How To Achieve What You Want, When You Want!

How to achieve what you want, when you want!
7 Powerful Principles of Successful Thinking for Work, Life and Everything
Copyright Copyright 2005 Andy Gilbert Ideas expressed in this e-book are based on the earlier work by Andy Gilbert The Art of Making A Difference 2001 This e-book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission from the publisher.
Warning!
Reading this book will seriously increase your ability to make a difference
Andy Gilbert
OTHER E-BOOKS IN THIS SERIES THINKING PRINCIPLE ONE How to develop a personal passion Practical tips to increase your motivation to achieve by Andy Gilbert & Annagail Davies, explains thinking principle one of our Solution Focused Thinking System in greater depth. As well as discovering how to avoid blaming others, youll also get great tips on how to increase your motivation to achieve and save yourself masses of time in the process! THINKING PRINCIPLE TWO How to determine what you want and when you want it Pragmatic steps to leaping into the top 5% of goal definers by Andy Gilbert & Rob Smith, gives you tips on defining exactly what it is you want to achieve, as well as helping to increase your self-belief that you can achieve it. It will make your task of deciding priorities, which we cover in this e-book, really easy! THINKING PRINCIPLE THREE How to produce plentiful possibilities, pressing priorities and perfect plans Quick and easy tips to plan your success and get you started by Andy Gilbert & Ken Hudson, gives you some quick and easy steps to plan your success and get you started. With tips to eliminate time wasting, generate loads of ideas and produce a plan that will work for you, it will help you make your goal come to life and stay alive! THINKING PRINCIPLE FOUR How to create a self-belief that you can and will achieve Powerful insights into building the confidence to succeed by Andy Gilbert & Graham Field, expands on Henry Fords famous quote Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right. It gives a powerful insight into just how much we are governed by limiting beliefs, and how we can harness the power of our minds to achieve so much more than we ever dreamed possible. THINKING PRINCIPLE FIVE How to get others on your side Definitive guidelines on involving others to achieve what you want by Andy Gilbert & Caron Lindley, gives an explanation of the five types of people that you can involve to help you achieve your goal. Research has shown that the bigger your goal, the better your chances of success if you involve others to help. If you only ever involve the people closest to you, then this e-book is for you!
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Go MAD Thinking Research & Consulting Group Visit www.gomadthinking.com for publications and programmes -2-
THINKING PRINCIPLE SIX How to make personal choices and take responsibility Insightful ideas to help you own your thoughts and actions by Andy Gilbert & Ken Hudson, takes a hard look at responsibility and its consequences. Personal Responsibility lies at the heart of our Solution Focused Thinking System. Without it the system collapses. Without it, you are missing out on success, respect and leadership. It even promises to be liberating! THINKING PRINCIPLE SEVEN How to guarantee success Clear and simple tips on taking action and measuring results by Andy Gilbert & Rob Smith, is a hard-hitting finale to the seven key principles of Solution Focused Thinking. As well as challenging your thinking, and challenging you to put it all into practice, there is valuable advice on measuring goals, especially difficult-to-measure things like confidence. Plus an invitation for you to choose to make a difference. The Making A Difference Workbook 30 activities and exercises for successful thinking about work, life and everything by the Go MAD Team, is an essential guide to help you put into practice successful thinking. The workbook is structured to allow you to think through key issues and turn them into practical applications that you can put to use immediately. It will help you to take a step closer to what you want to achieve.
To order any of the above e-books, simply visit www.gomadthinking.com
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CONTENTS
Page Introduction
1. 2. The secret of achieving what you want The start of something - How we know this works Getting the most from this e-book 8 First the good news 8 - You can make a difference What are the Seven Key Thinking Principles? 8 The Go MAD Solution Focused Thinking System 9 Level one personal planning 9 - How to make a start Level two maintaining momentum 10 - How to keep going Level three making a difference 11 - Achieving what you want More good news 11 - You are a success A sad reality 12 - Why some people dont achieve Making a start 12 - What do you want to achieve? Thinking Principle One Have a strong reason why 13 Thinking Principle Two Define your goal 14 - Eight goal defining tips Thinking Principle Three Plan your priorities 18 - Five steps to planning priorities Thinking Principle Four Have self-belief 20 - Five tips to strengthen self-belief Thinking Principle Five Involve others 24 - Five tips on involving others Thinking Principle Six Take personal responsibility 26 - Five tips on making choices Thinking Principle Seven Take action and measure the results 28 Youve read the e-book, now make the difference! 29 Five questions I am often asked about thinking 29 Five comments I hear about thinking 31 5 6 6
3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.
Liability disclaimer The material contained in this e-book is general and is not intended as advice on any particular matter. Go MAD Research & Consulting Group and the author expressly disclaim all and any liability to any person whatsoever in respect of anything done by any person in reliance, whether in whole or in part, on this e-book. Please take appropriate legal advice before acting on any information in this e-book.
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INTRODUCTION
Welcome to How to achieve what you want, when you want! In this short e-book I would like to share with you 7 powerful thinking principles which if applied will greatly increase your chances of achieving success in anything you do, whether at home or at work, just by thinking differently. This book is dedicated to you. It can help you to: increase your thinking ability make a difference achieve a dream escape from a rut bring happiness to others. I will introduce you to the principles of Solution Focused Thinking, a way of thinking that focuses you on achieving what you want, when you want. These principles are the result of over 4000 hours of research into how people think when they make a difference. I have shared them with hundreds of clients and individuals who are now making large and small differences. They are achieving successes in their own organisations and in their personal lives by thinking more creatively, more quickly and more effectively on a more consistent basis. Heres what a few of them have said about Solution Focused Thinking: The Go MAD Solution Focused Thinking system doesnt promise to give you success, I will do that, but it sets out how I can achieve success by applying high quality thinking. Nigel Barrett Omya UK Ltd I think the Go MAD model is such a simple way of approaching so many different things coaching, meetings, self-planning etc, the possibilities are endless. Absolutely ingenious! Its really helped me to achieve some focus at work, I now have a diary and make lists of everything. This is completely unheard of for me, Ive never ever, ever been anything like remotely organised. Quite a revelation. Liz Davis, STA Travel The Go MAD System has no limitations. It can be used by all people young and old in their professional and personal lives! Mike Gubbins Business Development Manager, Aon Consulting Ltd
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Thought provoking Life Changing Practical Gets results! Go on Go MAD! Sarah Goodfellow Group Training & Development Manager,Matalan Retail Ltd "Go MAD Thinking is applied by mangers and leaders across our divisions to make measurable differences for themselves, their people and the business. This book contains a practical, flexible framework that we have used for coaching and other business activities." Jeff Skinner HR Director 3M UK and Ireland When I have taken you through the seven key thinking principles, I shall also look at five common questions that clients and programme participants ask about Thinking, and five common mistakes that people make about Thinking.
1. The secret of achieving what you want

