If we are not really fired up about what we're doing in our careers, it's time to get on with it.
I'm just going to put this out there and be forthcoming. Hopefully you all will appreciate my honesty. If I hear myself tell my wife one more time how much I'd rather be writing and creating content full-time as a career instead of building this window biz and my roofing biz, my head may implode. There it is, fellas, I said it. I've been a raging pussy about this and it's time to own it. And for all of you who are not fired up about your gig and you're not jumping out of the rack in the morning, it's time for you to own it too.
Yes, I have been blogging and working on my book pretty consistently. Yes, I have a pretty damn good couple of gigs right now and I'm making great money. But, the reality is nothing lights me up more than writing and creating this stuff. Nothing. Truth is, I want to sell this business and write full time. Don't care if I make the same money as I have lately. Fact is, I can get by on less than half of what I'm making now. But, I'm just not moving at a pace to get there. The argument could easily be made that I'm taking consistent action toward the goals I've set in this particular area of my life. That argument would have merit, no doubt. But, down deep, I know the skinny and I can not kid myself any longer. Time to pin my ears back and get to work.
There's a distinct difference between somebody who's working and somebody who's working with a purpose and sense of urgency. The 90 Days to Discipline has been effective in keeping me locked in on the fundamentals and the proper actions I need to execute every day. That's great, we all have to take consistent action to make it real. After all, it's what we do every day that determines our outcomes. But, when it comes to the writing aspect, I've gotten into a routine. But, I'm not doing it hard, with purpose, with the balls I carry when I'm working in my other two endeavors.
Moving forward, I'm taking a more aggressive approach. I'm establishing a launch date for my book. A public declaration of my intent is the kind of commitment I need to make to get that ever-crucial sense of urgency. Looking like a talker instead of a doer is effective leverage for me. My brain links tons of pain to looking like a poser. So, the gauntlet has been thrown. Book completion, rough draft at least, by May 15, 2010. There it is, fellas.
Enough about me. What about you? What is it that you'd rather be doing? Because I'm also sick of hearing the same complaints from you. You can't sit in a holding pattern any longer either. Time is flying. We are all getting older. Fourty? We are all either there or are getting real damn close. Guess what? Fifty is on a dead sprint toward us as we speak. The worst...the absolute worst scenario I could imagine, at age 50, or 60, would be to be sitting in my car, thinking the same thoughts, churning through the same bullshit rationalizations about why I can't do what I really love. What a fucking tragedy that would be. Imagine it, looking yourself in the mirror...looking your wife in the mirror, trying to justify why you never did what you said you were going to do with your life. Remember those big dreams? Remember those conversations with your wife or your kids about building this business, or buying this big house, or taking that kick ass vacation...the ones you promised them. The ones you promised yourself. I've got news for all of us. If we are not doing the thing we absolutely love, we will never be happy. We will never be financially free. Never. No one gets on in this world by simply chasing a paycheck. We are selling out.
Am I recommending you go out and scrap your job or biz or whatever? No. But, I am begging you to schedule yourself an hour per day, every day, starting tomorrow, to sit down by yourself and give this real thought. What would you love to do with your time if you were already rich? Take the time to explore your brain. Figure it out. Right now. You may not have the perfect idea just yet. Hell, no great ideas come to us when we're being soft. Only when we are winning, when we are doing the things we committed to and are having success will our best ideas show up.
But, we have to start somewhere. Get busy, get moving, doing something. Do your job to the best of your ability. Leave it all on the field. Get into that state. Think and dream for an hour per day. Take action tomorrow. Do something every single day with a sense of urgency to make this real. We can't wait, we can't put this off. Our lives are on a dead on sprint. The time is right now.
Flip the switch
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Let's get serious
I'm all about shedding the fat these days. My goal is to be able to get into a weenie bikini this summer and look fantastic. Not really. That'd be wrong. But, I do want to be proud to strip off the t this summer, instead of being the kid who's swimming with a huge cotton t-shirt on. That's not for me.
