“Simple can be harder than complex” ~Steve Jobs~

“That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

Steve Jobs, BusinessWeek, May 25, 1998

Steve Jobs has certainly made a difference in the world. Late last year, I was watching the video of his address at Stanford and several others – and was really impressed by his passion and belief in his products. So much so that I decided to trade my Blackberry for an iPhone, just to see what all the fuss was about! These products have revolutionalised the world – and it hasn’t been plain sailing for Steve or for Apple.

Following successful leaders is one of the ways to learn about becoming successful. There are so many people we can learn from. I selected the quote above from Steve because I think it’s so important to have clear and clean thinking – and to keep it simple.

Much of what we do, coaching business owners, is to assist them in getting clarity in their head, so they can take the right actions that will get results for them.

Once you’re clear, you can keep it simple and focus.

Clarity is necessary before you even get into strategy and working with your team. If you don’t have clarity and know where you want to go, how are you going to motivate others to go there with you?

Multi-tasking is over-rated! With modern technology it can be so easy to appear as if we are multi-tasking – switching between email, Word, Facebook, LinkedIn (and if you’re a Twit… ) – then taking a phonecall, responding to a text message, quickly doing some banking…. Have you ever got to the end of a really busy day with nothing concrete to show for it?

When last did you do one thing, and one thing only?

I’ll bet you were pleased with what you accomplished during that time?

If you stick to one thing solidly for a period of time (even 15 minutes) you will find you get so much more done. If you can’t delegate it, then try picking one task, completing it, then going onto the next one. If you don’t have time to work ON your business because you’re too busy working in it, then consider having a Clarity Session with one of the Evolve Dynamic team, to focus purely on you.

“It (success) comes from saying no to 1,000 things to
make sure we don’t get on the wrong track
or try to do too much.”
~Steve Jobs~

How good are you at saying “NO”? In our quest for getting stuff done, it can be tempting to fit in as much as possible (or am I the only one guilty of doing that?!)

Here are some more gems from Steve:

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward;
you can only connect them looking backwards.
So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.
You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.
This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Steve Jobs

Enjoy the rest of your Chooseday – Choose to be the person you really want to become – and keep it simple!

Regards

Jill

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