Become a Better Father/Every Day Dad

Every Day Dad: The Guide to Becoming a Better Father

Mon, 31 May 2010 13:05:02 -0800

Every Day Dad:
THE GUIDE TO BECOMING A BETTER FATHER http://everydaydad.org/
By Scott Hammond

Parenting Experts, Dads, and Coaches are calling Scott Hammond’s new book Every Day Dad: The Guide to Becoming a Better Father the must have book for fathers who want to transform their lives, become a better parent, and live life with purpose and passion.
Title: Every Day Dad: The Guide to Becoming a Better Father
Author: Scott Hammond
ISBN: 978-1450-5366-46
Pages: 352
Release Date: June 2010
Available from Amazon.com & other booksellers
To request an interview, review copy of Every Day Dad, or other materials: contact Scott Hammond or call 707-616-7665.
BACK COVER DESCRIPTION

You had such plans for your life and for your family…
But the stress and pressure of work, marriage, and parenting has taken its toll.
What are you going to do?

How do you overcome and become the Hero you dream of?
Every Day Dad equips you with the tools and knowledge you need to connect with your family, live life with passion and purpose, and become the Hero you have always dreamed of – for yourself, for your wife, and for your kids.
In Every Day Dad, you’ll be mentored through the stresses and challenges you have, and will encounter, so that you can transform your life, joyfully engage with your family, and build a positive, lasting legacy.
DOWNLOAD COVER PHOTOS, TABLE OF CONTENTS, AND CHAPTER 1

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Table of Contents
Read the first 28 pages (Forward through Chapter 1)
EVERY DAY DAD SUMMARY

Every Day Dad: The Guide to Becoming a Better Father shows dads how to overcome the challenges of life, joyfully engage with their families, and build a positive, lasting legacy. Written in a practical, straight-forward manner, the books equips dads (and all parents) with the knowledge and tools they need to connect with their families, to live life with passion and purpose, and become better fathers.
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR EVERY DAY DAD

Here are just a few of the things readers have had to say about Every Day Dad:
We are a society in crisis and the root cause is parenting. This book will give you great tools to become a better parent and a better person at the same time.
Larry Winget, Television Personality and New York Times Bestselling Author, Your Kids Are Your Own Fault: A Guide For Raising Responsible, Productive Adults
When I became a father, several decades ago, I wanted to be the best I could be. After all, that’s what I wanted to do in all the (work) jobs I had. There was no book on all that it takes. Now comes along Scott Hammond’s book with lessons that, with effort (yes, it requires EFFORT) puts fatherhood in excellent perspective for your success.
Jim Tunney, Ed.D
Author, Educator, Former NFL Referee
Scott Hammond’s book, Every Day Dad, is an encyclopedia for being a Dad. He understands the business of being a Dad and he communicates it extremely well. This book is a must for every Dad.
D.J.Young, www.Wisdom4Dads.com
It’s about time! What a wonderful concept and hats off to you, Scott Hammond, for bringing the extremely important, long overdue issue of fatherhood to the forefront. With shifting roles, two working parents, and changes in the world at warp-speed, we need fathers more than ever to help the women in the world with our shared bundles of joy. To enjoy the laughter, joys, tears, and milestones, there couldn’t be a more important role for the men of this day and age and for the children of tomorrow!
Karen Simmons, CEO, Founder, Autism Today
Click here to Read more comments and testimonials from readers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, SCOTT HAMMOND

Scott Hammond is the author of Every Day Dad: The Guide to Becoming a Better Father, a parenting expert, and the father of 9 children, who offers a unique point of view on fathering and intentional parenting. Scott is an award winning professional speaker and a recognized business consultant and leadership coach.
Scott motivates and inspires others toward positive, personal change and growth with his comfortable style, authenticity, and transparency. Using real-life stories, Scott shares how you can overcome life and parenting obstacles and become a better person.
Scott resides in McKinleyville, California with his wife of 27 years, Joni, and their kids. To connect with Scott, visit BecomeABetterFather.com

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND STORY IDEAS FROM SCOTT HAMMOND

“Growing Up With Gabriel: A Father’s Story” (One Sheet)
“Ten Things More Important Than Money” (One Sheet)
“Momentum Creation With Scott Hammond” (One Sheet)
4 Challenges to Compelling Parenting
Returning to Your First Love (audio)
Dads are Endangered Species (radio commentary on KINS)
The Upside of Down Syndrome (audio)
Pain is the Fuel of Passion (audio)
7 Secrets of Effective Parents (audio)
Leaving a Living Legacy (audio)
2009 Father’s Day Interview on KHSU (radio interview)
Click here for Videos from Scott Hammond
You can also follow Scott on Twitter and Facebook
To request an interview, review copy of Every Day Dad, or other materials: contact Scott Hammond or call 707-616-7665.

