Sleepless Nights, Productive Nights

As you probably already know, I am moving my blog to my new site, www.Sieverkropp.com

Today I posted a new post, "Sleepless Nights, Productive Nights" on that site.  Here is a preview,

"As many of you may know–and some may not–my wife and I welcomed our second child (and first son) Cash Ryan Sieverkropp into the world on November 26th, 2012. We are delighted to have him, and as biased as this may sound, he is honestly the best looking kid around!
Of course, as any parent will understand, this has thrown a 7lb 5oz monkey wrench into our family’s schedule..."
 

Continue reading at http://sieverkropp.com/2012/12/sleepless-nights-productive-nights/

Do You Respect Your Mentor?

Full Disclosure:

I have only been meeting with a mentor for about 3 months, on a monthly basis.  I am not an expert mentor, nor an expert mentee. 

My purpose in the following post is simply to share with you some suggestions and ideas that I am trying to implement into my relationship with my mentor that I believe will make it more beneficial--and I hope you can take some of the suggestions and utilize them as you will!

Stuck!

To begin, let me share with you why I decided to have a mentor.  This past year I have felt stuck.  I dont mean just stuck, I mean STUCK!!!!! And to be sure that you and I are on the same page with that, I'm talking good ol' country boy, mud boggin', burried to the axles, wheels spinnin', mud flyin' everywhere, STUCK!! Got the picture now?  If not, here's one for ya:

 

Photo courtesy of margaretkilljoy, Some Rights Reserved

 

 

Stuck.  Now you get it, right? Anyways, I felt stuck and kept thinking that I needed to find a mentor.  Someone smarter than me, more successful than me, better looking than me (well, I could at least shoot for the first two!). 

 

The final push was a blog post by Mr. Chris LoCurto posted about the same time titled, "Why You Need A Mentor". 

 

Now, maybe it's just me, but sometimes I feel like God is just hiding around the corner with a two-by-four, waiting for me to walk by; and when I do... 

 

WHACK!!!!!

Upside the head. 

 

That's kinda how I felt when I read his blog post.  That post seemed to be God saying "You need to get a mentor Ding Dong!" (I'm dense enough I don't think its too far of a stretch to think God may just call me a "ding dong" at times...) 

 

So I sent a text to a friend of mine that I'd been wanting to ask to be my mentor and asked if he'd be willing to sit down with me regularly and share with me some of his vast knowledge.  He readily agreed.  And THAT is how I began my mentoring relationship. 

 

Making the most of Mentoring

One thing that I believe is very important is to respect your mentor's time.  They are doing you a HUGE favor by being willing to meet with and counsel you. 

 

For this reason, here are a few things that I have tried to do, and am trying to implement, to make the most out of the time with my mentor. 

 

1.    Time limit

Dont let your mentoring sessions drag on like a freakin' Major League baseball game (I'm not a baseball fan, I'd rather endure Chinese water torture while laying on a bed of cacti in my skivvies than watch a baseball game!). In my (amateur) opinion 60 minutes is long enough for a mentoring session, maybe 90.  Have a time in mind and ask your mentor if that is acceptable.  Then when you are there STICK TO IT!!! Your mentor is busy with their own life, don't take all their time or they will dread meeting with you.     

 

2.    Come prepared with Questions 

Don't try to "wing" your mentoring session.  If his knowledge, expertise and insight are valuable enough for you to want to learn from him, his time is too valuable to be wasted in a conversation that has no focus or direction.  Come with 3-4 questions that you want answered, it'll assure that the time is not wasted.

 

3.    Share your goals

A week before our first mentoring session, I emailed a list of goals I'd set for myself to my mentor to review.  We discussed them at that first session.  Sharing your goals gives your mentor insight into where you desire to go.  This will allow your mentor to help you work towards and achieve those goals.  It also shows the level of trust and respect you have for him as your mentor that you are willing to share your personal goals. 

