iMatter Bloghttp://www.imatter.com/blog/en-US2010-02-09T11:11:38ZSquarespace Site Server v5.9.1 (http://www.squarespace.com/)Nick Ellis has been iMattered!http://www.imatter.com/blog/2009/12/14/nick-ellis-has-been-imattered.htmlAdmin2009-12-14T16:58:27ZNick Ellis, Creative Junkie for the Hunch Free team at the NOWhouse, gives us his take on the iMatter Workshop.

"I'd like to thank iMatter for setting up the workshop for all of the dwellers. I went through the course yesterday and I found it to not only be a good tool to help prioritize my home & work life but also found it a great way to learn more about - and connect with the other NOWhouse dwellers. I would highly encourage anyone who hasn't attended the class yet to try and find the time to attend the next session. The more we know each other, the better we can understand how we can help each other, and each other's business'."

]]>We Winhttp://www.imatter.com/blog/2009/12/11/we-win.htmlAdmin2009-12-11T18:48:02ZI used to feel at war. I felt I was in a war, potentially with the insurmountable task of winning the war, rarely with a chance to get out without getting killed. To name it; to call it a war, to call it a battle, gives the other side credence and validity. To realize that we are all one is we win. There are people in our lives who allow us the opportunity to choose who we are, to know who we aren't, and that helps us to know who we are. Again, these are lessons in life. So to shift the verbiage to the need to win is the need to one. When we are one, we win. In the wisdom age it is all one and to use the lessons in life and learn from the past to then be aware of the future, be present in the now. It is all one.

]]>The Burning Questionhttp://www.imatter.com/blog/2009/12/8/the-burning-question.htmlAdmin2009-12-08T10:46:30Z5 Minute Check In Burning Question Rules of EngagementIt is all too easy in life to forget that every anger, fear and frustration is a learning opportunity, the struggle many times is to identify what really is the anger, fear or frustration. Often times in my life I have found myself to be my own bottleneck in life and/or business, which is often a frustration for me. In accordance with our Rules of Engagement I am then able to take the next steps of asking for help, asking for what I want and giving permission to be reminded when I stray off track. This helps me to eliminate the bottleneck, free the flow of energy, information and communication, that helps me achieve success… whatever that means individually for me and as a part of my teams.

A cool tool is “What is My Burning Question?” If I could ask the universe one question to eliminate a bottleneck, what would that question entail? I take time to think and ask questions, I do a 5 Minute Check In to determine where I am right now. Then I ask the universe, “What is the most efficient way for me to get through the perceived gap in money over the next 60 days?” “What is the most efficient and effective way to find an assistant for me to help sell the iMatter opportunity?” “What is the prototypical iMatter client’s business look like and what does it need from me?”

To state that question and define it and make it a true question allows us to ask our tribe, ask people we know, put it on the social media network or even just own the thought and the question. It is truly amazing how often a solution we may have never thought of comes… and it generally comes pretty quickly. Learning from and moving through the Burning Question to eliminate the bottleneck is a tremendous asset for all individuals.

]]>What's Your Flywheel?http://www.imatter.com/blog/2009/11/18/whats-your-flywheel.htmlAdmin2009-11-18T19:01:55ZJim Collins, author of “Good to Great” and “Built to Last,” is a master at perfecting and teaching the theory of the flywheel. A flywheel is a regulator consisting of a heavy wheel that stores kinetic energy and smooths the operation of a reciprocating engine. Once the flywheel gets going, it keeps everything else running at a nice and smooth pace.

Jim speaks of pushing the flywheel theory within your life and figuring out within one’s business what their flywheel is. Once this is accomplished, you can put the majority of your energy into getting that flywheel over the top once and then getting it over the top again, and so on and so forth. The more often we spin the flywheel, the easier it is to keep going and the easier it is to keep the engine running in the right direction. It’s instrumental to one’s business to get into that groove and be focused on that process or that energy that can keep that engine moving.

In today’s age of uncertainty, many people, are asking more than ever “what is my flywheel? Am I spending my time determining that? Do I have multiple flywheels and if I have too many, how do I push the key ones over?”

With so much shiny stuff and distractions in the universe today, it becomes necessary to keep an awareness of what the key flywheels priorities are and one becomes ever more efficient when they can say no to the ones that don’t make sense.

What is your flywheel? Take time to identify that, what that process is, what energy needs to be put in that is can be leveraged and scaled within those flywheels.

This is not just in business, either. This is in life.

Some examples of flywheels for me are the number of presentations that I give, the number of people I put through the iMatter Workshops and the number of people with whom I share my dreams. It may be the number of steps that I take in a given day, the amount of time I spend truly reflecting and taking care of me personally, the amount of true quality time with my kids or my wife, Cheryl. Imagine the flywheel as a spinning plate, I can focus on balancing one plate, maybe I can do that with two plates, okay that's doable. Getting to three and four, okay now it's on my feet. Five and six, how can I manage all those? Not only do I have to worry about the key ones spinning, but then some of them will fall and then I lose attention to the key ones that matter most.

So, what matters most? What is your flywheel? Define that process, and say no to the ones that don't matter most to you today.