The secret of achieving what you want is that there is no secret. There are only successful thinking principles, which anyone can apply. The information and principles contained within this e-book will change your life, if you choose to apply them. I know, because what you are about to read has already changed my life and the lives of many others. Whatever your reason for reading this e-book, my aim is to help you understand and develop your ability to make a difference. Any difference, big or small, that you consider being worthwhile. Solution Focused Thinking is not just about doing something differently or for the first time. It is also about making improvements and building on that which already exists. Im going to be very explicit here. If you want to make a difference, this e-book will definitely help. If you dont, then thats fine. Have a browse through the pages and then pass the e-book to someone who does want to make a difference (I give you full permission to pass this free e-book on!). Alternatively, store it somewhere safe on your computer for a future moment when you decide you do want to achieve what you want.
2. The start of something

Have you ever wondered why it is that some people seem to have the ability to make things happen? Why some people turn their thoughts into reality and really make a difference? I asked myself these questions and as a result made the decision in 1998 to undertake a 12-month research project to identify the key thinking principles applied by people who had successfully made a difference. __________________________________________________
There were no criteria for specifying what the difference should be. So the differences encompassed commercial, career, balanced lifestyle, family, community, educational, personal relationships and many more. Some differences were on a large-scale, others much smaller. We included people of all ages in a variety of roles within the organisations. The differences they had made included: doubling the sales turnover of a company; providing exceptional customer care; increasing production by 100%; managing large-scale organisational change; enhancing their career; developing others; and implementing a variety of cost saving initiatives. I do whatever I can, wherever I can, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have, to make a difference. Jimmy Carter From all of this, emerged Solution Focused Thinking a practical and easily understandable system comprising seven key thinking principles. Based on the original research our company was named Go MAD (Make A Difference). During the latter part of 1998 and early 1999, the Go MAD team tested the system in a variety of ways, in schools and via development and coaching programmes for leaders. We began helping more and more people to apply the seven key thinking principles and realised that the Solution Focused Thinking System could be applied to virtually anything. A personal example of this is that whilst writing my original printed book, I set myself the challenge of making a measurable difference about my weight and fitness. Over three months I lost 20lbs to reach my target weight and increased my fitness to the highest it has been during the past ten years. How did I do it? By simply applying the key thinking principles I discovered other successful people were using to make a difference. Since 1998 the Go MAD team have used the Solution Focused Thinking System to help individuals achieve personal goals and organisations to achieve those much wanted business improvements. By applying these thinking principles, you too can achieve success in your work, in your personal life or wherever you want to make a difference. It is within your control to achieve what you want when you want.
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3. Getting the most from this e-book

Here are five tips to help you: 1. This e-book will give you a good overview to help you to start applying Solution Focused Thinking. However, if you would like to know more, each of the seven thinking principles has its own more detailed ebook. Visit www.gomadthinking.com for more details. 2. I have included a selection of my favourite inspirational quotes. You dont have to agree with each one, just give them some thought. For example: It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves. Sir Edmund Hillary 3. I have also compiled a workbook to accompany this e-book (see our publications on www.gomadthinking.com). This contains a variety of questions and exercises to help you explore each of the thinking principles. You obviously dont have to get this workbook and complete the exercises. Unless of course you are really serious about achieving what you want! 4. Read with a purpose. Identify something in your life you want to make a difference about and apply what you read to this difference. 5. Adopt a supermarket shopping trolley approach. By this, I mean look for what you want and like. Different people want different things. There is plenty of information in this book, but not everyone will want everything. Only put the ideas in your trolley that you want to use. When you reread this book, you will notice different things that you didnt take from the shelf previously. So now, enjoy what you read and enjoy what you discover!
4. First, the good news

Anyone can make a difference. A high I.Q. or evidence of academic ability is not an essential requirement. Whilst both might be useful in gaining employment, I have discovered no evidence linking either with the ability to make a difference. There is hope for us all!
5. What are the Seven Key Thinking Principles?

