer
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 "Do not go hunting for squirrel while you
have an elephant as a catch." Nigerian Proverb Lagos, Nigeria is a beautiful land filled with extraordinary people. I have had the opportunity to travel to the African region several times and I am always amazed at what I see and learn. It can be a bit overwhelming for an inner city kid from Compton. But each time I have the opportunity to travel, I’m learning in the words of Louis Armstrong “What a wonderful world this is.” Lagos is a land filled with opportunities and brilliant citizens ready to take advantage of the new spirit that has been released in the last several years. A spirit of possibility, a renewed hope and a vision to create a great Nigeria. A conversation with a local is like having a history lesson; the people of Nigeria are very knowledgeable of their culture and history. On this trip I planned to speak to a group of leaders and business owners and help them with growth opportunities. But as I expected, I received more than I could give. Just wanted to share a few of the lessons I learned while in Lagos. Lesson 1- Everyone Has a Dream Life is a teacher. Always teaching lessons to those that are paying attention. This is a lesson I know well, but I love when it is reinforced. Upon arriving to the hotel, I was greeted by a young man that was eager to meet his new American guest. After a few exchanges of small words, this young man conveyed his dream of being an engineer to me. He worked at the hotel during the day, and took classes at night. Soon his life would change because of the education he was receiving. For this young man, the mountain of responsibility was great; his whole family was depending on him. A responsibility he was excited to take on. I offered a few words of encouragement and we exchanged emails to keep in contact. I was reminded that dreams are still the portal to a better life. Don’t stop dreaming. Lesson 2- Opportunity Is Everywhere As we drove around the city, I looked for a place to eat. I don’t like to venture out to much when it comes to eating. I spotted a Chinese restaurant and thought to myself, how interesting, a Chinese restaurant in Nigeria. Thinking to myself, one of the locals must have attended a culinary arts school that taught them how to prepare Chinese food. To my surprise when I entered the restaurant, I was greeted by a friendly Chinese man. After we were settled, I noticed the man sitting in the corner and I couldn’t resist going over and asking him how he got to Nigeria. I greeted the gentleman once again and asked if I could ask him a few questions. Looking puzzled he agreed. Really all I wanted to know was how did he end up in Nigeria. Long story short, his son had come over for business and noticed there wasn’t any restaurants that served Chinese food. He told his parents upon his return and the rest is history as they say. I was floored and laughing at the same time. The man looked at me, and said “It was an easy choice; we own five restaurants here in Nigeria. It was a great opportunity.” If you have an open mind, you will see opportunity everywhere. As my mentor would say, “Open both your eyes.” Lesson 3- Serve Your Best I learned much on my trip, but I will stop with this lesson. What ever you do in life, be your best. Give your best and serve the best. I can remember as a little boy, when we had guest for dinner, my grandmother would use our best dishes, prepare the best meal possible. She wanted the guest to feel special. Everyone that comes in contact with you should feel special, like a guest. My teaching leadership and business principals to the world is my genius; I do everything possible to be my best. Doing your best at whatever you do will afford you great opportunities to serve, so serve your best! I look forward to traveling back to Nigeria several more times to gather more great lessons. What are some great lessons you learned while traveling? Dr. Will Author, Genius Potential America's #1 Leadership Life Trainer  Challenges come in all shapes and sizes. They can come from people, system problems, or societal issues. They cannot be avoided, nor ignored, so you better learn how to deal with them correctly. In this three part blog we will look at three types of challenges; people, system problems and societal problems. The dictionary defines a challenge as something that is threatening, stimulating or inciting. I commonly look at a challenge as an opposition. However you want to define the word, having the proper perspective is essential to overcoming any challenge. All of your life you will have to live with people, unless you buy yourself a private island and live there in solitude. People are interesting and many times perplexing to say the least. In my leadership journey I have come across some very interesting people. Some have challenged my ideas, leadership, and my very being. I can’t remember a time when I just lead one person, so usually when an individual challenged me, the way I handled it would have a ripple effect on the other people on the team. So how you handle challenges is very important. Whenever I am dealing with a challenge from a person, the very first thing I want to understand is what they are challenging