SCOTT HAMMOND - INTERIOR BIO

Scott Hammond with his wife Joni, and 2 of their boys
Scott Hammond is a Parenting Expert, the author of Every Day Dad: The Guide to Becoming a Better Father, and as a father of 9 children (all theirs) offers a unique point of view on fathering and intentional parenting.
Scott is an Award Winning professional speaker and has been recognized as a business consultant/coach with 30 years of marketing experience. Scott is a published Author and creator of BecomeaBetterFather.com
Scott was born in Emmetsburg, Iowa and grew up in San Diego California, before moving to Humboldt County California. Having earned his BA in Recreation Administration/Liberal Arts at Humboldt State University, Scott has worked in radio, newspaper, and the Cable TV ad sales industry for over 25 years.
Recognized as Award Winning Competent and ATM Gold Toastmaster, and a graduate of the Cascadia School of leadership, Scott has completed and graduated from Pro Track, the National Speakers Association Northern California’s professional speaking school.

Scott & Joni Hammond having fun with their family
Scott uses a comfortable, personal speaking style to motivate, inspire, and train people toward positive personal, parental, and professional change and growth. He uses real life stories to connect with his audience via genuine authenticity and transparency in sharing ways to overcome life and parenting obstacles. He resides in McKinleyville California with his wife of 29 years Joni and their kids.

To request an interview, review copy of Every Day Dad, or other materials: contact Scott Hammond or call 707-616-7665.
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New Book: Every Day Dad...coming soon

Fri, 07 May 2010 07:30:58 -0800

Gotta tell you it is really getting close to the release of my New Book……….
“Every Day Dad” is a 3 year work on helping equip dads to be proud of their families.
It offers all the tools to become a better father…really!
It takes the best of Fathering University and real business acumen and combines them into a quantum leap forward toward more intentional and effective fathering.
Written from the perspective of a “Regular Joe” dad (that’s me for sure), my book will help dads to discover both how to become more intentional in their fathering and to follow through on their goals. The Book has a Free Strategic Life Planner with every copy…the PSP is a road map to life and better relationships and comes FREE ($49.77 value) with the book which will be available on Amazon in Early June 2010.
You will see more and be able to sample before you buy. Hope to hear from you.
Best,
Scott Hammond
BecomeaBetterFather.com

Legacy Leaving 101

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 19:46:34 -0800

What will your best friends say at your funeral?
I came home from a road trip and my wife sat me down at the foot of our bed and said, “Your friend Dan Gunderson is dead”.
I couldn’t believe my ears, hoping it was a joke.
It was no joke.
This death caused me to think…
What is a life well lived?
What is greatness
What does a legacy look like?
I have three questions for you and myself…
Who has invested their time, life, and gifts in you?
What would your best friends say about you?
Who are you now investing your life skills and gifts in?
Someone who invested in me was my dad Bob… he was a real SOB (Sweet Old Bob).
He modeled and lived a life built on relationships.
You could pack all that he owned into his Chevrolet, but he left us incredible riches…
a great love and relationship with people, God, and nature.
1. People.
My father built relationships with everyone, whether in Alcoholics Anonymous, church, family, or just on the street. He built and fostered relationships with everyone he met.
I brought him into my sales office to share his sales genius.
We were all prepared with notepad and pen in hand…
All he said was, “If you’re in this for the money, you’re only about half paid”
That was it! I was a little annoyed and disappointed that he didn’t have more and refused to speak more on the sales craft.
It’s taken me 30 years, but now I realize the genius of my father’s statement… which is build relationships with people and you’ll be paid in incredible riches.
2. God.
My father was a World War II P 51 Mustang fighter pilot.
He killed many people in the South Pacific theater during the war.
Through sobriety that AA afforded him, he forgive himself and others, and connected to a relationship with God.
The Alcoholics Anonymous’ “higher power” had a name, face, and a real love, which my father translated to all he met.
He gave a grace and mercy and forgiveness to both himself and all those he knew.
3. Nature.
My dad loved his flowers, and he had a tremendous appreciation for nature, creation, and all things that grew.
He would stop us in a park or a golf course and say,” Scott come and smell this flower, check out this plant!”
I would dutifully give the cursory sniff, only to find that he was right.
There was beauty all around us if we were only willing to stop and smell the flowers.
He taught me the best things in life are not things at all… they are a love for people, for God, for nature.
How do we leave a legacy?
Are we object-oriented people or relationship-oriented people?
An object-oriented person treasures and values that which is temporal.
Examples would be possessions, travel, experience, wealth, pleasure, etc.
A relationship-oriented person, on the other hand, values that which is more eternal and immortal.
Examples would be… being compassionate, a good listener, showing kindness, saying I love you, being a hugger, and generally valuing all people.
Your three more questions for you…
What is most important to you?
If you could change anything about your life what would it be?
Why aren’t you doing that right now?
For me the answer is to invest in relationships and leave a piece of myself behind.
By investing in relationships, you will leave a richness in others, make a difference, and you will be changed.
One person who made a change in me was my deceased friend Dan Gunderson.
At his memorial, which was awesome and compelling and showed a life well lived, a little girl came forward to say a few words.
She bounced up front, happy and joyful, and began to speak of Dan’s love for her…then broke down and choked out, “Dan was my next-door daddy!!”
She wept openly as only a child can do.
Dan had taken the time to build a relationship with someone who was not core family, business, church, or other venue.
She was a little girl next door, and he reached out to her and made a difference.
My question to you, going forward, is just this…
To whom will you be a “next-door daddy“?
To whom will you reach out and make a difference in their lives …just because?

