"Am I staying focused on the bottom line so that I can gain the maximum return and reap the full potential of my thinking?"

Thinking Question #8

"Thinking is hard work; that’s why so few do it."

You have to follow these simple 6 steps -  <ol><li class="ql-align-justify">Expose Yourself to Good Input: read books, listen to podcasts, etc.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Expose Yourself to Good Thinkers: Spend time with the right people. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Choose to Think Good Thoughts: You have to become intentional about the thinking process.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Act on Your Good Thoughts</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Allow Your Emotions to Create Another Good Thought</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Repeat the Process</li></ol>

HOW TO BECOME A BETTER THINKER

Strategic thinking can - <ol><li>Simplifies the Difficult</li><li>Prompts You to Ask the Right Questions</li><li>Prompts Customization</li><li>Prepares You Today for an Uncertain Tomorrow</li><li>Reduces the Margin of Error</li><li>Gives You Influence with Others</li></ol>

THE POWER OF STRATEGIC THINKING

"Pain prompts us to face who we are and where we are. What we do with that experience defines who we become."

<ol><li>Stop Focusing on the Impossibilities</li><li>Stay Away from the “Experts”</li><li>Look for Possibilities in Every Situation</li><li>Dream One Size Bigger: Henry Curtis advises, “Make your plans as fantastic as you like, because twenty-five years from now, they will seem mediocre. Make your plans ten times as great as you first planned, and twenty-five years from now you will wonder why you did not make them fifty times as great.”</li><li>Question the Status Quo</li><li>Find Inspiration from Great Achievers</li></ol>

HOW TO FEEL THE ENERGY OF POSSIBILITY THINKING

<ol><li>Don’t Strive for Certainty</li><li>Learn from Every Experience</li><li>Gain Insight from a Variety of People</li><li>Give Yourself Permission to Expand Your World</li></ol>

HOW TO ACQUIRE THE WISDOM OF BIG-PICTURE THINKING

"Am I implementing strategic plans that give me direction for today and increase my potential for tomorrow?"

Thinking Question #4

"Where success is concerned, people are not measured in inches, or pounds, or college degrees, or family background; they are measured by the size of their thinking."

<ol><li>Allows You to Lead: People who are constantly looking at the whole picture have the best chance of succeeding in any endeavor.</li><li>Keeps You on Target</li><li>Allows You to See What Others See: One of the most important skills you can develop in human relations is the ability to see things from the other person’s point of view.</li><li>Promotes Teamwork</li><li>Keeps You from BeingCaught Up in the Mundane</li><li>Helps You to Chart Uncharted Territory: The only way to break new ground or move into uncharted territory is to look beyond the immediate and see the big picture.</li></ol>

WHY YOU SHOULD RECEIVE THE WISDOM OF BIG-PICTURE THINKING

"Am I working to break out of my “box” of limitations so that I explore ideas and options to experience creative breakthroughs?"

Thinking Question #3

<ol><li>Put Others First: Make a mental and emotional commitment to look out for the interests of others.</li><li>Expose Yourself to Situations Where People Have Needs</li><li>Give Quietly or Anonymously</li><li> Invest in People Intentionally</li><li>Continually Check Your Motives: François de la Rochefoucauld said, “What seems to be generosity is often no more than disguised ambition, which overlooks a small interest in order to secure a great one.”﻿</li></ol>

HOW TO EXPERIENCE THE SATISFACTION OF UNSELFISH THINKING

"Am I thinking beyond myself and my world so that I process ideas with a holistic perspective?"

Thinking Question #1

"Am I dedicated to removing distractions and mental clutter so that I can concentrate with clarity on the real issue?"

Thinking Question #2

"A person who knows how may always have a job, but the person who knows why will always be his boss."

"Am I continually considering others and their journey in order to think with maximum collaboration?"

Thinking Question #7

"Am I regularly revisiting the past to gain a true perspective and think with understanding?"

Thinking Question #5

<ol><li>Find a Place to Think Your Thoughts: If you go to your designated place to think expecting to generate good thoughts, then eventually you will come up with some.  </li><li>Find a Place to Shape Your Thoughts: As you shape your thoughts, you find out whether an idea has potential. </li><li>Find a Place to Stretch Your Thoughts: "The Right Thought plus the Right People in the Right Environment at the Right Time; for the Right Reason = the Right Result"</li><li>Find a Place to Land Your Thoughts: You have to share your ideas.</li><li>Find a Place to Fly Your Thoughts: You have to find how to act on the thought.</li></ol>

HOW TO DISCOVER and DEVELOP GOOD THOUGHTS

“If you can’t write your idea on the back of my business card, you don’t have a clear idea.”

