John's Blog

  The Power of Focus: The Game-Changer for Success in 2025 Success is built on four unshakeable pillars: clarity, focus, momentum, and influence. Of these, focus is the keystone, the one that holds everything else together. Without it, your momentum falters, your influence wavers, and your vision blurs into a distant dream.  Focus is the fuel that powers action and the light that cuts through the chaos. If you’re a business owner or someone with a big goal in 2025, focus isn’t just important—it’s your superpower. Why Focus is the Cornerstone of Success Let me ask you something. How often do you feel like you’re juggling too many balls at once? Meetings, emails, social media, family obligations, that new business idea you’ve been dreaming of—it’s like you’re spinning plates, praying none of them shatter.  Here’s the hard truth: scattered energy leads to scattered results. Focus sharpens your actions like a laser. It aligns your energy, time, and resources toward what t...

  The Leadership Triangle: Fueling the Fire of Success A fire needs three elements to burn: heat, oxygen, and fuel . Together, they form the Fire Triangle . Take one element away, and the fire sputters out. It’s not a suggestion—it’s science. Leadership is no different. To spark success, you need the Leadership Triangle , which burns brightly when fueled by three essentials: Vision : The guiding light. A Leader : The Firestarter. A Team : The lifeblood. But if even one element was removed, the Leadership Triangle collapses. Just like a fire dies, so too will a team’s ability to succeed. No Vision, No Direction Imagine trying to navigate a forest at night without a flashlight. You’d stumble over roots, circle back on yourself, and ultimately, never make it out. Take vision out of the Leadership Triangle, and that’s exactly what happens. A team without vision is like a soccer match with no nets—players run, sweat, and kick the ball, but for what? There’s no destination, no scoreboard...

  The Myths and Magic of Influence in Leadership Leadership cannot be assigned, delegated, or awarded. Rather, it is recognised within someone by their ability to influence people, organisations, situations, and paradigms.  The essence of true leadership lies in influence. A leader is measured by their ability to influence, and this cannot be “passed on” to someone else. Instead, leadership and influence must be earned. All the skills and strategies one learns as a leader are aimed at influencing effectively. The Myths of Influence Three common myths feed misconceptions about the source of influence: The Management Myth: Managers are Leaders This myth assumes that managers are automatically leaders. However, management mainly involves processes, systems, and administrative controls. While managers can maintain the direction set by a leader and assist in moving people forward, they are not inherently leaders. In rare instances, managers can fulfill a leadership role, but this d...

  5 Bold Ways to Supercharge Your Self-Development Are you stuck in a cycle of "almost"? Almost reaching your goals. Almost feeling fulfilled. Almost living your dream life.  Self-development isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity. And the most successful people out there aren’t just lucky—they’re intentional. If you are going to reach beyond "almost," you will have to be deliberate in your growth.  Here are five bold, unorthodox ways to elevate yourself and unleash the version of you the world’s been waiting for. 1. Stop Reading, Start Doing Books, podcasts, and courses are great, but they can become your comfort zone. Are you hiding behind learning instead of living? The Challenge: Pick one concept you’ve been absorbing—just one—and act on it for a week. Post about your progress online to stay accountable. 2. Audit Your Circle Look around. Are the people in your life helping you grow or holding you back? It’s time to assess your relationships with brutal honest...

 Get the inside information on coaching tips and tricks. This article shares how experience has structure and how you can use that information to change your world in a meaningful and sustainable way. https://www.johnusher.com/post/experience-has-structure

People confuse ambition with the rewards of their efforts.  A businessman spent the morning telling me of cars, houses and holidays he wants when I asked him about his ambition. No buddy, that's the rewards you get for achieving your ambition.  Ambition is your role, your contributions to society. It's you making your voice heard, your efforts to improve your local or international community.  No, no one is asking you to change the world, so relax. There is, however, a need for your voice, your contribution to make the world a little better, a little sweeter.  Hell, it doesn't have to be the world, if what you have to offer influences more than just you, touching a few other lives, well, then you are living out your ambitions.  Once on the road to fulfilling that ambition, then the rewards will come ... and stay. If you get the order wrong, you may find that the rewards come and go.  So, today... in some small way, do something for someone else. Share wit...

