Do What You Can Archives - John J. Hall, CPA - Speaker, Author and Consultant

Beating the habit | What Excuses Do You Use?

Are you lying to yourself?

Chances are there are areas of your life you would love to improve. Goals you’ve set. Dreams that keep popping up. Visions of success on your terms. But if it’s been weeks or months since your last real action toward a long-standing goal, it’s time to evaluate why.

As we all work toward achieving our goals, it’s important that we aren’t caught in a cycle of self-deception. If we are constantly thinking “I probably can’t handle that,” it’s only a matter of time before we start believing it.

And how often do we all tell ourselves white lies and excuses that have the potential to drain our motivation. In an instant, our excuses can snowball from a moment of self-doubt or uncertainty about next steps to a concrete perception of our limited abilities. A simple excuse that turns into a limiting belief can prevent you from chasing your goals. In the short term, excuses damage our self-confidence and cause us to ignore an opportunity. In the long term, excuses create major barriers that prevent us from clarifying our priorities and achieving success.

Beating the habit

“Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.”
The beauty of this system is that you can change any area of your life: professional, financial, physical, spiritual, interpersonal, intellectual, or psychological. You’ll be amazed at what you can do!

If you’re tired of making excuses that limit your potential, if you’re tired of thinking you’re not good enough, too old, or too young to make progress, you have the power to start over – every day. Each morning presents a new opportunity to get back on track with your purpose in life. Beating the habit of making excuses requires work, but the payoff includes releasing yourself from the barriers that hold you back.

It’s time for us all to stop making excuses. Right now, take a moment to think about any negative messages you send yourself on a daily basis. Consider how they impact your family, friendships, work and all areas of your life.

For example, your excuse could be that you don’t exercise because you don’t have anyone willing to join you for a workout. This excuse may affect your level of energy at work, or influence your relationships with loved ones who want to see you healthy. But we don’t need someone at our side to go for a 20-minute walk. We don’t need music in our earphones or texting on our handheld devices. We don’t need special clothes or the latest athletic shoes. We just need to walk. No excuses; just get up and go. In fact, the peace and quiet that is a gift to you as you stroll along by yourself will almost certainly release energy and ideas hiding just behind your excuses.

Once we identify our excuses and push them aside, replace that space by seeing opportunities to help you achieve your goal. Without excuses blocking our view, we’ll see the people, information, and other resources we need to chase our goals. They were always there. Excuses just prevented us from seeing them.

John J. Hall, CPA

John J. Hall, CPA, is an author, speaker and results expert who presents around the world at conventions, corporate meetings and association events. Throughout his 35-year career as a business consultant, corporate executive and professional speaker, John has helped organizations and individuals achieve measurable results. He inspires audience members in corporations, not-for-profit organizations and professional associations to step up, take action and “do what you can.”

July 23, 2015 | John Hall | goal setting • goals • habits • interpersonal • performance | Better! • Do What You Can • Personal Performance |

Learning to Embrace Change

It’s human nature to seek out behaviors and paths where we find comfort, safety and routine. And once those routines are set, it can be very difficult to willfully change our ways. It’s a proven fact of human psychology: change causes anxiety. And anxiety causes us to resist new behaviors and maintain the safety of the ‘status quo’.

But here’s another unavoidable fact about change: it’s absolutely required for better results regardless of how you define them. When seeking goals in our personal or professional lives, changing our comfortable daily practices is a necessary but often daunting task. Learn to embrace change!

Growth and expansion require a willingness to change our habits. To replace what got us here with what’s needed to get us somewhere else. And although replacing comfortable habits may make us uncertain initially, we can counteract this unsettled feeling by being more conscious of the hundreds of changes we already make every day – without even thinking about them. Examples include:

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• How you started a conversation this morning
• What you ordered for lunch
• The specific content of dozens of emails you send each day
• What you put in the cart at the grocery store
• Which TV channel you selected last evening
• What coat or shoes you’ll wear tomorrow depending on the weather forecast

These are just a few examples of our willingness to adapt to changing circumstances and our ‘mood of the moment’. Simple examples, to be sure. But they illustrate our pre-disposition to minor course corrections throughout our daily business and personal lives.

Now let’s jump to larger-scale habit changes needed to advance towards goals. If you’re looking to be more open to the possibilities that life provides, there are a few important factors that must be actively managed. Here are three.

• Plain Old Fear. Fear can be a powerful motivating force, but it can also be a major reason why we resist dropping habits that block our success. Change means embracing some uncertainty about outcomes, and uncertainty brings risk. Our fears instinctively kick in to protect us in uncertain situations. Acknowledging that fear is entering into our decision-making allows us to more effectively evaluate alternatives and choose a course of action.

Here’s a suggestion to help counteract fear. Take daily small steps. A sustained effort of small daily steps reduces anxiety. This approach allows us to evaluate results and adapt our approach easily. Keep your eye on the horizon- view of your goal. Know where you are ultimately headed. But take small steps initially to minimize fear-triggering uncertainty of change.

