ANTICIPATION - Your Edge In Business!

Anticipation
Anticipation is the ultimate advantage in business and in life!  You have to know the road ahead.  When you know what is ahead of you, you can anticipate what is going to happen.  When you are anticipating, you are ahead of the game.  When you are not anticipating… you have to REACT!  When you are in the game of business and you have to react… in most cases, you are going to die!  You have to be able to anticipate the challenges that are ahead.  You cannot make it, regardless of experience or who you are, if you are no longer being proactive and are now reactive.

I know from personal experience that whatever you have built, whether it be over the course of a year or 10 years, can all be gone in a flash once you start reacting! Anticipation is one of the most important skills you will ever have.  Learning how to anticipate will give you the edge you need in order to maintain control or take control of situations.  The biggest chokehold in any business is the owner’s or leader’s psychology or skills.  Listen to the hard core talk facts about this from Anthony Robbins at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n2-Nar5Jto&feature=related

Leadership & Recommended Reading

Friends,

I am often asked what Book I recommend to read.  I am finding myself buying books and downloading the Kindle version almost weekly.  I was always taught that you will never read to much... as long as it is something that has some kind of a positive effect on your life or the life of others.  I have always been intrigued with Authors that inspire me to become better at helping others, mostly by Leadership.  I believe that Leadership is an evolution.  It isn't something that is given, purchased, or inherited.  Leadership takes years of being a student.  I recently heard John C. Maxwell say that it takes 20 years for a person to really become a Great Leader.  That is 20 years of being a Student of Leadership... Not Just 20 Years Of Existing.  I remember my father telling me something similar when I was about 13 or 14 years old.  He said, "Chris, you have to become a Student and want to learn everything you can from those you wish to become more like.  Before wanting to be like anyone else, you must first want to become Christ Like.  Then, as you continue learning, you will one day have people that are looking up to you for Leadership.  You will become a person that people want to follow and learn from.  This will happen because you will be Leading by Example.  You will know when that time comes, and they will refer to you as a 'Leader'.  But always remember this... Leadership is an evolution.  You will have people follow you and believe in you, but you have to be careful.  You will not truly understand Leadership until you have years of experience... no matter who you know or what you read.  Experience comes from making many mistakes and learning from them.  Experience comes from Doing... Not Saying.  Start NOW... and someday, You Will Lead People On To Great Things."

There was much more to that talk, but it has stuck with me all my life.  I have made so many mistakes in business and in my personal life... but I have learned from them.  Being a Life-Long Student, I can honestly say that everything started coming together about the time I turned 40.  I then learned more from 40 to 42 than I did in the past 20 years.  You want to know what is really crazy?  I then learned more in just one short year than I had in the past 42!  Remember that like Life, Leadership is an evolution.  Someday I will tell you just what happened that changed my life so quickly, but that is another story in itself.

Here is why I tell you that story.  In all of the books I have read, one that I just finished sticks out more than most.  It is a compilation of Many Leaders, each giving you a page or two of their 'Best Stuff'!  I highly recommend that you get this book, buy it for the Leadership on your team and read a couple of pages every day... this will make a difference in your life... I promise!

Here it is:

www.amazon.com

End Malaria.  Yep, that's what it is called... End Malaria.  The book is $25 and $20 of that goes to helping end the deadly disease Malaria. Order it as soon as you can  and let me know what you think.  I want to read your comments.

Have a Wonderful and Blessed Day!

Chris Orf

How Do You View It?

Friends,

In the past week I have had 7 people talk to me about something tragic that has recently happened in their lives.  As I listened to my friends in need, giving them an ear and a shoulder where needed, I couldn't help but think about a tragic moment that I have recently experienced as well.  While each incidence was different, ranging from home foreclosure, job lay off, death of a loved one, etc... all of us had one thing in common... a common question.  "Why would God do this to me?"  As conversations continued, as good Christian believers should, I noticed that the question quickly was corrected to "Why did God allow this to happen to me?"  I think this is an understandable question and it is one that goes through anyone's mind when faced with unexpected 'challenges' in our lives. 

This week, during our morning reading together, Dori and I came across the answer.  It was in a book, which we highly recommend to everyone, called "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren.  In chapter 2 (Day 2), Rick explains this from a Biblical point.  Here is what he said.

"Know that trauma you faced and God wept that it hurt you so; but it was allowed to shape your heart so that into His likeness you would grow."

While that may be hard to understand while going through these times, most if not everyone I have talked to says... "Later on in life, I was able to see that All Things Do Happen For A Reason and let me tell you what was Birthed from such a tragedy..."

Never Give Up!  Dig Deep... Turn Your Tragedy or Challenge INTO Something.  You May Not Know What... But Keep Looking and Never Give Up!

God Bless and Have A Wonderful Day,
Chris

To better help our Fiends, Brothers, and Sisters... I welcome any comments on this subject. 

I have looked over some of the questions that we have received over the weekend.  I think I will start with this one being the 1st post.
"How do you and Dori start your Monday Mornings to prepare for the week ahead?"  Mike
Our week actually starts on Sunday.  We like to devote Sunday to God and Family.  Sunday is a very peaceful day for us and by the end of the day, our heads are clear and we take time to reflect on the prior week and start planning for the following week.  We start Monday morning off with 4 Categories in mind and tasks that have to be completed in each. They are, and in this order, starting with a question... "How do we Manage/Lead in these 4 areas today and this week for life balance?"
1.  Our Spiritual Life
2.  Our Personal Health & Self Improvement
3.  Our Family & Finance
4.  Our Business Management
Some people say it is good to separate these, taking time to complete each before moving on to the next.  We believe that it is important that they all work together and become a way of life.  Personal Health has everything to do with Family, just like Business Management will fail without time spent on Spiritual Growth.  They all are intertwined when you have balance.

I think one thing we do that really can make or break our week falls on one large topic/question.  Dori and I review this daily.  We talk openly about What Our Purpose Is, What Our Dreams & Goals are.  In future posts, we will get into what we feel is important parts of those 3 key topics, Purpose, Dreams & Goals.

I hope this give you an idea of how we structure our 'Life Plan' on a weekly basis.  Maybe in the near future, we will show you what our "weekly check list" looks like.

God Bless You All,
Chris Orf