Just picture me.

That particular week was the last week of a freezing January, in a cozy Air BnB, in Chicago, just a few days after having attended yet another startup conference, that would help me figure out how to “bootstrap my online business” ─ and yet there I was two days after the closing, sitting in my room all stuck and depleted.

My eyes were lazily staring at the screen, after having skimmed more scribbled notes that I knew I had, hopping across links, in an infinite range of open tabs and unsuccessfully trying to sort my repository of vetted ideas in what felt like a mind-dump.

Zero willpower, zero motivation nor inspiration and absolutely no clue of how to take any step towards any direction.

It was right there, at that moment of numbness, that my confused emotional state screamed out so loud; it felt as if it hit me.

How was that even possible?

I’ll explain.

But first, I’ll be blunt with whoever reads this.

In, fact, I have 3 reasons why you shouldn’t read this, at all.

I know, it sounds cocky, but it is a risk that I’m willing to take.

I am firm about this because everything I lay out here has been 100% true for me and for a ton of people I’ve worked with.

Every point of it, at least once.

All of it, for years.

So now, I am cautious with whomever I share my views with, and I get more tough with people that seem to go through the same patterns that I have.

So, here goes.

I’m firmly dissuading you from reading on if any of these three conditions are true for you (or the people you work with):

1. You’re all about EXPERTS like “motivational speakers”, “epiphany generators”, “mindset fixers” and “authenticity gurus” to help you “get inspired”, “find your passion” and
“help you align with the Universe” ─ and still, even when you do find them, you take zero action afterwards.
You just think about how “life-changing” and “inspiring” they are, then post about them on your social feed.That’s it!

2. You’re after RESULTS like “quick wins,” “top performers’ best practices” and “overnight success stories.”
You ponder on possible ways, for your current or future business, to “make you rich quick”.─ even though you know most stories of the kind are either an inflated version of the reality or entirely fake.

3. You google or pick other people’s brains for ADVICE like “quick tips and tricks,” “the newest productivity apps,” “mindset hacks” and “the latest ways to work smarter, not harder”!
─ Then you still feel that’s too much work to do. You take notes of some ideas, instead, and “save” them for later.

When the time is right.

Which never is.

[Still there? Go. Go now. Now is your chance.]

You’re reading at your own risk, from this point onwards.
So if you’re still here, you either understand where I am going with this or else you wonder:

“So what? I do 1, 2 or 3 (or all) and for me, they work. What’s your deal, Cleo?”

Well, here is the thing:

Of course, they DO work on a particular aspect:

They work on an emotional level ─ they just don’t spark any action.

I am fully aware of how our feelings blind us, which is why I want to shout this out loud to anyone I care about.

Some of you I might not know; but I still care, because it’s the things we both seem to care about, that make us relate and thus, make me say that I care about you too. (Was that far too complex? Oh ok.)

So, what I know is that our feelings are not a barometer of our ability to take action.

Our emotional world has other roles to play.

It is crucial for our health, our personal development, and consequently our well-being.

We know this.

We also know that for most people emotions are stronger than thoughts and actions.

I also relate to this, because I have felt it time and again, probably you have too:

1. We feel so inspired and motivated by being exposed to empowering and often perceived as “transformational” contents: books, seminars, videos, TED talks, articles, and podcasts.

They make us feel so pumped-up and better armed to get on with life and grow on the way.

2. We feel that we are learning so much new stuff which we are eager to share with others, in live discussions and through posts on our social feed.

We feel so much more knowledgeable when we “quote” real experts that share tips to overcome some real problems, that our friends and new acquaintances have.

It makes us connect so much better and in a more meaningful way with them.

3. We feel the satisfaction of doing something that maybe others don’t do ─ reading, learning, widening our horizons ─ we learn about new ideas, other people’s options, take advice from experts and upskill on the latest digital or other trends. We are focusing on our personal development.

We are -damn right- doing so much that so many don’t!

We feel so proud of how much all these inputs help us grow inside.

“Stop learning, and you start dying” Right?

The question is:

What actions do we take afterwards? 

What if all we get is inputs that generate these somewhat powerful emotions ─ though often fleeting─ but don’t change anything in our daily habits?

Does any of this propel us into a new situation, where we can have a significant impact on something that really matters to us, or to others?

Do we ever wonder if we’re really making any progress towards our goals?

The painful truth is that most of us probably aren’t.

That is if we had any specific goals in the first place.

We don’t like to admit it, but we’re lying to ourselves.

We consume contents endlessly and even use learning as a disguise.

The inputs we have do not lead us to any specific outcome afterward ─ we don’t implement the learnings, we don’t create further value -in any creative or practical way- and we don’t apply the knowledge to create solutions that make things better.

Instead, we use life-long learning as a disguise for our inertia. (Ok, now don’t get all angry at me. I told you already. It was your choice to keep reading.)

I’m taking the fall for this, though. (Better now?)

Through my entire life, I’ve been all about reading and learning and growing on the way.

Then, I’d think I was taking action right away.

And for me, taking action meant to keep learning everything about what needed to be done on a specific matter.

Not acting upon it.

But learning on it.

So, I’ve been doing all of the above, for years.

Which all worked fine, up to a point.

Until it didn’t.

So back to the week where I was emotionally, mentally and physically stuck.

The same thing that got me stagnated at first ─ hint: information overwhelm─ was what then kicked me in the butt and eventually propelled me forward.

I realized I had to channel my inputs it in a way that serves me and the people I intended to work with.

So, right after that week I consciously decided that from that point onwards, every new input I was receiving should aim:

either at resolving a specific issue or getting me closer to a specific goal.

Anything that didn’t fit in there…I had to drop it.

This concept sparked every single of the moves I took next.

So, what was the underlying realization that kicked in and got me moving?

It was my unintended encounter with an uncomfortable truth ─ one that the vastly consumed conventional wisdom, doesn’t ever talk about.

In short:

Inspiration is fleeting, motivation does not actually mobilize to action and tips and tricks are not an actual strategy to get anything done.

There it is. Now it’s said!

So, what happens next?

If “Tips and tricks” are NOT an actual strategy to get anything done, then what is?

Now, before I keep on, I’ll say that I know that for a lot of people having access to more and more ideas might be comforting and it’s what drives them: feeling knowledgeable makes them feel in control.

But in fact, collecting ideas, tactics, tips, and tricks will change nothing in the long run ─ unless we get out the real world and act upon them.

But even then, here’s what often happens:

we say “If others can do it, I sure can do it too” and we start applying some ideas -anything-  and cross our fingers hoping that it will help us get ahead with our goals, business or other.

We do this when we want to e.g.: “find work/life balance”, “gain more customers”, “start an online business from scratch” or “expand our business further”.

Then, we get derailed because even then, things still don’t work.

Even when we intentionally act upon a piece of advice, we end up realizing that it isn’t quite as useful.

Here’s why.

What many experts, gurus, influencers, bloggers and motivational speakers share are in the form of tips, tricks, tactics, and hacks – mainly because they read nicer on a headline, are just random snippets of advice.

I hope this is no surprise to anyone.

We ask about them, and Google search them, and we always find titles of the kind, because it’s well known that many people are attracted to this style of writing as a quick read:

“33 ways to do [this thing]”
“53 tactics to help you with [this problem]”
“11 tips to achieve [this dream]”

But here’s the thing. They’re just “quick-fixes”. They give us a rush when we read or hear them.

However, when we decide we want to take action, it becomes clear:

Titles are attractive, but random tactics and disconnected tips are not a reliable way to get anything done ─ even less build business knowledge.

Think about it.

The internet is cluttered with information and entire industries are built on our obsessive urge to know the latest tips on financial investments, health habits, building relationships, growing a business, efficient diets and fitness trends.

If any of it worked, as such, why isn’t everyone happy, successful, healthy and fit?

“Tips and Tricks” don’t work, because they cannot provide a coherent solution to real problems.

Tips and tricks, mindsets and hacks will only work if you’ve gone through the more detailed stages first.

If you have a genuine understanding of how the basics work, what your end goal is, what strengths to leverage, and what gaps to close, then a few quick reminders can be catalytic.

If you see a tip or a hack, but don’t know “how that thing works”; well, you cannot even relate.

Would you ever take advice from someone giving you “19 quick tips to build a bridge”?

It’s scary, right?

And it’s the same with important matters in our lives.

With our business too.

Unless you get your hands on a reliable system that can guide you through the exact steps needed to get the fundamentals straight; with specific steps to follow when starting, and guidance on how to move to the next stage, you will never be able to take any action towards the results you’re after.

Stop collecting tips and tricks ─ and start doing this instead.

Why I’m so vocal about “quick wins” and “quick tips”?

Because I’ve experienced this myself.

Tips and tricks, hacks, ideas, and tactics, are thrown at us in all kinds of formats that may be attractive ─ but not efficient.

As a result, they serve as random feel-good advice, instead of a repeatable formula designed to lead to action.

This is because two essential elements are vastly missing from most magnetizing-titles-but-inefficient contents:

1. The glue ─ a coherent, properly sequenced and goal-driven system that ties everything together at every step of the way
2. The 1^st step ─ the exact move to start from and where to step upon to move forward, every time.

So, here’s my proposition.

I suggest you start this off right away.

Experiment with this, first.

Then see if works for you, or not.

Instead of building the entire skillset to become someone that can identify patterns and design actionable systems (like high performers consistently do) ─ we’ll jumpstart on just learning how to recognize 1^st steps ─ and act upon them.

This is where action-taking-muscle-building starts; so, this is where you should start practicing action-taking. 

Pick an issue you have been struggling with lately.

Then decide to act upon just one thing that concerns that issue, only you need to do it right away.

The issue you have been struggling with can be anything like this:

“I need to make more money”, “I don’t have a business idea”, “I am afraid I’d be seen as a joke”, “I need to lose weight”, “I want to travel to Indonesia sometime”, “I want to gain more customers”.

Anything.

The whole idea is to pick one struggle and figure out one thing that you can do about it right there, on the spot.

Really though.

Do it right away.

A hint of how to go about it is this:

Think what the one thing you’d tell a friend to do right away if this was an issue that they struggled with?

That’s better, right?

There you go.

Please post it on your preferred social media platform or text a friend, if you wish.

It’s a tiny step, but a big one too.

Well done.

So, how does it feel to have taken care of at least of one micro-action?

What’s the micro-action that comes next?

Do that one tomorrow.

You achieved already a lot.

Stay put.

<Cleo out!>

PS1: The only way you can start taking action, is to make a conscious decision to act on the tiniest possible micro-action right there, on the spot.

It can be as little as sending yourself a reminder in your agenda…to take care of this matter, “tomorrow at 10:00”, if nothing else is feasible, right away. (Like if you’re traveling on the Tran Siberian to Vladivostok. In the winter of 1918. With no ink. Unfed. And with all pigeons on strike. Just saying.)

Write down a concrete micro action. Share here.

Make it real.

For more stuff on how to take massive action to make things happen on your business, join me on Medium, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and let’s work out “The Best Way Forward”, together.

The post The truth about lies: why “tips & tricks”, “motivation tactics” and “mindset hacks” don’t work ─ and what does appeared first on The Best Way Forward.

It resonates with most.

It’s the entire story of how I had to face head-on an uncomfortable, mind-boggling, and action-depriving truth, when I stayed too much time inside my head, learning and preparing, and less in the real world ─ actually doing stuff.

It is also the reason why I’m this obsessed with all three: taking action, learning by doing and building online businesses.

Let me give you the context first.

I’ve been a corporate executive for more than 20 years; it’s been a fast-moving career in a fast-moving environment, where I always wanted to be at the very edge of the thrust ─ that meant learning and growing myself on the way.

Being always ready for what was to come next, is a principle I learned from my dad from a very young age and has stuck with me, since.

It applies to both my professional and personal worlds.

So, throughout this entire career, I’ve never stopped researching, training myself and experimenting with ways to: develop my skills, mobilize people to implement actions with results, develop peoples’ capabilities and grow myself and the businesses I was trusted with, through different avenues: marketing, sales, bricks-and-mortar and digital pathways.

I’ve worked on more than 200 product launches, for 23 different brands, in 5 different markets, with actions that involved more than 15.000 people, in 4 different groups of companies.

