One of the characteristics of a great organization is its commitment to lifelong learning. Today, however, the cost of maintaining a training department can be prohibitive. Every time a trainer leaves the office, the organization incurs substantial costs including…

• Round trip airfare
• Car rental
• Meals
• Training equipment and resources
• Lost productive hours for trainees
• Rescheduling training for any absentees

These are just a few of the training-related expenses your organization pays every time you send someone to conduct training. Wouldn’t it be great to offer training that saves your organization money and saves you time? Would you like to offer training that ensures 100% completion? Would you like to know that your training accomplished its intended purposes?

Many traditional trainers argue that elearning isn’t as effective as live training. There is a difference in effectiveness… and research shows that elearning is MORE effective than live training. The changing face of American corporate training supports this research.

Before now, elearning has been reserved for big organizations with a development team dedicated to learning technology. Today, elearning can be leveraged by entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations. It can be used to make money and train employees. For example, elearning can be used to help…

• churches train small group leaders and other volunteers.
• businesses introduce new products to their sales teams.
• entrepreneurs reach more people through seminars and training events.
• you teach your craft or skill to paying customers.

You don’t have to be an elearning expert to leverage this technology. You only need to know an expert. That’s where I come in. With a long history of elearning development in a variety of educational and business settings, I can help you decide the best approach.

If you’d like to know more about elearning and how I can help you, visit my elearning page. You don’t have to use elearning. You can be a naysayer. That’s OK. Naysayers didn’t think Apple would survive. Think about it.

How can elearning help you extend your reach?

The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives. | William James

Few things are as foundational to our existence, yet as misunderstood as our thinking processes. How we think affects everything. Therefore, changing our minds can, in fact, change our lives. So, how do we do it?

Over the past few decades, researchers have concluded that adults and children learn differently. Most of us wonder why it took so long to validate something so obvious. The resistance was a collective effort of educators who were very well-established in their teaching methodologies. The suggestion that children, adolescents, and adults learn in different ways put their classroom practices at risk. Those responsible for teaching people to think were, in fact, reluctant to embrace a new way of thinking. Ironic, huh?

What we know about how adults learn helps us guide adults who want to change their minds. Though the process is far more involved than this post will allow, here are the basic steps to changing your mind.

• Identify what you know. When you lay aside speculation, second-hand information, and personal opinion, you’ll quickly discover that what you know about most subjects is limited. What do you know about a new job opportunity? Focus on verifiable facts only.
• Identify three to five things you need or want to know. Listing what you know will reveal some holes in your knowledge base. Highlight three to five key pieces of information you need to know.
• Research the things you need or want to know. Finding accurate information can be tricky, so learn how to validate information. The Internet is a great source of truth and myth.
• Connect new information to existing information. This linking process is foundational to adult learning. As new information mingles with existing information, your baseline knowledge shifts and your mind changes.

Changing your mind about anything can be hard. That’s why so many adults refuse to learn. Laziness is the enemy of knowledge. Think about it.

Why do you need to change your mind?

Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind. | Rudyard Kipling

You’ve probably heard someone say that women speak about five times as many words as men per day. That comparison probably was manufactured and, over time, has been edited to achieve the author’s or speaker’s desired results. More recent research reveals that men and women use about the same number of words per day–approximately 16,000. So, of the 16,000 words you speak per day, are there some that have the capacity to change your life? Yes, but only if you put these words into action.

1. Purpose. You were created with a purpose and your best life will be found only when you choose to embrace your purpose and live with intentionality. You can take all kinds of tests and attend all sorts of seminars, but if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll get nothing more than what you already have. If your life lacks meaning, find your purpose.
2. Responsibility. You are responsible for the decisions and the difference you make. When you fail to fulfill your responsibility, someone else must step in and fulfill it for you. If you leave a shopping cart in the middle of the parking lot, someone has to retrieve it. In the words of Andy Stanley, “Your irresponsibility becomes someone else’s responsibility.”
3. Celebration. When we live with an attitude of celebration, we will inspire others to purse excellence. Celebrate the people around you who do thankless jobs. Take time to engage the cashier in conversation about her. Thank the package delivery guy for getting your packages to you on time. Celebrate what others are doing and you’ll find new appreciation for those things you have the opportunity to do.
4. Remarkable. Dan Cathy says that every experience is remarkable–people will remark positively or negatively. In every situation, strive to create experiences that make a positive impression. When people walk away from you, they will remark. What will they say?
5. Excellence. I was on the commissioning crew of the USS Carl Vinson. Our pre-commissioning slogan was, ‘Do it right the first time.” Excellence has become so rare that people blog about it when they experience it. The world is satisfied with good enough. If you pursue excellence, you can set yourself and your business apart from those who are fine with mediocrity.

These five words–purpose, responsibility, celebration, remarkable, and excellence–will make the difference between being average and being exceptional. Average in America isn’t worth pursuing unless you enjoy living paycheck to paycheck, being $30,000 in credit card debt, owing more on your car than it is worth, and anticipating a future funded by a struggling government entitlement program. That’s not my definition of a good life. Is it yours? Think about it.

How can these five words make a difference in your life today?

We like to pride ourselves on our ability to multitask. Too bad our brains don’t cooperate. Johh Medina in his book Brain Rules says:

Multitasking, when it comes to paying attention, is a myth. The brain naturally focuses on concepts sequentially, one at a time… We are biologically incapable of processing attention-rich inputs simultaneously.

Medina goes on to say that people who are constantly interrupted take 50% longer to complete a task and make 50% more errors. Simply reaching for something while driving a car dramatically increases the possibility of an accident.