]]>Rob Dube Recommending iMatterhttp://www.imatter.com/blog/2009/11/5/rob-dube-recommending-imatter.htmlMatt Dibble2009-11-05T16:57:53Z

]]>Leave It Better Than You Found Ithttp://www.imatter.com/blog/2009/11/3/leave-it-better-than-you-found-it.htmlBob Shenefelt2009-11-03T14:51:29ZI love the philosophy to leave things better than we found it whether it be my home, my community or my office space. Every interaction I have with people where I am welcomed into someone's life or their home or their office, to respect that time and energy and consideration means to honor that with replacing things and cleaning up after myself. That way, when people sit down and look at their space or look at the time spent with me they say “Wow, that was really worth my while and I really appreciate Bob taking the time to meet with me. Even more important than that may be the follow-up, he cleaned up after himself, not only replaced the things he used but replaced them with even more of it or even higher quality in some things.” This helps to grow the ultimate relationship where a person can then say, “I am really, really glad that I could help.” Not that those relationships and encounters should ever be about gaining something in return every time, but then there is a level of return that each person experiences upon reflection. That inspires both parties to say, “How can I help again?”

Leave things better than you found them.

]]>The Rules of Engagementhttp://www.imatter.com/blog/2009/10/29/the-rules-of-engagement.htmlBob Shenefelt2009-10-29T17:33:38ZHow does one create The Ultimate Relationship?

The first step of The Rules of Engagement is to create a Safe Space. What is consistent in that Safe Space is to be aware of the verbiage we use with each other. Don’t use the words “if only,” “should,” “could,” “better” or any and all forms of exaggeration. Which means that rather than saying “I can’t work out because I’m just too tired,” you can say “I choose not to work out because I’m just too tired.” Do you see the difference? Get into the habit of it and you will take more responsibility for your actions. You have chosen this life. Accepting who you are is the first key to changing habits.

Speaking From Experience is a key aspect to creating The Ultimate Relationship… instead of saying “you did this” or “you did that,” it is “I get frustrated when I don’t get what I need out of a relationship,” or “It hurts me if someone says those things to me.” I am taking accountability and responsibility for my feelings and that takes the fire out of the conversation.

Listening To Understand is key to The Rules of Engagement. To be aware that you’re not a listener who’s simply waiting to respond whether it’s to validate or question one’s point, but you’re a listener who strives to understand. You’re a listener who asks questions to begin to understand where the other person is coming from and learn from them and then to have a conversation around that.

The second part of The Rules of Engagement is to establish boundaries. Letting each other know that it’s okay to ask for help when you need it, and to understand when you need it. It’s okay to ask for what you want and it’s okay to give permission to be reminded. That is wisdom.

The third key to The Rules of Engagement is to implement structure which means using meeting rhythms, use a process or a tool and to HAVE FUN.

By doing these three things it allows us to create The Ultimate Relationship with our spouses, with our employees and bosses, with our friends and with our clients. Then as we are practicing how to create the ultimate relationship we tend to create the ultimate relationship with ourselves and be happy with who we are, to know who we are, to enjoy life fully and the potential to further develop the ultimate relationship with the universe, God, the community and those things most important to you.

]]>1.7 Degrees of Separationhttp://www.imatter.com/blog/2009/10/26/17-degrees-of-separation-1.htmlMatt Dibble2009-10-26T15:24:12ZThe Six Degrees of Separation from Kevin Bacon has been a fun game and an allure at parties, group events and online for many years. In The Wisdom Age (even going back to the Technology Age) the speed of the world is such that if it isn’t real time, it’s considered a bit slow and out of touch. We’ve discovered, using this amazing technology and the principles of The Wisdom Age, that the Six Degrees of Separation has now become 1.7 Degrees of Separation.

As I ask questions and ask for help and offer support to others, I have access to that many more people that much more quickly and that much more familiar with who they are in The Wisdom Age.

The human being is the one, most important aspect of the game of 1.7 Degrees of Separation… We as people are using the Technology Age to bring the human back into the world.

]]>I Am...http://www.imatter.com/blog/2009/10/20/i-am.htmlAdmin2009-10-20T16:44:20ZAs I'm stating it to myself and I hear it in my ears, in my ego, in my gut, in my soul, it is true, even if just in that moment. When I say “I Am” a good father, then I am not only speaking and thinking, “I Am” believing it and knowing it. When I am aware that I am not in a space that is in that “I Am” clarity; for instance I am saying things like “I want to,” “I wish,” “When” and “If only,” then I am not only speaking, I am thinking and believing and knowing. Understanding this, I make choices as I am seeing things and taking action and I can make choices to continue to be that “I Am.” Then by practicing that, “I Am” that in my life, actions and relationships, more and more and a majority of the time.

I Am an Authentic Thought Leader in The Wisdom Age.

I Am worthy of fulfilling my dreams.

I Am a great dad.

I Am trustworthy.

]]>Why Therapy?http://www.imatter.com/blog/2009/9/30/why-therapy.htmlMatt Dibble2009-09-30T17:35:11Z

Who needs a therapist when you have great friends and great relationships? We pay money to have someone sit and listen to what we're saying. To what end? For starters, we get to hear ourselves talk, which leads to understanding what the inner dialogue is, the frustrations, the dreads, the ah-has, the negative or positive thoughts. And, as we hear ourselves, we come to realizations, and the listener is a mirror and a presence.

Why not create friendships to have these conversations and eliminate the therapy? What a concept, right? Better yet, develop a group of people, a peer group, a tribe, where one can share these keys to growth; anger, fear and frustration. The key to a great relationship is to have some structure around it where everyone feels heard and has a safe space for everyone to talk. Try it. Set the boundaries and grow from it. Practice the tools of having a great relationship; confidentiality, listening, safe space, speaking from the I. These skills help us in those fiery, deep times, in which our experience and/or the lesson can be lost if the people involved are caught up in the emotion and drama. So, to practice having a great relationship with someone else helps create the ultimate relationship which is our relationship with ourselves.

So let's eliminate therapy, use friends, know who we are, realize what matters the most, and be happy. Cheers to great friends.

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