What I realize now with the clarity that distance allows is that, I’d think I was really efficient in getting things done and moving to action right away.

Which reveals that, for me, taking action meant to keep learning everything about what needed to be done on a specific matter.

Not acting upon it.

But learning on it.

I’ve been doing this so much, that throughout the years it gradually became an automatism.

New stimuli-learning-creating new neuropathways-then new stimuli.

Rinse.

Repeat.

Which all worked fine, up to a point.

Until it didn’t.

So, if you’re still with me, let me share with you how I came to realize this:

Unless we get out in the real world and try things out, nothing we think we’re learning will bring any results in the long run.

More than 10 years ago when, business-wise, things started to happen mostly “online”, I wanted to be the first to know (and share with others too), how “digital” works, what needed to be done and what would change in the immediate future.

I silently, I gave it my all.

By now you probably understand that for me, that meant studying and learning, anything I possibly could, on online marketing, online businesses, digital products, the future of work and new ways of learning, without initially having defined any specific expected outcome.

I just wanted to keep learning, as I always did.

I attended conferences, enrolled in seminars, read books and articles, as well as research reports, and studied some of the most prominent thought leaders on these topics, along with successful online entrepreneurs.

I subscribed to their email lists, read their blog posts, attended their speeches, watched their TED(x) talks, listened to their podcasts and followed their achievements.

I went through more than 25 MOOCs and paid online courses.

I downloaded all “performance apps” and “project management software”, I could find, and even deep dived into the free and paid material from some of the most effective psychologists, sociologists, and high-performance experts.

I collected so much material, books, knowledge, ideas, and links that I could write an almost science-backed book on online businesses, project management, online courses and or the psychology of online users.

I would share ideas, list tips and quote experts in any relevant discussion and I even started talking people into the inevitable one-way path of becoming more digital and working remotely ─ peers, friends, acquaintances, bosses, customers, providers.

I even organized what I called the “digital world-tour” to deploy an entire corporate program with teams from 82 countries. All online. With an unprecedented success.

But then, one day, I decided to start preparing the launch of my own online business, as a side project, in 2016.

I dug into to all the material I had collected, surged ideas out of my mind and went through the immense repository of ideas and “hacks” I had.

I was all motivated and all pumped up, but I realized that to get going I was missing a key component:

I was missing a coherent system to tie everything together with specific steps to follow when starting, and guidance on how to move to the next stage.

Without “the glue”, I found it almost impossible to start implementing anything of what I thought I knew.

I looked everywhere but found nothing, as specific as I needed it to be.

There were “start-up experts” and “tips and tricks” everywhere.

There were contents on “101 ways to kickstart your online business” (which only scratched the surface), and even 10-week paid courses and 6-month mastermind groups that mostly focused on mindsets ─ or worse, on Facebook Ads & more hacks.

Why I have a strong opinion about all this?

Because I’ve bought all of them. And I went through all these contents, myself.

There were even business coaches and online gurus who promised to inspire me and keep me mentally motivated, while I hustled my way to entrepreneurship.

However, for me, it wasn’t a lack of motivation or inspiration.

Nor was it the time to focus on jargon-stuffed tips like SEO, PSA, FB ads, backlinks, lead scoring, A/B testing, and other ninja email marketing tactics. Aaaaargggg!

You’re not ready for this when you start building something from scratch.

All you need at this stage is to get the fundamentals straight.

Plus, I didn’t have all the time in the world ─ it was supposed to be a gig on the side, at first.

I already had a full-time job. A pretty demanding one too.

I felt like I was left out there, high and dry!

It appeared I would have to figure it all out on my own; but I had to work systematically, deliberately and fast.

[Buzzwords are traps when starting up (i.e., SEO, SEM, PSA, PPC): 92%]

I lacked a reliable, trustworthy and applicable step-by-step system to get me out of the starting blocks.

I realized that nothing I had been collecting, was sufficient to lead to a specific action that would get me started.

And then, one day, just about when I was desperate to find a way to get unstuck, this happens.

It was less than 2 years ago, while I was traveling, in France. It was winter, in a town of northern France called Lille, where I had my first ever long, honest and insightful discussion over skype with my dad, who was in Greece recovering from an almost lethal street accident ─ an incident that brought us closer, than we’ve ever been.

We shared our views on lifelong learning, the intrinsic motivation to get better at stuff we are afraid we’ll feel like imposters if we don’t and the vastly accepted wisdom that “sharpening your ax” is the way to always be ready for what’s next.

He then stops, leans towards the camera, looks me deep in the eye (or so it felt) and attempts to whisper, with his deep and wise voice:

“Cleo, it’s NOT what you don’t have; it’s what you’re NOT doing!”

The words came out slowly in a rhythmic intensity and smacked me in the face. Each word alternating on each cheek, as they were coming out, one-by-one, of what seemed, not his mouth, but the abyss where a higher self, had been hiding, the entire time.

This single piece of advice right there, at that specific moment, in that chill coffee shop in Northern France near the Belgium border, forever changed the way I think about learning, preparing and doing.

So, I had to act ─ this time totally different.

I started working right away, my way to launch my online business and kept track of everything I identified as essential, so that I could share it all later on, with others.

I became obsessed with the idea that one day I would design my own full-blown-beginner’s-guide with everything that would get me and others through all the “basics of starting an online business.”

I went back to my action plans and my knowledge on the online business world, but this time with a new lens.

The work I did led me to successfully launch my start-up, in 2018, and pull others into the adventure of getting started, by decoding, systematizing and designing the most efficient moves one needs to take to launch and grow an online business ─ while working on their full-time job, at full speed.

But it took some skill-building, mind shift and deep work to get there.

What I’ve done with what I’ve been learning and monitoring during this period.

So, after digging inside myself, becoming conscious of my “flaw” and working my ass off, I have learned to channel learning for me and others and to apply it to things that we want to get done.

Now, I have been running my new business, for 12 months and I keep consciously seeking for all common patterns that separate do-ers from all others.

I systematically used my observation to spark action, with my current customers, enriched my content, I updated it, I polished it, I tweaked it, and I make it available to anyone who cares to turn their business into a product that sells online.

And I have decided to give it all to you. For free.

Here you go.

It’s yours now.

Now, parts of what you’ll find in the material I lay out, may be taught by some gurus in their online courses.

But there is absolutely no one who gives this kind of manuals for free, explained to the detail, and applicable with extra tools, links, frameworks, and worksheets to help you implement right away.

No one does that. Which is why I wanted to be the first to do it.

So, that’s that.

This is my most popular material. I trust you’ll make the best use of it:

Here is your access to four pieces of my most popular material.

How to read any material I share:

First, just scroll the titles, the bold phrases and the beginnings of the paragraphs and then stop and focus on what matters to you.

Then scroll on.

You can always come back to a particular point later.

I always find useful insights the second time around as well.

What you’re getting access to, is already more than enough to get you going, for quite a while and if you actually do the work, it WILL make you succeed in your online launch.

Start action now.

Think about everything else tomorrow.

Question: What are the biggest issues that you’re looking to resolve in your business, right now?

Drop a comment here.

For more stuff on how to take massive action on your business, join me on Medium, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and let’s work out “The Best Way Forward”, together.

The post The one thing that will change forever everything you think you know about success appeared first on The Best Way Forward.

Sparking emotions has a tremendous effect in helping people open up and thus better absorb new inputs.

However, if we want to nail it, tying our content to an actionable outcome is equally valuable ─ though often neglected.

Based on my experience, with a considerable number of occasions, as a project manager, an event organizer and a learning-focused operational, I know that the content we share and the experiences we deliver, often, fail to lead to action afterwards.

Though “experiential learning” and “hands-on workshops” lead to a much better understanding of the intended implementation; we still seem to not maximize execution, on a permanent basis.

I am sharing what I call «The 4-never-failing-ingredients» that can transform any content to an action-driven one, to make a real impact afterwards.

It is designed to help you make a 100% hit out of your meetings, projects, presentations, speeches, learning sessions, articles and events. 

This is a work-in-progress list, so let me know what works for you from the list or what to add to it.

1-Before getting started, everyone needs to define the specific end-goal they are looking to achieve

It is not new that “starting with the end in mind” can help us define what we aim to achieve.

However, most content creators and presenters tend to start by defining potential outcomes they come up with ─ which might make sense to everybody but are perfect for nobody.

More skillful presenters start with why in a broader sense.

However, even the “why” we come up with, might not be true to everyone.

Only each one of us knows what one content might help us for.

The more we relate personally with our own “what for”, the more effective the content will be, as a result.

So, what we need to do in advance is to get everyone to ponder (at least to themselves. Yes privately.) on the one question that shall put everything into perspective.

They need to do this before getting started or right in the beginning.

This one very crucial question is:

“What is the current issue I am trying to resolve through this learning?”

Everyone needs to articulate it, to be very specific, to put a metric on it and to link it to a specific date if possible.

Then revisit this “what for” at the end of the session.

A heads-up: This is different from the usual “Objectives of the Training.”

What we often do is listing bulleted potential outcomes after the phrase:

At the end of this session you will be able to:

• do this
• do this
• do this and
• do this

I hope you’ll find that adding this simple, yet efficient element, in the first part of the flow, will put things into perspective and help everyone get clear on how you can help them get, where they want to go.

A note for the reader:

If you are a professional trainer, facilitator, consultant, coach, speaker or copywriter, I am sure you understand why and how to make use of this point.

If you are an entrepreneur, freelancer, corporate executive or a lifelong learner, you will benefit enormously by doing this on your own.

When you are not asked to do it, do it anyway.

2-Tie the content to specific proposed actions to be executed right away (ideally: same-day actions | 10 days | 30 days | 90 days)

When we share information, a new method, tools, and tactics, but do not link them to specific business actions (or other outcomes) ─ we are sharing nothing on the HOW.

People lack a frame of reference, which is why we end up getting zero results too.

There is a specific skill in crafting playbooks, roadmaps, and guidelines that people WILL actually use. That is whether they’re meant to guide yourself on an upcoming project, help the team you will work with or guide others who are running their own gig.

This is not about “sharing best practices” and “setting a few basic rules” to “act with autonomy inside the framework”.

We are getting this a lot, and it rarely works.

On the other hand, people hate being told in a top-down way what they should think, feel and know.

It is why top-down lectures are both oppressive and dull.

But my experience also tells me that by just fitting in an “Action Plan” part and assuming that this will secure engagement and even commitment, is also not working.

What I have found to work time and again is this:

During the session involve everyone in their own learning, by allowing the exchange, the feelings, and the practice to flow throughout the entire session (and even before) but then at the end give away actionable steps of what COULD be done next ─ without feeling that this is very top-down.

After this, you will allow everyone to tweak accordingly in order to fit their own “what for” and conditions, but at least they know where to start from.

These guidelines must be crafted with the following two elements, and in the ideal doses:

• They need to be, when appropriate, broad enough so that everyone can have abundant room for maneuvering and can adapt accordingly to “own the way” and make it work for them.
• And, also when appropriate, they must be tight enough, similar to a manual with instructions. So that everyone can take the tried-and-true path and use the right tools at the right time to get to the results they are after, in the fastest possible way.

Very few do this.

You will be surprised by the outcomes.

Of course, there is a whole deal of work needed to be done in advance by you and the event organizer or content endorser.

A heads-up: This is different from the usual “Action plan.”

We shall provide the “contour” of the expected actions.

Then the participants will “color it inside” with their own situation, rhythm, skills, and pursued goal.

Sharing what is the expected implementation is the proven way to get people moving toward their goal in a predictable and repeatable manner; so, they can maximize their chances to get to the results they are after.

3-Make sure the expected implementation is understood by the individuals involved.

This is important and also works in a very participative way.

Get participants to share back to you and the rest of the participants, what they understood to be the most important “Next Steps”.

People often tend to cherry-pick things to fit their situation or skills and ignore the rest.

Sometimes it’s fine, but sometimes it’s not.

Make sure you get at least ONE thing, the 1st step clearly perceived as it was meant to, by everyone.

If the 1st step is NOT your own decision to make, then make sure you have it confirmed in advance with the initiator, the managers, the strategy, the initial endorser, the other stakeholders.

