What type of value do you add?

One of the simplest questions you can ask yourself when you wake up in the morning is, "What type of value can I add today?"

We have two choices when we wake up in the morning.

Is today gonna be a great day? Is today gonna be a struggle?

Both questions are realistic options that we come across each day. Some days there is even the possibility of engaging in both dynamics as life is not perfect and through the human condition we sometimes fight to stay positive all the time.

When we live in a Make It Count lifestyle we are consistently engaging in a life of adding value. The question is are you making deposits or making withdrawals.

Deposits - encouraging others, saying thank you, opening doors, reaching out, being supportive, teamwork, and being authentic.

Withdrawals - self-centered, focusing on the me, ignorance, life is out to get me, fixed mindset, anger, pointing out others weakness's and negative self-talk.

Both options come with value as you adding value or taking value away.

I recently did a personal reflection project on how my patients were doing in accordance to how I was feeling mentally. While I would never take any of my personal issues into any patient interactions I wanted to see if I raised my awareness and energy 10x how my patients response to care would improve.

I brought more energy, authenticity and value to my patients with authentic intention.

Guess what the outcome was?

That's right! Patients got better faster, patients had a better experience, patients left more fulfilled and patients told more people of their incredible care experience. Did I do anything different with the physical component of how I treat patients? NOT AT ALL! All I did was invest more value or deposits into my patients experience. I merely brought a clearer, cleaner, optimal mindset to their care and the end result was simple improvement.

My favorite quote ever from Zig Ziglar states, " You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want." I know if I go all in and bring 100% value to my kids, wife, teammates, patients, friends and community that their life will level up which in turns creates an upswing in the legacy that is my life.

The simple ingredient that started the value was just being authentic and knowing that upon waking in the morning that choosing to have a great day via adding value will allow us to always Make It Count!

Thank for the continued support of the book! Make It Count: Toolkit for maximizing your life! can be found on Amazon. Please let me know if you would like more information of coaching, speaking engagements and ways to maximize your life as currently booking up through the fall!

What kind of juice do you like?

Do you prefer juice already squeezed for you, filled with artificial ingredients geared at inhibiting your success or do you prefer freshly squeezed juice filled with nutritional greatness geared at optimizing your potential?

Of course you are gonna say the second one as why would anyone want to inhibit their success? However that is exactly what we do every single day.

Every single situation or journey in life comes with three integral stages.

1. The Thought
2. The Action
3. The Reward

We see those of success on social media, at work, in our community or on TV and we get googly eyed over their success or their reward. Our minds eye skips the steps in between and we either glamourize what they have or beat ourselves up for not having what they have.

Some may even take it a step further and start formulating plans, thoughts or ideas for how they can incorporate more success into their path. I know personally I come up with at least a half dozen ideas each day on what I can do better as a dad, doctor, husband and friend. The shortfall comes when it just stays on reserve as a thought.

Out of the three integral stages for success, the thought is the longest and most frequented stage. We build up an idea in our head but then once stage two starts we freeze, hesitate or turn back on our actions. We struggle with the idea that it will be too hard, too difficult, I am not smart enough, I am not ready, what will people say and numerous other excuses.

The first principle in the Make It Count lifestyle is what we call "The Juice Is Worth The Squeeze." The idea is that we all are envious of success and what others have but struggle with getting our own success off the ground. We have ideas but calling action to our thoughts becomes debilitating. We worry that it will be too difficult. In truth, you are probably right! Success is not easy. It takes consistent, determined hard work. However it's that hard work that makes everything worth it.

Lets jump back to that first paragraph though and how good do you think the freshly squeezed juice tastes? How rewarding to do you think its to drink the fresh juice versus the processed juice? How good do you think you would feel the next day between drinking the two juices? How well do you think you could repeat the actions of squeezing when you know the outcome is worth it?

My answer to all of these is "The Juice Is Worth The Squeeze." The fresh juice tastes better, makes you feel better, easy to repeat because the reward is amazing. The long, tedious work tastes great in the end.

