Strike THAT off the list!

I don’t believe in the power of hoping.  I believe in the power of doing.  Don’t get me wrong I believe in hope.  However I believe in hope as an inspiration (I have hope for...) rather than a wish (let’s hope this happens).  What I do believe in is the power of goal setting and the focus setting goals embeds in our subconscious.

Every morning I write down my goals.  The key word is write.  I write them down.  There is a power which comes from the commitment of writing something down.  It is a marker.  It becomes furnished proof of where you were, where you are going, and how far you have come.  There are also 3 very specific ways I write my goals.

1. Present tense as though the goal has already been accomplished. Example: “I am in the best physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual heath I have ever been in.”  The reality is this goal of mine is yet to be accomplished however I write it as though I have already accomplished it and embed the goal in my mind in a way my conscious brain will not allow me to fail.
2. When I set my goals, I set them just outside of what conventional wisdom would deem possible in order for the goal or target to receive my full commitment and dedication.  What good is a wimpy little baby goal or a goal for which no effort is required?  In order for me to be in the best condition holistically in my life it will take more than my garden variety “eating well” to accomplish the target.  It will take a full on lifestyle change to accomplish this goal.  I can get behind something THAT big.
3. Align all massive, out of reach goals to the higher purposes of your life.  There will always be self serving reasons to make millions or have massive success.  The power of strong goal setting is in the good which can be done for others and for society as a whole when we achieve our massive dreams.  Make it just about you and  it becomes more difficult to achieve.  Make it about the benefit of others and you will see a supercharged goal achievement pace.

An amazing thing happens when we commit to writing down our goals daily and when write them down in a present tense accomplished fashion - they become reality.  Often we get so internally and subconsciously committed to the accomplishment of our goals (our brains will not allow us to fail at something we have already accomplished) we don’t even realize we have already accomplished what we have set out to do.  There have been 3 times in the past 3 months this phenomena has occurred in my life.  It wasn’t until  I reviewed my goals I realized I had already accomplished 3 items on my daily goal log.  The complete joy of crossing them off and adding bigger goals had the power of gasoline on a fire.  Amazing the power achievement has.

When I desire something in my life I write it down and keep at it until I achieve my goal.  The power of goal setting is real and clear to me and there is nothing I cannot accomplish.  I get to strike that of my list too.  Learning how to accomplish goals was once a goal of mine.

What's it Worth to You?

For most of my life I hated the word potential.

The word potential was used in reference to me in a negative way as I saw it.  It was always about how much potential I had and how much I wasn’t living up to it.  That pissed me off.  For more than 30 years of my life not living up to my potential was the feedback I would receive and it bothered me to no end.  Not enough to do anything about it but it bothered me all the same.

Growing up I was one of these people who never had to do much to succeed.  There were two reasons for that.  The first was I had natural ability.  We all know these types of people and they do well at what they do.  The second was in support of the first - if I wasn’t going to do well at it I didn’t do it.  So there I was going through life succeeding at the things I did with little or no effort expelled.  A funny thing began to happen as my career took off.  I was faced with the question, “what’s it worth to you?”  What was it worth to me to finally work my tail off in the pursuit of success, joy, and happiness?  What was it worth to me to finally give it everything I had?  What was it worth to me to stop being upset about how people suggested I didn’t live up to my potential and actually see what happened when I did?  It was the scariest thing I had ever faced for this reason.  For me to truly engage my full potential I had to risk the fact that there wasn’t the potential everyone saw and I didn’t have the reserves of greatness I thought I had.  I had to risk failing.  And I was petrified.

In order to achieve the success and life I wanted I had to engage everything I had.  It wasn’t easy to begin with and it still isn’t now.  When I first began this excellence movement I fell flat on my face.  I learned I must not measure success, or my perceived lack thereof, by the number of failures I experienced but the rather by the number of powerful lessons I learned and applied as a result of those stumbles.  We all have an enormous wealth of potential however how many of us go through life not engaging the full beauty of that potential or worse yet quit when the effort it takes to realize our potential becomes a little overwhelming?  Our ability to live to our fullest potential increases our joy, our happiness, and empowers us to greatness.     

Living up to my potential is my opus.  A body of work which will take a lifetime to write.  It is constantly something I am working to surpass.  To live beyond my potential.  The funny thing I have discovered is the harder I push my potential the larger it gets.  It seems to be like a muscle or grey matter.  Overcoming the fear of engaging my potential and seeing the power which comes as a result has allowed me to see what could be possible and achieve things which were unachievable without effort and commitment.  I now know the answer to the question, “what’s it worth to you?”  Everything. 

Motivation or Manipulation?

People cannot be motivated.