1. Have a strong reason why you want to make a difference. 2. Define your goal before starting to make a difference. 3. Plan your priorities before taking action to make a difference. __________________________________________________
4. 5. 6. 7.
Have self-belief that you can and will make a difference. Involve others to help you make a difference. Take personal responsibility for your actions. Take action and measure the results of the difference you make.
We identified that individuals who are successful in making a difference, regardless of what that difference is, applied these principles. However, we also discovered a relationship between these key thinking principles that is equally important to understand. This is illustrated in the next section.
6. The Go MAD Solution Focused Thinking System

This system diagram is useful in understanding the importance of the seven key thinking principles and the 11 links between them. It also provides a simple framework with which to apply the principles consciously.
Take Action
Self Belief
Personal Responsibility
Involve Involve Others Others
Reason Why
Define Goal
Plan Priorities
Go MAD Framework
7. Level one personal planning

Notice the three levels of the pyramid. The first level we refer to as personal planning and it links principles one, two and three. Define Goal Plan Priorities
Reason Why
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Principle 1 considers WHY you want to make a difference. Principle 2 focuses on WHAT difference you want to make. Principles 3-7 concentrate on HOW to make the difference. These are the foundations upon which success is built. It takes a strong reason why (thinking principle one) to maintain motivation, face challenges and overcome obstacles. Hence, this is a cornerstone. The other cornerstone is provided by a well constructed plan of priorities (thinking principle three). These principles are linked by having a defined goal (thinking principle two) to centrally support the remaining four principles. Priorities cannot be planned without a defined goal, and the goal cannot be achieved without a strong enough reason to make a difference. This gives a firm base to go on to achieve what you want.
8. Level two maintaining momentum

Self Belief Personal Responsibility Involve Others
The second level we refer to as maintaining momentum and this builds upon the personal planning of the foundation level. Having the self-belief (thinking principle four) to succeed in making a difference is dependent upon having a defined goal which, you believe, is possible to achieve. Without the self-belief and the desire to achieve, motivation will dip. Hence, the link with having a strong enough reason to make a difference. Involving others (thinking principle five) should be built into the plan and prioritised. However, to do it successfully takes both skill and effort in order to continue moving in the right direction. The defined goal and plan of priorities established at the foundation level will need to be communicated and both might need to be revised following the involvement of others. Without this involvement and the additional support this brings, it might be impossible to move to the next level. At the centre of the model is the choice every individual has of taking personal responsibility for their actions (thinking principle six) to make a difference. If this choice is exercised then the other key thinking principles, with which it links, stand a chance of being applied. However, in order to move to the third level all of the first six principles have to be in place.
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Go MAD Thinking Research & Consulting Group Visit www.gomadthinking.com for publications and programmes - 10 -
9. Level three making a difference

The third level is that of making a difference and can only be reached by building the foundations with the first three principles and maintaining the momentum by applying principles four, five and six. Even then, it is still necessary to take action and measure the results (thinking principle seven) to know that the goal has been achieved and a difference has been made.
Making A Difference
Maintaining Momentum
Personal Planning
10. More good news

You are already successful in applying these key thinking principles at least some of the time. Let me give you an example of how you apply them on a daily basis. Think about travelling to get somewhere. There is always a reason why you get out of bed in the morning. Sometimes the reason is positive and strong enough to get you up instantly; for example, going on holiday or something you are looking forward to that day at work. At other times, you might hit the snooze button and the main reason to get up eventually is often linked with a negative reason why. For example, embarrassment of being late or the consequences of losing a job. Either way, whether a positive or negative reason, it is strong enough to cause you to get out of bed.
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Your defined goal (thinking principle two) might be to get to a place by a specific time. In order to do this you will have prioritised (thinking principle three) what needs to be done and allowed sufficient time to do it, which might have included washing, eating, travelling etc. You have probably involved others (thinking principle five) in some of the planning, preparation or travelling to your destination. You believe it is achievable to get there on time (thinking principle four) and the responsibility for doing so is yours (thinking principle six). You travel, arrive, check your watch and measure the results of your actions (thinking principle seven).
11. A sad reality

In my experience of working with thousands of people in many organisations, most people do not think in this way consciously or consistently. Whats more, many people do not appear to believe in their own ability to make a difference or take responsibility for doing so. Quite often people find themselves in an environment where the prevailing culture is: Do as youre told, or, Do as weve always done. Hence, there is a lack of encouragement for individuals to think in a solution focused way and their ability to do so, is stifled. This can lead to feelings of frustration or helplessness; an atmosphere of blame: Its the managers fault. The sad reality is that it is easier to place the blame with others rather than taking personal responsibility for our own success.
12. Making a start

Take a few seconds to think about your life. How is it progressing so far? Is there anything you would like to change? What would you like to have more or less of? What areas would you possibly consider making a difference about? The following list is provided to stimulate your thinking about possible areas: an aspect of work fitness learning developing skills certain projects financial situation friendships health decorating/D.I.Y. relationships balanced lifestyle sport customers relaxation local community what else?
Take a piece of paper and jot down the things you want to achieve and keep them in mind as you continue to read about each key thinking principle. Apply the thinking principle in each section to the differences __________________________________________________
that you want to make. This will dramatically increase your probability of achieving what you want when you want. It is never too late to be what you might have been. George Eliot
13. Thinking Principle One Have a strong reason why