and if they are challenging me at all. Never confuse a person asking for clarity for a person that is challenging you. As a leader you are called upon to communicate clearly. I noticed within myself, I may think I have said something clearly and I didn’t. So find out if the person is asking for clarity. The next critical point is to determine if the person is seeking understanding of what is being communicated. The old way of leading that said, “Just do what you are told” is out the window. As I leader, it is your duty to make sure the team understands what is being done, or changed. For an example, if the company is changing health care providers, everyone should know why. Even though they didn’t have a say in the change, everyone feels better when they know why. Lastly, I always look at who is making the challenge. Maturity plays a huge part when someone makes a challenge. When I was in the military, I found that nineteen and twenty year old privates always wanted to challenge me. Under military law, many times I could have gotten these individuals into a lot of hot water. But as a leader, I understood that developing these young soldiers was a part of my responsibility. I had to learn early on not to take a challenge so personally. I would usually take a young soldier and teach them how and when they could make a proper challenge and when it was inappropriate. For the most part I never had a second infraction. Leadership to me is always about developing those that you lead. It has very little to do with titles and positions. I would rather someone respect me for my leadership, than my title or position. If I win them over with my leadership, the other will follow. Dr. Will Author, Genius Potential America's #1 Leadership Life Trainer 
 Deep down inside I don't think anyone wants to be a failure or live a sub-par life. But I have found many people just give up on the idea of being successful, and I know success is relative to each individual, but most have given up on their own idea of success as well. I have studied, interviewed and talk with some highly successful people, and there is always a few common threads that run through these individuals. I was told long time ago that success is like a combination lock, and if you put the numbers in the right sequence, the lock will open for you, no matter who you are. So what have I found out about successful people that make us admire them. These ideas are going to be so common, you will be tempted to say, I have heard that before. But it's not what you have heard before; it's about what are you doing with what you have heard. How committed are you to doing what you have heard? Here is what I have learned: THEY DREAM BIGGER THAN THEIR ENVIRONMENT Whether it's Martin Luther King Jr. dreaming of a better society or Mother Teresa believing that she could change a child's life one at a time, the dream on the inside of them was bigger than the environment they were in. Successful people just refuse to believe that the task is too great. The dream on the inside of them will not allow them to give up. THEIR ATTITUDE IS ALWAYS POSITIVE Their circumstances may not always be positive, but they have the ability to remain positive. Nelson Mandela's ability to stay positive and hopeful, and not become bitter after spending 27 years in prison, allowed him to be elected President of South Africa. Successful individuals know that becoming negative will not serve them well, so they focus on the positives of every situation. THEY LISTEN TO THE CRITICS Lebron James was blasted and left for dead when the Miami Heat didn't when the NBA championship the first year after he was traded from Cleveland. Although it was a painful experience, Lebron took the time to listen to what people were saying, some of it was true, some of it was not. He listened for what was true in the criticism, and went to work. He heard the critics say his low post game was weak, so he met with and learned from the great Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon. The result was a better low post game and a much improved Lebron. Successful people are interested in improving, not staying the same, even if the help comes through criticism. THEY REFUSE TO STOP Hard, difficult, tired, disappointed are not words for quitting to highly successful people. It's just a part of the process. I haven't met one person that has had an easy cake walk to success. It has taken years, blood, sweat, sleepless nights and everything under the sun for them to achieve success. The question always remains, how bad do you want it, successful people have made up in their minds, that it is wort THEY KNOW THEY CAN'T DO IT ALONE Successful people understand that it takes team work to make the dream work. Even if the team has to change many times, they never give up on working with people. They don't develop a me against the world attitude. They learn and move on when one relationship doesn't work out. These traits are going to be critical to you achieving the success you desire. So dream big, never give up, surround yourself with great people, learn from weaknesses and mistakes and maintain a positive attitude always. Dr. Will Author, Genius Potential America's #1 Leadership Life Trainer   Who likes pressure?