As a life coach, I often deal with people that are crystal clear about their wants, while oblivious to what they need. This awareness is a result of focus on the rewards without recognizing the efforts that will give them the rewards.  What we want and what we need are not always the same thing. Someone may want a nice new car, but what they need is a job to pay for the car.  In many of the coaching sessions that I offer, I find that people come seeking goals when what they need is clarity. They feel a lack of ambition when actually it's a lack of focus. People want to give up for a lack of feedback when the root is a lack of momentum, and they complain about a lack of support or poor response when it's a lack of communication.  At the root of goal achievement, or success of any description, is the foundation stones of clarity, focus, momentum and communication.  Do you want to level up your success?  Stop, take a deep breath and ask: what lies below my wants ...

 The mention of the word quantum in any conversation has people sucking air in through their teeth and mumbling, "gosh, you must be intelligent." There is no doubt in my mind that leadership, like quantum physics is complex, but by no means is it intended for a select number of people. Quantum Leadership is as relevant to the janitor as it is to the company CEO, and will change not only your life, but also the world in which you live.  Modern leadership is cluttered with strategies, tactics and gimmicks, which simply distract from what leadership is - a person guiding a collection of people to achieve a desired goal or outcome intended for the greater good. Quantum leadership strips away fads, to reveal the minimum elements and processes needed to birth a vision, gather a team, act as a guide and achieve the results. It’s a raw and efficient approach to vision achievement. Obviously, we all want to add adjective to leadership that drip with success, such as "sign...

 After talking about the buildings he owned and the deals he just struck, the arrogant young man asked what my greatest achievement was.  If I were a poor man, I would have told him about providing for my family and bonding with life long friends, as a poor man's success is often in the power of relationships and connections.   As a rich man, I would speak of my cars, houses, buildings and businesses, because a rich man's success is measured in the objects he accumulates.  Stoic wisdom and ethral connection to the universe would be the spiritual man's motivation as he recounts the time he met God.  What would you have answered?  It's a tough question to answer if you are not clear on what success means to you.  So, here's a little exercise to guide you. Take pen and paper and set a timelimit on a stopwatch for 30 seconds. Start the timer and write down 3 goals for yourself before the time expires.  Did you do that?  Now, put each goal u...

"All your arty words and clever philosophies mean nothing to me.   "Your 'I am' and 'peronal truth' crap has no relevance in my life, or anyone elses for that matter.   "I work and live in the real world. I have what I want and I'm slowing down for my old age.   "I don't need you and all your motivational bullshit, because I'm already motivated." He smugly sipped his beer and slumped into his chair.   "Check!"  Previously, I would have kept quiet, and left the ignorant to their devices. However, this is the year of the teaspoon. So, buckle up buttercup, because here comes a stirring.   "You sit confident in the things you have amassed in life; car, house and a seemingly secure job.  "You are lulled into complacency by objects that break, rust and are stolen, and think you're better off for it. Really?   "You think 'I am' is empty and disconnected, when your view of self is direc...

So, I believe my mission in life is to play the role of a teaspoon🥄. Yes, you read that correctly. Why a teaspoon, you ask. Well, I am.  When, for example,  making, a cup of coffee, and you have all the ingredients in the cup, you add the hot water, but do you drink it straight away?  No, of course not. You take a teaspoon (should be called a coffee spoon for this example 🤷‍♂️😁) and you stir...  The ingredients need to be stirred to properly mix them, giving a happy flavour experience all the way to the bottom of the cup.  In my mind, the teaspoon🥄 brings nothing nor removes anything from the cup of coffee, it is used to stir. EFG 😈  I believe people (yes, you are a people) have everything they need for life and godliness already. Sometimes people (you) just need to be stirred a little to remind you, to permeate you with the full coffee flavour throughout your cup of life.  Public courses, books, articles, videos, and one-on-one ...