At 11.45pm each December 31st, with a drink in one hand, millions of people talk about things they intend to achieve. Things that, for most, will not happen! Very often, this tradition at New Year is the only reason why and, for most people, it does not prove to be strong enough as a motive to actually do something. Now imagine a scene from an American movie, set in an old mid-western town. There is a house with a large wooden porch and a rocking chair for grandpa. Its a hot sunny day and a dog whines, but nobody takes much notice. Another dog walks by and hears the whining. Whats the matter? Why are you whining? asks the passing dog. Im lying on a nail and it hurts, replies the first dog. Well why dont you do something about it? It doesnt hurt enough. How many whining dogs have you met, who talk about what they want to achieve yet havent got a strong enough reason why to do anything? I occasionally work with people in organisations where it seems that most, if not all, are lying on some form of nail. In the majority of cases, these whining dogs could choose to make a difference by: - changing the situation around them - changing the way they think about it - living with it (in which case, stop whining!) - or by leaving. You will never find time for anything. If you want the time, you must make it. Charles Buxton When the reason is strong enough, you will do what is necessary. Reasons are the fuel behind the goal. Without them, you might not even make a start never mind start moving forward. Its important to note here that there can be two types of motivation either of which might be giving us a reason why. Are you being pulled by a dream or pushed by circumstances? (Remember my example of getting out of bed in the morning?) In other words, when assessing your reasons why, do you notice that you are tending to move towards gaining __________________________________________________
pleasure or moving away from a specific source of pain? It doesnt matter which, but it is important to know the difference. If you are seeking to move away from the source of pain, your motive for continuing to take further action is likely to decrease the further you move away from the pain. Let me give you an example relating to making a difference about personal finances. Your strong reason why might be to avoid paying interest on a credit card or to get rid of an overdraft. Both these reasons are focused on moving away from something you dont want. As the credit card bill and the overdraft reduce, the pain becomes less and might even become bearable. The danger is that the focus remains on the past e.g. Its much better than it used to be, rather than refocusing and moving towards something you do want. There is a strong link here with the second key thinking principle of defining goals. Once you have defined meaningful goals, that is, those linked with a strong reason why, you start heading in a direction. Without a direction, you will drift. So when you consider what you want to achieve, think about your motive. Are you acting out of fear of the consequences, or because of the expected pleasure when you fulfil them? If it is because of the fear, how might you possibly create a strong reason why about something you do want as opposed to something you dont want?
Action
Think back to the things you want to achieve that you identified earlier, go through them one by one and note down on a scale of 110, where 1 is low and 10 is high, how strong your reason why is for wanting to make that difference. Where you have given yourself a score of 5 or less, note that everything in your life with a reason why on this scale of 6 or above, is going to come first. Now is the time to reassess whether or not you are really bothered enough to do anything. If in your heart of hearts you know that your reason why not is stronger than your reason why, either choose to do nothing or choose to think differently. Tip: Make the reason why stronger than the reason not!
14. Thinking Principle Two Define your goal

The average person does not have well-defined personal goals. Remember you will never achieve more than you set out to achieve. Most __________________________________________________
people aim at nothing and hit it with incredible accuracy. Decide to be successful by developing well-defined goals. Your ability to learn and regularly apply the skills of goal-setting, will largely determine your future. I realise that, for some people, the word goals can be a turnoff. You dont have to use this word! During the research many people referred to: targets, specific objectives, well-formed outcomes, having an end in mind, the destination or simply knowing what they wanted. Some even referred to it as the thing Im after. Sometimes we dont realise that we have identified and defined goals. For example choosing and going on a specific holiday. Im not goal orientated! stated a participant on a development programme. I resisted the temptation of asking him how he had managed to attend the course on time, without having a goal of doing so. It concerns us to know the purpose we seek in life, for then we shall be more likely to attain what we want. Aristotle Goals direct your actions; your actions create results. Without thinking about goals there is no direction, resulting in a lack of focused action. Imagine a ship setting out to sail without deciding a destination or direction. It would drift out to sea and bump into obstacles as it bobbed around. Think about people that you know who are perhaps like that ship. If you want personal success, concentrate on defining exactly what you want. What do you want to have, do or become? Focusing on how to achieve what you want before fully defining exactly what it is you want, causes most people to give up before really starting. Theres no point in setting a goal, because I cant see how to get there. If only life was that easy and predictable! Focus on the why and the what (thinking principles one and two) and leave the how (thinking principles three to seven) for later. Here are eight tips for goal defining: Tip One: Write down your goals Research has shown that people with written defined goals achieve more than those who dont. Writing goals down shows how serious you are about being successful. It starts moving an idea in the mind, from your __________________________________________________
imagination to reality. A well-written goal gives precision and clarity of direction. Tip Two: Develop the ability to turn an aim into a SMART goal There are variations on what SMART stands for, and this is what we at Go MAD Thinking use: Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-scales Knowing what SMART means and having the ability to write SMART goals are two different things. Many of the leaders we work with have often heard of SMART goals and can recite what each letter stands for. However, I estimate that less than 20% can actually write a SMART goal in a single sentence. To show how this is possible, there is an example of a SMART goal at the end of this section (following goal defining Tip Eight). Tip Three: Seek harmony between your goals Check that your goals do not conflict with each other. If they do, for whatever reason, do something about it. Common conflicts include: - Too many goals and not enough time - Personal goals conflict with work goals - Goals do not include a loved ones involvement when it is needed - Goals are not aligned with core values. Tip Four: Get the habit of being successful each day Make a small difference daily. Write a simple SMART goal at the start of each day that you believe you will achieve then go for it. Tip Five: Know when to extend or amend your goal There are several reasons to extend or amend your goal: - If you notice that your reason why is not strong enough to keep a particular goal. Perhaps another goal has become more worthwhile - If you realise at a later stage that your goal is not SMART enough. You might need to be more specific about exactly what you want to achieve and by when - If the probability of achieving the goal within the time-scale falls below 50% - When you have nearly achieved your goal. It can be useful at this point to define new goals to keep you going. It can be tempting to slow down if no further goals exist. __________________________________________________
Tip Six: Be more specific Work on being clearer if you have used any of the following words in your written goal: improved better more less feel wish give a measurable improvement say how much better state how much more state how much less describe what you will feel say what will happen
Tip Seven: Avoid comparative goals Goals that include comparisons with others, stop you being in control as you are measuring against how well others have done. This might not be as well as you can do. Top class athletes seek to do better against their personal bests not against what others are doing. Tip Eight: Write your goals in the positive Its more helpful for your mind to focus on what you DO want rather than what you dont. If you want to cut down your monthly spending, focus on the actual amount you are happy to spend, rather than the percentage you want to reduce. That way you have a clearer picture of what you want. Before leaving this thinking principle, I would like to show you an example of a SMART goal which will help demonstrate the above tips. Supposing your goal was to become fitter. This is how I would help you to make it SMART. 1. Specific: Goals are specific, whereas aims are vague. So what does fitter mean to you? (Weighing less? Better aerobic ability? More flexibility? Or perhaps being able to run a marathon?) 2. Measurable in time, cost, quantity or quality. How are you going to measure your fitness? It could be to fit into a smaller clothes size, or be able to run 2 miles without stopping, or a host of other fitness measures. 3. Achievable: You have to believe that the goal is achievable within the time-scale you decide. For a goal to be achievable, you must believe there is at least a 50% probability of success. This links with key thinking principle four of Solution Focused Thinking (self-belief). 4. Relevant and related to a strong underlying reason why. Aims often tend to be more wishful thinking. Often strong motivations to become fitter are linked with external factors, e.g. onset of diabetes, or the __________________________________________________
wish to raise money for a good cause in the memory of a loved one. What might be your strong reason why? 5. Time-scales to measure what will be achieved by a certain date. Aims often have vague time-scales or none at all. When do you want to achieve your fitness measure by? (DD, MM, YY). A goal is a dream with a deadline So a really SMART goal might be By 24th December 2005 I will be able to run 2 miles in under 20 minutes. Having this goal very clearly defined will help prioritise the possible actions to take to achieve it, for example going out running will probably be more important than going to a yoga class.
Action
Look back at the list of things you wanted to achieve (as you were asked to note in chapter 12, page 12). Have a go at turning them into SMART goals.
15. Thinking Principle Three Plan your priorities