Depending on the familiarity of the participants with the subject you can then hand them out a whitepaper memo / send a link / a website / share a video or take a photo (or anything) of a written set of “To-Dos”.

Ideas: This can be in a form of a “Memo Card of the Next Steps”, “Remember to” printed post-its, “How To Deploy” guide, “New daily habits to adopt”, “Day-to-day of Week 1” or “a detailed manual”.

It makes everyone better connect everything and it is highly appreciated.

This refers back to what was shared in point No 2 (above), but give it away AFTER you have let people share back to you “what is understood”.

A heads-up: This is different from the usual “Let’s make it happen” slide at the end with a motivational quote, coupled with uplifting music.

You can do that afterwards, but don’t ignore the giveaway what will make their life easier.

Make implementation an integrated element of the content and your session.

4-Fit in your event or content a built-in accountability system to help follow-through the intended implementation.

From this point on, it is all about the continuity of your event, the sustainment of the enthusiasm and the intended implementation.

What we often miss though, is to make THIS ingredient an integrated part of the event.

Instead, we trust that someone else will take care of this, in their action plans.

Everyone needs to know that follow-up WILL be happening and that it IS planned.

Therefore this element HAS to be announced, before leaving the room or the screen.

However, it is either you that will take responsibility for this part or you will have to delegate it back to the initial parts involved.

The objective is to create official moments of exchange to assess the success of the implementation, take corrective actions and reassure follow-through.

It can be anything from booking “weekly / monthly meetings”, working with a “group project App” or setting-up pre-defined tandems with “Accountability Partners” (or the newest term: Success Partners) to support action-taking and giving feedback during follow-through.

We all become more systematic and more responsible when others are involved ─ even more so when they depend on us.

Making the phase following the event “a real thing” makes it clear to everyone that it all starts the day after the content, the talk, the event, the meeting happens ─ It does not just stop there.

A heads-up: This is different from just sharing your contact details:

“Here is LinkedIn Profile

And “if you have any questions send them at me@mymail.com”

There are tons of ways you can make the sustainment part, a part integrated into your design, so that you make it impossible for people to not take action.

Before you go:

This is a tried-and-true system that I have experience with, have experimented with and have tweaked tons of times.

Take whatever works for you and make it your own.

I am positive that after integrating these elements into your contents and events, you will definitely see a big impact in the consequent action taking.

__

PS: This is not a definitive list, so I would love to learn what else works for you, in your respective events.

I also host Online Meetups frequently, to exchange on these matters, with other professionals.

Let me know if you are interested in attending one.

For more stuff on how to take massive action to make things happen on your business, join me on Medium, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and let’s work out “The Best Way Forward”, together.

The post How to turn any content into an action-oriented one: The 4 never-failing ingredients appeared first on The Best Way Forward.

They really don’t.

Details matter only when it’s time for them to matter, but the bigger picture is a strategic choice they are very aware of.

That doesn’t mean they don’t have daily unexpected stuff and concerns. They do.

And these things don’t just ‘magically’ go away for them, and it’s not that they have hidden from you tips and tricks that got them where they are ─ This thing just doesn’t work this way.

If they seem to handle any situation and deliver results every time, then they’re probably doing something everyone else is not doing.

My biggest mentor, my dad, once gave me this piece of advice that forever changed the way I think about learning, preparing and doing:

“Cleo, it’s NOT what you don’t have; it’s what you’re NOT doing.”

It marked me, like a tattoo.

Try focusing on everything you read about successful entrepreneurs, coaches, mentors, scientists, athletes or any other person who has achieved what you aspire to ─ make it a goal to speak to the ones you have access to.

It’s what I’ve spent years doing for a ton of fields, professionally and personally speaking. It has become like “my thing”.

This is what I lose track doing: studying the best.

If they succeed in what they do, then I want to know how they do it.

This is the single most important uncovered information I’m after and also the best-kept secret of every successful person I have studied.

I often talk about how people (including myself) paralyze themselves, without being able to implement what they learn, yet I rarely talk about THIS ONE thing that makes the entire difference: Successful people have created a system that leads them to success. Repeatedly.

It’s like a framework for getting things done. Which -not surprisingly- does not involve any checklists for quick wins, tips and tricks, hacks, mindset shortcuts, and any other self-help gurus ninja tactics.

It almost always involves a set of mental and execution principles that allow them to push through and get results every time.

They don’t just focus on getting quick answers. Nor quick wins.

They focus on finding solutions, identifying patterns, extracting the core principles for each action, and making them work for them.

Then they re-use this same framework over and over in different situations and get results every time.

One does not develop this “success framework” only by “setting a few basic rules” and “acting with autonomy inside those basic rules”, which is what we have learned to expect when we hear about “setting a framework”.

Top performers are particular about how this process works.

They use this framework to do the work upfront. This allows them to get started with a clear roadmap guiding them through exactly what they need to do at every step of the way.

They do that, they tweak it constantly with what they learn on the way and they don’t give up, no matter how many times they fail, until they get to their goal.

This is only proven way to get yourself and others moving toward a specific goal in a predictable and repeatable manner; so you can maximize the chances to get to the results you’re after.

I wanted you to know this and explain why I’m obsessed with it: it’s because it is what I have seen deliver results times and again.

It’s also the only area I urge myself to have front seat access to and where I keep myself updated, day in, day out.

Now, you needn’t have the same obsession, nor feel stressed out, if it’s a skill that you don’t master, because you might never need to master it ─ what you might need, instead, is to get access to someone that does.

Please comment and tell me what other characteristics, you think, high performers have that most people don’t?

For more stuff on how to take massive action to make things happen on your business, join me on Medium, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and let’s work out “The Best Way Forward”, together.

The post Here’s what top performers know ─ that most people don’t appeared first on The Best Way Forward.

The first ever super intensive, action-taking online workout!

Let’s pretend we are at a TEDx talk and we’re listening to a super inspiring, charismatic speaker.

He involves everyone in his talk, including yourself, makes you laugh every 5 minutes, makes you nod more than usual and you just feel like he describes YOUR exact feeling when he pauses and asks who knows this to be true, and yet never does anything about it? Raise your hand.

The speaker accepts defeat and raises his own hand – now you feel you can trust him even more.

Half the room raises their hand.

You raise your hand, too.

Then, when you leave the room, you share with others how inspiring THIS talk was, how impactful, how exciting and how you feel pumped up, motivated, inspired!

You smile inside.

You glow outside.

Then you go on with your life.

Then one month later, during a discussion, you mention this speech.
Share a great quote you noted on your smartphone.
You remember how amazing the speaker was.
You relive the feeling.
Then you notice!

You still haven’t taken ANY action on THAT matter.

[sigh]

This happens to everyone.
It happens more often than anyone cares to notice.

I have tried to decode this attitude for years.
I applied self-monitoring first.
I kept a journal for every time I felt inspired.
Then I monitored how I forgot all about it.
Then I developed my very own set of moves and ritual for taking action, right there.

On the spot.

before anything faded out.

It became -like- my thing.

Through the years I have been silently observing thousands of touchpoints, that I have encountered in my 20+ years corporate career.

I have pushed myself to learn everything on the matter.

I systematically read books, articles, research reports, blogs, and podcasts. I tested all the online courses and apps that I found and deep dived into the free and paid material from some of the most prominent and effective psychologists, sociologists and high-performance experts.

I collected systematized and tried to modelize all the information I found.

What I have compiled does not qualify, even remotely, as an academic syllabus.

What it does, though, is that it clearly lays out distinctive patterns that seem to be the minimum common denominator that prevents us from taking action or lead us to action.

And they seem to work every time. For everyone.

So now I am working on putting together an entirely new kind of (what I call) Action-Taking Online Course that I dream will become the new industry standard.

It shall focus on: Not learning for knowing. But learning for doing.
Even better: Learning by doing.

HERE’S WHY.

We have a high proof that most online and even real-life training materials, courses, books and talks today often fail to lead to action.

This happens mostly because of one thing.

They don’t focus on EXACTLY WHAT is expected to be done afterwards.

They share information (often in a top-down manner), strategies, and tactics, but do not link them to a specific business objective (or other outcomes) ─ so they lack a frame of reference which is why they give you nothing on the HOW.

On top of this I have sadly confirmed an underlying, but eye-opening truth:

Most people seem to be much more interested in collecting tips and tricks, hacks and ideas, than actually doing anything with them!

It makes them connect better with others.

They can share quotes and tips on social media and be liked.

Learning anything though ends up a knowledge waste when it is NOT implemented.

SO, HERE’S THE IDEA:

We should seek to learn something when we want to GET SOMETHING DONE!

Most importantly before learning anything, we could learn to ask a simple question: What’s the current issue I’m trying to resolve through my learning?

It will be a completely different approach to learning, taking actions and getting to the results we’re after.

WHERE IS THE FUN IN ALL THIS?
Short story about me.

I have been a Les Mills group fitness fan since 2007. I’ve also been obsessively attending sessions in almost every country where I found myself traveling (that coincided with my workout). That’s in more than 15 different countries.

Ever tried Les Mills?

It’s everything that will make you WANT to workout and keep doing so. Every time.

It keeps you all pumped-up and fit, but in a way that is efficient and fun. The high energy, the rapid alternations, the awesome music, the hype, the bonding, and the awesomeness are infused in every single session. Of every one of the tons of different types of sessions.

On top of it?

You can travel around the world and do the same practice in a ton of countries.

The same music, the same movements, the same energy, on more or less the same period of time.

Only two other Brands, I know of, have such a powerful, addictive and long-lasting effect on their fans: Redken and Starbucks.

Take the time to study any of the 3 Brands and you’ll find the common thread.

Unshakably strong values, DNA injected into every action, extreme consistency in the Brand’s image, in any of the countries they’re rolled-out internationally, teams that are on-trend, constantly educated and immersed in the culture, with an authentic tribe-like spirit, cool (and often tattooed ?), where “outfit matters” and where everything happens on music ─ mostly rock and often popping up in unexpected bits of the experience.

In short, these brands have everything it takes to stay highly addictive to their fans ─ which is what happens globally.

That’s my take.

I am also a huge fan of all 3.

Personally, and professionally speaking. I use these Brands, by choice and have invested a huge amount of time and effort in understanding and decoding their respective DNAs and Business Models.

Bottom line ─ now that I am building my own Brand, I am determined to infuse EVERYTHING I know about all 3 into the end-products I dream to deliver.

I’ll explain.

So now, back to what is the closest to everything I want to clone for Business: Les Mills.

Body PUMP, Body ATTACK, Body COMBAT and all of the GRIT series is what has kept me fit and motivated to keeping being fitter for more than a decade now ─ cum’on I don’t do bragging, but hey, I am not perfect, but I am definitely fit.

I have 1500 hours registered in workouts and in at least 10% of this time (this is 150 hours ?) my mind has been systematically shifted this one thing:

How can I take everything that fascinates me in what’s going on here and just load it on an action workout that is not for building body muscle ─ but for building a business?

I have always known there’s something really strong there, but there was only so much I could do from where I was professionally ─ I needed to find a way to focus on designing this from scratch and launch it.

And this way happened last year ─  left corporate and started my own business.

I, since, have experimented online with group courses and found ways to do them pre-recorded too.

I am getting closer at making them more intense, so that action-taking becomes increasingly efficient and also guided ─ so that I can scale it.

Action-taking is like a muscle.
It needs exercise.
Always and on the spot.

So, the current draft-concept looks like this:

“it’s super intensive, action-packed, pre-recorded online course specifically designed to accompany you throughout your entire trip from the moment you ‘take-off’ building an online business (or any other project you dream of) until you successfully complete a 6-week path that gets you to your clearly defined business goals.

Instead of disconnected tactics, ideas and advice, what you get inside this action-taking course is the glue to keep everything together.”

This is the best way I can describe this experience I am currently trying to create:

More personalized than any online lecture-based course or “how-to” video, more customized to your real-life circumstances; and time-tested and proven to work ─every time.

If you’ve made it so far, I’d love your first, unfiltered reaction.
Anything. : -)
Oh and once I craft it all up – you’ll be the first to know!
Cheers,
Let’s do this.
Love.
Cleo

Source: https://www.urijijami.com/dreams/5ba219877c1b0257c7f8abf7

The post How to take bold action on your business, in a matter of weeks ─ instead of years appeared first on The Best Way Forward.

