Un-damming a generation – Open the floodgates, release the potential of young people.

Posted on 2011-11-072011-11-07 by Stephen Wells

Putting a little bit of a spin on the ‘Damned Generation’ we keep hearing about, rather than condemning the youth of today by labeling them, putting them in a box, sealing the lid and writing ‘Forget this lot’ on the box, what can we actually do to get them (and therefore ourselves and the economy) out of the big pile of **** that we find ourselves in at the moment.

When I see the ‘Damned’ I consistently read it as ‘Dammed’ so rather than the ‘Lost Generation’ I am reading ‘The held back Generation’ ie we are letting them down and preventing them from being the success we need them to be. So what are we going to do about it?

I read this blog ‘Frankie Cocozza + Media = Damned Generation’ this morning by Jamie Dunn from ‘Made by Young People’ and found that there were lots of parallels in his comments around the image we portray with several others that have also commented on the use of positivity recently.

Clare Boyles of ‘Success Matters’, one of the most positive and focused people I am lucky enough to know, has recently written about positive attitude and the need for positive action around it. http://bit.ly/qFnPEN

Martina Blazkova from ‘MoveNowCoaching’ recently ran an excellent webinar, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDMWSSGHKvA&feature=youtu.be, about all doom and gloom in the news these days and how we can protect ourselves from it and promote the positivity that we see and experience.

And Melody Hossaini from ‘InspirEngage International’, who I have recently started to follow on Twitter after she started to follow me. Melody works with children and young people, helping them to develop as leaders, make positive change and be successful in enterprise. (After typing that last sentence I have realised I really should talk to Melody about Junior Chamber International!). What I see in Melody is energy and passion about something she believes in, we can all learn a lot from this kind of attitude.

To me it all combines into ‘Resource Recognition’, identifying Strengths, finding the things we are actually good at then making sure we know how to apply them, being passionate and focussed. We all constantly label ourselves and others with preconceived ideas that limit us and those around us. By first breaking this habit of self limitation we can all acknowledge our own true potential and therefore help to empower those around us.

This is a big step, one well worth taking, letting go of our own constraints and positively helping those around us to achieve what they want to achieve.

So my question to you; Are you a big enough person to cut the crap and positively help yourself and those around you?

Personally I believe you are, otherwise you would never have started reading this.

Rest assured you will be in good company, there are plenty of us already walking the walk (see above) we just need more people to take action and in doing so help themselves and others.

This combined action will make the difference to young people, it will make a difference to you, it will give us all a more secure future that we can be proud of and enjoy together.

Are you ready to Open the floodgates, by Un-damming a generation?

Lead Yourself – Personal Responsibility be your own volunteer

Posted on 2011-09-302011-09-30 by Stephen Wells

When you volunteer to do something there is usually an overriding desire to achieve, to get something done for a better purpose. A passion that drives you on.

There are a number of influences that have driven me to write this post:

Talking to Jamie Dunn about the difference between formal and self education
Personal reflection on the topic of Lead Yourself, part of the new Leaders Workshop I am working on with Kai Roer
And starting to listen to ‘Leadership Great Leaders Great Teams Great Results’ by Stephen R Covey, where he talks about the concept of employees being volunteers and therefore needing to be lead rather than managed to get the best out of them.

All of these got me writing…. It all starts with Personal Responsibility.

Being part of a voluntary organisation in my spare time, I often hear ‘they are volunteers, you can’t expect x,y,z they are not getting paid for it’

Personally I think I can have expectations as it’s nothing to do with money it is about giving your word. As a volunteer myself I do expect those around me to do what they commit to, if they don’t it impacts my volunteered time and energy, but it goes further than that, let me explain.

In a company you are contractually bound to do your work, if you don’t the long and short of it is you get fired. (After a fair and documented process obviously!)

If you volunteer to do something in a voluntary organisation you are personally bound to do it. You are responsible for your own word and for ensuring the task is done.

The only carrot or stick influence involved in a voluntary organisation, is to you and your reputation, you either do (and improve/maintain your reputation) or you don’t (and damage it)

If your situation changes, protect your reputation and let people know, communicate, share, re-attribute the work. (They only need to know about the tasks, your personal details are your business, a simple ‘I can no longer complete the task’ is sufficient)

This is your personal responsibility when you take on the task.

This lead me to the thought that this in essence is all you really ever need to do.

Lead yourself, be personally responsible for your word and your actions in everything you do, your relationships, your studies, your work, your play. When you do this you will set yourself up to succeed at everything you put your mind to, there is no one else to blame, to make excuses for, to hide behind.

So be your own volunteer, decide what better purpose you want for yourself and do something about it. Once you have committed to doing it respect yourself and put your best efforts into it. If your circumstances change admit it, realise the impact of those changes and re-attribute your tasks (personally or externally)

It is your life so live it and be responsible for it, live it to the fullest.

What is empowerment?

Posted on 2011-06-142011-06-14 by Stephen Wells

What is empowerment?

Empowerment is you recognising where you want to be knowing that you can get there.

As Individuals everyone has some form of dream, many do not write it down as a goal, many do not even say it out loud, then there are those that are scared to admit it even to themselves because they don’t believe they can have it. You go to work everyday to pay the mortgage but want something more. Let us find out what that is, and help you achieve it using the resources you already have.

If you are a businesses owner, I know you have a dream, you started your businesses for a reason, your reason. You wanted something in life that you thought running a business could fulfil. Are you on track? In all the hard work have you forgotten why you started? AIM to Succeed can empower you, getting you back on track to your dream goal.

When do you want to get started?

Have a look around
Take the first step and book a free call at a time that suit you, where we can find out what you want to achieve
or simply call us now on 0118 324 1010

What do you need to Succeed?

Posted on 2011-05-182023-01-16 by Stephen Wells

It is often said (with good reason) that you should have goals (personal and business), preferably written, but why?

The first thing you need to know is what Success is.

The origin of the word Success is from the mid 16th century: from Latin successus, from the verb succedere ‘come close after’ (ref )

To come close to what?
Well that is where each individual or business has it’s own definition which will vary depending on the time frame you are looking at. To achieve or to come close, you need to know what you are aiming for and when you will get there.

Without one or both of these criteria you will always wonder if you have ‘come close’ or are still wide of the mark.
Therefore may achieve lots but you will never really know if you have succeeded.

In my last post ‘Where do you think you are going?‘ I asked you to answer the rephrased question of ‘Where do you want to be’ so you already have the outline of one of the criteria.

Which leads me nicely to asking you ‘When do you want to be there?’ : Tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, 5 years.

I will give you a day or so to think about these two components of success before moving on. In the meantime, you can follow @aimtosucceed on twitter, or our Like the AIM to Succeed fanpage on facebook, to ensure you get notified about future posts.

Category Archives: Inspiration

Un-damming a generation – Open the floodgates, release the potential of young people.

Lead Yourself – Personal Responsibility be your own volunteer

What is empowerment?

What do you need to Succeed?

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