"I can't leave now, I have too much work to do!" In some cases this may be correct but sometimes you have to make it a point to tear yourself away from work and recharge the batteries in your emotional machine. Burnout is always present if you continue to do the same thing over and over without any progressive results. Just because you are working hard doesn't mean you are producing the results you are actually working for and you may need to regroup your actions.
While taking a break, look at the entire picture of what you are trying to accomplish. Why did you start doing what you are doing in the first place? Are you taking the steps to make yourself successful or bogged down behind a pile of papers with a looming deadline. Are your actions set to make you money or waste your time and stretch your wallet. At the end of the day, do you know you accomplished something or are you wondering what happened to the time?
It's not too late to take a break, find a quiet spot and close your eyes. When I do this I have a million things run through my mind and I have trouble focusing but it is OK for this to happen and it will pass. If you are not physically located where you are dreaming of being, look at a photo and picture yourself there, possibly by yourself as cool, calm as collected as possible totally enjoying the moment. Do you prefer the beach, forest or desert sand as your backdrop for success?
Scheduling and time management are important parts of planning for a vacation. Everything will never get done because there is always something to do and knowing this is part of business. Implementing a forward thinking calender can be the difference between positive successful thinking and burnout failure. Plan to recharge the batteries and reenergize your thinking and you will be preparing yourself to make the jump from being self employed to a business owner, work on the business and not inside the business.
Step away from the paperwork and find the Value of vacation!
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Speech notes from Jennifer Walker about Character. Used April 2nd, 2013
LIFE: Living Intentionally For Excellence.
Meetings are Tuesday nights at 6pm at the Rilynn Proffessional Building.
Contact Jennifer Walker for more information: 951-309-1032
Resolved: To Choose Character over Reputation Any Time They Conflict
“We can often do more for other men by trying to correct our own faults than by trying to correct theirs.” Francois Fenelon. Francois Fenelon lived from 1651 – 1715; he was a French Roman Catholic archbishop and today remembered mostly as the author of The Adventures of Telemachus, an attack on the French monarchy. I googled quotes on character to get inspiration for this speech and came across this quote, immediately it spoke directly to me. I thought so many times I point out the flaws in others rather than looking at myself. As I researched the man behind the quote I found it humbling and sad that a man who lived 300 years ago spoke such truth about humans then and it still applies to us today. We as people like to think that we have come so far, maybe in our technology this is true, however when it comes to our thoughts and behaviors it seems the opposite. As I read the quote I instantly thought of my kids, I am blessed to be able to be involved in my kids’ life. However, this can be challenging as well, there have been plenty of times I sit down with one of my kids to talk about a situation and realize the character issue is one they picked up from me. You can learn so much about your self watching your children. My daughter and I are very close, she has been by my side since we was born. One day we were driving in the car and her brother was doing something to agitate her, I cannot even remember what was going on, but I do remember hearing her scold him in the loudest meanest voice. I wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time. I think she was 4 years old, so it was cute to hear her tiny voice use such language, but it was not that cute when I realized that she was modeling my behavior. I sat there for a minute and thought to myself, is this how my children see me? Do I really handle conflict by raising my voice and scolding? I tried to explain to her that her brother just wanted her attention and made a note in my heart to remember, next time slow down and evaluate, do the kids want my attention or are they misbehaving. As I read more books and listen to more audios I am learning that the best thing I can do for my children I lead by example. If I want my children to have integrity I must first show them how to live a life of integrity. John Wooden’s Three Principles of Integrity are 1. Never lie. 2. Never cheat. 3. Never steal. At first glance it would seem that living by these principles would be simple, they are simple principles that most people would say they do live by. However, when we dig a little deeper, how many of us have told our children to lie about their age to get a discount? In this situation we are not hurting anyone, just trying to save a little money, but the outcome is that we just showed our children that it is ok to lie to someone and cheat them out of money to save a few dollars. The other day I was grocery shopping with my daughter and her friend, we picked out some grapes to bring home and continued shopping, and a few minutes into our trip the girls asked if they could have a few grapes. I could have easily said yes, it would not have hurt anyone. Instead, I told them no and explained that grapes are charged by the weight, if we eat grapes before paying for them, we would be stealing the grapes as they would not be able weigh them properly. Everyday we are given opportunities to live these principles or not, it is our choice and our consequence based on the small decisions that me make. Resolved: 13 Resolutions for life says, “Integrity is a crucial attribute, but a person can have unimpeachable integrity and still not have character.” Page 54. The book points out that integrity is not doing what wrong and character is doing what is right. Integrity tells us that when two people are gossiping about another person to us, that we do not join in. While character tells us that not only do we not join in, we also stop the wrong from being done. It can be easy to listen to others gossip and just not join in to feel as though we did nothing wrong, however, by not stopping the wrong our character has been tarnished. Doing the right thing is more difficult as it requires us to step out of the shadows and into the light to stand often by ourselves.