Unfortunately, the quickest way...and the ONLY way to shed fat, is through proper nutrition(diet). Working out is a critical component, for sure. But, at age 35, the days of just working out harder and losing the extra pounds are over. We have to eat right, eat almost perfect if we want to do it in short order. It's April, so we're doing this in short order. I've got a good 20 pounds of fat I need to shed. And I've only got a couple of months to do it. So, the diet is ON.
I'll give you a few of the general philosophies behind my diet/nutrition strategy for the next two months. Much of this you've heard many times, I'd imagine, as just about every program out there touts this principles....
1. Eat smaller meals, more often -- My goal is to eat 5 or 6 small meals per day. It keeps us feeling full and it blows our metabolism rate up to a much higher level.
2. I'm focusing on protein at every meal -- the goal is to get protein each time I eat, but it's not just any protein...lean meats, protein powders, fish, eggs, etc.
3. I'm cutting simple sugars out completely -- complex carbs are ok, as are fruits and veges. But no soda, no ice cream, and no Sour Patch Kids.
4. I'm adding some supplements to it -- I'm focusing on fiber supplements, fat burners(before workouts) and protein shakes.
These are the broad strokes of how I'm structuring my nutrition, but the bottom line is that I need to have a calorie defecit of around 700 calories per day. That means I should be consuming around 1800-2500 per day, depending on my workouts.
My workouts are looking like this....
I'm still running quite a bit, as I'm training for a half marathon in Champaign on May 1. So, that training has me running about 30 miles per week or so. It's hard to put on lean muscle mass when you're running that much, but I'm doing my best to do enough strength training and eating to a point that I don't just wilt away. Don't want to be the guy who gets sand kicked in his face at the beach...
The strength training is four days per week, focusing on total body workouts. I'm incorporating a lot of the CrossFit principles, doing Olympic lifts, body weight exercises and power moves. That's not all I'm doing. My main objective is to make sure I blow up my muscles four days per week, minimum. I'd ask you to refer to Crossfit.com and check out their WOD's(work out of the day). I don't care what kind of weight training you're doing, I just think we all have to do it. Muscle mass is too fleeting at this stage of the game for most of us. We have to keep slamming in the weightroom or we're not going to have the broad shoulders the women are looking for.
When it comes to lifting, I am proud to say I still have a fairly juvenile attitude towards it. I'm still wanting to throw around as much weight as I can(without injuring myself of course), because I want to push my limits. I want to be in the best shape of my life. Going in and doing 135 pounds on the bench for sets of 30 is not going to cut it. It's better than doing nothing, for certain. But, I think we have to get after it in there, the same way we do in our businesses and in life in general...
Which brings me to my next point. There are times in a man's life when it serves him to be casual--to just go with the flow and have a relaxed attitude about whatever is going on. You know, to just not sweat the details...whatever happens, happens. Our fitness is not one of these occasions. Our time at work is not one of these times. Too many good guys I know are falling short in this area. The highest achievers...the ass kickers in life, business, and fitness are never casual about anything having to do with the "bigs" in life. There's just too much at stake to take a casual approach and just fuck around. Look around, brother, there are guys out there who are trying to take things from us as we speak. If you've got something good going in your life, I can promise you there's somebody thinking of a way to take it from you. Your business, your job, your customers, your girl...some asshole is chomping at the bit to strip it from you.
That may seem like a jaded outlook, but ultimately, I think it's true. We can not afford to just go with the flow when it comes to these important aspects of our lives. Our businesses deserve every ounce of focus and energy we have inside of us. Our bodies deserve every ounce of respect and focus we have inside. Our women, our kids, our financial futures all deserve every ounce of blood, guts, and tears we have inside. Maybe you're one of those guys that's just too cool to give it your all. You have a rep to uphold. You wouldn't want your buddies to see you giving your gig your all...that's what the geeks and sellouts do. I'll tell you right now, no ass kicking, ripped, money making guy I know ever takes this sort of detached approach to the bigs. You can not have it both ways. You can't make it to the top -- be physically ripped, be liquid and rich, be a leader in your industry, make your wife or girlfriend weak in the knees and carry yourself with nonchalance. We have to get ourselves into that peak mental and emotional state every single time we work out, run, speak to our girls, pitch a deal, write a blog post...that state in which we have some cock in our walk, our shoulders back, heads high, ready to blow through any challenge standing between us and what we want. We have to stand up and give ourselves the respect we deserve, and we do this by demonstrating to those around us that we're worthy of their best. No one will ever give us their full respect, no one will ever come to us with the deal of a lifetime, if we're not showing ourselves the respect we deserve. Winners can smell that kind of confidence a mile away. Winners can sniff out a Sally or a talker just as quickly. We have to man up every day, get ourselves into state, and take care of our business. There will be plenty of time for casual later....