<ol><li>Set Aside Time for Reflection</li><li>Remove Yourself from Distractions</li><li>Regularly Review Your Calendar or Journal</li><li>Ask the Right Questions</li><li>Cement Your Learning Through Action</li></ol>Reflective thinking has three main values: it gives me perspective within context; it allows me to continually connect with my journey, and it provides counsel and direction concerning my future.

HOW TO EMBRACE THE LESSONS OF REFLECTIVE THINKING

“Nothing is so embarrassing as watching someone do something that you said could not be done.”

<ol><li>Identify the Real Bottom Line</li><li>Make the Bottom Line the Point</li><li>Create a Strategic Plan to Achieve the Bottom Line: The important thing is that when the bottom line of each activity is achieved, then THE bottom line is achieved. If the sum of the smaller goals doesn’t add up to the real bottom line, then either your strategy is flawed or you’ve not identified your real bottom line.</li><li>Align Team Members with the Bottom Line</li><li>Stick with One System and Monitor Results Continually.</li></ol>

HOW TO ENJOY THE RETURN OF BOTTOM-LINE THINKING

<ol><li>Break Down the Issue</li><li> Ask Why Before How</li><li>Identify the Real Issues and Objectives</li><li>Review Your Resources</li><li>Develop Your Plan</li><li>Put the Right People in the Right Place</li><li>Keep Repeating the Process</li></ol>"Strategic thinking is like showering, you have to keep doing it."

HOW TO RELEASE THE POWER OF STRATEGIC THINKING

<ol><li>Remove Distractions</li><li>Make Time for Focused Thinking</li><li>Keep Items of Focus Before You</li><li>Set Goals</li><li>Question Your Progress: “Am I seeing a return for my investment of focused thinking time? Is what I am doing getting me closer to my goals? Am I headed in a direction that helps me to fulfill my commitments, maintain my priorities, and realize my dreams?"</li></ol>

HOW CAN YOU STAY FOCUSED?

“knowledge is power only if a man knows what facts are not to bother about.”

<ol><li>Remove Creativity Killers</li><li>Think Creatively by Asking the Right Questions</li><li>Develop a Creative Environment</li><li>Spend Time with Other Creative People</li><li>Get Out of Your Box</li></ol>

HOW TO DISCOVER THE JOY OF CREATIVE THINKING

“Think like a man of action—act like a man of thought.”

<ol><li>Think Before You Follow</li><li>Appreciate Thinking Different from Your Own</li><li>Continually Question Your Own Thinking</li><li>Try New Things in New Ways</li><li>Get Used to Being Uncomfortable</li></ol>"If you embrace unpopular thinking and make decisions based upon what works best and what is right rather than what is commonly accepted, know this: in your early years, you won’t be as wrong as people think you are. In your later years, you won’t be as right as people think you are. And all through the years, you will be better than you thought you could be."

HOW TO QUESTION THE ACCEPTANCE OF POPULAR THINKING

"Am I consciously rejecting the limitations of common thinking in order to accomplish uncommon results?"

Thinking Question #6

Gather successful people from all walks of life-what would they have in common? The way they think! Now you can think as they do and revolutionize your work and life! A Wall Street Journal bestseller, HOW SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE THINK is the perfect, compact read for today's fast-paced world. America's leadership expert John C. Maxwell will teach you how to be more creative and when to question popular thinking. You'll learn how to capture the big picture while focusing your thinking. You'll find out how to tap into your creative potential, develop shared ideas, and derive lessons from the past to better understand the future. With these eleven keys to more effective thinking, you'll clearly see the path to personal success.

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Gather successful people from all walks of life -- what would they have in common? The way they think! Now you can think as they do and revolutionize your work and life! A Wall Street Journal bestseller, How Successful People Think is the perfect, compact read for today's fast-paced world. America's leadership expert John C. Maxwell will teach you how to be more creative and when to question popular thinking. You'll learn how to capture the big picture while focusing your thinking. You'll find out how to tap into your creative potential, develop shared ideas, and derive lessons from the past to better understand the future. With these eleven keys to more effective thinking, you'll clearly see the path to personal success. The 11 keys to successful thinking include: <ul><li>Big-Picture Thinking - seeing the world beyond your own needs and how that leads to great ideas</li><li>Focused Thinking - removing mental clutter and distractions to realize your full potential</li><li>Creative Thinking - thinking in unique ways and making breakthroughs</li><li>Shared Thinking - working with others to compound results</li><li>Reflective Thinking - looking at the past to gain a better understanding of the future.</li></ul>

John Calvin Maxwell is an American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership. Titles include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. His books have sold millions of copies, with some on the New York Times Best Seller List.

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