You gotta be in it to win it!

I think it’s important to practice your skill. Have passion for what you do. Have the desire to win.  Love what you do. Be in the zone and thrive off of outcomes!  These are things that I think lay the foundation for success.  Without these mindsets, how could one continue to push themselves in sports or any career?

I love the Knicks and love watching basketball. The thrill, the energy, the passion and excitement that come along with the game can be electrifying.  The recent years for the Knicks have been up and down, they have been good and bad, they have been challenging and frustrating, they have been fulfilling and boring. However, after watching a new member to the New York Knicks team put his skills to the test, I was motivated to write about him.  This person pushes himself, pushes his team, brings a new sense of excitement to the team, and shoots for the stars.

If you’ve ever seen JR Smith play on the court his energy, passion and heart all shine through immediately!  His eyes are on the prize.  His eyes want to win.  He is in the zone.  He is lean and mean, small and fierce, has serious focus, determination and is on fire!!! In the 4^th quarter when all of the chips are against him, he wants the ball.  When he’s hurting and stitched up, JR pushes harder.   When he’s out and sitting on the bench, he wants to be in and driving to the net.  He wants to be in it to win it.  The bigger the challenge…the better the results for this guy!!  It’s really fascinating and exciting to watch JR Smith play.  He brings it to the court.  He lays it out on the court.  He is eccentric, talented and quick, and loves to put on a show.  He is in it!!

I recently watched an interview with JR Smith which dug into his personal life and professional life.  The interviewer really got into JR’s mind to understand “How did you get this way, JR?”, “Where did you erupt from?”, “What drives you to succeed?”  All of the questions tip toed around his obvious talent and bright future.  With hundreds of players in the NBA many of them definitely have the talent and potential similar to JR Smith, but something about him just stands out and is a driving force.  He has the talent, for sure, but not only that, on top of the talent he has the drive, hunger, focus, passion, and I would say partially obsession for what he does.

Not everyone is blessed enough to do what they love, or even know what they love to do.  JR Smith is blessed that he knows what he loves to do and has the skills…but he works hard at his craft, he goes out to every game with fire in his eyes, he wants to win and he has what it takes.  JR Smith is on his way to big things.  He pushes himself.  He wants to be in it.  He is winning it.   He is motivated by himself and it’s an amazing thing to see!!

I really enjoy watching JR Smith and take a lot away from his performances.  I am inspired by watching him on the court and watching the energy he brings with him all of the time.  He’s a winner.  He’s talented, he loves what he does, he practices what he does, and he pushes himself.  JR Smith is getting recognized more and more for his unique style, skills and potential.  I think JR Smith is an example of talent, hard work and drive paying off!!  He’s inspiring and motivating on the court…and not just to other pro bball players, but to people in business and offices all around the globe!

Booming out – Y!

I’m constantly reading business articles, blogs, reports and/or anything I can get my hands on pertaining to corporate cultures that foster success and productivity.  I find it fascinating how corporate cultures have progressed with time.  It’s interesting to read history books on the workforce back in the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and so on and it naturally makes me look towards the future and wonder what the corporate culture makeup will look like in 10, 20, 30 and even 5 years!

I recently read an article by writer Susanne Gargiulo called ‘Generation Y’ Set to Transform Office Life.  This article really spoke to me and touched upon thoughts relating to corporate culture and progression in business.  This writing outlined how Generation Y (those born between 1979 and 1997) will be extremely instrumental and already are in setting the new values for business and corporate culture!

I couldn’t agree more with what Susanne Gargiulo had to say about how the workforce will look in 5-10 years because of the influx of Generation Y’ers in and the exit of the Baby Boomers.  Susanne outlines how Generation Y’ers will bring creativity, flexibility, innovation, and big picture ideas to the workforce…even if they are working with an iPad from the beach!  Does this sound far-fetched or foreign to you?  Well…this is the truth and there is so much research out there that has backed up this belief with statistical evidence.  The belief is that Generation Y is going to bring LIFE and EXCITEMENT to the work environment as well as a new standard for corporate culture!

Take a minute and think back to some of the stories your parents,grandparents,  aunts, uncles and family members may have shared with you about their hard-working, building days.  I can confidently say that I have a hard time relating to the typical working day described by my Baby Boomer parents.  I think back on the stories told by my mother outlining a day in her working shoes, which entailed a daily requirement no Ifs, Ands or Buts, of panty hose every single day through sun, heat, hail, rain or snow.  Ladies were required to wear panty hose to work on a regular day, even if it was 95 degrees and the panty hose made them miserable.  I can’t think of a more effective way to distract someone from doing actual work than by enforcing them to wear suffocating, “clingy”, uncomfortable stockings every single day.  How about those stories you hear about drill sergeant officials turned “corporate bosses” in the office?  Standing at the entry way of offices practically with a whistle in hand…1 minute late to work = 1 dollar knocked off of your income!