Seriously we should stop molesting these words.

However, every time one of them appears, people listen.

I hate it but they do.

This can be attributed to our inner urge to always take the easy way out.

So, my tongue in cheek title does exactly that.

However, this is a true hack, or so, me and another hundred of people that have applied it, think so.

I have repeatedly used myself and experimented with tons of others with this hack.

We call it a “hack” because it seems to be able to hack other hacks, that are unhacked. (Wait? What?)

Bear with me.

I need to first establish a surprising truth: taking action is not in our nature; instead it needs an immense forward motion to go around our natural tendency to inaction.

Thus, we need to hack inaction.

It also takes practice.

The more we do it, the more we create new pathways to keep doing it.

Maybe the entire action-taking-body-building will take time, but it can start right away.

So, I am sharing the one thing I’ve found to work without fail, every time.

So here goes:

Take your #1 goal and announce the 1^st thing you’ll do about it!

This is how it works. (I’ll do this with you)

• First, take the #1 thing that has been boggling you for a while now.

It can be a specific business goal; a challenging professional situation; a business idea that is left on paper.

But also:

that pain on your back since last summer; the credit card debt you still have from 2011; that last phone call with your friend Tom ─ where he hangs up!; that annoying comment from your boss, that’s still bothering you. (you get the picture?)

• Secondly, just remind yourself why you want it gone?

Yes. We agree that emotions ARE needed. So, now, let the emotional wave take over.

• Thirdly, announce it!

This is the hacking part ─ it’s simple.

Go to your favorite social media, blogging platforms or chat and messaging apps.

[Here is almost every platform that is popular now: LinkedIn, Instagram, Messenger, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, Snapchat, Slack, Google+, WeChat, Viber, QQ Mobile, Skype, Signal, Line, Telegram, Tumblr, Quora, Reddit, Pinterest]

Now instead of posting a generic feel-good lesson-learned or a positive quote poste: tomorrow’s morning planned intention.

Share it with selected people, or everyone or just send a personal post to a few.

That’s right: announce your micro-action.

That’s all.

Then see what happens.

Here you go. I promised I’d do it with you.

IMPORTANT:

Just share your intention.

Please don’t expose others. Like:

“$#@% you Tom, I’m coming to get you tomorrow”.

That’s not how I mean it.

There we go.

It’s so simple ─ yet it’s not easy.

 It’s a much more sophisticated action than what it seems though.

To pull this one action off, without even realizing it, you just activated a big part of your action-power-plant: Minimum 7 other micro-actions happened.

1. You defined why you want this to happen.
2. You split it down to its essential components.
3. You arranged the components in a proper sequence. (well, give or take)
4. You identified your 1^st step ─ based on feasibility.
5. You articulated your intention in your mind and wrote it down.
6. You shared your intention (actually to convince yourself)
7. You created your own accountability system and involved others in it.

Now you can let those “feelgood juices” kick in!

You just got yourself started with action-building 101.

Good luck holding back now that you’ve broadcasted this to the world.

Now, press the d@$n post button, will you?

PS (I’ve shared this PS time and again (and I love it!): The only way you can start taking action is to make a conscious decision to act on the tiniest possible micro-action right there, on the spot.

It can be as little as sending yourself a reminder in your agenda…to take care of this matter, “next day at 10:00”, if nothing else is feasible, right away. (Like traveling on the Tran Siberian to Vladivostok. In the winter of 1918. With no ink. Unfed. And with all pigeons on strike. Just saying.)

Write down a concrete micro action. Thoughts?

Make it real.

For more stuff on how to take massive action to make things happen on your business, join me on Medium, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and let’s work out “The Best Way Forward”, together.

The post Here is the one “hack” that works 100% of the times you use it appeared first on The Best Way Forward.

Now, I have been running my new business, for 12 months and I keep consciously seeking for all common patterns that separate do-ers from all others.

I have been using these observations, and the consequent results they produce, to spark massive action on the projects we work on, with my current customers.

I have enriched the material I share, tweaked the way we work and multiplied the results I help achieve, in the best way I can.

I have been collecting and systematizing the previous and recent inputs and successes, initially for my own use and actioning.

And now I have consolidated everything and have gained critical insights.

[Do-ers focus on learning and creating systems: 75%]

What I have compiled does not qualify, even remotely, as a research study.

What it does, though, is that it clearly lays out distinctive patterns that seem to be the minimum common denominator that has been true in the majority of the cases.

I keep verifying and re-testing these assumptions, and they turn back to be “true”, every time.

I lay out the 10 somewhat counter-intuitive, and very eye-opening observations that have helped me further understand: How action-taking works ─ why it doesn’t ─ and what to do when we want to speed up forward motion.

If you want to skip the entire thought process (don’t miss the hack at the end though) the core of my observations sum up to this:

Most contents are not designed to lead to action, most people don’t expect them to and for the few people that do need them to drive action ─ there is ONLY one way to make them work for them.

I’ll also explain below how “motivational speakers”, “overnight successes” and “tips & tricks” stay sexy without sparking any action.

Here’s the best way to read the rest of the article:

Just scroll the numbered titles and then stop and focus to what matters to you.

Then scroll on.

You can always come back to a particular point later.

I always find useful insights the second time around as well.

1-We “consume” valuable content because it stimulates the “feel-good” area of the brain – not because it sparks action.

 Watching TED talks, inspiring YouTube videos, reading books, attending conferences and training courses (it goes for some meetings too), make us feel inspired, empowered, knowledgeable, optimistic. Often happy.

This happens because these contents stimulate our amygdala; the brain region that assigns emotional value to what we receive, perceive and observe.

So, when experts and gurus share platitudes on “mindsets”, “fighting fear that is holding you back”, “finding your passion” and “being yourself”; our brain is not forced to do anything specific.

It is inspired because it is learning.

The brain network perceives this as something good (and relevant to our own belief system) and releases one or all of the four main ‘feelgood‘ chemicals ─ endorphin, oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine.

Which feels awesome!

It’s also how drugs work, inside our brain.

It’s actually so good, that it can quickly become addictive.

Consuming content and learning new stuff, can easily get us “addicted” just to keep doing so.

It’s also okay since it’s not life-threatening or stigmatized, or anything ─ like drug use is.

So, we end up learning for the sake of learning. (I have been this kind of an addict).

What it often does though, is that it helps atrophy, other parts of our motor senses.

Such us our ability to take action.

Acting is like a muscle. (Not the other “acting”, if you get what I mean. Maybe that one too.)

It takes practice to keep our action-taking-muscle fit.

So, unless we consciously choose to work this muscle out, no motivation and no content will ever help us take any action towards personal, professional and financial matters that are important to us.

“Motivation” doesn’t lead to action: 79%

2-Most people are more interested in collecting ideas, than actually doing anything with them!

We thrive on asking for ideas from others, brainstorming, and keeping stock of all the different approaches that could help us get something done.

But again, once we collect these ideas, we often only move to the next problem.

Or we restart collecting ideas…to help us implement the ideas we just collected.

And this can go on forever.

The problem with ideas is that they only work when you implement them ─ not when you know them.

Most of us handle our inputs more passively.

It’s why TED is the gigantic success it is. Don’t get me wrong, I am the biggest fan and have massive respect for the job that is done.

But here is the thing. Why wouldn’t we all love it? Tons of ideas spread, that anyone can watch, save and reshare.

And…We DON’T need to do anything afterwards.

We could. But don’t. Mostly.

It may work on a different level. Yes. It inspires us to think. It allows us to spend more quality time inside our head. And in discussing matters with others. To connect more and better.

We can also get “likes” and “shares”; which is often the reward we’re after.

We feel safe knowing that we have them in stock if we ever need them; that we can share them with others who might need them first and that we haven’t missed out on the knowledge out there.

Top ideas, today, have one element embedded in their conception: to spark virality.

Their purpose is to be liked, talked about and shared online, not acted upon.

That is eventually the only KPI (Key Performance Indicator) they don’t even know they set themselves up for when they are conceived;

It is sadly what often separates a good idea from a not so good one.

Whether they are actually implemented (or even if they can be implemented) is often highly ignored.

Which is why some great ideas might stay inactive, stored or lost.

3- “Tips and tricks” are NOT an actual strategy to get anything done.

I hope this is no surprise to anyone.

What many experts, gurus, influencers, and bloggers share in the form of tips, tricks, tactics, and hacks, are just random snippets of advice.

We ask about them, and Google search them, and we always find titles of the kind, because it’s well known that many people are attracted to this style of writing as a quick read:

“33 ways to do [this thing]”

“70 tactics to help you with [this problem]”.

But here’s the thing. They’re just “quick-fixes”. They give us a rush when we read or hear them.

However, when we decide we want to take action, it becomes clear:

Titles are attractive, but random tactics and disconnected tips are not a reliable way to get anything done ─ even less build business knowledge.

“Tips and Tricks” don’t work: 98%

They cannot provide a coherent solution to real problems.

Tips and tricks will only work if you’ve gone through the more detailed stages first.

If you have a genuine understanding of the topic, then a few quick reminders can be catalytic.

If you see a reminder, but don’t know “how that thing works”; well, you cannot even relate.

Would you ever take advice from someone giving you “19 quick tips to build a bridge”?

It’s scary, right?

And it’s the same with important matters in our lives.

With our business too.

Unless you get your hands on a reliable system that can guide you through the exact steps needed to get the fundamentals straight; you will never be able to take it off the ground and move to the next level.

A clear strategy always trumps any set of tactics: 85%

4-When specific results are expected, learning becomes ─subconsciously─ an escape from doing.

There are several ways this manifests itself.

At times, it’s our “imposter syndrome” that kicks-in or the ever-changing field of our expertise that needs us to be constantly up to speed and other times it’s our conviction that we need to be “better learners.”

Bottom line, people often hide behind learning to avoid taking responsibility for doing.

I’ve done that. I know.

What is more?

It feels as if we are doing so much.

Also, perceived as such by others.

And everyone’s happy with that.

It even becomes a goal in itself.

It fits everyone’s need to become a “lifelong learner” and constantly seeking to grow. (I know this pattern all too well)

We read. We learn. We attend conferences and seminars. We listen to audiobooks and podcasts. We feel. We share.

That’s a lot of work, damn it. Right?

We can go on forever consuming content and learning.

Well unless learning is implemented…it often ends up being wasted. Ok, stocked. And underused.

We have to find ways to take our learning to the real world and make things happen while learning how to make them better.

Not just keep learning instead of making them better.

5-We are attracted by “overnight successes” not because we are naive, superficial or lazy (no, not that!) ─ but because they show results that strike to us as achievable.

 “Quick wins”, “get rich quick schemes” and “insta-success stories” are often too flashy, too sparkling and too good to be true.

How can anyone ever be attracted to them?

What’s wrong with us people?

And yet they hit some pretty deep cords.

They bring the intended end-result closer.

So we can see it!

That is already a big difference. We can relate.

They give us solace that it is something attainable to us too.

They also share nothing on how the results are achieved, but we don’t care.

We don’t mind being told half the story, because it takes away the stress that we feel when we’re told: “how the sausage gets made.”

We already know that to achieve anything, it takes hard work.

Why would we need anyone to remind us of that ugly truth?

It feels so much better when someone pops up and tells us that it doesn’t need all that work, after all. That it’s “not by working harder; it’s just by working smarter” (…and caresses us gently *Cinderella theme song playing*)

So much better! We open up, now. We want to listen.

It gives us hope.

Maybe even, if we believe that we can do it, we WILL do it!

So, what if pink unicorns with green eyes don’t exist?

Would that prevent us from, staring at their image? Maybe wanting to meet one?

We want to talk about these discoveries to others too, because if we can’t do <this thing>, well, maybe someone else can.

So, we give value to others.

This is how any seemingly impossible scenario works.

We’d rather dream the impossible, than actually put our hands into the s**t that’s in front of us, to dig a path; and then slowly work our way to where we want to go.

We love, lies.

And we even love to tell them to ourselves.

Especially when we know that we plan on doing nothing about them at all.

That doesn’t hurt anyone. Does it?