The 80/20 Rule

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:40:32 -0800

TIME MANAGEMENT AND THE 80/20 RULE

SCOTT AND JONI HAMMOND IN PORTLAND OREGON'S ROSE GARDEN
Time management—
We all possess valuable resources, but none is trickier or more valuable than time. Managing your time is THE key skill set in managing your life. Show me what you do with your time and I’ll show you what your value system is all about. When leveraging time you will utilize and expand on core strength. If you can manage your time well you can accomplish almost anything. Using time incrementally, methodically, and strategically will help you stay on track and achieve your life priorities.
Personal productivity is only as limited as your proper use of time. Wise use of time maximizes and leverages all resources and helps you achieve your goals, objectives, and priorities. Good time management allows you to plan ahead and to use your purpose and passion with laser focus—nothing becomes impossible. Your productivity, as you leverage your passion through good time management, increases exponentially resulting in compelling accomplishment.
“Plan your work, then work your plan” is a great axiom. The “work your plan” part has to do with time management. Planning is great, but is useless without execution. Time management is all about the execution of your plans, goals, passions, and objectives.
Time management can be leveraged through productivity systems and good planning.
The 80-20 rule is evidence of this…. You accomplish about 80% of your results from 20% of your work. The key here is to find your personal “prime time” then leverage that time in the most productive way possible. To schedule around your 20% “prime time”, where you are most productive and efficient is the key to leveraging time, productivity, and accomplishment. For most people their prime time is in the morning. This is the time to get all of your core work accomplished. This key time is to be secured and set aside as the valuable commodity it truly is. Prime work time should be scheduled on a daily basis and should have compelling content at its core. Planning, goal setting, reviewing, communicating, executing initiatives, key meetings, key document creation, and much more are all the key elements of utilizing your prime time window.
Procrastination and its opposite workaholism are both dysfunction to avoid. Our society allows for both to its detriment. It takes discipline and self control to avoid the dysfunction of workaholism and over commitment and the sickness and the result they produce. The same can be said of procrastination—we are to avoid it like the plague. It all starts with analysis and admission and truly owning our own poor habits.
The idea here is to have a balanced life. This begins with healthy relationships and healthy personal spirit. Living your life in balance and alignment starts with living your priorities. The piece and congruity that results is compelling. A life lived well, living your priorities, and being able to have fun productivity that energizes you is a compelling work style/lifestyle.
The Covey idea of sharpening your saw and resting so you can work more efficiently is the key. A life lived in balance with family, work, community, friendships, and personal fulfillment is truly a productive life.
It all starts at time management, personal discipline, and self-control. Just do it.
Time management is—
The definition of Time management is a set of skills, tools, and systems that work together to help you get more value out of your time and leverage it to accomplish what you want.
Learning time management will do the following:
Give a personal definition of time management, and how you can use it
Help you know the signs that you’re off-track
Help you know the signs that you are on the right track
Help you know what your focus should be on
You know you’re on the right track when—
Your customers, boss, family and peers praise your accomplishments.
You meet your sales, personal, or family goals and have a positive performance
You are often considered for additional responsibility and special projects.
You feel good about your work and family and are energized by them.
You know you’re off-track, when—
You’re working really hard, and little is being accomplished
You’re not meeting your sales, personal, business, or family goals
People around you complain about you
You’re the only one who seems to think you’re doing a great job.
You’re always putting out fires
You’re spending a lot of his time socializing and complaining
Eight most common time wasters—
Lack of planning
Lack of priorities
Over commitment
Management by crisis
Haste
Paperwork and reading e-mail
Routine tasks
The telephone
How to combat procrastination—
Accept that procrastination is common, and that you are not unique
Fearing failure is absolutely normal… we often procrastinate because we fear failure
If you find you tend to procrastinate in certain situations… face them head on
Never choose low priority work in front of high priority work
Control your socializing at work
Schedule start time as well, as the finished time for your work being planned
Adopt single handling thinking. Touch it wants. You’ll pick up one job only and only put it down when it’s finished. Multitasking is a myth…
We should focus on activities that—
Contribute to your customer, family, stakeholders success and satisfaction
Booster personal productivity and performance
Support your family or organization’s strategic vision and goals
Time management tips—
Know and use your calendar or Daytimer
Prioritize demands on your time
Keep your priority list in front of you
Keep checking your progress with time management.
Stockpile work or questions, and to schedule says its time work on them. Only work on things in your scheduled to do so.
Seek support when you need it— delegate
Develop techniques that help you when in a unique situation