Jennifer Walker
Meetings are Tuesday nights at 6pm at the Rilynn Proffessional Building.
Contact Jennifer Walker for more information: 951-309-1032
Resolved: To Choose Character over Reputation Any Time They Conflict
“We can often do more for other men by trying to correct our own faults than by trying to correct theirs.” Francois Fenelon. Francois Fenelon lived from 1651 – 1715; he was a French Roman Catholic archbishop and today remembered mostly as the author of The Adventures of Telemachus, an attack on the French monarchy. I googled quotes on character to get inspiration for this speech and came across this quote, immediately it spoke directly to me. I thought so many times I point out the flaws in others rather than looking at myself. As I researched the man behind the quote I found it humbling and sad that a man who lived 300 years ago spoke such truth about humans then and it still applies to us today. We as people like to think that we have come so far, maybe in our technology this is true, however when it comes to our thoughts and behaviors it seems the opposite. As I read the quote I instantly thought of my kids, I am blessed to be able to be involved in my kids’ life. However, this can be challenging as well, there have been plenty of times I sit down with one of my kids to talk about a situation and realize the character issue is one they picked up from me. You can learn so much about your self watching your children. My daughter and I are very close, she has been by my side since we was born. One day we were driving in the car and her brother was doing something to agitate her, I cannot even remember what was going on, but I do remember hearing her scold him in the loudest meanest voice. I wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time. I think she was 4 years old, so it was cute to hear her tiny voice use such language, but it was not that cute when I realized that she was modeling my behavior. I sat there for a minute and thought to myself, is this how my children see me? Do I really handle conflict by raising my voice and scolding? I tried to explain to her that her brother just wanted her attention and made a note in my heart to remember, next time slow down and evaluate, do the kids want my attention or are they misbehaving. As I read more books and listen to more audios I am learning that the best thing I can do for my children I lead by example. If I want my children to have integrity I must first show them how to live a life of integrity. John Wooden’s Three Principles of Integrity are 1. Never lie. 2. Never cheat. 3. Never steal. At first glance it would seem that living by these principles would be simple, they are simple principles that most people would say they do live by. However, when we dig a little deeper, how many of us have told our children to lie about their age to get a discount? In this situation we are not hurting anyone, just trying to save a little money, but the outcome is that we just showed our children that it is ok to lie to someone and cheat them out of money to save a few dollars. The other day I was grocery shopping with my daughter and her friend, we picked out some grapes to bring home and continued shopping, and a few minutes into our trip the girls asked if they could have a few grapes. I could have easily said yes, it would not have hurt anyone. Instead, I told them no and explained that grapes are charged by the weight, if we eat grapes before paying for them, we would be stealing the grapes as they would not be able weigh them properly. Everyday we are given opportunities to live these principles or not, it is our choice and our consequence based on the small decisions that me make. Resolved: 13 Resolutions for life says, “Integrity is a crucial attribute, but a person can have unimpeachable integrity and still not have character.” Page 54. The book points out that integrity is not doing what wrong and character is doing what is right. Integrity tells us that when two people are gossiping about another person to us, that we do not join in. While character tells us that not only do we not join in, we also stop the wrong from being done. It can be easy to listen to others gossip and just not join in to feel as though we did nothing wrong, however, by not stopping the wrong our character has been tarnished. Doing the right thing is more difficult as it requires us to step out of the shadows and into the light to stand often by ourselves.