Flip the switch
Unfortunately, the quickest way...and the ONLY way to shed fat, is through proper nutrition(diet). Working out is a critical component, for sure. But, at age 35, the days of just working out harder and losing the extra pounds are over. We have to eat right, eat almost perfect if we want to do it in short order. It's April, so we're doing this in short order. I've got a good 20 pounds of fat I need to shed. And I've only got a couple of months to do it. So, the diet is ON.
I'll give you a few of the general philosophies behind my diet/nutrition strategy for the next two months. Much of this you've heard many times, I'd imagine, as just about every program out there touts this principles....
1. Eat smaller meals, more often -- My goal is to eat 5 or 6 small meals per day. It keeps us feeling full and it blows our metabolism rate up to a much higher level.
2. I'm focusing on protein at every meal -- the goal is to get protein each time I eat, but it's not just any protein...lean meats, protein powders, fish, eggs, etc.
3. I'm cutting simple sugars out completely -- complex carbs are ok, as are fruits and veges. But no soda, no ice cream, and no Sour Patch Kids.
4. I'm adding some supplements to it -- I'm focusing on fiber supplements, fat burners(before workouts) and protein shakes.
These are the broad strokes of how I'm structuring my nutrition, but the bottom line is that I need to have a calorie defecit of around 700 calories per day. That means I should be consuming around 1800-2500 per day, depending on my workouts.
My workouts are looking like this....
I'm still running quite a bit, as I'm training for a half marathon in Champaign on May 1. So, that training has me running about 30 miles per week or so. It's hard to put on lean muscle mass when you're running that much, but I'm doing my best to do enough strength training and eating to a point that I don't just wilt away. Don't want to be the guy who gets sand kicked in his face at the beach...
The strength training is four days per week, focusing on total body workouts. I'm incorporating a lot of the CrossFit principles, doing Olympic lifts, body weight exercises and power moves. That's not all I'm doing. My main objective is to make sure I blow up my muscles four days per week, minimum. I'd ask you to refer to Crossfit.com and check out their WOD's(work out of the day). I don't care what kind of weight training you're doing, I just think we all have to do it. Muscle mass is too fleeting at this stage of the game for most of us. We have to keep slamming in the weightroom or we're not going to have the broad shoulders the women are looking for.
When it comes to lifting, I am proud to say I still have a fairly juvenile attitude towards it. I'm still wanting to throw around as much weight as I can(without injuring myself of course), because I want to push my limits. I want to be in the best shape of my life. Going in and doing 135 pounds on the bench for sets of 30 is not going to cut it. It's better than doing nothing, for certain. But, I think we have to get after it in there, the same way we do in our businesses and in life in general...
Which brings me to my next point. There are times in a man's life when it serves him to be casual--to just go with the flow and have a relaxed attitude about whatever is going on. You know, to just not sweat the details...whatever happens, happens. Our fitness is not one of these occasions. Our time at work is not one of these times. Too many good guys I know are falling short in this area. The highest achievers...the ass kickers in life, business, and fitness are never casual about anything having to do with the "bigs" in life. There's just too much at stake to take a casual approach and just fuck around. Look around, brother, there are guys out there who are trying to take things from us as we speak. If you've got something good going in your life, I can promise you there's somebody thinking of a way to take it from you. Your business, your job, your customers, your girl...some asshole is chomping at the bit to strip it from you.