So, what’s this got to do with anything? I often put it this way— When everything is important, nothing is important. If we are going to get the most out of our lives we must do three things:

1. Understand what’s most important. You can’t live out other people’s dreams; you must identify your purpose and claim it without hesitation.
2. Identify those things that zap your time and attention. Start tracking the amount of time you spend engaged in activities that distract you from your real purpose—your why.
3. Create a plan that assigns blocks of time to activities related to your why. Remember, the more you “change channels” the more likely you are to waste time and make mistakes.

As a writer, I understand this concept. I know how important it is to give quality time to my most important tasks. When I do that, I have extremely productive days. When I don’t, I reflect on my day with more concern for what could have been done.

Whether in our personal lives or at work, when we try to make everything important, nothing is important. This is a characteristic of a chaotic life and chaotic business. Think about it.

How do you decide what’s really important?

The path of least resistance and least trouble is a mental rut already made. It requires troublesome work to undertake the alternation of old beliefs. | John Dewey

Liquids always follow the path of least resistance. Place a large bolder in the middle of a stream and the water will find a way around it. The bolder will remain until moved by an outside force.

Many people also follow the path of least resistance. They look for the quickest and easiest solutions to their life situations. They avoid anything and everything that requires them to reconsider their beliefs or preconceived perceptions. They are locked into a way of life with very predictable outcomes. This, to them, is normal.

Normal in today’s culture is often viewed as stressed, broke, and trapped. This is the natural result of following the path of least resistance. I don’t know about you, but I’m really not interested in being normal.

Obstacles in our lives do three things.

1. They sharpen our vision. An obstacle will force us to work harder to see the destination.
2. They reveal our weaknesses. Obstacles always help us identify those areas of life in which we lack mastery. They show us areas in which we need to learn and grow.
3. They strengthen our faith. When life is going as planned, we seldom acknowledge our dependence on God. When life presents us with challenges, we quickly recognize how small we are and how big He is.

Following the path of least resistance will keep leading you to a quality of life you’ve already experienced. If you want more out of life, face the obstacles with courage. Your best life is yet to be discovered. Think about it!

How has your life been shaped through the obstacles you’ve encountered? What would you say to someone who wants to follow the path of least resistance?

Businesses and organizations can save 50-70% when they replace instructor-led training with elearning.

Did you realize that 4,600,00 college students are currently taking at least one of their classes online and by 2014 this number will increase to 18,650,000. By 2019, half of ALL classes will be done online. Online learning and blended learning are becoming more common in high schools. Many elementary and intermediate schools are incorporating this technology into their teaching strategies. So what?

Businesses, organizations, churches, and schools that fail to develop elearning strategies will grow more and more irrelevant as the current generation moves into adult roles. Students today value the efficiency of elearning because it accomplishes the same educational goals in less time than traditional classrooms. Blended learning is a standard in many educational institutions. Colleges offer more online courses each semester. The rise of MOOCs (massive online open course) has introduced online learning to people around the world.

With online learning solutions being more affordable and effective than ever, now is the time to make your move. If you don’t know how elearning can benefit your business, organization, church, or school, let me help you. I have twelve years experience in online learning in almost any setting you can imagine. I understand learning management systems and the most popular technologies. As an educator, I know how to develop effective lessons that leave students wanting more.

Leaders already are using elearning to extend their reach and strengthen their businesses. You can be a leader or you can choose not to be a leader. It’s your choice. It’s your future. Think about it.

How might elearning make your business, organization, church, or school better?

Age wrinkles the body; quitting wrinkles the soul. | Douglas MacArthur

Our nation was founded by brave men and women who faced the unknown with confidence. They moved across the land uncertain about what was on the other side of the next ridge. When conditions seemed favorable or the uncertainty grew too great, they settled. What they knew was good enough.

It’s easy for individuals and organizations to settle for what they know rather than stretching for what could be ahead. We rely on old strategies that produced acceptable results rather than working hard to develop strategies that might produce exceptional results. In our thinking, we settle for good enough.

Mediocre efforts yield no better than mediocre results. We will never experience extraordinary results by doing what we’ve always done. I’ve worked with organizations led by intelligent people who never understood this truth. They wanted a dramatic change in their effectiveness but they didn’t want to change anything. How did these people get to be in charge?

Settling is quitting. When that happens, our conversation is more about the past than the future. Our strategies look like those that everyone else is using. Our best days are behind us. This is the birth of organizational (or personal) decay. We might as well go sit in one of the rocking chairs in front of Cracker Barrel and watch the world go by.

We don’t have to settle. We can keep looking for new ways to do familiar things. We should ask “Why?”… a lot! We don’t have to do what we’ve always done. We don’t have to replicate the past. We can be original, unique, and innovative. Or, we can settle. You get to choose. Think about it.

In what areas of life do you need to resist the urge to settle?

How many times have you seen leaders attempt to duplicate the culture of an organization they admire? How many artists have tried to paint like Picasso? How many writers are pounding away on Harry Potter knock-offs? How many musicians are trying to sound like _____________ (fill in the blank with whomever is popular today)?

Some say imitation is the greatest form of flattery. I disagree. Imitation is the greatest confession of lethargy. Imitation simply means I’m too lazy to be original. What would happen if you allowed your creativity to express itself? You might decide to skip the chapter numbers, sew with a thread that doesn’t match, paint with a toothbrush, or decorate a birthday cake with basil.

Great ideas are the work of those who were brave enough to express their creativity without fear of rejection or criticism. If you’re a thinking person, you will be criticized. If you are a creative person, you will be rejected. Those aren’t bad things; they simply help identify the audience that values your work. Those are your people. Create for them and leave the naysayers behind. Imitation is their highest achievement.

If you play to the crowd, your creativity will be limited by what’s already been done. If my goal is to copy you, one of us is unnecessary. Think about it.

How are you expressing your creativity? How do you deal with rejection or criticism?