Jennifer Walker
Monday, February 11, 2013
Time Blocking
Why should I time block if I only have this little bit of work to finish and then I'm done with what I have... what's that over there?
It is very common to be distracted during the course of your day. You get up, go to work and while your morning is commencing you have your plan about what will happen that day. Then you get to the office and your fate has already been decided by a coworker, a client or there is a problem with your car, babysitter, or school. Sometimes it is all of the above happening the same day.
Once you are ready to work (if there is such a thing) you sit down and start what you planned. Then more distractions happen like the phone ringing, email alerts and someone asking what is for lunch. If you time block your day, you know exactly what is ahead of you and if you are distracted you know where you left off.
Most clients do not want to be called early in the day so I make most of my calls after 10:30am. By then, my email is clear, my lists of things to do is made and I've had three cups of coffee. I time block 10:30-11:15 to call people back and set future appointments. For the next twenty minutes I assist and check with my staff about whatever needs they may have. Then lunch for two hours and then to the golf range for a bucket of balls before going home.
If it were that simple, everyone would be doing it. Here is your homework: get out a calender having days broken down by 15 minute intervals. Decide when you feel the most comfortable to do each item and assign it an amount of time during the day. When your day is full you can start and when you do a new item, do it to the best of your ability. If you finish early, plan on when you will do it again the next day or week. Don't be afraid if you didn't have success with something in the morning to move it to the afternoon. Make adjustments to make each item count.
It's your day and you only get an undetermined amount of them so make it count. What will you do with your next 15 minutes?
It is very common to be distracted during the course of your day. You get up, go to work and while your morning is commencing you have your plan about what will happen that day. Then you get to the office and your fate has already been decided by a coworker, a client or there is a problem with your car, babysitter, or school. Sometimes it is all of the above happening the same day.
Once you are ready to work (if there is such a thing) you sit down and start what you planned. Then more distractions happen like the phone ringing, email alerts and someone asking what is for lunch. If you time block your day, you know exactly what is ahead of you and if you are distracted you know where you left off.
Most clients do not want to be called early in the day so I make most of my calls after 10:30am. By then, my email is clear, my lists of things to do is made and I've had three cups of coffee. I time block 10:30-11:15 to call people back and set future appointments. For the next twenty minutes I assist and check with my staff about whatever needs they may have. Then lunch for two hours and then to the golf range for a bucket of balls before going home.
If it were that simple, everyone would be doing it. Here is your homework: get out a calender having days broken down by 15 minute intervals. Decide when you feel the most comfortable to do each item and assign it an amount of time during the day. When your day is full you can start and when you do a new item, do it to the best of your ability. If you finish early, plan on when you will do it again the next day or week. Don't be afraid if you didn't have success with something in the morning to move it to the afternoon. Make adjustments to make each item count.
It's your day and you only get an undetermined amount of them so make it count. What will you do with your next 15 minutes?
Friday, February 8, 2013
Nothing to do?!%#@!*)
The other day at work, a business associate came and told me she had nothing to do. My initial thought was "great, glad you got it all done." Then I started to realize what this meant to her business and looked deeper into mine and wondered if there would ever be a point where I am actually done.
A business owner has the ultimate responsibility to 'finish' every job detail in the business whether it is there direct job or they have staff to delegate the duties. Organizing, cleaning duties and strategy development should be a never ending battle of time and manpower.
Growing up I always wanted to do the 'hard' things first, get them out of the way and then the rest would be easy. However, after trial and error I've found it more important to get the 'easy' things out of the way. If you finish the quick things first you satisfy the most responsibilities just in case you are not able to finish everything at that moment. The pile in your inbox becomes smaller and the mental challenge of having lots of paperwork is not so daunting moving forward.