6-Learning new stuff helps us mutate into the “cool” and “knowledgeable” guy or gal, we dream of being.

 Imagine that you are that person that everyone knows, likes and trusts.

You post something in your social media feed, and it instantly gets, likes, claps, and re-tweets.

That inner impulse to share anything new or cool comes from a more profound need:

to be seen as someone “in-the-know,” who “goes places,” who quotes “experts,” who uses the latest jargon and who posts stuff that others can’t wait to “like” and “re-post.”

It makes us become that person that we always wanted to be.

Insta-ntly!

The contents we share, more often than not, are not even conceived to improve anything important ─ they aim to boost share-ability and virality. Mostly.

Nothing wrong with that.

We feel we are doing what we are meant to do. 

Our role is completed: passing on knowledge.

As the digi-trend goes “sharing is caring” right? 

Which is true.

And that’s already a big achievement, for a lot of people.

But it’s not what can propel things forward: taking real action is.

Most people just choose to go with the most convenient part of the story.

7-Most contents are designed, by default, to generate emotions – not action.

We addressed the fact that for most people, emotions are stronger than actions.

Content creators, speakers, writers, and bloggers know that too.

They’re even coached to go just for that! “Go for the heart!”.

We (I’m wearing my content-creator-hat now!) assess a successful outcome, by this metric and we plan our next event based on it.

It has worked forever.

And everyone is okay with that! Even attendees.

Of course, it’s okay only if the plan is NOT to get results, nor produce actionable steps afterwards.

If your goal is to go down the history as the person who delivered the Martin-Luther-king-speech for Business; Well ok. I pass. That’s the only strategy.

But then again, let’s be fair, (and I need to stop being this blunt) this is no-one’s fault.

We know that most attendees love action as something they like to watch. Not do!

So, we focus on motivation (with a bit of “tips” in between), and we expect it to bring results.

Motivation doesn’t work. On its own, it produces zero results.

I say this, having attended more than 200 courses, seminars, and conferences, and run more than 300 online and off-line events and meetings of my own.

I also regularly exchange on these matters with a ton of event organizers, consultants, facilitators, and educators.

Taking action is hands-down the single most ignored outcome by both attendees and event organizers or stakeholders.

And yet the feedbacks after an event are 95% AWESOME. (Yep. That’s my case. Yeah-y.)

People almost always feel GREAT after an occasion where they learn something new, they get to connect, they feel they grow, and (let’s be frank) they, also, stay away from work.

And they share this happiness through their social feeds, in written reviews, in comments on the provided assessment forms, on tweets, on recorded testimonials, and during oral discussions.

Which is why when we draft a speech, a course, an article, we design it based on “how we want people to feel”; not “what we want them to do afterwards.”

No-one measures this metric.

Why would speakers and event organizers go for the sophisticated way out, when the easy way out is just as rewarding?

Probably more.

Training and presentation outcomes are measured regarding appreciation and enthusiasm right after they’re done.

Not how they sparked any change in behavior, what result they brought about or what impact they had on a person, on a business, an organization or a function.

Conferences are measured with a note, an assessment, a standing ovation, likes and hot testimonials on the exit door.

TED Talks are measured with views, downloads and reshares.

Rarely anything focuses on the action they provoked.

And everything is designed to make the closing statement an intelligent and thought-provoking (ironically often orally “inviting to action”!) take-away but shares nothing on same-day applicable action-steps to create forward motion.

It is as if no one cares about the real impact.

The feeling becomes the intended outcome!

And the attendees’ (not the participants, because they attend, they don’t participate) expected outcome also!

If we want to go for a different outcome, we should start off with a different approach instead.

This works by defining, first, a clear end-goal and then work backwards.

What to do instead:

Instead of just going for the Heart, we should go for the right brain (Story-telling | Quotes | Inspiration), but also the left brain (Facts | data | Actions).

We need to “Go for the hand” too. Which means, not just to invite to action.

It means to provides a clear path of, what precisely, needs to be done to move forward.

8-It is not possible to spark action when a content lacks all (or any) of these 4 crucial elements.

As tackled before, we (subconsciously) design our contents with the wrong goal in mind.

Emotions should be a part of the experience because they have a tremendous effect in helping people to open and thus better absorb new inputs ─ but tying our content to an actionable outcome, is essential.

It is because most contents fail to include this element, that when one consciously decides to implement what has been shared, it becomes an extremely complicated task.

Which is often why nothing happens afterwards.

So, what if we do want this to work?

Well, if you were the person that was determined to start actioning, you’d need to develop your own system, based on your skillsets and experiences.

Top performers do this.

You’d need to extract the principles that have worked in the presented cases and then see how you’d re-apply them to pursue your own goals.

But most people don’t know how to do this. And no one teaches us how to.

So how do we turn an emotion-packed content into an action-focused one?

Now here is the secret.

As content creators, we need to factor in what I call the “4-never-failing-ingredients”, without which, the outcome is just the usual: a good feeling, sometimes long-lasting one, sometimes fleeting.

Access here the “4-never-failing-ingredients”, to blend into the making of your next content.

It works best when you mix these ingredients into your material right from the moment you’re building it ─ but you can also use it as an add-on in already existing contents.

I am circling back to the why.

When we need to spark action, we need to understand how the brain works. (See point 10)

If we don’t deliberately and methodically explain what is expected to be done, our brain will always seek the easiest way out.

Which is why scratching the surface and trusting that people will be “inspired to take action”, doesn’t work.

No “great content”, “hands-on workshop” and “motivational speech” are sufficient, on their own, to lead to action.

Knowing where to start from and how to move to the next stage, is.

9- “Hacking” is the new roadblock to “actioning” ─ we need to stop molesting the word.

Lending the word “hacking” to other fields other than computing fails to deliver its intended purpose.

Plus, most real silicon valley geeks hate us for this.

The words “hacks”, “hacking” and “hacker” have been vastly misused, inaccurately interpreted and just result in “revealing” some random, often ineffective, tactics.

Let’s accept it.

“Hack’s” misuse is a big fail.

C’mon! My title?

That was a (not-so-subtle) tongue in cheek attempt.

I even had all the hints to betray my intention ─ hate me for it. Or wait.

I think I may have something for you too.

Back to the thought.

The concept of “hacking” -anything- writes Technopedia refers to non-malicious activities, usually involving unusual or improvised alterations to equipment or processes.

On the computing sphere, hackers may alter system or security features to accomplish a goal that differs from the original purpose of the system.

Hacking and anti-hacking is a big thing in the online world today.

But people, let’s be real.

Advice like “read 5 books a year”, “stay away from your screen for a weekend,” “wake up at 5 am to be productive” and “find your passion” ARE NOT hacks!

Full stop.

They are stuff that might have worked for some. (Even I relate to some.)

But these are personal stories to be shared in one’s blog.

Not something to brag about by calling ourselves an innovator on “mindset hacking”. (True story. Find out about it on your own.)

These “hacks”, hack nothing.

They are just random experiences shared as advice, packed in the wrong packaging.

And this is what harms potentially working hacks.

It just creates lethargic readers, because they produce nothing either.

It’s a worn-out word that only serves as click-bait.

Unlike “tips & tricks”, however, a hack could be a real thing.

Please let’s give back purpose to the word ─ let’s stop misusing it.

10- We’re NOT designed to act ─ neuroscience’s surprising truth about our primal instincts.

Let me put this into perspective.

How to help take action is my obsession; mainly because I love sticking with tough problems.

This has become a life-long endeavor, and I’ve been my own primary “guinea pig”: I’ve been experimenting with ways to hack my own brain to take action ─ which is also why I wanted this word’s name all “cleaned up” and “honored”. (See point 9. You get it know?)

But wait. Why would our brain need “hacking”?

Because by default, humans are not meant to act.

We are designed only to react to stimuli. Like how we respond to change! (Ooooooh. Nice subject.)

Physiologically our brain reacts when we face anything different or new in our daily environment.

It does that by setting off an alarm signal to protect us from what it presumes as a risk.

It’s different, so it’ a threat.

This mechanism embedded in the human hardware is known as “fight or flight” (or freeze) response.

When we feel insecure, we either, resist forcibly (fight), or we run away (flight), or we do nothing (freeze) ─ emotional and physical risk does that.

These default neuropathways are expressed with our primal instincts, which means that reacting to external changes is our way, as human beings, to stay alive.

Consequently, what we think is inaction, is, actually, only our nature.

Our nature protects us from doing anything outside our usual habits and familiar way of living ─ what we refer to as “outside our comfort zone”.

So here is the thing.

Knowing this does not make it ok to remain inactive.

It just explains the extra work we need to do when we are determined to take action ─ which means we need to go around our very nature.

Knowing it means we understand how our brain works and we can choose to bend the default pattern.

We can learn to train our mind to develop new neuropathways; which can be done with time and by building new daily habits ─ or we can trick our brain.

This is where the “hack” comes in.

We want to make sure that our brain doesn’t sabotage our intention to act.

For this, we need to force one decisive and deliberate action to trick ourselves into letting us make one first move (at least).

If this goes well, then, our brain feels safe and it’ll then “allow us” more seamlessly to take more significant actions next.

Yep, it needs a much bigger effort, than just being motivated and inspired, to convince ourselves to let us…do more.

So, that’s that. Who’s with me?

For more stuff on how to take massive action to make things happen on your business, join me on Medium, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and let’s work out “The Best Way Forward”, together.

The post 10 counter-intuitive observations : How action-taking works ─ why it doesn’t ─ and what to do when we want to speed up forward motion appeared first on The Best Way Forward.

On the last video call, of a 3-month mastermind group, one of the seven says:

 -Adam: “Cleo, it’s funny. You’ve managed to open us all open up so much, these 3 months but you’ve only ever shared strictly business content, and purely digital stuff, nothing ever on you.

We don’t really know anything about you!”

-Me: “Well that’s very much, how I’ve always been.”

-Adam: “That still doesn’t tell us anything.” *Laughs*

 -Me: ok, then ask me anything. Seriously everyone! What do you want to know?

These are transcript notes from that video call that lasted another 40 minutes than initially planned.

I skip the questions and organize the order a bit, but it’s mostly all there.

A sneak peek on me

• I was born in Greece, and I currently live between Buenos Aires, Paris, and Athens with my husband and daughter.
• I’ve traveled to 99 countries, I speak six languages, and have lived from either a few months to a few years also in Russia, Thailand, Costa Rica, and the USA.
• I go by two principles when it comes to story-doing:

1- Nothing is easy 2- Nothing is impossible.

• I’ve been brought up believing in hard work and lifelong learning. Both of which apply to everything: from working to traveling and from sports to fun-time.
• I am an avid reader and -a probably obsessed- learner.
• I’ve been a track and field golden champion in 800m, I play the piano and experimented with the bass, I live on punk and classical music, and I’m (also) obsessed with words, etymologies, meanings, philosophy, definitions, aesthetics, geometry, lip balms… oh, and French fries!

“How does it work?” drives my everyday life.

• My inherent obsession and an acquired endeavor to understand ‘how things work’, goes for all things.  And non-things. The mind above all. Oh, and life. (How does that work?)
• I have misophonia (look it up ;-)). I suffer from hyperacusis. (look it up). I am an expert in sound-blocking gadgets, earplugs, headphones and white noise (look it up).
• I have sounds of nightingales singing in all possible forms, from an ‘80s cassette to an 8h mp4. I need it to keep calm. It’s also the most bedazzling natural sound on earth (my take!)
• I snooze my alarm clock for almost an hour every morning, not to sleep, but to think.

• I swear in all the languages I can; I write lyrics on napkins, post-its, smartphone (used to do so on both palms too); I do a full-fasting-intestinal-cleansing twice a year; I’m a passionate raw-foodist (mostly because I suck at cooking); I spend most of my free time solo (by choice), watching films, going to music gigs, museums, art exhibitions and traveling.

You learn, you transfer the knowledge, you learn more, you act upon the new inputs together with others

I’ve spent a ton of hours and money in learning everything I can, on anything I get access to.

I mean beyond school, studies and the stuff I “had to” do.