Pick a morning or an evening to work when no one is around and get organized. Order creates less stress and helps focus
Spend a few minutes at the end of the day putting everything in its home base and getting ready for the next day. Remember… trash it, act on it, refer it, or file it away.
10. Keep yourself motivated.
More tips for time management—
Making a commitment that you’ll measure time more efficiently to be the best promise you ever make to yourself. In the long run, you’ll be glad you did. Here are some tips that may help to some move your way to a little more time efficient life. You may even find that after you get the hang of it, you’ll have more free time!!
Manage your availability— in which coworkers know when you are available to help them and when you’re not.
Learn to prioritize—one of the most important things you can do in your search for more time. Prioritize your commitments. If you belong to any organizations that are turned into obligations, just give up your membership. There is not enough time to spend on doing things which aren’t that important to you.
Make all your calls in the morning—this is when people are most likely to be available. Then, block off the rest of your day on interrupted work.
Schedule time every week to take care of your filing—take time every week to get your filing done and keep up the organizing and purging of your files. This will go a long way to help you stay on top of your job responsibility. The get and stay organized.
Create an activity log—keep a detailed personal activity log for several days to determine how you’re actually using your time. See where you’re spending too much and not enough time.
Control your busywork—it’s not always easy to admit that sometimes we allow ourselves to get immersed in busywork. Focus on the job at hand and don’t let meaningless tasks consume your precious time.
Create a system for yourself—no one knows your schedule better than you do. Incorporate simple and effective systems in your life that help you do what must be done on a daily basis so that you actually can get things accomplished. Get a routine and form positive habits.
Don’t bite off more than you can chew—break up big projects into manageable pieces. Divide your projects and concentrate on one part at a time. Gradual progress and growth is the best practice.
Never forced the finishing of a project, if it can be helped—there’s no point in force yourself to finish a job when you’re not making any headway. Switch to another project in the new challenge will refresh and renew your mind so that you can return to the original job. You will then feel ready to complete it.
10. Plan ahead—this tip will eliminate the procrastination and ensure higher productivity. Estimate how long a job will take. Then at about one third more time. Then count the number of days back from the deadline, and set that as your defining starting point…Hot tip!
11. .Learn what is urgent, versus what is important—there is a tremendous difference. Too often we respond to the urgent and forfeit the necessary. In other words, things that demand our media attention usurp what is necessary. By contrast, important tasks might not require an instant response, but they necessitate important activities that will keep you on track in achieving your goals. Be wary of the Tyranny of the Urgent!
12. Under promise and over deliver—this is a very old axiom, but nonetheless very true. Never promised too much; you’re more likely to disappoint people. Instead, with all things, under promise and over deliver. People will be pleasantly surprised when you’re done more than originally planned.
Five ways to improve productivity—
There is so much happening and less and less time to handle of all these days. Learning how to increase your productivity could give you the edge you need to get it all done. The idea of getting it all done is nebulous at best.
Do we ever truly get it all done?
To think that we could have it completely whipped is a fallacy and a dangerous life paradigm. Could you get at least some of it done? It is possible…. here are a few ways and strategies that can increase your productivity:
Schedule your time for work—be consistent. Don’t do personal things in your schedule to work. Make it to do list and prioritize your tasks. A list is often more effective for those of us need to consult a reference or see it in writing. When you’ve completed a task, cross off your list. You get a real sense of completion in satisfaction as you see your list getting shorter and shorter.
Do the most difficult, time-consuming, least favorite jobs first— do the first things first. Do the hardest task at hand when you have the most energy and motivation to tackle the project. If you tackle the toughest job first, the rest of your tasks will seem that much easier.
Do not allow yourself to get interrupted by other people’s emergencies or drama—be able to say No. Learn to have boundaries. Learn to say no and a polite but firm way. Be professional, kind and understanding, but also be ready to use the most famous boundary word of them all: NO.
Organize your files—set up the system right from the beginning. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Use a Daytimer for scheduling. Have a 31 day and 12 month filing system. You can have technology, but don’t let technology have you. Do not reinvent the wheel. An ordered space will allow you to be less stressed.
Organize your workspace—the better organized and efficient your workspace, the more efficient you will be in time management. The time it takes you to search through out all your piles of paper or to remember where you put that file could be spent in working on new projects. Put the things you use most on your desktop and always put them back in the same place when you’re done. Keep a file organizer on your desk for current projects, so they are always at your finger tips. Have clearly delineated places for everything.