All of this falls similar into the second stage. The action is always tough because it makes you work. The outcome of the work is success or failure but aren't they both the same. With both we reach an outcome that makes us better off. When we succeed in our day we know what to do in order to reach consistent, repeatable results. When we fail in our day we also learn what didn't work thus we are able to course correct and consistently make the outcome better or desirable.

Hard work is tough, hard work makes you dig deep, hard work makes you sweat, hard work will make you cry, hard work digs deep into emotions, hard work is hard work and hard work is worth the squeeze!

To read more on this principle and more principles in the Make It Count lifestyle find the book Make It Count: Tools to Maximize Your Life on Amazon.

Have a great day and Make It Count!

Dr. Jake

Transactional or Transformational

Whether you know it or not you either pursue relationships as a transaction or as a transformation.

Without reading any further which type of relationship do you think you typically pursue?

Transactional Relationship or Transformational Relationship

Unfortunately most people start their day with the mindset of me, me, me. We go through our motions with the mindset of what can I get out of my relationships today.

Transactional Relationships are based on selfish actions. If nothing is in it for me then its not for me. We use others gifts for our benefit.

Transactional Relationships are focused on the one way street mentality of if you can't help me then its not meant to be.

There is an argument that a business based in transactions is successful because of those transactions. I would argue that while meeting the bottom line is important its the transformational relationship with the customer that keeps them returning for more. Its treating that customer, patient or client as more than a number. Its treating them as the most important individual you have ever come in contact with. This deeper connection transforms their belief in your company and both individuals live in mutual success.

 Transaction vs. transformation also crosses over into your personal life in how you interact with friends, family and your significant other. My wife and I are just a few weeks away from 16 years of marriage and I would like to believe that its because our relationship is based in transformation.

We wake up in the morning with the mission of raising three, strong, driven, accomplish girls but we ALWAYS make time to lift each other up. There are definitely times that selfish needs or wants insert their ugly heads but we are always consciously present to what needs to be done in order to reframe our mindsets. When we are on the same page with transformational interactions then it spreads over into our marriage, health, business, families, kids and everything we come into contact with.

If you are struggling with how to reframe your mindset from one of transactional to one of transformational then here are a few tips:

1. Ownership - There is nothing more powerful in any type of growth than ownership. When we take ownership of our thougths and actions then we take on the mindset of growth. Ownership involves getting to know everything you can about your customer or spouse. When you fully understand what it is that they need then you are able to better serve them. If something goes wrong then owning up to the problem and searching for solutions helps build strong bonds.

2. Listen - One of the most common faults of any successful relationships is the lack of TRUE listening. How many times do you fully listen without trying to formulate a response before the person is done talking? Take a deep breath, slow down and invest in the person you are dealing with. You may surprise yourself with how much you will learn from someone else when you are fully present in the conversation.

3. Communication - On the opposite side of listening is the art of talking. Sounds confusing right!?! I have seen many relationships or business fail because a lack of effective communication. My parents got divorced for a few reasons but one of them was my dads inability to deliever his emotions which then he internalized which turned into bigger problems. Companies fail when they are inefficient in delivering the proper message to their employees or customers. Have you ever heard the saying, "employees don't leave companies they leave managers." The main reason for this is along the line there was a break in effective communication and in exchange the relationship turned transactional.

4. Trust, trust, trust, trust..... - That word goes hand in hand with all successful relationships and is no different in this scenerio. Trust comes from within believing that you have what it takes to offer everyone around you value. Trust also comes from your actions. If you are late to meetings, gossip behind others backs, say you will do something and then you don't and make others feel uneasy with your actions then its almost impossible to build trust. I know my marriage with my wife is based on trust and I know that each patient I come in contact with must know first hand that I have their best interest in mind and this helps them trust me with their health.

I thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope that you gathered some golden nuggets to add to your lifestyle but what I know for sure is that if you don't practice, practice, practice and keep practicing in relationships then we always fall back into a transactional relationship. Success in any buiness relationship or personal relationshp takes consistent, deep work but the exciting piece is that with that hard work life feels pretty good.

Make It Count!!!!!!