Now that you have a reason why and defined exactly what you want, the time has come to consider how it can be done. This three letter word often separates those who will achieve what they want from those who wont. Those who fail, ask Can I do it? and think about impossibility. Those who succeed ask How can I do it? and think possibilities. They have self-belief that they can do it and just need to find out how. Failing to plan is planning to fail. Effie Jones Now you need to identify possible actions that will take you towards achieving your goal and plan in the time for them. There is no such thing as time management. Time cannot be controlled or managed; it just passes. The only thing you can control is yourself and how you use your time. At the start of each week, you are given 168 hours. Each day you receive 1440 minutes. Each 8-hour working day you have 28,800 seconds. At the end of a working day, you have at least the same amount of time at your disposal. Its up to you to choose how to spend it. How often have you heard someone say, But I havent got time! Translating this phrase into Solution Focused Thinking language, it really __________________________________________________
means, I choose not to make time, because I dont think doing this is important enough and I havent got a strong enough reason why. Here are five steps to help you plan your priorities: Step One: Make lists of possible actions The key word to emphasise is possible. It might be too early to decide definite actions, so keep thinking about, and write down possibilities, ideas and alternatives. When doing this activity, aim to come up with a list as long as possible (give yourself a target I suggest at least 40 different ideas based on the questions below). 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. List possible actions you can take to achieve your goal. Write down names of others who might help you. Add to your list possible ways of involving these other people. Review your list and break any larger actions into smaller possible actions. Write down possible things that might get in the way and how you might deal with those things. Identify any possible resources to help you achieve your goal. List possible ways of getting these resources. What else seems appropriate to add?
Step Two: Look back at your defined goal Which of the ideas on your list will give you the biggest impact in the shortest time? This may be one or many actions. You can turn these actions into sub-goals to help you achieve your overall goal. Step Three: Decide the elements of your action plan There are many different formats for action plans; many of which are over complicated. Keeping it simple, the basis of any personal action plan is the same: What will I do? (actions) By when? (date)
This straight forward action plan is included in the separate workbook available from our website (www.gomadthinking.com) for you to use. You might want to remind yourself of your SMART goal, or have a list of your sub-goals on your action plan; thats up to you to decide. Other common elements of action plans might include start and finish dates, who else will be involved, review dates, success measurement criteria and rewards. The key to a good action plan is designing one for yourself that you feel happy using. __________________________________________________
Step Four: Assess your priorities Decide which actions on your list are important and which are urgent. Start with those that are important and urgent, and sort them into an order of priority. Create a way for yourself to ensure that time gets spent on the important, but non-urgent actions. This might be including them in a diary system or keeping a list of things to do where you can see it. It is important to ensure you allocate time to things that are important, before they become urgent. If these tasks are not built into an action plan and time set-aside to do them, then it is unlikely that your goal stands much of a chance of being achieved. If you have defined some actions as being neither urgent nor important, you should seriously consider if they need doing at all. Step Five: Understand that the plan will change Like any journey, you might encounter obstacles that cause a detour or a change of speed. Therefore it is best to have a firm goal but a flexible plan. It is important to understand that you might need to make changes to take advantage of opportunities that arise, or to overcome temporary setbacks. Remember the plan is not the goal. Refer back to the SMART goals you wrote down at the end of the section on thinking principle two. Consider possible actions to take to achieve them, prioritise these actions and turn them into a plan. We think too small. Like the frog at the bottom of the well. He thinks the sky is only as big as the top of the well. If he surfaced, he would have an entirely different view. Mao Tse-Tung
16. Thinking Principle Four Have self-belief