Real Service

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:20:59 -0800

Real Service…
March 1, 2010 by Scott Hammond

Filed under Scott Hammond

THE RICHEST PERSONS ARE THOSE WHO GIVE MOST IN SERVICE TO OTHERS.
Financial wealth is only one measure of success. The truly happy and successful individual is the man or woman who is healthy, financially secure, challenged in his or her career, and is making a difference in the lives of others. It isn’t always easy to render service to others. The world is a cynical and dangerous place where others are likely to mistrust your motives. They can be convinced only by consistent, sustained, outstanding service that is enthusiastically and cheerfully offered. In time, even the most cynical individual will come to accept your willingness to go the extra mile if you are sincere in your offers of assistance and in the service you provide.

Leave a Legacy

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:46:25 -0800

Note to Alex

By Brian Parsley

November 3rd, 2009

A friend of mine wrote this amazing list for his young stepson. It’s a set of principles he’s learned in his lifetime and wanted to pass along so his stepson would have the building blocks to living a positive, fulfilling life. I thought it summed up how we should all live our lives.

Always Tell the Truth Even When it Hurts
Honesty is not a situational principle. In the end, it’s yourself you have to live with. Integrity is what makes you who you are. It’s what makes the pillow soft at night and the morning worth waking up for.

Give Love
Treat yourself and others with compassion, love and respect. Help a neighbor, help a stranger, and take care of yourself both physically and mentally. Remember, nothing is possible without first believing in love.

Treat People Fairly Fair
Be just, be compassionate and be equal. All situations are different but the manner in which you go about handling them should be the same. Don’t play favorites. If you show compassion, you will be able to treat others fairly, and they will respect you for it.

Never Do Harm to Anyone – Including Yourself
Don’t talk behind someone’s back, don’t cause physical harm and don’t let someone engage in any activity that you know will cause them or others harm. This has as much to do with action as intent. If you’re honest, loving and fair you won’t want to hurt others or let others be hurt.

Keep Your Promises
Your promise is your reputation. Others will judge you by your ability to follow through on your words.

Be a Positive Influence
Don’t just set out to make your life better. Help others live the best life they can too. Be a role model. Live the above principles and others will follow your lead.

Do the next right thing… always.
If you’re ever in doubt of any decision, do the next right thing. Don’t worry about the “what if’s” or all the different ways a decision could take you – just do the right thing in that moment. It will never fail you and there will never be regrets (especially in the long run).

Special thanks to Ben Vernon.

Riscovering Mercy

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:48:22 -0800

I got a speeding ticket for going 54 in a 35 zone right in my Hometown one Monday last July.

Bail....$331.00 american dollars.

I paid the fine and went to traffic court to explain why...

I was surprized by what I found--

The Judge
My accusor
The Law
Authority
My Guilt
Other guilty people
and then...Mercy
Long Story Short...I got forgiven the ticket and my money back because they lacked a document.

My "Aha" moments...

Law and authority is real and can really change your life--ask they guy who lost his licence.