Distractions and procrastination can hinder a project from happening so it is important to leave yourself notes. A list works well if you may find yourself jumping back and forth between objectives and tasks. Make sure to cross off, crumple up or delete notes to give you the immediate gratification of finishing something. If you are working on a long term project, make notes of what must be done before hand and when you have time leading up to the event you can accomplish items from the list so not to wait until the last minute.
With a never ending Inbox, lists of jobs, and strategy sessions to plan for, you should never find yourself with nothing to do during your day. Understanding your job will never end is a difficult lesson to learn because as kids we are taught to finish things. Finish your homework, finish your practicing and my favorite, finish your vegetables all come to mind. And if you are a business owner, you are finished with reading this so get back to work.
A business owner has the ultimate responsibility to 'finish' every job detail in the business whether it is there direct job or they have staff to delegate the duties. Organizing, cleaning duties and strategy development should be a never ending battle of time and manpower.
Growing up I always wanted to do the 'hard' things first, get them out of the way and then the rest would be easy. However, after trial and error I've found it more important to get the 'easy' things out of the way. If you finish the quick things first you satisfy the most responsibilities just in case you are not able to finish everything at that moment. The pile in your inbox becomes smaller and the mental challenge of having lots of paperwork is not so daunting moving forward.
Distractions and procrastination can hinder a project from happening so it is important to leave yourself notes. A list works well if you may find yourself jumping back and forth between objectives and tasks. Make sure to cross off, crumple up or delete notes to give you the immediate gratification of finishing something. If you are working on a long term project, make notes of what must be done before hand and when you have time leading up to the event you can accomplish items from the list so not to wait until the last minute.
With a never ending Inbox, lists of jobs, and strategy sessions to plan for, you should never find yourself with nothing to do during your day. Understanding your job will never end is a difficult lesson to learn because as kids we are taught to finish things. Finish your homework, finish your practicing and my favorite, finish your vegetables all come to mind. And if you are a business owner, you are finished with reading this so get back to work.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Providing a service
We don’t start a business to hire employees, we start a business to fill a need and provide a service.
So many people have big dreams and they don’t understand it takes a team to accomplish the bigger goals. Finding the right people can make all the difference but setting the correct expectations can make or break a business. If the expectations are too low, nothing gets done but if you push people to new heights they never thought they could reach, the business and the employee can grow. This improves moral with everyone involved and the customers will notice a positive direction for the company.
Delegation is very important when a person has a team to rely on. Sure the main person can do everything better than anyone, but the head guy can not do all the things all the time. Therefore, proper encouragement and training can help the employee to not only become proficient at what they do, but they can get so good at it they become the teacher. Henry Ford was called out for not knowing everything about his company, and he simply stated that he did not have to know everything; he just had to know the people to ask everything to.
A boss who constantly is offering advice, corrections and/or recommendations, stifles the employee’s ability to learn. Just like a parent never allowing a child to fall down. If a child falls, they learn to get up, and ‘mentally’ getting up is a hard thing to learn for some adults. For the leader who leads too much, they are not learning themselves because they are only doing what they already know and complaining they don’t have enough time in the day.
Starting a business does fill a need for some, just look around to see who is willing to grow and start looking to the sky with them.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Tracy Scott Joins Rilynn Company Insurance Services and Farmers Insurance
November 1st, 2012 marked a new change of pace for Tracy Scott as she joined the Rilynn Company Insurance Services and Farmers Insurance Office. Tracy has been with Farmers Insurance throughout the year but she decided she wanted to join a team offering her upward momentum. Commercial, RV's, boats and motorcycle insurance will be Tracy's specialty in the office.
Tracy is a proud military wife and her husband Rodney has been in the Navy for 19 years. They have a 16 year old daughter named Norvella and a 9 year old son named Noah, and currently reside in Moreno Vally.