Who needs pressure? Who wants pressure? I would venture to say not many people like the thought of dealing with the pressures of life. But pressure is normal. So if pressure is normal, how do we handle it more effectively. The longer I live the more I realize there are some things that you can't get around or avoid no matter how hard you try, no matter how careful you are, change, doubt, fear, disappointments, mistakes, road blocks and the like are just going to happen, no matter what. Pressure to perform, pressure to be better, pressure to please your boss, spouse or family is probaly on the forefront of everyone's mind. Needless to say pressure is not going anywhere. Learning how to manage the pressure is the key. I have found 5 critical steps to take when the pressure is on. #1 STEP BACK AND BREATHE When I feel the pressure mounting, I will step back and take a deep breathe. You cannot do great thinking, which is required in pressure times. Many people try to saty in the heat of the moment, but it's always good to step away. #2 SAY A SHORT PRAYER I always ask for wisdom to make the right decisions and to do the right things. I ask for courage and strentgh, to execute what is needed in the situation. #3 GET AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE Try to gather as much information on the situation as possible. Never make difficult decisions without as much information as possible. This is vital for when you need outside counsel, the more information, the better the advice. #4 SEEK TRUSTED COUNSEL I turn to my advisors and mentors. People that have been through the fire of test and trials. They help bring a calmness to the sisutation I may be facing. Because the relationship has been developed long before, I trust them. #5 MAKE THE BEST DECISION Make the best decision for the sistuation and live with it. Sometimes it will turn out great, sometimes not so great. But as they say, you live and learn. Pressure is not something to be avoided, but handle with the best wisdom possible. So the next time you feel the pressure, follow these 5 keys. How do you handle the pressure? Comment below! Dr. Will Author, Genius Potential America's #1 Leadership Life Trainer  There's that dreadful word change. Then I add the word radical, not simple or small change but radical change is the key to living a radical life. But here is the oxymoronic thing about change. A simple or small change can be radical. Let me give you an example, a small change in the time you wake up each morning, let's say you decided to wake up 15 minutes earlier and read something positive. This simple change could produce radical change in your day. Once you start having better days, you start having better weeks, better weeks lead to better months, months to years. All because you made a small change that had radical results. What about taking 10 minutes a day to meditate? What radical results could this produce in your life? Most people want big results, and they think they have to do something major. In my observation of my own life and other highly successful people, I have learned that the simple and small changes create the momentum for big changes in life. My decision to read 15 minutes a day over 10 years ago started the process for my reading habits today, and I read far more than 15 minutes daily now, but it started with a small change, that has produced radical results. What simple or small changes can you make today that will produce radical results in your life? Any pilot will tell you that just an inch here or there off course will lead you in a totally new direction. You are a few simple changes away to living a radical life. What changes have you made that have led to radical results? Comment below. Dr. Will Moreland Author, Genius Potential America's #1 Leadership Life Trainer 
 As many of you know, I was recently nominated for a Small Business Influencer Award. The award is given to individuals and corporations that have demonstrated their support and influence to the Small Business Community. I'm usually asked how do I get nominated for these awards and usually I don't know. I can only imagine that I have had the pleasure of working with someone that has found value in what I do, and for that I am grateful. Over a two week period, individuals are asked to vote for nominees one time per day. There were over 1000 nominations submitted across North America. In the first round of voting I finished #55 out of the 1000 nominations. To say the least, I'm overwhelmed. I was instantly reminded by what my mentor John Maxwell says, "It takes team work to make the dream work." Friends, family and colleagues showed their support by voting, encouraging others to vote and posting the voting links on their social pages. This morning when I woke up, I saw all the votes that were cast and immediately thought about each person's time that had been invested in voting for me. Time they will never get back, time that could have been invested in other ways. It is said that one of the ways you can tell a person values you, is if they invest time with you or on you. Anyone that achieves anything worth while knows that it is not done alone. I'm not sure if I will end up in the top 100 winners, but I do know I would not have reached this far without all the support I received thus far. As a leader, you can never forget that you stand on the shoulder of many others. Never loose sight of this. There is really no such thing as an individual award, all awards are team oriented in some way. When you fail to say thank you or acknowledge those that help you succeed, you are displaying:
