Success Defined

Success is clearly a personal concept. Its definition is as diverse as the human population. There is, however, one dynamic found in any definition of success you might encounter: the recognition and conveyance of value. Someone creates and communicates value in which someone else is willing to invest. When a person represents value and that value is recognized and respected through the invested response of others, success is achieved and experienced.

So, success is achieved anywhere value is represented and received. As a result, success is a prize experienced both in the personal dimension of our lives as well as in the professional. Thirty-eight years ago, Barbara invested her life in me in becoming my wife. She saw something in me worthy of her investment. I believe her investment in me as being the greatest success of my life.

I have friends who have invested in me as well. Likewise, I have invested in them. As human beings we represent value. How that value is perceived by others is another matter altogether. People regard what you represent and they choose. Now, before you get worked up over the judgement word, you have to know that everyone experiences and renders value judgement, including you. Standing in judgement of another from a prejudicial vantage point is never wise, nor is it the point here.

Here is the point. People will embrace others as more than a life acquaintance if and when they perceive their value to be worth more of their time, emotion, and risk. As a result, over time, people invest themselves in the friendship of others. Over time, people will be worthy of the invested relationship of employment. People will be perceived as representing the value of higher levels of trust and so they are promoted into more significant roles of influence. People invest their vote in people who they judge to be worthy of that affirmation and so they cast their vote. I hope you get the point.

The challenge we face daily is effectively representing our created value. My encouragement to you is to always begin with God. Place Him at the center of your world. Then, because of His love for you, invest yourself in others. Your valuing of others will actually make you valuable to them. It is not manipulation. It is serving meaningfully and personally. Contentment in life will be learned through investing in others and in making yourself a value in whom they choose to invest. Think about it. Do well, my friends.

Don't Out Run Yourself

Welcome to Tappe Talk, a Purposed Connection podcast by The Tappe Group. Through out the past 38 years of working in the American marketplace, Allen has heard an ever increasing cry for "balance" in life. This week Allen shares his thoughts on painting the picture you were meant to create

1. Reconfirm your commitment to mankind.
2. Respect the life you have been given.
3. Relate personally to the people in your world.
4. Remember who you are.
5. Represent excellence.

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Discover Your Pace

In a world of disagreement, there is one thing upon which we can agree. The world is spinning faster and faster like some kind of runaway train. Jumping off could prove to be fatal, however, staying on board has its own share of danger. The challenge we face is the responsibility for discovering our pace and embracing it.

You don't want to be a statistic in this life. Studies are reporting an increasing number of people who are disengaged in life and in work. People wake up and show up but they are never really there. First, they have out run their own spirit. Their reason why has gotten lost in the pace of the race. They have simply lost touch with their own motivation and they don't know how or where to find it. Discovering your personal pace begins by connecting with yourself spiritually and declaring what is important to you.

Studies are also showing that we are a significantly unhealthy group people. We eat too much and sleep too little. We sit too much and walk too little. We spend too much and save too little. The bottom line is our personal energy is in a constant state of depletion. We are like a balloon with a slow leak or a car with a hole in its tank. If we don't take time to take care of ourselves, we simply will not be able to keep up. Understanding the energy involved is essential to creating the pace required.

Relationships have taken a hit. Marriages are in crisis. The families being created in their wake are in corresponding turmoil. Friendships are being supplanted by IPhones and social networking. Face time is being traded in for Facebook or unlimited minutes for texting. Embracing our ever increasing need for personal relationship is vital to establishing the schedule of priorities we represent.

The professional realm is all about reinvention. On a macro level, it is about creating an entirely new economy. On a micro level, it is about discovering an entirely new means of expressing and supporting ourselves. Personal commitment to contemporary information and learning is a requirement that goes beyond formal education.

Tony Schwart has recently written a timely book entitled, The Way We Are Working, Isn't Working: The Four Forgotten Needs That Energize Great Performance. If you haven't read it, this would be a great place to begin. With humility, I also encourage you to read my book, The Power of Purposed Performance. Both books emphasize the need for doing this life differently. Discovering your pace requires understanding you and you are more complex than you think. Don't take you for granted. Pay attention to yourself. Respond to what you see. Do well, my friends.

Map for Success

Welcome to Tappe Talk, a Purposed Connection podcast by The Tappe Group. It is all about relationship! This week Allen spends some time on the core of relationships, understanding, learning, and serving.

• Know your customers.
• Clarify your offering.
• Make the commitment.
• Create strategic direction.
• Deliver with integrity.

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The Power of Recognition

Understanding the power of recognition is essential to powerfully influencing the world around you. Far from manipulation, recognition is about actively showing respect for the actions of others. By celebrating the value of what you see, you are validating them and the choices they are making. Otherwise, how will they know?

So, what difference does it make? It makes none if you are content with moving through life having limited effect. In reality, the difference you make in this life has less to do with what you do and more about how you celebrate the life performance of others. By recognizing and praising them for what you see, you actually mulitply your own effect.

Think about it. While what you value in life is important for you to represent, it is through the encouragement you communicate to others that your influence is actually maximized. It is your influence in the lives of others that makes the difference. Recognition is the key.