• I’ve attended more than 200 learning programs: from real-life executive education (INSEAD in France to Stanford in the US) to online learning ─ amongst which more than 35 different MOOCs, since April 2012, that the first MOOC was launched.
• My online learning interests pan in all fields from “Fighting Change Immunity”, “Learning Leadership” and the “Future of Learning” to “Ontology”, “Philosophy”, “Math” and “AI in learning”, (just listed some of the best courses, I’ve done).
• I’ve also personally invested quite a few thousand in building my skills and have attended more than 15 paid online programs:

from “Traffic Building” to “Freelancing” and from “PR” to “Consulting”. All with people I researched and found out to be the top experts in their subject in the online world today.

• I read or listen to an average of at least 1 book every week and have subscribed to more than 40 of the top newsletters and podcasts for online business building, learning and executing.

In short, I have front seat access to everything that’s happening, and I keep myself updated, day in, day out.

The one thing I’ve never lost sight of ─ nor should anyone.

It seems that this is what separates how I see things, from how others do.

I can process, synthesize, find patterns and break down all information that lays in front of me.

I’ve realized that I do that in a fast and efficient manner.

It’s the thing that made me hate my piano teacher and change four running coaches before I became a National Champion.

They didn’t see patterns; they didn’t have a system!

Until I found the one that did.

It’s also what propelled me pretty quickly to leadership positions and international roles.

It’s just this one thing.

I don’t brag, and it’s not genetics.

I’ve worked my ass off to develop it and to re-apply it on all things.

It’s also what I’ve found that most high performers have in common ─ may it be entrepreneurs, athletes, scientists, teachers or…dunno parents.

Why would anyone care about all this?

Because I have a ton to share from my journey, that might help others get, where they need to go.

I’ve gone from a Frito Lay merchandiser “ironing out” packs of chips on kiosk-racks, to becoming an International Commercial and Business Development Director in the L’Oréal HQ, in Paris, gearing up and executing the commercial strategy with a 6,000-strong field team.

I know what it takes to push through and make leaps.

I strive to always perform at my best, but most importantly I’ve always aimed to be an efficient leader and an impactful coach ─ as it turns out, no matter how hard we try, without people’s skills, we can achieve nothing.

Without other people, we are nothing.

Even if you have the best system, strategy, idea, plan or even product in the world, if you have no one to act upon it, you will achieve zero.

Which brings us back to you.

Yes, it always circles back to you.

Please share: what is the one thing you have, that other people might find “weird”?

For more stuff on how to take massive action to make things happen on your business, join me on Medium, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and let’s work out “The Best Way Forward”, together.

The post Random personal notes and little-known hints on the “weirdos” you meet online ─ like me appeared first on The Best Way Forward.

I was offered the unique opportunity to work in the L’Oréal headquarters in Paris as the International Commercial and Business Development Director.

Cool.

I had already been successfully running commercial, marketing high ranking roles, but I had started from really, really, really, the bottom ─ like “ironing out” and removing dust from packs of chips on kiosk-racks as a merchandiser.

So, 15 years later I was trusted with the role of gearing up and executing the commercial strategy with a 6,000-strong field team.

Paris headquarters, the erotic city, an office in the emblematic building where the founder used to work 100 years before, a diverse and international team, projects with global impact and a ton of traveling.

Oh, and wine and cheese.

I was over the roof.

I had to lead change within the commercial teams globally, and to future-proof the business, I wanted to put in place new systems and collaborative ways of working to ly perform at our best consistently.

I rolled out the globally “L’Oréal Sales Academy” (LSA) ─ a start-up learning and execution model to help transform the way we worked, and drive business growth while growing our own team along the way.

I helped design programs for effective strategy execution to serve our customers better, gain more customers, and impact growth.

This led to me gaining a reputation for my forward-thinking, digital, and experiential upskilling methods, where methodical & deliberate practice alternated with a deep dive into the daily challenges of the real business.

In 2016 I implemented what was vastly recognized as the most significant professional success in my career: The launch of a global mobilization program that aimed to impact growth and to shift how we do things focusing on by far the most critical driver of our business ─ the professional hair coloring business.

The programs ran in 72 countries in 5 continents and touched in total the lives of 15,000 touchpoints.

Most importantly it became the new way of working with our teams and our customers; which is why it became the golden standard of turning any idea ─ no matter how big and bold it seemed ─ into concrete action.

Its efficiency was sealed with an impact on rapidly growing the business by a staggering 43M in the first nine months!

This experience gave me incredible insights into running global execution programs, the psychology of mobilization, action-taking, and running business matters entirely online.

From launching a start-up on the side to running my own gig?

At the end of 2017, after a seven-year path at the headquarters, I felt that what I discovered online had helped me grow, but in a different direction from the one, my corporate career was taking me in.

We were going separate ways.

What I saw online, I could not un-see, and I felt that this was where I belonged onwards.

It’s also where the people I was meant to help lived too.

I decided to start sharing my knowledge online, getting inspired by and inspiring entrepreneurs, executives and other individuals who were willing to chip away the obstacles, cut through the noise and play the game to win it.

So, I made the jump.

The same year, I also gave birth to a little girl, Thaleia.

Which brings me to now:

Today, I have helped a ton of startups and small businesses turn their service-based business into products that sell online and scale their impact.

So overall, I’ve worked extensively and gained immense experience with three types of industries:

1. 1. Health and Beauty businesses: Hairdressers, Stylists, Makeup Artists, Beauticians, Estheticians, Spas, Holistic Centers and Health Retreats
   2. Consultants and experts in upskilling and/or driving growth in B2B (Business to Business): Coaches, Trainers, Consultants, Project Managers, and Service-Based Business Growth Experts.
   3. Event and Travel businesses: Destination Management, Convention Organisers, PR, and Event Planners.

Most importantly I have worked with people from 82 countries in total, and closer with all major countries across all continents, which has geared me with the capacity to understand different cultures and know-how to work with people from each one, in a way very few people know how to.

Why would you care about any of this?

Firstly, all the above is why I’d want you to know that I didn’t just pop out of nowhere.

I’ve had a significant experience but still, keep learning and developing valuable new skills ─ probably more than most people working on my fields of interest.

I have also made quite a few mistakes and learned some hard-fought lessons: lessons I’d like to share with you and mistakes you can avoid.

I’m committed to giving you all I know, break it down and tailor it to your needs, systematize it to make it work for you.

So, If you’re looking to expand your business to online customers, create a product that sells online or start a business from scratch, then you’ll definitely find what you need here.

I can show you how to get to the results you’re after, in record time.

Especially if everything else you’ve tried has not worked out the way, you wanted.

I’d love to know: What is the biggest issue that you’re facing in your business, right now??

For more stuff on how to take massive action to make things happen on your business, join me on Medium, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and let’s work out “The Best Way Forward”, together.

The post How I helped impact 72 countries, 5 continents, 15000 touchpoints and why you’d care? appeared first on The Best Way Forward.

Let’s play a little game.

I’ll tell you why you shouldn’t read this, and you can choose right away: stay or go.

Just let me know below, so I know how it works.

That’s right I’m firmly dissuading you from reading on, if any of these three conditions are true for you (or the people you work with):

1. You’re all about EXPERTS like “motivational speakers”, “epiphany generators”, “mindset fixers” and “authenticity gurus” to help you “get inspired”, “find your passion” and “help you align with the Universe” ─ and still, even when you do find them, you take zero action afterwards.
   You just think about how “life-changing” and “inspiring” they are, then post about them on your social feed.
   That’s it!
2. You’re after RESULTS like “quick wins,” “top performers’ best practices” and “overnight success stories.”
   You ponder on possible ways, for your current or future business, to “make you rich quick”
   ─ even though you know most stories of the kind are either an inflated version of the reality or entirely fake.
3. You google or pick other people’s brains for ADVICE like “quick tips and tricks,” “the newest productivity apps,” “mindset hacks” and “the latest ways to work smarter, not harder”!
   ─ Then you still feel that’s much work to do.
   You take notes of some ideas, instead, and “save” them for later.
   When the time is right. Which never is.

[Still there? Go. Go now. Now is your chance.]
If you’re still reading you either understand where I am going with this, or else you wonder:

“Oh yes! I do 1, 2 or 3 (or all) and for me, they work. Why? What’s your deal Cleo?”

Well, here is the thing.

Of course, they DO work on a particular aspect:

They work on an emotional level ─ they just don’t spark any action.

Our emotional world is indeed crucial, and our health, our personal development, and well-being depend on it.

I get it.

I’ve also felt the following time and again:

1. We feel so inspired and motivated by being exposed to these empowering and often perceived as “transformational” speeches, talks, books, articles, seminars or videos.

They make us feel so pumped-up and better armed to get on with life and grow on the way.

2. We feel that we are learning so much new stuff which we are eager to share with others, through posts on our social feed and in live discussions. We feel so much more knowledgeable when we “quote” real experts that share tips to overcome some real problems that our friends and new acquaintances have.

We feel so much more knowledgeable when we “quote” real experts that share tips to overcome some real problems, that our friends and new acquaintances have.

It makes us connect so much better and in a more meaningful way with them.

3. We feel the satisfaction of doing something that maybe others don’t do ─ reading, learning, widening our horizons ─ we watch TED talks and videos, we learn about new ideas, we attend conferences and seminars, and we are focusing on our personal development.

We are -damn right- doing so much that so many don’t!

We feel so proud of how much all these inputs help us grow inside.

“Stop learning, and you start dying”

Right?

The question is:

What actions do we take afterwards? 

What if all we get is input that generates these somewhat powerful emotions ─ though often fleeting─ but does not change anything in our daily habits?

Do we ever wonder if we’re really making any progress towards our goals?

The painful truth is that most of us probably aren’t. That is if we had any specific goals in the first place.

We don’t like to admit it, but we’re lying to ourselves.

We use learning as a disguise for our inertia. (Ok, now don’t get all angry at me. I told you already. It was your choice to keep reading.)

I’ll explain.

However, first I’ll take the fall for this. (Better now?)

This used to be me. (Yes me.)

Through my entire life, I’ve been all about reading and learning and growing on the way.

Then, I’d think I was taking action right away.

And for me, taking action meant to keep learning everything about what needed to be done on a specific matter.

Not acting upon it.

But learning on it.

So, I’ve been doing all of the above, for years.

Which all worked fine, up to a point.

Until it didn’t.

So, if you’re still with me, let me share with you, how I had to face head-on the uncomfortable truth:

Unless we get out in the real world and try things out, nothing we think we’re learning will bring any results in the long run.

During my entire 20+ years of a fast-moving corporate career in a fast-moving environment, I always wanted to be at the very edge of the thrust ─ that meant learning and growing myself on the way.

I always wanted to be ready for what was to come next. Same as a professional and as an individual.

More than 10 years ago when, business-wise, things started to happen mostly “online”, I wanted to be the first to know (and share with others too), how “digital” works, what needed to be done and what would change in the immediate future.

So, silently, I gave it my all.

For me, that meant studying and learning, anything I possibly could, on digital marketing, online business, the future of work and new ways of learning, without initially having defined any specific expected outcome.

I just wanted to keep learning, as I always did.

I attended conferences, enrolled in seminars, read books and articles, as well as research reports, and studied some of the most prominent thought leaders on these topics, along with successful online entrepreneurs.

I subscribed to their email lists, read their blog posts, attended their speeches, watched their TED(x) talks, listened to their podcasts and followed their achievements.

I went through more than 25 MOOCs and paid online courses.

I downloaded all “performance apps” and “project management software”, I could find, and even deep dived into the free and paid material from some of the most effective psychologists, sociologists, and high-performance experts.

I collected so much material, books, knowledge, ideas, and links that I could write an almost science-backed book on online businesses, project management, online courses and or the psychology of online users. (Well! About that!)

I would share ideas, list tips and quote experts in any relevant discussion and I even started talking people into the inevitable one-way path of becoming more digital and working remotely ─ peers, friends, acquaintances, bosses, customers, providers. I even organized what I called the “digital world-tour” to deploy an entire corporate program with teams from 78 countries. All online. With an enormous success.

But then, one day I decided to start preparing the launch of my own online business, as a side project, in 2016.

I dug into to all the material I had collected, surged ideas out of my mind and went through the immense repository of ideas and “hacks” I had.