Your answers to the following two questions will reveal a lot about your level of self-belief about the things you want to achieve. Think back to the things you jotted down when reading chapter 12, page 12. 1. What do you believe is the realistic probability of you achieving these things? 2. To what extent do you think you have the necessary ability and confidence to achieve what you want?
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Strong self-belief is important in making a difference; it gives energy and helps you to build on your strong reason why. It is also essential when involving others (principle five); if you dont believe in yourself, how can you expect others to? When you believe in your ability to achieve, and concentrate on this your mind becomes solution focused and looks for ways to help you succeed. Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right." Henry Ford Here are five tips to help you strengthen your self-belief: Tip One: Be your own best friend Quite a few people have a poor self-image and opinion of themselves. Very often, this is reinforced by how they talk to themselves: Im no good at I cant do Im awful at Im clumsy; stupid; thick, etc. Imagine if your best friend spoke to you out loud in the same way saying: Youre no good at Youre hopeless at Youll never do it Youre clumsy, stupid, thick etc You probably wouldnt want to be friends with someone who continually said such negative stuff about you. You have the chance to become your own best friend by talking to yourself in a positive way saying things like: Youre Youre Youre Youre great at fantastic at so talented at confident at
Stop for a moment and consider; Up until now, have you been your own best friend, or your own worst enemy? What messages have you been giving yourself? How you talk to yourself (i.e. how you think about yourself) is important because the subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between real and imagined events, or truth and untruth. Sorting this out is the job of the conscious mind. The subconscious mind just accepts and saves the messages it receives. You can use your subconscious to help to develop a __________________________________________________
strong positive self-belief. If you keep saying nice things about yourself to yourself it is a simple way to start building a positive self-belief. A while ago when I decided to make a difference about my health, I started to influence my mind with two positive ideas: I enjoy eating healthy food. I am getting slimmer and slimmer every day. Initially, I did not believe these statements to be true. After about three weeks, I noticed I actually believed them and what was more, I was enjoying eating healthy food, and I was getting slimmer. I now had the self-belief that would enable me to achieve the weight I wanted to be. Tip Two: Create your own reality The Russian Olympian weightlifter Vasily Alexeev, had lifted 499 pounds, but could not break a weight-lifting record of 500 pounds. He had made many unsuccessful attempts. Eventually his trainer put 501.5 pounds on the bar but made it look like 499 pounds. He lifted it easily; the limit he had set himself existed only in his mind. Other weightlifters went on to break his record, because they now believed it possible to lift 500 pounds. Beliefs are not facts Our original Go MAD research provided many day-to-day examples of how people who made a difference, created their own reality. Many commented about overcoming a lack of self-belief by telling themselves, I could do it. Others said that they had initially created barriers in my own mind, before going on to deal with these limiting beliefs. Tip Three: Recognise the possible source of your limiting beliefs Beliefs that either enable or limit your ability to achieve what you want will have been developed throughout your life. Things said by parents, carers, teachers, peers, work colleagues and managers might all have made an impact on your subconscious mind. I have known many people who can remember their parents always calling them, stupid, or clumsy, and have grown up believing it to be true. I also hear adults criticising their children over and over again. These negative messages will eventually lead to self-doubt. The majority of children never develop the conscious ability to filter out or ignore these comments and so these can become limiting self-beliefs.
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If you have noticed for yourself any limiting beliefs about your ability to go after and achieve your goals, thats okay: beliefs can change. You can change them, if you have a big enough reason why. Change your beliefs and you change your reality. This is reinforced by looking at limiting beliefs that have existed throughout history which have been proved wrong: The world is flat but Christopher Columbus made a difference. Germs and bacteria dont exist until Louis Pasteur proved they did. Men cant fly but the Wright Brothers kept their self-belief. As a child did you believe in Father Christmas or the tooth fairy? Tip Four: Keep your dreams alive Who are your dream stealers? These people tell you that you will not achieve what you want. Recognise that they are sharing their limiting beliefs. Decide to ignore what they say. It often helps to think about what, if anything, that person has achieved in their life that qualifies them to attempt to put you down. People who say it cant be done are usually unsuccessful in defining or achieving success for themselves. No one can keep you down, except yourself. Tip Five: Choose a combination of these small things to help you maintain or develop your self-belief Regularly celebrate small successes and the achievement of sub-goals. Mix more with people who are upbeat; mix less with those who bring you down. Picture your goals being successfully achieved by you. Avoid unhealthy comparisons with others. Its what you do thats important. Read positive, developmental books. Get rid of worries by defining them, and generating solutions. Recreate in your mind past experiences of success. Dress for success look good and feel good. Learn to like yourself even more. Recognise your strengths, abilities and personal qualities. Focus on what you want and regularly review your goals. Remind yourself of past achievements.
Action
Write down all the things you have got going for you which will help you to achieve what you want. In solution focused mode, define yourself a __________________________________________________
goal about how many things you can list. How about going for at least 20!
17. Thinking Principle Five Involve Others

The more you want to achieve, the more potential for involving others. Your success may depend on how good you are at getting others to help you.
Involve Others
Reason Why
Define Goal
Plan Priorities
Your defined goal is linked to your reason why. Notice in the Go MAD Framework (as shown above) that your reason why (thinking principle one), is not directly linked to involve others. Your defined goal acts as the link because to involve others, you need to help them understand your goal. Not only that, but you also need to convince them that it is achievable. Other people will not want to help achieve your goal, unless they personally have a strong enough reason why and believe it can be done. Your role is to ensure they do by involving them. Have a reason for their involvement There are many possible reasons for involving others. You will have different reasons for wanting to involve different people. Focus on what you want to achieve. Use the following list to help you think about possible reasons for involving others. Add any further reasons you have identified. - They have useful knowledge, or access to it. - They have specialist skills. - They are good at getting things done. - Their relationship is important to you. - The goal will impact on them. - They have done it before. - They can influence other people. - They are key decision-makers. __________________________________________________
They have an interest in the outcome. To save time. To generate ideas. To have fun. To gain credibility. To maintain organisational politics. Other reasons
Decide who to involve There are lots of people who could potentially help if you approach them in the right way: friends, teachers, colleagues, customers, family, social acquaintances, business contacts, experts and many others. It is also possible to involve others without ever meeting or knowing them. The knowledge and experience of others can come from books and a wide range of audio/visual material. This is an easy way of getting new information that will help you to make a difference. Intelligence is not the ability to store information, but to know where to find it. Albert Einstein Internet access opens up a variety of options for involving others: information from websites; specialist forums; ask for help on bulletin boards, and send information via e-mail. Here are five tips on involving others: Tip One: Walk alongside others Everyone is different, with different needs and motivations. Looking at what you want to achieve from their point of view, will give you valuable insight into how to gain their involvement. Tip Two: Recognise their reason why Think about whats in it for them. Why should they bother to help you? Tip Three: Understand their goals and dreams Others might not have their goals as well defined as you if they have any goals at all. Instead, they might have some aims, aspirations or hopes or not. Think about how you can help them to achieve what they want as well as them helping you.
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Tip Four: Give more to receive more Others are more likely to help you achieve your goals if you have already given help to them. The best way to get co-operation is to give cooperation. The more we give of anything, The more we shall get back. Grace Speare Tip Five: Develop likeable qualities You are a sales person! Whether you agree with this or not, you sell yourself daily to others. They may not pay you with money, but they do give their valuable time. I read some research that mentioned over 80% of sales are based upon the customer liking the salesperson. So how likeable are you?
18. Principle Six Take personal responsibility

