“At the end of each day, you should play back the tapes of your performance. The results should either applaud you or prod you.”

– Jim Rohn, entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker

The gift of feedback from others, and the insights gained through self-reflection, are critical to coaching success. Without them, as Rohn notes, we are not sure if we are to celebrate our efforts or double-down to try something new on our next attempt.

Exercise:

Ask yourself the following questions at the end of your day, regarding your efforts in your personal and professional life:

1. What worked well that pleased you, and how can you build on that success tomorrow?
2. What did not work out today as you expected, and what new and different actions can you take tomorrow that would bring you the results you desire?

Consider asking these questions for a week and see if the habit of a daily playback improves your performance.

“Well done is better than well said.”

– Ben Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers

Do you walk your talk? Based on this quote, Ben Franklin must have spent some time in Missouri, the “show-me” state.

We have all heard the phrase that “talk is cheap” and we all know that thoughts only become things when acted upon.

Exercise:

Get out three or four brightly colored Post-it notes and write the following on each of them: What is the most important thing to do now?

Place these Post-it notes in strategic places in your world, to increase your propensity for action.