Mercy, grace, and forgiveness is cool and we/I need to play it forward--give mercy to those around me-by the handfuls.

I think I will slow down as well...

Break Your Negativity Habit Today

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:25:30 -0800

My father in law just gave my wife and I one of those rubber wrist bands--Like the Lance Armstrong "Live Strong" ones of a few years ago.

This one is purple and has a whole different purpose!

The idea is to use it as a queuing device to quit complaining, sniveling, and whining about life--Every time you complain, you must snap or change the band to the other arm.

My wristband is already stretched out and worn....Boo Hoo/Waa Waa!

The website for instructions and ordering is: www.aComplaintFreeWorld.org

The results are AWESOME....and we are having a ball "catching" both ourselves and each other complaining.

I see this working on the same Toastmaster Principle of beginning to catch your own and others non-fluencies such as "um"s, "and's", "uh's", and "ya knows".

Funny how something this simple can break a poisonous habit of gossip, negativity, and permeating pessimism.

Go for it....this a brilliant and easy way to make a fundamental life change for the New Year!

DISIPLINE AND FATHERING PART 2.

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:21:13 -0800

“Boys want to know three things,” says 72-year-old Lew Powers, a 20-year veteran Boy Scout director. ‘One, who’s the boss? Two, what are the rules? And three, are you going to enforce them?’ To have a strong relationship with a boy, you have to be the boss, and a very kind one. Only set rules that you can enforce, and always enforce them. Then you have the basis for a relationship. From here comes respect and more importantly, trust.”

Being a good father means you discipline from a plan, not from emotion. Most fathers tend to shy away from traditional behavior systems, relying heavily on their ability to “discipline in the moment.” I have found in my practice that this is not a good way to go. In fact, to be perfectly honest, I find that it is one of our male weaknesses, such as failing to ask for directions when we know we are lost. In both cases, we need to use a map. And a behavioral map entails sitting down and plotting your course. What are your rules? Are you willing to enforce them in the same way every time? What will you do when you become aware that your child has left you severely frustrated? Will you yell? Will you say hurtful things that you’ll later apologize for? Make your map and chart your course.

Some brief notes on discipline:

Discipline strategies used by mother and father should be the same.

3 strikes you’re out
2 warnings
Consequences and rewards used by mother and father should be the same
Time out
Restriction

Raising your voice to get your child’s attention is not a problem as long as:

You are not out of control.
It doesn’t shame your child.
It doesn’t put your child in a position to care for you.
Raising your voice does have its risks. Your children will meet the bar that you set:
If you yell, they will yell.
If you shut down, they will shut down.
If you keep your poise, they will keep theirs.
DON’T HIT! This damages a child’s self-esteem and ability to bond and attach emotionally.

Mission, Vision, and You

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 08:24:10 -0800

Vision and Mission

Start with the big picture—put first things first.

Experts in the fields of psychology and personal effectiveness now recognize it if you feel upset or an uneasy about your lack of personal time, it’s not because you have too much to do. It’s because you not satisfied with most of what you do. Determine what’s most important in your life.

Ask such questions as what’s most important?
What gives your life meaning?
What do you want to be and to do with your life?
Clarity on these issues is critical because the answers to these questions affect everything else in your life—your goals, the decisions you make in the way you spend your time, and so much more.

The need for a balanced life—

If you don’t think balance in your life is vitally important to your happiness, success and health. Consider this: there is considerable evidence showing that mishandled stress at home interferes with work performance, and mishandled job pressure creates and magnifies problems at home. Research shows that the quality of your personal relationships strongly influences job productivity, disease resistance and longevity. Conversely, people who have value power over family and friendships appear to have a harder time fighting off disease and sickness.

Ask yourself these questions:

Can success in one area of life compensate for failure in another?
Can success in your profession compensate for a broken marriage or ruined health?
Can success in the community justify failure as a parent?
Important: success or failure in any role you have contributes to the quality of every other role, and your life as a whole. Keep balance in your life. Identify your various roles and keep them right in front of you so that you don’t neglect important areas such as your health, your family, your community involvement, or personal development. Evaluating your various roles and attaching a new level of priority in each is another important step in becoming balanced and aligned and a whole person.

Enjoy life—

The matter what your circumstance or how uncertain future, you can still be filled with enjoyment, humor, and a good attitude. Don’t let fear or anxiety keep you from experiencing the happiness that life has to offer. Go to a local park, enjoy the fresh air, and have fun. Have friends over for dinner. Spend time with family. Think about what activities you enjoy and go do them!