• Mental Roadblocks. We all give ourselves excuses for avoiding change. We doubt our abilities, question the likelihood of success, and believe we are generally fine with where we are today. Well, ‘Fine’ is the enemy of ‘Better’. ‘Comfortable’ is the roadblock to ‘Excited’ and ‘Fulfilled’. If you find yourself doubting your abilities, or questioning your comfort levels, you’re not alone. It’s important to remember that overcoming our personal and professional mental roadblocks allows us to see opportunity in every change, and remain open to new forms of success.

• Our Current Reality. We’ll all guilty of settling for the comfort and security of where we are right now. Existing habits have produced reasonable results with manageable risk. But that’s not a formula for goal achievement. Successful people who achieve their goals recognize that where they are right now – their current reality – is a great foundation to jump off to even greater heights. Our past is our past: no more, no less. Our past got us to our present, and our present is the springboard to our future. High achievers like you need to catch your breath, and then step up beyond the accomplishments of now to your goals of the future.

Once we realize change includes a heavy dose of opportunity for growth, it becomes easier to embrace change as something we must have to move forward, accomplish our dreams and exceed our goals.

John J. Hall, CPA

John J. Hall, CPA, is an author, speaker and results expert who presents around the world at conventions, corporate meetings and association events. Throughout his 35-year career as a business consultant, corporate executive and professional speaker, John has helped organizations and individuals achieve measurable results. He inspires audience members in corporations, not-for-profit organizations and professional associations to step up, take action and “do what you can.”

July 16, 2015 | John Hall | anxiety • career • change • interpersonal • personal; network • professionals | Better! • Career • Do What You Can • Personal Performance |

Living ‘Better!’

Jennifer brought an interesting perspective to the coaching meeting. “I’m tired of just getting good results in my life. I want GREAT results.”

Wow – that was a challenging opening statement. So I pushed her for details.

“My boss just gave me my annual review, and he said I was doing good work. He said I’m reliable and was meeting all of his expectations. And a week ago on our anniversary, my husband and I were talking about how content and happy we were together these last nine years.”

“Don’t get me wrong – I’m happy and comfortable both at work and at home. But I’m concerned that ‘comfortable’ is holding me back from what I could be or even must be if I was my highest self. So I’m looking to step it up, and I would like some advice on how to do it. What would you suggest?”

I recently attended an incredible four-day event called High Performance Academy. Program founder and leader Brendon Burchard covered this exact issue – exactly how to live at our highest self. Our ‘Charged’ self, in his terms. Leaving that event I found myself facing the same challenge as Jennifer. Everything was fine.

But ‘fine’ is often the enemy of my key mission of ‘Better!’

I silently repeat this mission to myself dozens of times every day:

Better! tomorrow than today.

Better! next week than this week.

Better! next year than right now!

Back to Jennifer and her request for advice. Here are the three things we agreed were essential to live Better! each and every day.

First: mind our health. Good health is essential to all pursuits. It is the very foundation on which we reliably brainstorm, plan and act. Poor health draws down the body’s energy; good health charges it back up.

Do you have thoughts of operating every single day at the highest level possible? Then take care of your self. Exercise, real food, plenty of sleep, hydration, minimal sugar, stress management – sounds like a ton of work. But it isn’t. It’s just how you live each day, making Better! decisions about how you will treat your body and mind at every decision point.

Get conscious about your health. Get healthy. Stay healthy. Simply – be healthy.

The Do What You Can System meets you where you are. It guides and inspires you as you move through an easy, 6-step process. Follow The System, and you’ll achieve real results, both personally and professionally. You’ll get results while making our world a better place. You’ll serve others while meeting your own obligations. You’ll think and you’ll dream. Most important, you’ll take action that moves you in a meaningful direction. How? By following a system that empowers you to reach personal and professional goals … and propels you to achieve extraordinary results!

Second, define exactly what our highest self would look like. In our work, marriage, relationships, family, friendships. In every aspect of who and what we want to be. Think it through, say it out loud, write it down, and then take the first steps needed to head towards that goal. Better! Charged!

Third, bring the heat. Moving from ‘fine’ to ‘charged’ is not the time for modest efforts. It’s time for heat. For passion. For massive focused action. Nothing less will work. Not thinking about it; not dreaming about it; certainly not wishing it. Only action will work. Right now with the very next routine decision we need to make. What to eat, how much TV to watch, whether to go for a walk. Thousands of little steps lead to massive sustained change.

“Simple Steps – Extraordinary Results” – the subtitle of my first book Do What You Can.

As we finished our coaching meeting, Jennifer immediately signed on to these three things. Good health, clarifying exactly what she wants, and massive sustained action through Better! decisions every day starting right now.

How about you?

Let’s get started together.

