I’ve put a twist on the KISS acronym we’ve all heard before. In case you haven’t heard of it before, KISS stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid.

This funny little phrase reminds us that life is much easier if we keep things simple. When we make things too complicated, we freak out worrying how we’ll get things done, or how we’ll ever achieve the level of perfection we desire.

I am smarter than I was yesterday, I have better ideas than I had yesterday, and I am more valuable to my company than I was yesterday.

Did my brain grow overnight? Was I the subject of a new government “smart drug” study? Did aliens kidnap me and inject me with massive amounts of knowledge using their telepathic powers?

Nope. I read a book last night.

It has been 30 years since I last watched “Old Yeller,” the gut-wrenching story of a yellow lab that works his way into the hearts of a frontier family.

You remember what happens, don’t you? That dumb, happy mutt develops rabies and poor Travis, the teenage boy who bonds with the dog the most, has to put him down with a shotgun.

Excuse me while I choke up a little even now. Darn you, Walt Disney!

The biggest reason we don’t accomplish what we want in our businesses (and, in our personal lives) is we’re not always willing to change when we should. It’s easy for us to keep doing what we’re doing. It’s habit. It’s comfortable. It’s known. Our brains are hardwired this way for some very good reasons.

But this can also be an obstacle to growth and improvement.

During a recent radio show interview, the host, Aldonna Ambler made a passing comment that struck a chord for me. She said something like this: Sometimes the biggest asset you bring to your company can become your most limiting factor. Since I do a great deal of work helping people discover and release limitations, her comment rang true.

Over the past few years I’ve been lucky. I have been reminded of the most important thing we can all do to be more successful in our businesses, our careers and our personal lives.

Treat everyone well.

It’s a simple lesson but easily forgotten. Or maybe, for some, it was never learned. I admit to neglecting this rule more than once in my career. Maybe because it’s so simple, we disregard its value and its power.

If things have and are going great for you, personally and professionally, read no further. If not, read on, this post is for you.

Pause

When things aren’t going as they should – life’s not treating you well, business is lacking, and you’re underperforming against your best hopes and expectations – you need to pause. We wish we could stop, but it’s impossible, time and life marches on. A pause is where you reflect on what you’re doing, what’s going wrong, and where alternatives could have been taken. It’s the act of reflecting on the path you’ve taken and analysis on why things aren’t working as they should.

I love new years and new seasons. Even just a new day usually gets me pretty excited.

Even so, I’m a little overwhelmed with how to achieve all the wonderful things I want to achieve this year. I’m also overwhelmed at the volume of self-help information intended to help me set goals and get motivated. So I’m going to keep this simple this week, but I do hope this single spark helps you as much as it is helping me think differently about this new year.

My coauthor and I were incredibly fortunate to spend a year interviewing customer service superstars – the leaders and front line staff of ten highly successful companies who excel in customer care – when we were writing “Who’s Your Gladys?” After writing our book, I was invited to assist with and participate in a spectacular train-the-trainer program run by America’s “Number #1 Success Coach” Jack Canfield. This year-long intense training is allowing me to learn and teach the success principles developed by Jack over the last 30+ years. It’s exciting to notice how the lessons I’m learning from Jack parallel the interviews from the company leaders featured in ”Who’s Your Gladys?”

“Great work is done by people who are not afraid to be great.”

- Fernando Flores

I use to be envious of great people.

By “great”, I mean people who have achieved things so noteworthy they become famous for it.

Some do it early in life, like athletes. Tiger Woods is a great example.

Others take more time reach their success through business. Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have both risen to the top with their business achievements.

For the past 30 years, Memorial Day weekend always found me, my brother, my dad, my nephew and several cousins enjoying our annual fishing get-away in Ontario. We’d drive about 8 hours to a beautiful lodge. We would fish for three days, we’d eat a lot and we would share some fellowship that we didn’t often get in the hectic “real-world”.