All it really takes is active awareness. By staying more aware of the people in your world, you are able to catch them in the act of distinctively representing the very things you value. Your active recognition of their behavior encourages them to keep going. People need to know. They need your validation. They may say they don't but they do. They need your reflection of them as much as you need theirs.

It is not about allowing others to define you or you them. It is about being responsive. It is about giving and receiving feedback. Relationships are about relating. Relating to others involves communicating what you see, hear, and think. Commit to recognizing and applauding the best in others. It is the best way to represent yourself. Do well, my friends.

Make a Real Difference

Welcome to Tappe Talk, a Purposed Connection podcast by The Tappe Group. This week Allen encourages you to accept a challenge. This week he challenges you to pay attention intentionally.

• See people
• Respect them
• Respond to them
• Praise them
• Encourage them

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Beginning Again, Again

Half of this year is almost gone. It is hard to believe. But, I said the same thing last year at this time and the year before. As "halftime" approaches, it is time to think about things you have done well in the first half and things you need to adjust or change altogether for the second. It is important to begin with intention. It is equally important, however, to "begin again" with integrity. What is there in your life you intended when you began this year and yet you realize now you simply are not getting done? It may be time to begin again. It is ok. It is really more than ok. Don't give up on your process.

The first thing to ask yourself is, "Was it important when I intended it?". It is typically when you begin that you have the greatest clarity. You knew what you needed to do and how you needed to do it for the most part. Some adjustment may be required along the way. It is part of the process of living and learning. Where you will get lost is in the why. Over time, sure, you might need to adjust the how some. You may even need to reconsider the what. Most often, however, the real culprit is in the diminishing vision and connection you have of , and to, your reason why. It must stay strong and clear in order for you to stay consistent.

Staying clear about why is important because of the alternative you will face. To the degree you lose sight of your reason why, to that degree you will invite a level of disappointment and depression into your life. Your self talk will begin to become filled with negative self analysis. You will begin to hammer yourself about what you are not doing. You are a loser. You always give up. You are weak. It is just like you. Do any of these statements sound familiar?

Accountability is about maintaining clarity. It is about staying reminded of your what and your why. It is maintaining the integrity of your life intentions. Remember, "Intention without execution creates depression". It is true. And, you can do something about it. Choose to begin again. It is a power you have as a human being. Choose to exercise it now before things go any farther. I know where I need to begin, again and I know why. Do you? Do well, my friends.

Performance Integrity

Welcome to Tappe Talk, a Purposed Connection podcast by The Tapppe Group. When you started this year what did you intend to make happen? Allen talks about you own personal integrity. You doing what you said you would do when you began. Allen spends this week discussing getting back on track.

Choose Again.
Get Started Again.
Stay Alert.
Press through it.
Make it fun.

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Peace

There is a lot to be said for peace. How much of your life do you spend in turmoil? Both inside and out, how much of your life is consumed by unresolved conflict? The truth is most people live too much of their life disturbed by something, or somebody. So, what difference does it make? I think the question is more important than most of us would like to admit. Life disturbance is responsible for many, if not most, of our most frustrating life challenges and many, if not most, of our sleepless nights.

One of the most significant challenges facing our culture today is sleep deprivation. What is happening? I believe the problem revolves around a lack of peace. Conflict unresolved within and conflict unresolved without creates cognitive dissonance that has a life of its own. And, much of the time, it lives in our minds in the middle of the night. How many times have you gone to bed thinking about something unresolved at home or at work? How many times does that unresolved something influence the quality of your sleep? I rest my case.

Relationships in life have never been more challenged. Marriages are at risk almost from the moment they are created. How do people connect? How do they communicate? I am talking about distinctively different, self-centered people creating peace in the living together process. And then, there is the everyday challenge for those who aren't in a relationship to find one, or to decide not to find one. Tension.

Families are a breeding place for tension. There is nothing in the world like having a wonderful family. The truth is, however, the larger the family becomes the more tension will be found, no matter what they say. The reason I know is because I live in one. We love each other and I can't imagine what it would be like to live without any member of my family. With that said, between marriage, children, grandchildren, sons in law, in laws, aging parents, brothers, their families, dogs, dogs, church, friends, work, there is always something brewing. The question is, in the midst of it all, how can peace be found?

The answer is simple yet profound. The answer is love. Not some sloppy, Hollywood misrepresentation of love. I am talking about the kind of commitment to life and to relationships that will not let them go. I am talking about an energy that will take the most challenging life reality and create through it even deeper meaning. I am talking about an approach to life that is disciplined and secure enough not to "let the sun go down on your anger". I am talking about a life conviction and discipline committed to the respect and recognition of others.

I believe peace is the answer. I also believe it is an out of this world answer. I believe love divine is an expression of commitment that will let more things go with out saying than saying them. I believe it will "turn the other cheek" because you know the result will be a peace that is not found in this world. It simply is not natural to turn the other cheek. You do it because of what you believe. You do it because of what you know. Do well, my friends. And, peace in the process.