There is no “right” from “wrong” and I am definitely an old-school traditionalist in many ways.  HOWEVER, from my perspective, as someone who immerses themself in the studies of corporate productivity, some of the old school ways are simply seem OLD and OUTDATED!  Generation Y’ers are looking to innovate, bring fresh ideas, show their way of working.   This all exemplifies the beauty of time, progression, technology, education and modernization.

I agree with Susanne Garguilo that things will drastically change in the work environment in the next decade.  How could it not?  The Generation Y group is a force to be reckoned with and many Baby Boomers are exiting the work force to enjoy their retirement.

There’s no doubt about it that “back in the day” things were measured very different and work environments looked different.  “Back in the day” creativity and flexibility were not encouraged as much as it is in the workforce today.  Luckily we have hard-working Baby Boomers who were entrepreneurs and visionaries who have pushed past the norm to set standards and many Generation Y’ers will continue to do so!

It’s an exciting time in history! It’s thrilling to see how Generation Y will transform and strengthen the work environment.  It’s fascinating to think how the generation after y will impact business even more.  It’s amazing to think how office environments have changed over the past decades!  It’s encouraging and hopeful to understand how creativity and out-of-the-box business thinking will foster growth and productivity and make us all think outside of the box! It’s powerful to recognize how Generation Y will truly transform office life and lay more foundations for the generation after them…I can’t wait to be involved in it!! I can’t wait to see the changes.  I can’t wait to help with it.  It is history in the making!

  <~~~~  Taking a break from closing deals for some office fun!!! Our CEO, Steve Brown, encouraging and joining in on the office athletic competition!!

Winning… DUH!!

“Lisa, do you ever stop?” “Lisa, why don’t you relax for once?” These are some of the questions I’ve been asked over the years by family members, colleagues and friends. Whenever I get asked these questions I just shrug, smile, not give any more thought to it and move on.

It wasn’t until recently that I had to figure out the answer.  I was on the phone with a business associate, like usual I was going off on one of my passionate rants when the caller on the other end of the phone stopped me and said “Lisa…can I ask you a question? What makes you this way? What are you motivated by?” I felt like I was on the other side of the interview table for a change but I didn’t know how to answer the interview question.  What am I motived by, I thought to myself, hmmmm.  I, someone who is hardly ever left speechless, WAS speechless when I was expected to provide an answer.  Noticing I didn’t have an answer, the person on the other line offered answers “Well…Are you motivated by fancy bags? luxury cars? expensive clothing?.  I thought to myself, thanks for trying to help me answer this simple question but “No, No and No”.  I gave some bogus answer then but thought of the question after hanging up the phone.

I thought back to my childhood to look for some clues.  I chuckled when I remembered playing a neighborhood game of hide and go seek.  I was told by my parents, that in order to win the game I needed to stay hidden until someone found me.  While hiding I recall overhearing my mom speed dialing all of our neighbors on the block and frantically asking “Have you seen Lisa anywhere?!?” “No??”…click.  I remember quietly giggling to myself and holding out just a few more seconds before crawling out from underneath the bed.  What was everyone bent out of shape for?? I was just following directions…given by my parents! I was staying hidden in order to win – even if it meant waiting 2 hours!! This proved as an example of my stick-to-it-ness, stubborness (or call it what you’d like) at an early age.

I thought back to my high school days but, that didn’t provide too many clues.  Well…besides a memory of me standing at a 4 feet 5 inches, thinking I was the assistant coach to the NY Knicks and thinking by screaming, shouting and giving advice through my television screen they would win a championship over Michael Jordan or Reggie Miller.

It wasn’t until I remembered a few comical memories that some light switches started to switch on!  I noticed a common theme bigger than a childhood game or phone call.  Aside from being the typical fiery kid with passion who sometimes got on people’s nerves, I noticed a common theme.  That common theme was WINNING.  I recalled different scenarios and realized I loved winning!

Whether the game was ‘who will win hide and go seek’ or ’who will win the NBA game’, I was engulfed in and focused on the win!  No matter what the challenge was, I was IN THE ZONE to prove to myself I could achieve it.  For me it was never really about competition with anyone else but myself. It was more about having fun and proving to myself that I could do it by setting mini goals and then bigger goals.  Winning felt good!!!  It wasn’t until recently that I noticed the true simplicity and empowering feeling of winning.  It wasn’t until recently that I noticed it’s a formula and if you stick to it you can dictate the winning outcome.  It wasn’t until recently that I realized that natural adrenaline feeling of winning.  It wasn’t until recently that I realized how good it truly felt to WIN!!

Everyone loves winning!  Everyone has it in them to win! One can win in business, win in sports, win in a game of chess or win in the classroom.  Winning is powerful!  Winning is fun! Winning is challenging!  It’s proven that if you dedicate your time and energy to something you love, you can and will WIN!  It’s fun to win! It’s exciting to win! It’s empowering to win! It’s fulfilling to win!  You can win and the best game to win is the game of life! Just keep going!!