Use the worlds greatest expert You are the worlds greatest expert about you and what you want to achieve. You have incredible insider knowledge about your motivation, your capabilities, your dreams, and your ambitions. No one else knows as much about you, as you do. No one else has as great a stake in your future as you do. Its not what you know thats important; its what you do with it that matters. Taking responsibility for your actions and the choices you have made in the past, is the first step. The second step, is to take responsibility for your current situation and your future. Choosing to apply Solution Focused Thinking to help you get what you want is up to you. If it is to be, it is up to me. Refuse to blame others or make excuses In many organisations I have worked with, there is a high level of blame; with people at one level blaming people at another; people in one team, blaming people in others; people blaming each other; people blaming the weather, the heavy traffic the examples are endless. What use does this serve in making a difference? None at all a classic case of whining dog syndrome (thinking principle one) just letting everyone else know about whats wrong without doing anything about it. __________________________________________________
Whats more, many managers I meet proudly claim that, We dont have a blame culture here. Notice how the word blame gets programmed into the mind once more. What would be more helpful is to focus on what they want, which is the opposite i.e. a responsibility culture. However, many people seem to prefer blaming rather than taking responsibility. Exercise your power to choose Hopefully, by now, you have realised that you can learn to take greater control of your mind. Your mind is like a magnet; more powerful than any other magnet. You choose what to attract and store. The decisions are yours and yours alone. You can choose to take responsibility and consciously apply the key thinking principles, or you can choose not to. Exercising your power to choose is the core of thinking principle six and the whole Go MAD Solution Focused Thinking System. Here are five tips on making choices: Tip One: Choose to move on You decide how to travel through life. You choose your vehicle and then decide whether to be the driver or the passenger. Sometimes it can be comfortable in the passengers seat; you might get used to not looking to the future. It is easy to rely on others, and lose control of where you are going. Tip Two: Choose to make time I havent got time, is an excuse; a way of saying, Its not important enough for me, at the moment. It is up to you to choose whether to plan time for those things you say that are important. John Grisham was a busy lawyer with, no time to write a book. He chose to get up at 5am every morning to write his first novel, A Time to Kill. Tip Three: Choose to alter your language Watch out for phrases which start, I cant, I should, and I have to. Take responsibility for stating what you want, or choose to do, rather than implying that someone else is stopping or making you do something. Tip Four: Choose to develop yourself The aim of this e-book is to help you understand and develop your thinking ability. However, I can only start you off; you must develop your own thinking ability. Taking personal responsibility for doing this means not relying on others to give you training and development. The concept __________________________________________________
of lifelong learning involves investing your time, and possibly money, into developing yourself. It is up to you to make this choice. Tip Five: Choose who to involve You choose who to involve; how to involve them; when to involve them, and what to involve them in. There is plenty of help around in this world, if you choose to use it. People are always blaming circumstances for what they are. I dont believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they cant find them, they make them. George Bernard Shaw
19. Thinking Principle Seven Take action and measure the results
You should be ready to take action by now, having applied the first six Solution Focused Thinking Key Principles. NOW is the time. Youve done your personal planning (thinking principles one to three) and youve taken steps to maintain momentum (thinking principles four to six). Now its time for you to take action; to achieve what you want and measure the results. Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action. Benjamin Disraeli As I said before, each day has 1440 minutes; start by allocating just 1% 14 minutes on what you want to achieve. If you choose not to even do this, youre not serious and need to think about what you really want. Never confuse intention, with action. Start to think differently now. Not later, next month or someday these words often mean never. There is no failure, only opportunities to learn. Even with really detailed plans, you are still unlikely to identify, or get rid of all obstacles. See them as challenges, and accept them as part of getting what you want. Being solution focused, you will take responsibility for handling them as they arise, rather than seeing them as an excuse to quit. Keep focused on your goal and reason why. Challenges can often be broken down into smaller parts like goals and sub-goals. Tackle each of the smaller elements and learn from the __________________________________________________
experience. Remember that the greatest challenges can be those that exist in your mind! Measure the difference Keep track of your progress and plan reviews to ensure this happens. Look back at your goal, and sub-goals, to ensure you are measuring the specific success you defined. How you measure the success is up to you. Some things can be easier to measure than others, for example if certain things happened or not? Measurements of time, cost and quantity are also fairly easy to measure. An area that some people struggle with is measuring a softer developmental goal. For example: increasing confidence or reducing stress. In the e-book How to guarantee your success (available from www.gomadthinking.com) you will find two ways that you can do this. Have fun and enjoy yourself If success is the progressive realisation of a worthwhile goal, you can have fun and be happy on the journey towards your destination; you dont have to wait until you arrive! Remember that enjoying yourself is optional! Celebrate success Its obvious, so just do it. Remember to acknowledge the help of others and include them in your success celebrations, whatever they might be.
20. Youve read the e-book, now make the difference!

