Tag Archives: personal conduct

Gary Smith’s Lifestyles Expo CT Experience

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Hundreds of people stopped by the Optimum Performance Technologies (Optechs) booth during the 2013 Lifestyles Expo CT in Tolland, Connecticut. Gary Smith, President of Optechs, was able to share experiences with people passing by and he was excited share his wealth of knowledge with the public.

What To Expect From The Lifestyles Expo CT

More than 4,000 people are expected to attend the 2014 Lifestyles Expo CT on November 8 where the facility will be divided into various sections of health and entertainment.

This year will feature the Star Theater, which includes aerobic and Zumba demonstrations, kids concerts and other activities for families and visitors to the event. Sports Alley will be sectioned off to display Eastern CT’s premier sports clubs, and they will have plenty of activities, challenges and games for the whole family to enjoy!

The Lifestyles Expo CT will also feature The Health Zone where visitors can enjoy a healthy selection of fruit smoothies, snacks and lunches with enough variety to satisfy anyone.

Something For Kids At Lifestyles Expo CT

One of the most popular sections of the Lifestyles Expo CT in 2013 was Kids World! Making its return for 2014, Kids World will feature a bounce house, crafts area, organized basketball, volleyball and other sports and plenty more activities.

This allows the parents a worry free day while the children can enjoy a fun-filled day with their friends!

Come See Optechs At November’s Expo

Gary Smith will be representing Optechs at this year’s Lifestyles Expo CT and will have plenty of products for the public to view. His books and other services will be on display during the expo and you will have a chance to meet Gary to find out if your life could use a boost.

Working With Gary Smith

Are you looking for a business coach to bring your business to the next level? Do you have personal struggles that keep you from succeeding?

Gary Smith can help you with these inadequacies and help set your best foot forward toward a better, more profitable life. Call him today!

3 Suggestions For Working Through The Trials Of Life

By GS, Leadership Skills, Optimum Performance Technologies, Personal Coach, Personal Coaching, personal conduct, personal development, personal leadership, Personal Success, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Literally millions of people around the world have learned and benefitted from the ministry if Kay Arthur.  What most people don’t know, however, is that her impactful work would not have happened without a bitter disappointment early in her career.  When Kay was serving as a missionary in Mexico, she contracted a heart infection that cut her work short and forced her to return home.

She was depressed and despondent until God revealed a greater purpose to her.  While living in Chattanooga, Kay began teaching the Bible to teenagers in her home – and out of those experiences came what was to become her life’s work.  She wrote, “It would be several years I’d see how He’d [God] use those formative years of study in Mexico to prepare me to write inductive Bible studies that would eventually reach fifty-two countries.”

Dealing With The Trials Of Life

As human beings striving to find meaning and prosperity for our families, and ourselves we seldom understand the trials of life at the time we are experiencing them.  We may find ourselves suffering and feeling like complete failures.  But when we learn the power of perseverance, as time passes we look back and see how the trials we have been through have helped us to grow and prepared us for greater accomplishments in life.

Here are some simple suggestions to help you learn to persevere through your trials of life:

  1. Don’t focus on the trials of life.  Rather than being consumed with the challenge, continually ask yourself, “What can I learn from this experience?  How is this preparing me to be a better person?”
  2. Push through.  I have seen far too many people who allowed trials to stop them just inches short of achieving amazing success.  It is when our trials seem greatest that we are the closest to breaking through to victory.  DON’T GIVE UP!
  3. Focus on your dreams.  Your dreams are the fuel in your gas tank of life that ultimately drive you toward achieving greatness.  Stay focused on your ultimate goals and keep pushing forward – no matter what!

 

©2014 by Gary L. Smith and Optimum Performance Technologies, LLC (optechs.com).  All rights reserved.

5 Ways To Improve Productivity With Your TO-DO List

By Coaching, Consulting, GS, organizational culture, Personal Coach, Personal Coaching, personal conduct, personal development, personal leadership, Personal Success, Process Improvement, project management, , , , , , , , ,

Most everyone I know has at one time, or currently does use, at TO-DO list to boost productivity.  This list, often hastily constructed not well organized, can be a real albatross, a proverbial millstone around ones neck, if not used properly.

How To Measure Productivity

Janet Choi of iDoneThis cites the following TO-DO list statistics from her organization:

  • 41% of to-do items were never completed
  • 50% of completed to-do items were done within a day
  • 18% of completed to-do items were done within an hour
  • 10% of completed to-do items were done within a minute
  • 15% of “dones” started as to-do items

So what can we infer about one’s productivity from these observations?

  • People are taking the time to write down a bunch of stuff that they never do
  • To-do items are, for the most part, short-term in nature
  • In at least 10% of the cases, people take more time to write down a to-do than it takes to complete it — sabotaging your productivity!

Boost Productivity With A Cleaner TO-DO List

The stats and comments above lead me to the conclusion that most people don’t know how to properly create and use a to-do list.  Here are some things you can put to work immediately to make your to-do list a much more effective and productive part of your day.

