Last week I talked about expertise being the enemy of innovation and shared some insights from the book Best Practices Are Stupid by Stephen Shapiro. This week I would like to share two insights from the book Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod.
1. Quality isn’t job one. Being f____ing amazing is Job One.
2. If somebody in your industry is more successful than you, it is probably because he works harder at it than you do. Sure, maybe he’s more inherently talented, more adept at networking, but I don’t consider that an excuse. Over time, that advantage counts for less and less. Which is why the world is full of highly talented, network-savvy, failed mediocrities.
Your job as a trainer is to be totally amazing. To ensure the people who attend your training sessions get the best you have to give (content, delivery, energy, focus, passion, commitment) every single time. The only way for that to happen is for you to work hard to be better every time. The only way you get better every time is to push yourself, challenge yourself, stop making excuses and do the work.
Being a great trainer is not about being a great schmoozer, a great networker, or having the most ‘friends’ and ‘likes’ on Facebook. There are some people who are great at those things that leave people feeling ripped off when they walk out of their class. Network to gain information and insights that will help improve your training. Network to help find solutions to obstacles and challenges. The key in networking however is the word ‘work’. It is useless to network and then fail to do the work to become a great trainer.
Focus on being amazing, on being awesome and on the pursuit of excellence. Be the trainer who works hardest at your craft and seek to be amazing. Seek to be amazing because that increases the chances of you being able to touch lives, change lives and save lives, which after all, is the goal of a trainer.
Excellence in Training is a designed to help good trainers become great trainers and great trainers to deliver awesome training. Check out the dates and locations for an upcoming Excellence in Training Course or contact us at winningmind@mac.com to find out about hosting a course.
Take care.
Brian Willis,
Thought Leader, Catalyst for Change, Speaker, Author and a Man With Many Questions
Winning Mind Training – Leading the fight against mediocrity through Life’s Most Powerful Question – What’s Important Now?
To book Brian to speak at your event or to your officers contact him at winningmind@mac.com.
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