I wrote this e-book with the hope that you will choose to apply the Go MAD Solution Focused Thinking System, not just read about it. The difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary is that little bit extra that people have who think differently. It sometimes takes that little bit extra to apply the key thinking principles and achieve what you want. The difference between those that do and those that dont, is those that are prepared to have a go. And really have a go, despite the obstacles. Simon Ashton
21. Five questions I am often asked about thinking

As this is an overview to Solution Focused Thinking I expect that you may well have questions about it, just as people I meet often have __________________________________________________
questions. Here are five of the common questions they ask me and five comments about thinking that I hear: How does this type of thinking impact on performance? It helps because it gives a straight forward system to use to check that your thinking is focused on success. That you have a strong enough reason, a clear idea of what needs achieving, you explore all possibilities and come up with a plan to get there. If you get your thinking right, you will take the right actions which will then influence the results. What areas of thinking make the biggest impact if addressed? If you refer back to the Go MAD Thinking Framework (on Page 9), you will see that it is not a step-by-step process, but that it is an interconnected system. If you affect one element of the system then that will have an effect on the other elements. So taking any of the thinking principles in turn you can see how working in one area is going to make a significant impact on all the others. For example, defining your goal properly, might mean that your self-belief goes up because you can see now what it is you are going to achieve. Your reason why might be strengthened because you can now feel that you can break it into easy sub-goals, you can more easily identify your priorities and so on. Think through examples where you have not been successful in the past. Apply each of the thinking principles in turn. In which areas were you weak? This exercise might well show that there is one consistent area that is letting you down, for example you didnt take personal responsibility for making choices, or when you involved others you didnt spend enough time thinking about what might be in it for them in order for them to help you. What benefit will it give me to know how people think? The first step is to realise how you think and perhaps choose to think differently! Then you will start to hear how other people think when they speak to you. You might be at the coffee machine when you hear someone blaming others, or saying things, which you now know will severely limit their self-belief, such as I cant, or That wont work. You will then begin to understand how their thinking is impacting on their actions and how they deal with you. Is thinking a habit? Yes! We do it all the time. In fact experts reckon we talk to ourselves every 11 seconds, so it makes sense to be saying helpful things to ourselves. Just as we can learn to drive a car through practice until it sinks into our subconscious, a good thinking system can also sink into our subconscious through practice so that we do it automatically. However, __________________________________________________
remembering the driving analogy, it may seem a little cumbersome to begin with before it really begins to work for us quickly and effectively. Stick with it its worth it! Why do I need to have lots of possibilities if the answer is obvious, I should just focus on that? It may seem like that. However, lets look at some of the implications of this. - You may not have thought through the risks, obstacles and implications of this obvious answer, which may significantly hold you up at a later stage. - There may be an even better answer, which could prove to be even more effective. - If the first solution doesnt work, you wont have to go back completely to the drawing board because you will have a range of alternatives at your fingertips. - You may be denying someone in your team the chance to shine if they have a brilliant idea to contribute.
22. Five comments I hear about thinking

So thinking is just about taking time out is it? Well yes, and no! You will be taking time out to consciously apply solution focused thinking, but it will be for a specific purpose. Neither will it necessarily take long to think through the seven key principles of Solution Focused Thinking for simple problems. Our research has shown though, that people that do take the time to think, show themselves to be able to think more creatively, more quickly and more effectively on a more consistent basis. As solution focused thinking becomes a habit, it wont actually seem like taking time out as it will become your natural way of thinking. If everyones allowed to think at work, it'll cause chaos! This might just be a limiting belief that you have! Close your eyes and imagine a world where everyone is thinking for themselves. This means that everyone takes responsibility for their actions, a blame culture really doesnt exist, and management time is freed up from people who have become used to constantly seeking answers rather than coming up with their own solutions. It could be utopia rather than chaos! Youre just trying to brainwash me! In a way, yes! However, I am not brainwashing you with my own opinions. I am asking you to think about how you can think naturally and __________________________________________________
deal with the external factors that can limit your beliefs and your creativity. Its not possible to change the way I think This again might be a limiting belief that you have. Because you have perhaps been thinking this way for a long time, it will have created a deep groove in your mind, which may take some time to change. Start with a new small groove that it is possible to change your way of thinking. If you regularly remind yourself of this you will make a bigger groove until you have changed your way of thinking. Thinking in a different way will change my personality Probably only if you choose to let it! Thinking in a solution focused way will make you more creative, more effective and more consistent in what you do. You will still be the same person underneath, but a more effective you! If you have questions or thoughts that you would like to put to me that havent been covered here, then do email them to me at info@gomadthinking.com. ENJOY ACHIEVING WHAT YOU WANT WHEN YOU WANT!
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How to achieve what you want, when you want!

7 Powerful Principles of Successful Thinking for Work, Life and Everything

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1. The secret of achieving what you want

2. The start of something

3. Getting the most from this e-book

4. First, the good news

5. What are the Seven Key Thinking Principles?

6. The Go MAD Solution Focused Thinking System

Involve Involve Others Others

7. Level one personal planning

8. Level two maintaining momentum

9. Level three making a difference

10. More good news

11. A sad reality

12. Making a start

13. Thinking Principle One Have a strong reason why

14. Thinking Principle Two Define your goal

15. Thinking Principle Three Plan your priorities

16. Thinking Principle Four Have self-belief

17. Thinking Principle Five Involve Others

18. Principle Six Take personal responsibility

20. Youve read the e-book, now make the difference!

21. Five questions I am often asked about thinking

22. Five comments I hear about thinking

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