John J. Hall, CPA

John J. Hall, CPA, is an author, speaker and results expert who presents around the world at conventions, corporate meetings and association events. Throughout his 35-year career as a business consultant, corporate executive and professional speaker, John has helped organizations and individuals achieve measurable results. He inspires audience members in corporations, not-for-profit organizations and professional associations to step up, take action and “do what you can.”

May 7, 2015 | John Hall | better • brendon burchard • performance | Better! • Do What You Can |

What Are Your Goals for 2020?

Click. The clock ticks over to midnight, the ball drops in Times Square, the music plays and the kisses are planted. Suddenly it’s a new year. Traditionally time to look back with thanks and gratitude, and forward with optimism and hope. Time to envision new horizons and set new goals for the year ahead.

But let’s forget about 2015 for now. That’s right – “Fuhgeddaboudit!” as they say in some of my favorite parts of New York City.

Let’s be really bold and look ahead five years out to 2020. Where do you want to be then? What do you want to be doing? Where is your home? What would your life look like if you allowed yourself to be truly and completely who you are intended to be?

In one of my favorite books Excuses Begone! author Wayne W. Dyer writes, “As Abraham Maslow once observed about self-actualizing people: They must be what they can be.”

Here’s a five-minute exercise to get you started.

Step One. Imagine you wake up one morning and everything is perfect. What do you see, smell, hear and feel? Where are you? Who is with you? What do you look like? What are you planning to do that day? Allow yourself to put aside where you’re from and where you are right now. Release anything others may say you ‘should do’ and replace it with intentional thinking about what you ‘must do’. Push it all to the side for five short minutes and let your imagination see that day in early 2020 when all is now perfect.

Step Two. While it’s fresh in your thoughts, go write it down. Use bullet points and write as fast as you can. Remember, there are no limits. Have fun describing your desired changes just the way you see them on the horizon. Give no thought to limitations on how you’ll get there. Avoid the practical details for now. Just describe what you intend to accomplish in the next five years.

Of course, dreaming about five years from now includes the huge assumption that you will be here then – healthy, energized and living a fully charged life every day. That means you have to take good care of yourself every day between now and then to have any chance of success. All important goals are built on a platform of good health that allows us to pursue everything else. So take good care of yourself starting right now.

Five-year horizons provide opportunity for major changes in life. New careers, advanced education, relocation to a new and exciting environment, better relationships, measurable savings, and dramatically healthier lifestyles. Maybe even a beach condo in Hawaii!

Where do you want to be in five years? What do you want for your family and friends in 2020?

Now is the time to sketch out the shapes on your own five year horizon. You can fill in the details in the coming months. Stay tuned in 2015 for dozens of ideas on how to do exactly that.

For a detailed Six-Step System for setting, pursuing and

accomplishing your goals, take a look at my book

“Do What You Can! Simple Steps – Extraordinary Results”.

I’ll get you a signed copy at a discounted price through the end of January –

just let me know at John@JohnHallSpeaker.com.

Happy dreaming!

John J. Hall, CPA

John J. Hall, CPA, is an author, speaker and results expert who presents around the world at conventions, corporate meetings and association events. Throughout his 35-year career as a business consultant, corporate executive and professional speaker, John has helped organizations and individuals achieve measurable results. He inspires audience members in corporations, not-for-profit organizations and professional associations to step up, take action and “do what you can.”

January 3, 2015 | John Hall | career • goal setting • goals • life • mental health • new year • new york • planning • relationship • six step system • Wayne W. Dyer • work life | Do What You Can • Personal Performance |

Navigating a Major Transition in Your Personal Path

These major life transitions challenge us to adapt to new situations, and can be a catalyst that drives us toward our goals for a better life – if we see them in the proper light.

John J. Hall, CPA

Beating the habit | What Excuses Do You Use?

As we all work toward achieving our goals, it’s important that we aren’t caught in a cycle of self-deception. If we are constantly thinking “I probably can’t handle that,” it’s only a matter of time before we start believing it.

Beating the habit

John J. Hall, CPA

Learning to Embrace Change

But here’s another unavoidable fact about change: it’s absolutely required for better results regardless of how you define them. When seeking goals in our personal or professional lives, changing our comfortable daily practices is a necessary but often daunting task. Learn to embrace change!

John J. Hall, CPA

Living ‘Better!’

Wow – that was a challenging opening statement. So I pushed her for details.

Better! tomorrow than today.

Better! next week than this week.

Better! next year than right now!

John J. Hall, CPA

What Are Your Goals for 2020?

Let’s be really bold and look ahead five years out to 2020. Where do you want to be then? What do you want to be doing? Where is your home? What would your life look like if you allowed yourself to be truly and completely who you are intended to be?

Here’s a five-minute exercise to get you started.

For a detailed Six-Step System for setting, pursuing and

accomplishing your goals, take a look at my book

“Do What You Can! Simple Steps – Extraordinary Results”.

I’ll get you a signed copy at a discounted price through the end of January –

just let me know at John@JohnHallSpeaker.com.

Happy dreaming!

John J. Hall, CPA