I was all motivated and all pumped up, but I realized that to get going I was missing a key component:

I was missing a coherent system to tie everything together with specific steps to follow when starting, and guidance on how to move to the next stage.

Without “the glue”, I found it almost impossible to start implementing anything of what I thought I knew.

I looked everywhere but found nothing, as specific as I needed it to be.

There were “start-up experts” and “tips and tricks” everywhere.

There were contents on “101 ways to bootstrap your online business” (which only scratched the surface), and even 10-week paid courses and 6-month mastermind groups that mostly focused on mindsets ─ or worse on Facebook Ads & more hacks.

Why I have a strong opinion about all this?

Because I’ve bought all of them. And I went through all these contents, myself.

There were even business coaches and online gurus who promised to inspire me and keep me mentally motivated, while I hustled my way to entrepreneurship.

However, for me, it wasn’t a lack of motivation or inspiration.

Nor was it the time to focus on jargon-stuffed tips like SEO, PSA, FB ads, backlinks, lead scoring, A/B testing, and other ninja email marketing tactics. Aaaaargggg!

You’re not ready for this when you start building something from scratch.

All you need at this stage is to get the fundamentals straight.

Plus, I didn’t have all the time in the world ─ it was supposed to be a gig on the side, at first.

I already had a full-time job. A pretty demanding one too.

I felt like I was left out there, high and dry!

It appeared I would have to figure it all out on my own; but I had to work systematically, deliberately and fast.

[Buzzwords are traps when starting up (i.e., SEO, SEM, PSA, PPC): 92%]

I lacked a reliable, trustworthy and applicable step-by-step system to get me out of the starting blocks.

I realized that nothing I had been collecting, was sufficient to lead to a specific 1^st step.

So, what could I do right away?

I started fast and kept track of everything I identified as essential so that I could share it all later on, with others.

I became obsessed with the idea that one day I would design my own full-blown-beginner’s-guide with everything that would get me and others through all the “basics of starting an online business.”

For 10 months, I went back re-digging the online business world, but this time with a new lens.

This work led me to successfully launch my start-up, in 2018, and pull others into the adventure of getting started, by decoding, systematizing and designing the most efficient moves one needs to take to get going ─ while working on their full-time job, at full speed.

But it took some skill-building and some deep work to get there.

So, to cut a long story short: that very moment of loneliness in a silent world of awkwardness, sparked every single of the moves I took next.

It also got me thinking.

Did I have to stumble upon the “numbing wall” to actually realize that collecting ideas, knowledge, tips, and inspiration, did NOT serve me when I wanted to take action?

Is the short-circuit of insecurity, necessary to realize that knowledge alone does not lead to action? Maybe.

Does everyone need to endure a moment like this? No.

Is there a way around it? Yes, there is.

It seemed that I was blinded so much that I ignored facts that I even knew all along.

I had seen the same pattern for years inside my corporate role: “dry” learning and top-down lectures were getting people nowhere if they weren’t coupled with a defined direction, clear goals, and specific how-tos to follow-through.

I also had high proof, through assessments and software that most meetings, conferences, courses, and training materials were “awesome” while they lasted but failed to lead to action.

It was evident that fresh new inputs, in flashy new ways of learning can get you all sucked up and busy without even realizing it.

Participants and organizers can easily fall into the trap of “learning, just for the sake of learning”.

And then storing that knowledge and keeping a repository of ideas.

Whereas learning should serve to DO things better.

To BECOME someone that is capable of DOING things better.

So now after a couple of years of self-consciousness and introspection (and working my ass off),  I have learned to channel learning for me and others and to apply it to things that we want to get done.

Now, I have been running my new business, for 12 months and I keep consciously seeking for all common patterns that separate do-ers from all others.

I have been using these observations, and the consequent results they produce, to spark massive action on the projects we work on, with my current customers.

I have enriched the material I share, tweaked the way we work and multiplied the results I help achieve, in the best way I can.

I have been collecting and systematizing the previous and recent inputs and successes, initially for my own use and actioning.

And now I have consolidated everything and have gained critical insights.

[Do-ers focus on learning and creating systems: 75%]

What I have compiled does not qualify, even remotely, as a research study.

What it does, though, is that it clearly lays out distinctive patterns that seem to be the minimum common denominator that has been true in the majority of the cases.

I keep verifying and re-testing these assumptions, and they turn back to be “true”, every time.

I lay out the 10 somewhat counter-intuitive, and very eye-opening observations that have helped me further understand: How action-taking works ─ why it doesn’t ─ and what to do when we want to speed up forward motion.

If you want to skip the entire thought process (don’t miss the hack at the end though) the core of my observations sum up to this:

Most contents are not designed to lead to action, most people don’t expect them to and for the few people that do need them to drive action ─ there is ONLY one way to make them work for them.

I’ll also explain below how “motivational speakers”, “overnight successes” and “tips & tricks” stay sexy without sparking any action.

Here’s the best way to read the rest of the article:

Just scroll the numbered titles and then stop and focus on what matters to you.

Then scroll on.

You can always come back to a particular point later.

I always find useful insights the second time around as well.

1. We “consume” valuable content because it stimulates the “feel-good” area of the brain – not because it sparks action.

Watching TED talks, inspiring YouTube videos, reading books, attending conferences and training courses (it goes for some meetings too), make us feel inspired, empowered, knowledgeable, optimistic. Often happy.

This happens because these contents stimulate our amygdala; the brain region that assigns emotional value to what we receive, perceive and observe.

So, when experts and gurus share platitudes on “mindsets”, “fighting fear, that is holding you back”, “finding your passion” and “being yourself”; our brain is not forced to do anything specific.

It is inspired because it is learning.

The brain network perceives this as something good (and relevant to our own belief system) and releases one or all of the four main ‘feelgood‘ chemicals ─ endorphin, oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine.

Which feels awesome!

It’s also how drugs work, inside our brain.

It’s actually so good, that it can quickly become addictive.

Consuming content and learning new stuff, can easily get us “addicted” just to keep doing so.

It’s also okay since it’s not life-threatening or stigmatized, or anything ─ like drug use is.

So, we end up learning for the sake of learning. (I have been this kind of an addict).

What it often does though, is that it helps atrophy, other parts of our motor senses.

Such us our ability to take action.

Acting is like a muscle. (Not the other “acting”, if you get what I mean. Maybe that one too.)

It takes practice to keep our action-taking-muscle fit.

So, unless we consciously choose to work this muscle out, no motivation and no content will ever help us take any action towards personal, professional and financial matters that are important to us.

“Motivation” doesn’t lead to action: 79%

2. Most people are more interested in collecting ideas, than actually doing anything with them!

We thrive on asking for ideas from others, brainstorming, and keeping stock of all the different approaches that could help us get something done.

But again, once we collect these ideas, we often only move to the next problem.

Or we restart collecting ideas…to help us implement the ideas we just collected.

And this can go on forever.

The problem with ideas is that they only work when you implement them ─ not when you know them.

Most of us handle our inputs more passively.

It’s why TED is the gigantic success it is. Don’t get me wrong, I am the biggest fan and have massive respect for the job that is done.

But here is the thing. Why wouldn’t we all love it? Tons of ideas spread, that anyone can watch, save and reshare.

And…We DON’T need to do anything afterwards.

We could. But don’t. Mostly.

It may work on a different level. Yes. It inspires us to think. It allows us to spend more quality time inside our head. And in discussing matters with others. To connect more and better.

We can also get “likes” and “shares”; which is often the reward we’re after.

We feel safe knowing that we have them in stock if we ever need them; that we can share them with others who might need them first and that we haven’t missed out on the knowledge out there.

Top ideas, today, have one element embedded in their conception: to spark virality.

Their purpose is to be liked, talked about and shared online, not acted upon.

That is eventually the only KPI (Key Performance Indicator) they don’t even know they set themselves up for when they are conceived;

It is sadly what often separates a good idea from a not so good one.

Whether they are actually implemented (or even if they can be implemented) is often highly ignored.

Which is why some great ideas might stay inactive, stored or lost.

3. “Tips and tricks” are NOT an actual strategy to get anything done.

I hope this is no surprise to anyone.

What many experts, gurus, influencers, and bloggers share in the form of tips, tricks, tactics, and hacks, are just random snippets of advice.

We ask about them, and Google search them, and we always find titles of the kind, because it’s well known that many people are attracted to this style of writing as a quick read:

“33 ways to do [this thing]”
“53 tactics to help you with [this problem]”

But here’s the thing. They’re just “quick-fixes”. They give us a rush when we read or hear them.

However, when we decide we want to take action, it becomes clear:

Titles are attractive, but random tactics and disconnected tips are not a reliable way to get anything done ─ even less build business knowledge.

“Tips and Tricks” don’t work: 98%

They cannot provide a coherent solution to real problems.

Tips and tricks will only work if you’ve gone through the more detailed stages first.

If you have a genuine understanding of the topic, then a few quick reminders can be catalytic.

If you see a reminder, but don’t know “how that thing works”; well, you cannot even relate.

Would you ever take advice from someone giving you “19 quick tips to build a bridge”?

It’s scary, right?

And it’s the same with important matters in our lives.

With our business too.

Unless you get your hands on a reliable system that can guide you through the exact steps needed to get the fundamentals straight; you will never be able to take it off the ground and move to the next level.

A clear strategy always trumps any set of tactics: 85%

4. When specific results are expected, learning becomes ─subconsciously─ an escape from doing.

There are several ways this manifests itself.

At times, it’s our “imposter syndrome” that kicks-in or the ever-changing field of our expertise that needs us to be constantly up to speed and other times it’s our conviction that we need to be “better learners.”

Bottom line, people often hide behind learning to avoid taking responsibility for doing.

I’ve done that. I know.

What is more?

It feels as if we are doing so much.

Also, perceived as such by others.

And everyone’s happy with that.

It even becomes a goal in itself.

It fits everyone’s need to become a “lifelong learner” and constantly seeking to grow. (I know this pattern all too well)

We read. We learn. We attend conferences and seminars. We listen to audiobooks and podcasts. We feel. We share.

That’s a lot of work, damn it. Right?

We can go on forever consuming content and learning.

Well unless learning is implemented…it often ends up being wasted. Ok, stocked. And underused.

We have to find ways to take our learning to the real world and make things happen while learning how to make them better.

Not just keep learning instead of making them better.

5. We are attracted by “overnight successes” not because we are naïve, superficial or lazy (no, not that!) ─ but because they show results that strike to us as achievable.

 “Quick wins”, “get rich quick schemes” and “insta-success stories” are often too flashy, too sparkling and too good to be true.

How can anyone ever be attracted to them?

What’s wrong with us people?

And yet they hit some pretty deep cords.

They bring the intended end-result closer.

So we can see it!

That is already a big difference. We can relate.

They give us solace that it is something attainable to us too.

They also share nothing on how the results are achieved, but we don’t care.

We don’t mind being told half the story, because it takes away the stress that we feel when we’re told: “how the sausage gets made.”

We already know that to achieve anything, it takes hard work.

Why would we need anyone to remind us of that ugly truth?

It feels so much better when someone pops up and tells us that it doesn’t need all that work, after all. That it’s “not by working harder; it’s just by working smarter” (…and caresses us gently *Cinderella theme song playing*)

So much better! We open up, now. We want to listen.

It gives us hope.

Maybe even, if we believe that we can do it, we WILL do it!

So, what if pink unicorns with green eyes don’t exist?

Would that prevent us from, staring at their image? Maybe wanting to meet one?

We want to talk about these discoveries to others too, because if we can’t do <this thing>, well, maybe someone else can.

So, we give value to others.

This is how any seemingly impossible scenario works.

We’d rather dream the impossible, than actually put our hands into the s**t that’s in front of us, to dig a path; and then slowly work our way to where we want to go.

We love, lies.

And we even love to tell them to ourselves.

Especially when we know that we plan on doing nothing about them at all.

That doesn’t hurt anyone. Does it?

6. Learning new stuff helps us mutate into the “cool” and “knowledgeable” guy or gal, we dream of being.

 Imagine that you are that person that everyone knows, likes and trusts.

You post something in your social media feed, and it instantly gets, likes, claps, and re-tweets.