The Thanksgiving Top 10

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:15:13 -0800

Top 1o Reasons for me to give thanks on Thanksgiving:

God-The Relationship vs. the Religion
My wife Joni--Best Friend and lover
My 9 kids and their significant others
Our extended Family-Yes, even the In-Laws!
Church Family-Locally and all over the Earth
Our Humboldt Community-Business and Networks
My Job--Nice to have these days...
Having Vision/Mission/Passion-Desire and Focus and positive ambitions.
Health, Well-being, Joyfulness--The usual
You--Known or never met-You are loved...
Happy Thanksgiving!

Best,

Scott hammond

TIME MANAGEMENT -- THE SECRET 80/20 RULE

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:28:32 -0800

Time management—
We all possess valuable resources, but none is trickier or more valuable than time. Managing your time is THE key skill set in managing your life. Show me what you do with your time and I’ll show you what your value system is all about. When leveraging time you will utilize and expand on your core strength. If you can manage your time well you can accomplish almost anything. Using time incrementally, methodically, and strategically will help you stay on track and achieve your life priorities.
Personal productivity is only as limited as your proper use of time. Wise use of time maximizes and leverages all resources and helps you achieve your goals, objectives, and priorities. Good time management allows you to plan ahead and to use your purpose and passion with laser focus—nothing becomes impossible. Your productivity, as you leverage your passion through good time management, increases exponentially resulting in compelling accomplishment.
“Plan your work, then work your plan” is a great axiom. The “work your plan” part has to do with time management. Planning is great, but is useless without execution. Time management is all about the execution of your plans, goals, passions, and objectives.
The 80-20 rule is evidence of this…. The Peitro Principle states this: You accomplish about 80% of your results from 20% of your work. 20% of any group or team usually contributes to 80% of the work; this 80/20 notion is a fixed law in business, church, family or any part of life.
The 80/20 principle as applied to your workday is to find your personal “prime time” then leverage that time in the most productive way possible. 96 minutes is 20% of an 8 hour day. To schedule around your 20% “prime time”, where you are most productive and efficient. This is the key to leveraging time, productivity, and accomplishment. For most people their prime time is in the morning. This is the time to get all of your core work accomplished. This key time is to be secured and set aside as the valuable commodity it truly is. Prime work time should be scheduled on a daily basis and should have compelling content at its core. Planning, goal setting, reviewing, communicating, executing initiatives, key meetings, key document creation, and much more are all the key elements of utilizing your prime time window.
In our daily Prime time we should focus on activities that—
1. Contribute to our customer, family, stakeholders success and satisfaction
2. Booster personal productivity and performance
3. Support your family or organization’s strategic vision and goals
Time management tips—
1. Know and use your calendar or Daytimer
2. Prioritize demands on your time
3. Keep your priority list in front of you
4. Keep checking your progress with time management.
5. Stockpile work or questions, and to schedule says its time work on them. Only work on things in your scheduled to do so.
6. Seek support when you need it— delegate
7. Develop techniques that help you when in a unique situation
8. Pick a morning or an evening to work when no one is around and get organized. Order creates less stress and helps focus
9. Spend a few minutes at the end of the day putting everything in its home base and getting ready for the next day. Remember… trash it, act on it, refer it, or file it away.
10. Keep yourself motivated.

The idea here is to have a balanced life. This begins with healthy relationships and healthy personal spirit. Living your life in balance and alignment starts with living your priorities. The peace and congruity that results is compelling. A life lived well by living your priorities and being able to have fun energizes you and gives a deep sense of satisfaction.
You know you’re on the right track when—
1. Your customers, boss, family and peers praise your accomplishments.
2. You meet your sales, personal, or family goals and have a positive performance
3. You are often considered for additional responsibility and special projects.
4. You feel good about your work and family and are energized by them.
The Covey idea of sharpening your saw and resting so you can work more efficiently is the key. A life lived in balance with family, work, community, friendships, and personal fulfillment is truly a productive life.
It all starts at time management, personal discipline, and self-control. Just do it.
Time management is---
The definition of Time management is a set of skills, tools, and systems that work together to help you get more value out of your time and leverage it to accomplish what you want.
SCOTT HAMMOND .

