Are you making POWER MOVES?

Talking to a friend after a thrilling basketball game at Madison Square Garden in 1996, I said to him, “Are you making POWER MOVES”.

He laughed and didn’t quite know what to make of the question. I was at the height of my career, successfully working for Madison Square Garden (the world’s most famous arena). He was also shining brightly with finance as an American in Europe so he probably wondered why I was asking such a question.

I guess somewhere in my mind I knew that he wasn’t making the right power moves especially since he was planning a move to NYC, a move never to be taken lightly! As it turns out, I was right.

What are POWER MOVES?

Moves that one makes in life to advance personal and business goals, increase quality of life, help others, inspire and be a productive citizen / positive family person. The moves must be primarily positive and advance the aforementioned areas forward more often than not. In ANY situation, POWER MOVES should be top of mind.

·Advance Goals - Everyone should have career and personal goals. If you don’t how do you know what you want or where to go in life? These goals should be written down and referred to often. Every year, you should be meeting and/or improving your goals and when necessary, targeting new ones. Don’t be afraid to DREAM about what you want in life!

·Increase Quality of Life – This entails knowing what type of life you want to have (can be a goal) and taking the proper steps to obtain it. Maybe you want to live in a nicer house or move to a new city. Or find a quality relationship? Whatever you desire, you should consistently move toward it. And remember, increasing the quality of life does not have to mean financial although money can often help in this area. Volunteering is one of the best ways to improve life and it costs very little.

·Help Others – We should all know what this means but sadly many don’t even care about it. The community, various charities, your country and the world need the help of people willing to give of their time and/or money. If you don’t know what to do or how to make an impact, email me or ask someone you know that helps others.

A great American Civil Rights leader said it best with this quote:

Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love

--Martin Luther King, Jr.

·Inspire – Any interesting, memorable or inpactful person that I have met always inspired me. Some of the qualities they possess include intellect, entrepreneurship, humor, caring for others, passion, focus, ambition, courage, humbleness, strength, tenderness, energy and thought provoking. At the very least, work on being interesting as that can usually take one quite far in life!

·Productive Citizen – In order to be a productive citizen one must obviously abide by the country law along with impacting your community and other parts of the world in a positive fashion.

·Positive Family Person – One that respects the teachings and values of their parents by the way they live their life. If raised improperly, one must work to improve as a person so as to be ready to raise a quality family of his/her own.

If one adheres to the values of honesty, integrity, trust and loyalty, being a productive citizen/positive family person should come easily.

My friend did make that move to NYC but for the past decade, he has failed to make POWER MOVES so his time in the Big Apple has been full of struggles but powerful in life lessons.

One reason he didn’t blossom was the lack of preparation in coming to what I consider the best city in the world. He knew the phrase, “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere” but neglected to do his homework.

He thought he could easily get a job in finance but didn’t realize that success in Madrid is not that impressive when trying to get a position in the world's financial capital, Manhattan. Getting a job or making strong connections beforehand would have been beneficial.

Another reason is once he arrived in NYC, he didn’t work like a dog to network and build his brand. Networking is invaluable in this city and he should have known that especially with many friends living there to confide in. Today, 11 years later, I still don’t think he is networking effectively.

Finally, he was offered a job not long after he moved at what would become and still is a top internet company. Would you believe me if I told you that he turned it down? He did. Being that he couldn't find a good position in finance and had no job, he should have taken that opportunity. It was a way to pay the bills while still pursuing his dream.

He is one of the people I LIKE the most but he hasn’t inspired me in the way I know he is capable of. He is a diamond in the rough and he needs to bloom before it is too late. Maybe he should move out of Manhattan? I have told him to consider that many times over the years. Now may be a good moment. After long years without success, a new venue could be fruitful.

I have recently expanded the POWER MOVES questioning and recently asked a close friend in Stockholm, “Are you making POWER MOVES or powerless moves?

This time, there was no need to clarify the question.

Happy Gswede Sunday!

PS
Even though Gswede Sunday was 4 days late, it is NEVER a dollar short. I was busy making POWER MOVES during the beginning of my vacation and had no access to a computer.


One of the best POWER MOVES I have made - Gswede volunteering in the program "Everybody Wins" (reading to a child weekly) in NYC. This picture from the mid 90's speaks volumes!