Please help us welcome Tracy to the team as we move forward into 2013!
Tracy is a proud military wife and her husband Rodney has been in the Navy for 19 years. They have a 16 year old daughter named Norvella and a 9 year old son named Noah, and currently reside in Moreno Vally.
Please help us welcome Tracy to the team as we move forward into 2013!
Friday, August 17, 2012
Brian E Walker Bio as printed in On Scene Magazine
In the Valley, it is not difficult to find hard working people trying to make a name for themselves. One such person creeping slowly through Southwest Riverside County is Brian Walker. Brian is an insurance agent with Farmers Insurance and he has had tremendous success with his company and with his personal life.
Brian is a top agent with his company but it is the desire to help and volunteer getting him much notoriety. He has served on the Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Board for 4 years and is a past Chairman and Brian was also the president of the Murrieta Breakfast Lions Club. Between organizations like Toastmasters, Valley Young Professionals, BNI, the Temecula Chamber and Association of Realtors (SRCAR), Brian has plenty of contacts and friends.
Jennifer, Brian’s wife is very patient and with two children, scheduling can be everything. Brian is very excited about coaching his son Riley’s basketball team in the fall but he can not help with his daughter Adilynn’s dance or ballet classes. (Although he did one father/daughter dance for a recital in the recent past) The entire family is involved with TaeKwonDo and Brian and Jennifer are both 3rd degree blackbelts with Jennifer being one of the lead instructors at their studio.
Insurance can be a difficult subject to understand but Brian’s office stresses the importance of having suitable coverage. Paying more now can be the difference of being paid the proper amount after a loss and making sure a claim is covered. The difference between ‘cheap’ insurance and good coverage may only be a $10-$20 variation a month.
Brian sees the future of Menifee Valley and Temecula Valley as the next Orange County but with a better designed plan. Thankfully, competent city leaders have seen the changes in the surrounding areas and will be able to improve the final product. He believes we live in one of the most promising areas and has moved his family here to stay and grow with the community.
Through ability, hard work and an ‘at ease’ attitude approach, Brian has scaled the business mountain and seen the other side. Although, he will not stop until he feels he is done with his aspiration to make everyone around him better and help them accomplish their dreams.
Brian E. Walker can be reached at 951-672-3476 or bwalker4@farmersagent.com
Brian is a top agent with his company but it is the desire to help and volunteer getting him much notoriety. He has served on the Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Board for 4 years and is a past Chairman and Brian was also the president of the Murrieta Breakfast Lions Club. Between organizations like Toastmasters, Valley Young Professionals, BNI, the Temecula Chamber and Association of Realtors (SRCAR), Brian has plenty of contacts and friends.
Jennifer, Brian’s wife is very patient and with two children, scheduling can be everything. Brian is very excited about coaching his son Riley’s basketball team in the fall but he can not help with his daughter Adilynn’s dance or ballet classes. (Although he did one father/daughter dance for a recital in the recent past) The entire family is involved with TaeKwonDo and Brian and Jennifer are both 3rd degree blackbelts with Jennifer being one of the lead instructors at their studio.
Insurance can be a difficult subject to understand but Brian’s office stresses the importance of having suitable coverage. Paying more now can be the difference of being paid the proper amount after a loss and making sure a claim is covered. The difference between ‘cheap’ insurance and good coverage may only be a $10-$20 variation a month.
Brian sees the future of Menifee Valley and Temecula Valley as the next Orange County but with a better designed plan. Thankfully, competent city leaders have seen the changes in the surrounding areas and will be able to improve the final product. He believes we live in one of the most promising areas and has moved his family here to stay and grow with the community.
Through ability, hard work and an ‘at ease’ attitude approach, Brian has scaled the business mountain and seen the other side. Although, he will not stop until he feels he is done with his aspiration to make everyone around him better and help them accomplish their dreams.
Brian E. Walker can be reached at 951-672-3476 or bwalker4@farmersagent.com
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