That inner impulse to share anything new or cool comes from a more profound need:

to be seen as someone “in-the-know,” who “goes places,” who quotes “experts,” who uses the latest jargon and who posts stuff that others can’t wait to “like” and “re-post.”

It makes us become that person that we always wanted to be.

Insta-ntly!

The contents we share, more often than not, are not even conceived to improve anything important ─ they aim to boost share-ability and virality. Mostly.

Nothing wrong with that.

We feel we are doing what we are meant to do. 

Our role is completed: passing on the knowledge.

As the digi-trend goes “sharing is caring” right? 

Which is true.

And that’s already a big achievement, for a lot of people.

But it’s not what can propel things forward: taking real action is.

Most people just choose to go with the most convenient part of the story.

7-Most contents are designed, by default, to generate emotions – not action.

We addressed the fact that for most people, emotions are stronger than actions.

Content creators, speakers, writers, and bloggers know that too.

They’re even coached to go just for that! “Go for the heart!”.

We (I’m wearing my content-creator-hat now!) assess a successful outcome, by this metric and we plan our next event based on it.

It has worked forever.

And everyone is okay with that! Even attendees.

 Of course, it’s okay only if the plan is NOT to get results, nor produce actionable steps afterwards.

 If your goal is to go down the history as the person who delivered the Martin-Luther-king-speech for Business; Well ok. I pass. That’s the only strategy.

But then again, let’s be fair, (and I need to stop being this blunt) this is no-one’s fault.

We know that most attendees love action as something they like to watch. Not do!

So, we focus on motivation (with a bit of “tips” in between), and we expect it to bring results.

Motivation doesn’t work. On its own, it produces zero results.

I say this, having attended more than 200 courses, seminars, and conferences, and run more than 300 online and off-line events and meetings of my own.

I also regularly exchange on these matters with a ton of event organizers, consultants, facilitators, and educators.

Taking action is hands-down the single most ignored outcome by both attendees and event organizers or stakeholders.

And yet the feedbacks after an event are 95% AWESOME. (Yep. That’s my case. Yeah-y.)

People almost always feel GREAT after an occasion where they learn something new, they get to connect, they feel they grow, and (let’s be frank) they, also, stay away from work.

And they share this happiness through their social feeds, in written reviews, in comments on the provided assessment forms, on tweets, on recorded testimonials, and during oral discussions.

Which is why when we draft a speech, a course, an article, we design it based on “how we want people to feel”; not “what we want them to do afterwards.”

No-one measures this metric.

Why would speakers and event organizers go for the sophisticated way out, when the easy way out is just as rewarding?

Probably more.

Training and presentation outcomes are measured regarding appreciation and enthusiasm right after they’re done.

Not how they sparked any change in behavior, what result they brought about or what impact they had on a person, on a business, an organization or a function.

Conferences are measured with a note, an assessment, a standing ovation, likes and hot testimonials on the exit door.

TED Talks are measured with views, downloads and reshares.

Rarely anything focuses on the action they provoked.

And everything is designed to make the closing statement an intelligent and thought-provoking (ironically often orally “inviting to action”!) take-away but shares nothing on same-day applicable action-steps to create forward motion.

It is as if no one cares about the real impact.

The feeling becomes the intended outcome!

And the attendees’ (not the participants, because they attend, they don’t participate) expected outcome also!

If we want to go for a different outcome, we should start off with a different approach instead.

This works by defining, first, a clear end-goal and then work backwards.

What to do instead: 

Instead of just going for the Heart, we should go for the right brain (Story-telling | Quotes | Inspiration), but also the left brain (Facts | data | Actions).

We need to “Go for the hand” too. Which means, not just to invite to action. 

It means to provides a clear path of, what precisely, needs to be done to move forward.

8. It is not possible to spark action when a content lacks all (or any) of these 4 crucial elements.

 As tackled before, we (subconsciously) design our contents with the wrong goal in mind.

Emotions should be a part of the experience because they have a tremendous effect in helping people to open and thus better absorb new inputs ─ but tying our content to an actionable outcome, is essential.

It is because most contents fail to include this element, that when one consciously decides to implement what has been shared, it becomes an extremely complicated task.

Which is often why nothing happens afterwards.

So, what if we do want this to work?

Well, if you were the person that was determined to start actioning, you’d need to develop your own system, based on your skillsets and experiences.

Top performers do this.

You’d need to extract the principles that have worked in the presented cases and then see how you’d re-apply them to pursue your own goals.

But most people don’t know how to do this. And no one teaches us how to.

So how do we turn an emotion-packed content into an action-focused one?

Now here is the secret.

As content creators, we need to factor in what I call the “4-never-failing-ingredients”, without which, the outcome is just the usual: a good feeling, sometimes long-lasting one, sometimes fleeting.

Access here the “4-never-failing-ingredients” to blend into the making of your next content.

It works best when you mix these ingredients into your material right from the moment you’re building it ─ but you can also use it as an add-on in already existing contents.

I am circling back to the why.

When we need to spark action, we need to understand how the brain works. (See point 10)

If we don’t deliberately and methodically explain what is expected to be done, our brain will always seek the easiest way out.

Which is why scratching the surface and trusting that people will be “inspired to take action”, doesn’t work.

No “great content”, “hands-on workshop” and “motivational speech” are sufficient, on their own, to lead to action.

Knowing where to start from and how to move to the next stage, is.

9. “Hacking” is the new roadblock to “actioning” ─ we need to stop molesting the word.

Lending the word “hacking” to other fields other than computing fails to deliver its intended purpose.

Plus, most real silicon valley geeks hate us for this.

The words “hacks”, “hacking” and “hacker” have been vastly misused, inaccurately interpreted and just result in “revealing” some random, often ineffective, tactics.

Let’s accept it.

“Hack’s” misuse is a big fail.

C’mon! My title?

That was a (not-so-subtle) tongue in cheek attempt.

I even had all the hints to betray my intention ─ hate me for it. Or wait.

I think I may have something for you too.

Back to the thought.

The concept of “hacking” -anything- writes Technopedia refers to non-malicious activities, usually involving unusual or improvised alterations to equipment or processes.

On the computing sphere, hackers may alter system or security features to accomplish a goal that differs from the original purpose of the system.

Hacking and anti-hacking is a big thing in the online world today.

But people, let’s be real.

Advice like “read 5 books a year”, “stay away from your screen for a weekend,” “wake up at 5 am to be productive” and “find your passion” ARE NOT hacks!

Full stop.

They are stuff that might have worked for some. (Even I relate to some.)

But these are personal stories to be shared in one’s blog.

Not something to brag about by calling ourselves an innovator on “mindset hacking”. (True story. Find out about it on your own.)

These “hacks”, hack nothing.

They are just random experiences shared as advice, packed in the wrong packaging.

And this is what harms potentially working hacks.

It just creates lethargic readers, because they produce nothing either.

It’s a worn-out word that only serves as click-bait.

Unlike “tips & tricks”, however, a hack could be a real thing.

Please let’s give back purpose to the word ─ let’s stop misusing it.

10. We’re NOT designed to act ─ neuroscience’s surprising truth about our primal instincts.

Let me put this into perspective.

How to help take action is my obsession; mainly because I love sticking with tough problems.

This has become a life-long endeavor, and I’ve been my own primary “guinea pig”: I’ve been experimenting with ways to hack my own brain to take action ─ which is also why I wanted this word’s name all “cleaned up” and “honored”. (See point 9. You get it, now?)

But wait. Why would our brain need “hacking”?

Because by default, humans are not meant to act.

We are designed only to react to stimuli. Like how we respond to change! (Ooooooh. Nice subject.)

Physiologically our brain reacts when we face anything different or new in our daily environment.

It does that by setting off an alarm signal to protect us from what it presumes as a risk.

It’s different, so it’ a threat.

This mechanism embedded in the human hardware is known as “fight or flight” (or freeze) response.

When we feel insecure, we either, resist forcibly (fight), or we run away (flight), or we do nothing (freeze) ─ emotional and physical risk does that.

These default neuropathways are expressed with our primal instincts, which means that reacting to external changes is our way, as human beings, to stay alive.

Consequently, what we think is inaction, is, actually, only our nature.

Our nature protects us from doing anything outside our usual habits and familiar way of living ─ what we refer to as “outside our comfort zone”.

So here is the thing.

Knowing this does not make it ok to remain inactive.

It just explains the extra work we need to do when we are determined to take action ─ which means we need to go around our very nature.

Knowing it means we understand how our brain works and we can choose to bend the default pattern.

We can learn to train our mind to develop new neuropathways; which can be done with time and by building new daily habits ─ or we can trick our brain.

This is where the “hack” comes in.

We want to make sure that our brain doesn’t sabotage our intention to act.

For this, we need to force one decisive and deliberate action to trick ourselves into letting us make one first move (at least).

If this goes well, then, our brain feels safe and it’ll then “allow us” more seamlessly to take more significant actions next.

Yep, it needs a much bigger effort, than just being motivated and inspired, to convince ourselves to let us…do more.

Here is the one “hack” I have found to work 100% of the times ─ when it is used.

It works especially when you use it to hack other hacks, that are unhacked. (Wait? What?)

Just give me a sec.

To recap, we covered why taking action needs an immense forward motion.

It also takes practice.

The more we do it, the more we create new pathways to keep doing it.

Maybe the entire action-taking-body-building will take time, but it can start right away.

So, I am sharing the one thing I’ve found to work without fail, every time.

So here goes:

Take your #1 goal and announce the 1^st thing you’ll do about it!

This is how it works. (I’ll do this with you)

• First, take the #1 thing that has been boggling you for a while now.

It can be a specific business goal; a challenging professional situation; a business idea that is left on paper.

But also:

that pain on your back since last summer; the credit card debt you still have from 2011; that last phone call with your friend Tom ─ where he hangs up!; that annoying comment from your boss, that’s still bothering you. (you get the picture?)

 Secondly, just remind yourself why you want it gone?

Yes. We agreed that emotions ARE needed. So, now, let the emotional wave take over.

• Thirdly, announce it!

 This is the hacking part ─ it’s simple.

Go to your favorite social media, blogging platforms or chat and messaging apps.

[oh, you need some more ideas now, don’t do?

Here is almost every platform that is popular now: Facebook, Messenger, Twitter, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Slack, Google+, WeChat, Viber, QQ Mobile, Skype, Signal, Line, Telegram. Tumblr, Quora, Reddit, Pinterest]

Now instead of posting a generic feel-good lesson, a positive quote, an after-taste, or a feeling post: tomorrow’s morning planned intention.

Share it with selected people, or everyone or just send a personal post to a few.

That’s right announce your micro-action.

That’s all.

Then see what happens.

 Here you go. I promised I’d do it with you.

IMPORTANT:

Just share your intention.

Please don’t expose others. Like:

“$#@% you Tom, I’m coming to get you tomorrow”.

That’s not how I mean it.

There we go.

It’s so simple ─ yet it’s not easy.

 It’s a much more sophisticated action than what it seems though.

To pull this one action off, without even realizing it, you just activated a big part of your action-power-plant: Minimum 7 other micro-actions happened.

1. You defined why you want this to happen.
2. You split it down to its essential components.
3. You arranged the components in a proper sequence. (well, give or take)
4. You identified your 1^st step ─ based on feasibility.
5. You articulated your intention in your mind and wrote it down.
6. You shared your intention
7. You created your own accountability system and involved others in it.

Now you can let those “feelgood juices” kick in!

You just got yourself started with action-building 101.

Good luck holding back now that you’ve broadcasted this to the world.

Now, press the d@$n post button, will you?

PS: The only way you can start taking action is to make a conscious decision to act on the tiniest possible micro-action right there, on the spot.

It can be as little as sending yourself a reminder in your agenda…to take care of this matter, “next day at 10:00”, if nothing else is feasible, right away. (Like traveling on the Tran Siberian to Vladivostok. In the winter of 1918. With no ink. Unfed. And with all pigeons on strike. Just saying.)

Write down a concrete micro action.

Make it real.

For more stuff on how to take massive action to make things happen on your business, join me on Medium, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and let’s work out “The Best Way Forward”, together.

The post The deceptively simple “hack”, to “hack” a “hack” ─ *blink* it only works when you use it; not when you know it appeared first on The Best Way Forward.