As a little child, we are taught to always say thank you. Those two words are very powerful. Use them often to convey that you understand that nothing is done without great support from others. So I want to say thank you to everyone that voted for me and supported me in becoming a Small Business Influencer. Dr. Will Moreland Author, Genius Potential America's #1 Leadership Life Trainer 
 Recently I was reading Success Magazine, as I do each month. It is always filled with great content. The August issue was no different, and on the cover is a business leader I greatly admire, Richard Branson. But the article that grabbed my attention was the article on Zappos. The shoe company that customers, but more importantly employees have fallen in love with. The company works overtime to create a culture where employees love to come to work. Imagine a place where employees, volunteers, members or even students love to come. Who's job is it to create this type of environment? Shouldn't employee's be happy they have a job in this economy? Students shouldn't expect to enjoy school right? Most leaders display the attitude that those that follow should be grateful to serve and shouldn't expect anything other than their pay check. But studies have proven, happy employees produce more. They are willing to go the extra mile and look out for the company. For Zappos's CEO Tony Hsieh, creating and maintaining the proper company culture is a passion. New employees are taking through a four-week indoctrination of the Zappos's culture. The training helps develop the Zappos's mindset in each new hire. If a person feels they will not be a good fit for the company they can opt out of the training and receive $2000 for their time. Hsieh says only about 1% opt for the payout. So what has Zappo's done to create this culture, and how can you create a culture where people want to be a part of what you are doing. BE UP FRONT Let people know what your organization stands for, what is the big picture. What is expected, and how it should be performed. Zappos accomplishes this during their four-week training. INSPECT WHAT YOU EXPECT You cannot expect something from someone you have not instructed them on. But once you have laid out the expectations, you need to come back and review and correct if the person is not on track. Zappos accomplishes this by conducting annual reviews. ASK YOUR EMPLOYEES In my observation, most leaders fail big time in this area. Many leaders speak, tell, order, but few listen. Being more concerned in how they want the job down, rather than what would be the best way to accomplish the task. When I read the interview with Richard Branson in the magazine, he told of an instance where one of his leadership teams let him know, they preferred to wear ties to work. Branson had a no tie policy in place, Branson made the change for that team. Hsieh sent out an email request to all employees, asking them to tell him, what the Zappos culture means to them. The result was a 10 point core value statement and a Zappos Culture Book (the pic is a picture of my Zappos Culture Book). Here are the 10 point core values for Zappos....
So what's your company, organization, school or churches culture. Start with asking yourself what you want the culture to be, then ask those inside the culture do they feel the same way. Make the necessary adjustments if you want a team that loves to come to work. Dr. Will Author, Genius Potential America's #1 Leadership Life Trainer  2 More Days to Vote !!! Please take a moment to vote for me for Small Business Influencer of the Year. Takes less than 5 seconds to vote, . Click on Image to Vote!!!
 It's refreshing to find a leader that is bold enough to stand for something, communicate what they stand for and then stand-by what they stand for. Dan Cathy the President of Chic-Fil-A has been in the news lately for his stance on same sex marriage and his commitment to the idea that marriage is between a man and a woman. His open communication on the subject opened the door to a wide range of criticism and support. I personally have always admired Dan and his father Mr. Truitt Cathy the founder of Chic-Fil-A for how they ran their business. It is widely known their strong belief in the Bible, and for this reason everyone of their stores are closed on Sunday, one of the busiest days for their industry. Whether you agree with Dan's stance or not, I think a leader that stands by his convictions, not just his opinion should be applauded. Especially in America where freedom of speech is a hall mark of our Countries success. I have watched several interviews with Dan over the last several weeks and here are my take a ways.
As a leader you need to set a standard that you are personally committed to. Live by that standard and be ready to up hold that standard. Without fear of back lash from others. As I'm sure you are well aware people will always find something to not like you over. So be committed to what you stand for. As any good leader would do, Dan Cathy was able to refocus his company on their overall mission by sending out this Tweet: "I'm keeping the main thing, the main thing. Chick-fil-A is about great food, great service and genuine hospitality for all. " Dr. Will Author, Genius Potential America's #1 Leadership Life Trainer 
3 More Days to Vote !!! Please take a moment to vote for me for Small Business Influencer of the Year. Takes less than 5 seconds to vote, . Click on Image to Vote!!!