12 Powerful Moves to End Chaos

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:43:44 -0800

1. Block out specific time in your planner for all activities.Manage time well.

2. Use the 5 minute rule to preview your day and week.

3. Make a daily or weekly to do List. Stick to it.

4. Tackle the hard things first. Eat the Frogs! Get past them quickly and efficiently.

5. Delegate everything but your Genius!

6. Stop being available 24/7/365.

7. Schedule your interruptions. Set aside & plan time for them.

8. Insist that people bring you Solutions not just problems.

9. Make a daily appointment with yourself--Gym, fun, etc...

10. Find a quite place away from the phone, distraction,etc...

11. Reward yourself for the little victories. Starbucks? Home early?

12. Stop putting yourself last all the time. Do stuff for yourself sometimes.

EMBRACE THE MOMENT/BE HERE NOW

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:11:40 -0800

EMBRACE THE MOMENT!
I have learned much from being with my father-in-law Tom Hanson who our kids call the Fun Grandpa–He is a joy to have as a visitor and teaches by his example. He is always IN THE MOMENT–He knows how to engage and have fun in the Now. Here are some lessons learned–
1. EMBRACE THE MOMENT–Have a sense of wonder, curiosity, and see life as an adventure.
2. HAVE FUN–Develop the ability to play and be childlike. Get over your self and being all serious and grave all the time.
3. LET GO–Do what you can control and let the rest go! Don’t dwell, over-think, or worry about what you cannot change.
4. LEARN TO LIKE YOURSELF– Focus on the positive. Really give yourself permission to see and dwell on what is good about you and you will be less angry and kinder to yourself and others!
5. SEE THE BEST IN LIFE AND OTHERS–Focus on the positive and what you are thankful for. Choose the good. You can change the way you think and see life so just do it!
6. BE ENGAGED AND ENGAGING–Get over your own trials and hurts and move on! reach out in relationships that give you life and energize others as well. Be all about relationship building and friendship–you will be transformed.
7. SPEND TIME WITH FAMILY/FRIENDS–Do what is really important to you. Do not be ruled by the Tyranny of the Urgent.
8. BE KIND–Listen well. Just be gentle with people and treat them with honor and respect and kindness. You will see it returned ten-fold.
9. BE STILL–Slow down and stop occasionally. Listen for God and get a sense of relaxation and awareness of more than just the chatter of your mind.
10. GIVE/ RECEIVE GRACE–Be forgiving and forgivable. Be ready to give grace by the truckload to others who really need it form you. Accept humanity in yourself and others without making excuses or rationalizing wrong-doing. Be ready to move on and let go and go forward…

20 Ways to Compelling Goals

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:54:06 -0800

1. Have SMART goals

2. Have strategies that work-- Make sure your goals are workable, realistic, and actionable.

3. Have good implementation—follow through and be methodical, sequential and incremental. Start small and do not despise the day of small beginnings.

4. Accountability—be accountable to trusted advisors and mentors and those more experienced. Coach and mentor others as well. Hold yourself and others accountable to your goals.

5. Minimize distraction—focus on what’s important—keep the main thing the main thing

6. Commit to your goals and plans—daily review your goals and adjust as needed

7. Communicate your goals, with all stakeholders and family members—don’t do this in a corner.

8. Post written goals publicly—be very public and very accountable and very up front with goals

9. Get family buy in and immediately—kid buying in and commitment to everyone involved. Share what you have in mind with others who play a role in the plans success and achievement.

10. Have daily, weekly, monthly meetings to review goals and progress

11. Develop reasonable implementation schedule and stick to it—calendarize!

12. Do your plans, see what happens, adjust as needed, and keep in touch with those who can help you stay on track. Accountability works great!

13. Evaluate—revisit current goals and paradigms and find what works and what doesn’t. Implement change immediately. If it works. Do not fix it.

14. Think out of the box—creatively brainstorm. Be fearless and try new things. Get feedback from trusted advisors and mentors.

15. Go away—go somewhere way from all distraction and develop a compelling parenting plan.

16. Create a culture of accountability, celebration and clarity—celebrate achievement by awarding team and individual accomplishment. Give public and private encouragement and praise. reward achievement

17. Communicate expectations—have courageous conversations and be clear on expectations. Communicate, communicate, and communicate.

18. Leverage your time and manager prime times of the day—the times where energy is the highest and most focused.

19. Just do it—plan the work and work the plan. Commit to high performance. Kill procrastination and perfectionism. Keep a sense of humor. Learn to grow and change. It back in action and get involved.

20. Dream it, write it down, and just do it--- rediscover your passion, mission and purpose today. You have a choice, time, resources, and ability. Now it’s up to you.