 

 

4.   Ask for an assignment

Ask your mentor what she would recommend you do between now and your next meeting to incorporate the things you talked about into your life.  This shows that you have a desire to change and grow, and that you take seriously the counsel that she is giving you.

 

5.   Return and report

When you come to your next meeting report how you have done on the things you discussed the time before.  Discuss how you did on the assignments you accepted, what went well, what you could improve.  Ask follow up questions to clarify principles you discussed.  Being ready and willing to report on your successes and failures is evidence of your desire to learn and grow.

 

6.   Show gratitude

If you meet at a restaurant and have lunch or breakfast, pick up the tab.  Shoot your mentor a text or email afterwards thanking them for their time and insight.  I wrote a letter to Jason's wife and kids.  In the letter I told them that I wanted them to know what a great guy their husband and father was.  I told them that I knew they must make alot of sacrifices with as busy as he is, and that I, for one, was grateful to them for their sacrifice so he could spend a little time with me every month.  I got a text the next week saying thanks for the letter and that it had brought him to tears.  Gratitude goes a long ways.

 

 

What it comes down to...

Making the most out of the time you have with your mentor really comes down to one thing.  Respect and appreciate your mentor and their time.  If you will do these six things, you will get more out of your mentoring sessions, your mentor will be more engaged in mentoring you, and both of you will grow and develop in ways that would not be possible without your relationship. 

 

I hope implementing these suggestions will help you.  I am looking forward to implementing them in my own life with my mentor. 

 

If you don't have a mentor that you are meeting with regularly, I would strongly recommend finding one!  Read "Why You Need A Mentor" if you still aren't convinced of the importance of such a relationship. 

 

 

 

Question: What do you do to make the most of the time you spend with your mentor(s)?

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to peruse this blog! If you've found this information timely and beneficial, please share it with others!

 

 

 

Twitter: @Skropp2



You Don't Matter...

Whoa! Put down the boxing gloves! Let me explain...
I am not telling you that you don't matter. But if you're anything like me, YOU are telling you that you don't matter!

Have you noticed that? We are our own worst enemies! So many of us think that everyone else is a better parent, spouse, blogger, business owner, team member, quilter, golfer etc.

Why is that?

Photo by aouniat, Some Rights Reserved

Why do we downplay our own skills and ridicule our own ideas? 

That is a great question. I have a few ideas, you may come up with a few more...

1. Negative Environment.

 We live in a negative culture. Everything we see, hear, experience is negative. We're professional fault finders and amateur (at best) cheerleaders.

2. GIGO.

Garbage In, Garbage Out. This goes right along with #1. If you want to harvest wheat in the fall, don't plant corn in the spring! If you want to feel good about yourself, feel like you matter, input positive, motivating information into your brain. Books, videos, Podcasts, blogs. There is no shortage of great material to consume today. Find it and input it, you'll be amazed what will come out of your mind!

3. Tournament Judging.

Here's what's I mean: Have you ever noticed tournament brackets? The #1 seed always gets to play like the #12 seed.  Sometimes there's an upset, but basically the best team gets to play one of the worst teams and more times than not, the best team crushes the worst--because they're better! We do that when we compare our skills to others. Let's say I'm a business coach, just startin out. I may look at Chris LoCurto or Stephen Covey and compare skills. Talk about a 1 seed facing a 12 seed!!! We rarely compare apples to apples and so we come up short. 

4. Birds of a feather...

And you know the rest. If we hang around people who's idea of "going places" is driving to the buffet across town on Saturday morning how can we expect to see ourselves succeeding? Hang around those who are where you wanna be, or are at least working to get there!! Association is critical if you're going to believe you matter! 

5. Inaction.

There's no better way to get down on yourself than to not accomplish anything. If you want to think you don't matter, DON'T DO ANYTHING!! Sit on the couch and watch tv. Sleep in until noon, give up on a dream. You'll be amazed how quickly you'll feel like you really don't matter.

As Dave Ramsey says, you are the problem...but you are also the solution!