Another Self Indulgent Post by John Usher Uncle Ben phoned me before eight this morning.   I thought it unusual and was concerned. I stepped out of the occupied training room and answered the call. "If you don't talk to her today, I will find her and tell her what a fool you are," boomed his stern voice. "You read the blog!" I started to laugh.

Personal Development Skill: Team Work There is no doubt that the single most important skill to define a leader; to will make or break his or her reputation is their ability to work with a team. This important skill quickly separates true leaders from the “wannabe” that wants to gloat in their own self importance. You may fool fans, but you will never fool the team.

Life coaching should be a collaborative experience, a shared responsibility between the coach and coachee. The responsibility of the coach is to identify weaknesses in mental process, and change them for to the strong processes, allowing the coachee to actively pursue and achieve their dreams. The coach/coachee relationship is a delicate dance of outcomes, observation, trust and curiosity that could last from just one project to a life time of achievement.

<< Leadership << 21 Laws to Leadership Reliability is as Leader Does Gone are the days of blind leaders ahead of blind followers. Modern teams have a greater consciousness and are seeking reliable and authentic leaders of integrity that are worthy of trust. Leaders can no longer treat people’s trust and respect with reckless attitudes and behavior. A leader must recognize that the position is one of accountability and responsibility.

<< Leadership << 21 Laws to Leadership 6 Things Others Respect in a True Leader In the orders society of dogs, there is always a leader for the team. Should the existing leader lose the favour of the pack through injury, illness or age; another dog with leadership capacity will step into the role and assume authority. Dogs don’t care who the leader is, as long as there is a leader. Chance are, the successor will be a dog that has proven worth earlier and demonstrated his or her capabilities for which he or she won the packs respect and admiration. Similarly, people recognize the capacity for leadership in others too, drawn in by admiration and respect. Many desire the position of leadership, but it is not a role for which one can crown yourself. Rather, leadership is a result of people recognizing your capacity and respecting your abilities - and then decide to follow you! This process often occurs by evolution, rather than revolution.

<< 21 Laws of Leadership Add Value as a Leader in these 4 Areas One of the most elusive callings on this planet is that of a leader. General misgivings about leaders result in managers and entrepreneurs labeling themselves as leaders, robbing the concept of its single greatest asset – the ability to serve! Leadership is synonymous, and one cannot talk about leadership without talking about servanthood.  If you still reading this after the dreaded word (servanthood) appeared in the article – congratulations! The potential for you to be a true leader is great, but don’t sign up to be a waiter for mankind just yet. Leadership is about adding value to others.

https://www.facebook.com/anamcarraleadership/ << Leadership The Space in Leadership 3 Skills of Listening and Timing Music is not in the notes, but in the silence between. Wolfgang Mozart Music is in the space between the notes. Claude Debussy The attribute of Space in Leadership can be compared to the space between notes in music. Whatever you preference of style, it seems that music appeals to people from all walks of life. It is true that each of us has our own choice as to our favourite groups or even style of music. It is also true, you would have to agree, that music is made up of notes and timing.

<< Leadership Quantum Theory Leadership A Definition Quantum Mechanics is the science that studies the particles that make up every day objects including you and me. Experiments have discovered that these particles, viewed at a sub atomic level, behave very strangely indeed. Einstein called this science – Spooky! (Read the Quantum Theory Leadership - An Introduction - here) Reading material on Quantum Mechanics, I began to draw parallels to the area of Leadership. After a comment a reader made on the seemingly opposing attributes of leadership (some say lead from the front, some say lead from behind) on an article posted on this blog, I began wondering if there was a definitive description of leadership with a logical and measurable manner to offer training and development.

Groups vs. Teams A leader will emerge as a team gathers to accomplish any sort of objective. A handful of key principles will assist a leader to lay a good foundation for his or her personal leadership style. The leader should also understand the phases of a developing team, understand what is required to keep the team on track. A working knowledge of the difference between a group and a team will help the leader identify where the team is in the development process.