There is a case to be made for the powerful use of manipulation, both short and long term however it is my belief people cannot be externally motivated.  We use the word “motivation” in all kinds of ways which I find miss the mark.  It is not possible to motivate someone who does not already have the desire to do something.  We may be able to manipulate a result from them - we’re all familiar with the carrot and stick method of manipulation.  This method is used so often we mistake it for motivation.  Manipulation is highly effective - no doubt.  However it’s not motivation.  To me motivation is an inside job.  It is the bi-product of a deep rooted internal need or desire which as a result furnishes proof that one cannot be motivated by outside influence alone.  If this were true children would listen to their parents, students to their teachers, and salespeople would all be driven to deliver high levels of service and excellence at all times.  Motivation in an inside job.

People can and must be inspired.

Inspiration is my job.  It’s your job.  It’s our job.  Collectively as a marketplace we must see inspiration as the means to moving our staff and clients to action.  Inspiration provides the long term sustainability the carrot and stick manipulations cannot.  When we seek to inspire those around us to action we don’t have to discount, we don’t have to buy CSI scores, and we don’t have to come up with the next flashy gimmick.  Inspiration allows buyers to buy with the head, heart, and emotion.  A rather profitable proposal if you ask me.  More importantly when inspired our staff becomes aligned, committed, and dedicated to go the extra mile because they feel part of something bigger.  You only need to look at Facebook or Twitter to see how badly we simply want to belong.

People come to you motivated.  Whatever internal driver brought them to you was motivation enough regardless of if they are clients or staff.  The long term viability of our operations and the success or failure of our current and future markets will be based on one decision - manipulation or inspiration?

Ask Lehman Brothers if manipulation is a strong long term strategy.

The Hardest Pill to Swallow

I love success.  But even more than that, I hate to lose.

My unadulterated belief is everyone on planet earth can benefit from my message, my training technology, and the inspiration I provide.  I have been told this is an arrogant viewpoint however to me it's simply truth.  My belief.  My job is to share that belief and allow others to come along side.  With that said, I was stopped dead yesterday with a realization I hadn't counted on.  A short sightedness I had not predicted.  A stumble which could have been avoided.

I need my own inspiration & training.

Certainly I shouldn't be as surprised at this realization as I am.  Maybe it's because I thought I was concrete in this understanding already.  I mean - obviously I drink my own Kool-Aid right?  How many personal trainers go to McDonald's after a training session?  How many Executive Coaches go home after a coaching session with a client paralyzed with their own fear?  How many surgeons leave the operating room for a smoke break?  I am sure the answer to all these questions is none.  As I remove my tongue from its home in the side of my cheek I will say seriously I thought I was well heeled in my own message.  Then it happened.  I got cocky.  I assumed the buyer would just buy.  I broke every rule I have for why, how, and what to sell.

The outcome was predictable.  I didn't close the deal.  I really wanted the business for so many reasons.  As I write this blog I am so grateful for the loss.  So grateful for the miss.  So thankful for the strikeout.  It is easy to continue the positive forward motion when things are going well but the true test of strength isn't how well you coast when things are good.  Rather it's what you learn, apply, and how you grow when things don't go as planned.  We all whiff from time to time.  What we do to quickly learn from our whiff and adjust how we do things will be the difference between continued success and failure moving forward.  Here are the 3 things I turn to immediately when I miss;

1.  Write down my goals - when I miss on a target, a deal, or an opportunity or when I feel a disappointment I immediately write down my goals.  You have heard me say before to write down the large life goals we have daily and to write them down as a present tense achievement.  In other words, write down the goals and dreams which are just higher than you think possible and write them down as though you have already achieved them.  This always sets my mind on what is important to me.  It focuses my energy and attention in a positive and forward place.  Writing down my goals brings me comfort.  Powerful.    

2.  Take time to learn - sometimes learning from my mistakes is the hardest thing I have to do because first I must admit I made them.  The quicker I earnestly and honestly admit what I did wrong, reflect on how I could do things differently, and own the outcome of my mistake the faster I can put my newly found insight into action and get busy.  I need to stop being a little bitch and get real.

3.  Let it go - someone once said to me, "What makes you so special that you cannot allow yourself the ability to let go of your mistakes?"  WOW!  That was one of the most powerful questions I have ever been asked.  Why do I think I am so important and so special as to not let it go?  When others make mistakes which affect me I am quick to forgive, forget, and move on - why not the same for myself?  The analogy which serves best in this situation is that of a baseball pitcher.  When you give up a home run, get back on the mound, grip the ball, and throw a strike.  If you can't let the last pitch go - you will never be able to throw the next one.

In my mind I should close every deal I have the opportunity to be involved in.  My mission is to see others become greater than they ever thought possible so why wouldn't I believe everyone needs my services.  I know I can help inspire greatness, lift an industry, and change the way the world sells for the better.  With that said, I am thankful for the reminder that I need my own inspiration, training, and advice.  I'm back on the bump.  100MPH fastball.