Don't fall into these 5 habits. It will only lead to frustration and feeling like you don't matter. And nothing is further from the truth.

"Remember, the worth of souls is great in the sight of God" D&C 18:10

Question: What pitfalls cause you to feel unimportant, and how do you avoid them?

If these posts have value to you please pass them on to those that matter in your life!

Twitter: @Skropp2

When to Unfriend

Life: On Purpose

I've been thinking alot about living my life on purpose...especially since I began being more involved with self-improvement; listening to podcasts, following and commenting on blogs (Chris LoCurto's being foremost in my education).  I've come back again and again to the fact that I am where I am because I have let life happen to me, instead of living my life on purpose! 

So, as part of my effort to live life: on purpose.  I will periodically be providing posts about how I do just that. 

When to Unfriend

I had an experience today that was probably several months, perhaps years in the making.  I have a friend...kinda.  And I am not worried about sharing this experience, because he's the type of friend that will not read my blog anyway. 

I have a "friend" that I served around on my mission.  He's a nice enough guy, we had some stuff in common and so when we both got home we became "friends" on facebook. 

Over the years we have chatted a few times, and even met up for lunch a couple times.  But more and more his charming self has shown through...

What I mean by that is, no matter what I post on facebook, he contradicts it.  If I say something about my iPhone screwing up he comments "dont buy and iPhone". If I share a quote I really like he disagrees with it.  It got to the point that I dont even want to read the comments he leaves because I know they'll be sarcastic, condescending, and contrary. 

The Straw....

Today came the proverbial straw... I shared a quote I liked, his response: "false".  I decided that I'd had enough, and I Unfriended him. 

Why?

Now why would I do that?  Why would I unfriend someone over what could possibly be just funny comments made?  Why would I do the 21st century of avoiding someone in the store?

It's very simple, here's why.

I value myself.  I value my family.  I value my future. 

You are who you associate with.  Those that you spend the most time with will determine where you will end up. 

I have far too much to accomplish in my life to spend my time around "friends" that have nothing better to do than tear me down and argue with me. 

There are times when you are living your life: on purpose. that you will have to decide between your goals and dreams and so called friends. 

Here are 4 Reasons why you should Unfriend those that are not encouraging and uplifting you.

1.  Your Thoughts are Precious

Any time you are subjected to negative words, ideas, etc. they enter into your mind.  The more you can limit this type of influence in your life, the better off you will be.  You will have less doubts, less worries, and you'll be more positive.

2.  You Need Encouragement

All of us need to be encouraged.  Surrounding yourself with people who will encourage you in your projects, dreams, and goals is absolutely essential if you going to achieve anything.  There will be plenty of people that will tell you why something can't be done, or why you can't do it, dont allow more of these people access to your mind than absolutely necessary.

3.  Your Mood affects Productivity

If you have someone pulling you down, you're likely to get defensive, upset, depressed, worried, etc.  These types of moods will greatly reduce your ability to be productive.  What is it that Shakespeare said? Something along the lines of a man with a toothache cannot be in love?  In other words, if something is preoccupying your mind you can't concentrate on anything else.

4. They Aren't Your Friends

Someone who doesn't encourage you, doesn't uplift you, is not your friend, no matter what Facebook says... A friend encourages, a friend helps, a friend is excited for your dreams and wants you to succeed.  Why spend your time with those who do not do that?  You're wasting your time if you think that they'll provide you anything but frustration and the voice of  "you can't". 


 I'm not saying just cut people out of your life, but I am saying choose your friends on purpose. There are too many ways to connect with positive, supportive friends and colleagues in this day and age to spend time around negative people that want nothing more than to drag you down--and keep you down at their level.



Question: Do you have people like this "friend" of mine in your life? What do you do to minimize negative influences around you?



If you find value in these posts please tweet, share, email them to every single person you know, even that friend from third grade that you haven't talked to in at least a decade!

Twitter: @Skropp2