 "Excellence is not an accident, it doesn't happen because you wish for it." I work with many different individuals and organizations and every time I sit down and do a strategy session and goals overview, I hear this word "Excellence" come up a lot. Everyone wants to live an excellent life or have an excellent organization. But when I ask to see their strategy for achiecving excellence, their is a silence. Although desiring to perform or produce an excellent service or product is a great goal, it doesn't happen automatically. Defined by the dictionary, excellence is the state or quality of excelling or being exceptionally good. So if excellence is not an accident, nor achieved by honest desire, how do we achieve excellence. I have studied excellent companies and organizations, along with individuals that exude excellence and I have traced some factors that produce excellence. There are about 8 key factors for producing excellence in life and business. 1. Make excellence the target In your life and business you must make being excellent the target. Excellence must be your pursuit. This is a personal desire that you must commit to. This is not something you take a vote on. When excellence is your target, you will not take short cuts, you will go the extra mile. 2. Model excellence Identify excellent people in your life. Who are the top companies in your industry? Model the best, what are they doing that sets them a part. What I have observed is that those that have made excellence a target are into the details. When I studied the Marriott Hotels, their founder J. Willard Marriott used a 100 point check list for his maids to clean every room. To most people that would seem extreme, but not when excellence is your target. 3. Communicate your desire for excellence Let those around you know that excellence is your standard, that you will settle for nothing less. In your own life and business, create a culture of excellence. Be committed to producing excellence in all areas of your life and business. The more you communicate that excellence is the standard, others will begin to buy into it as well. 4. Expose yourself to excellence I love to experience excellence. No matter if it is in a local restaurant or flying in the air. Skytrax conducted a recent poll and awarded the top airlines in the industry for excellence. Some of the winners were Emirates, Singapore and Qatar. I have had the pleasure of flying with each of these airlines and the service is excellent. No matter were my seat was, I felt like I was in first class every time I have flown with one these airlines. 5. Work hard at achieving excellence I don't know if you have noticed, but if you have ever been involved in organized sports, you know that you practice more than the actual game. In high school when I played football, practice was four days a week, 2-3 hours. That was an average of 12 hours for a two hour game, that I maybe played 40 minutes in. That was just the practice time on the field, this didn't include the time invested watching game film or working out in the gym. You must put in the time and the effort to achieve excellence. 6. Focus your efforts and surround yourself with the best Very few people are great a multiple things. For this reason it is key to surround yourself with other talented and gifted individuals that have a desire to produce at an excellent level as well. This will free you to focus your time and energy at what you do best, while giving you the confidence that every other area is being met with the same focus and dedication to excellence. 7. Challenge your results Never become satisfied. Explore if there is a better way, more efficient way to do what you are doing. Never rest with being described as the best at the moment. If you are in the number one spot, someone is aiming for you, so you can't rest. See the new possibilities in your industry, remain on the cutting age, be a risk taker. 8. Excellence is a strategy To achieve excellence in any area, you need a strategy. A detailed plan of what excellence looks like for you and what steps you are going to take to achieve excellence. A person that wants to lose weight will do a few things. Number one make a decision that weight lost is the goal. Secondly, they most likely will hire a trainer. This trainer will give them a strategy to follow that will help them achieve their goals. Maybe weekly or monthly the individual and trainer will come together and check the results. Your strategy needs a built in system for checking results. There is no need to waste time on what is not working. When you embrace these eight key factors for excellence, you will see a difference in what you do. Don't just wish and pray that excellence is achieved, pursue excellence. Do you have some factors for excellence or observations on excellence, leave a comment. Dr. Will Author, Genius Potential America's #1 Leadership Life Trainer 
4 More Days to Vote !!! Please take a moment to vote for me for Small Business Influencer of the Year. Takes less than 5 seconds to vote, . Click on Image to Vote!!!
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4802 E. Ray Rd. Ste 23-122
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4802 E. Ray Rd. Ste 23-122
Phoenix, Az 85044
Legal Information