  1. Your to-do list cannot be a dumping ground.  Many people use this list as a catch all – a place to make notes and capture items for future action.  Doing so crowds the list with distracting information – and that ultimately hurts your productivity.
  2. Your to-do list should be clean.  It should only contain the items you are trying to accomplish today.
  3. Your to-do list must be focused on your most important goals.  If you are going to be truly successful, your daily actions – those items recorded on your to-do list – must flow from your goals.  Creating goals, and then boiling them down into tasks that must be accomplished each day, is the only true pathway to achieving your dreams.
  4. Your to-do list must be realistic.  Having three pages of action items to accomplish today when you know, at best, you are going to get a half page of them done, is only setting yourself up for failure.  Be realistic with what you can accomplish.
  5. Your to-do list must be prioritized and updated daily.  I recommend reviewing your to-do list at the end of each day to improve your productivity.  Go through what you’ve accomplished during the day, congratulate yourself for all you’ve done, make a clean list for tomorrow, and then prioritize your list (i.e., what you are going do 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.)

Following these simple steps will help you get the most out of your life by keeping your focused on doing the right things, in the right order.  As always, if you need assistance with anything, contact us at 203.599.1467 or via email at info@optechs.com.  We’re here to help you!

 

©2014 by Gary L. Smith and Optimum Performance Technologies, LLC (optechs.com).  All rights reserved.

Give The Gift Of Time

By Coaching, GS, Leadership Skills, Optimum Performance Technologies, Personal Coach, Personal Coaching, personal conduct, personal development, personal leadership, Personal Success, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In her memoirs, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told of growing up in an African-American pastor’s family in Birmingham, Alabama.  Despite her parents’ busy schedules, they watched The Mickey Mouse Club with her every day.  One afternoon, an insurance agent came to visit.  “He was the only white man I can ever remember coming into our house,” recalls Rice, “but he came just as it was time to sing: ‘M-I-C-K-E-Y-….’” Mr. Rice politely told the man he would have to wait until they all had put on their mouse ears and engaged in the family ritual of singing along.

“This small gesture was simply one of many that communicated they always had time for me,” wrote Condoleezza.

One Of The Greatest Presents We Can Give Is The Gift Of Time

Most of us interpret this to mean time with our spouses and children – and that’s a great place to start.  But what about other people and places

  • At your church – educating others or using your carpentry, plumbing, or painting skills.
  • At the local shelter or food bank – serving and ministering to others.
  • On the job – listening to those whom you work with and for – and those who work for you – to help them grow, learn, and prosper.
  • In the way you run your business – showing your employees and your customers, through your time and actions, just how important they are and how much you appreciate them.

Remember: Life is not about money and things – it’s about people and relationships. Take the time, starting now, to enrich the lives of others.  In so doing, you will be blessed beyond measure!

 

©2014 by Gary L. Smith and Optimum Performance Technologies, LLC (optechs.com).  All rights reserved.

3 Keys For Dealing With Toxic People

By Coaching, GS, Leadership Skills, Optimum Performance Technologies, Personal Coach, Personal Coaching, personal conduct, personal development, personal leadership, Personal Success, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Not long ago, I heard Arianna Huffington on a TV commercial. She was asked, “Who do you most resent in life?” Arianna replied that she has no room in her life for resentment of toxic people. She then offered the following quote: “Resentment is the poison you drink, all the while thinking that the other person is going to die.”

These words are uncomfortably true – and yet they are hard to swallow.

You Will Encounter Toxic People In Your Life

An old friend of mine once said, “Out of every 100 people you meet, 80 are nice, 19 are difficult, and 1 is impossible. There is 1 person out of every 100 whom you can’t get along with no matter what you do.” I asked my friend what I was supposed to do with that one person–those toxic people in my life–and he laughed as he said, “Leave him alone a lot, and if you have the bad fortune of having to work with him, picture him standing there in his red Christmas underwear – at least that will help you maintain your sense of humor.”

Your Approach To Toxic People Defines The Outcome

The conversation with my friend was humorous, but ultimately not very practical. But that leads me into thinking about things that we can do when it comes to dealing with toxic people.

  1. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. These words of wisdom from the late Stephen Covey are a good place to start. Toxic people are toxic for a reason. If you can find out what is motivating their toxicity, you are one step closer to disarming them and beginning to build what may just turn out to be a fruitful relationship.
  2. Ignore the rumors. Whether it’s in your neighborhood, church, or at work, toxic people tend to generate a lot of chatter – mostly in the form of negative gossip. Don’t believe any of what you hear in these circumstances. Be your own person and take the time to become informed and draw your own conclusions.
  3. Learn to love people. Accept people for who they are and where they are in life. Even if they’re nasty and messed up, love them and care about them. Sometimes that’s all it takes to crack the shell of a bad attitude and start the healing process. Why should you do this? Well, stop for a moment and think about where you would be without love.

Toxic people can be a challenge, to be sure. But we all need to be up to the challenge of helping and serving others.

 

©2014 by Gary L. Smith and Optimum Performance Technologies, LLC (optechs.com).  All rights reserved.