That may seem like a jaded outlook, but ultimately, I think it's true. We can not afford to just go with the flow when it comes to these important aspects of our lives. Our businesses deserve every ounce of focus and energy we have inside of us. Our bodies deserve every ounce of respect and focus we have inside. Our women, our kids, our financial futures all deserve every ounce of blood, guts, and tears we have inside. Maybe you're one of those guys that's just too cool to give it your all. You have a rep to uphold. You wouldn't want your buddies to see you giving your gig your all...that's what the geeks and sellouts do. I'll tell you right now, no ass kicking, ripped, money making guy I know ever takes this sort of detached approach to the bigs. You can not have it both ways. You can't make it to the top -- be physically ripped, be liquid and rich, be a leader in your industry, make your wife or girlfriend weak in the knees and carry yourself with nonchalance. We have to get ourselves into that peak mental and emotional state every single time we work out, run, speak to our girls, pitch a deal, write a blog post...that state in which we have some cock in our walk, our shoulders back, heads high, ready to blow through any challenge standing between us and what we want. We have to stand up and give ourselves the respect we deserve, and we do this by demonstrating to those around us that we're worthy of their best. No one will ever give us their full respect, no one will ever come to us with the deal of a lifetime, if we're not showing ourselves the respect we deserve. Winners can smell that kind of confidence a mile away. Winners can sniff out a Sally or a talker just as quickly. We have to man up every day, get ourselves into state, and take care of our business. There will be plenty of time for casual later....
Flip the switch
Monday, March 29, 2010
Back at it...Hard as hell
Well, vacation is over, brothers. It's time to get back at it...or, as my former volunteer baseball coach in college said....time to stick our dicks in the dirt.
That was Carlton Fisk, by the way. How about that? He was the coolest dude. He loved to have a great time on the field and off the field, but he would accept zero excuses. We all need somebody like this in our lives..to keep us locked in and keep us from letting this society make us soft. Most men I know are softer than baby poop. Not us. No way in hell. It's time to stick our dicks in the dirt boys.
Tomorrow starts the strip down process. Time to get all the excess fat off before the summer gets here. So, diet information to be outlined as well as specific workout details. It's time to start measuring and really keeping score with this thing, so we can help the people we love duplicate it. But, it starts with us, right here. We need to be the ones who step up and lead by example, lives of discipline and focus. Let everyone else live soft. Not this group.
The goal moving forward is to keep the balanced approach we've outlined with the Simple Disciplines, but get back to locking in on the vision. The vision of being ripped, liquid, and independent needs to be stronger, more vivid as we bust through the excuses and the negativity we are all surrounded by presently. We need to be the few who "do" versus the many who "talk". It's back to execution of these Simple Disciplines, with laser focus on making these visions real. We have to get crazy excited about not just surviving these times, but getting ripped and rich during these times. No excuses, no bullshit. It's time.
Flip the switch
That was Carlton Fisk, by the way. How about that? He was the coolest dude. He loved to have a great time on the field and off the field, but he would accept zero excuses. We all need somebody like this in our lives..to keep us locked in and keep us from letting this society make us soft. Most men I know are softer than baby poop. Not us. No way in hell. It's time to stick our dicks in the dirt boys.
Tomorrow starts the strip down process. Time to get all the excess fat off before the summer gets here. So, diet information to be outlined as well as specific workout details. It's time to start measuring and really keeping score with this thing, so we can help the people we love duplicate it. But, it starts with us, right here. We need to be the ones who step up and lead by example, lives of discipline and focus. Let everyone else live soft. Not this group.
The goal moving forward is to keep the balanced approach we've outlined with the Simple Disciplines, but get back to locking in on the vision. The vision of being ripped, liquid, and independent needs to be stronger, more vivid as we bust through the excuses and the negativity we are all surrounded by presently. We need to be the few who "do" versus the many who "talk". It's back to execution of these Simple Disciplines, with laser focus on making these visions real. We have to get crazy excited about not just surviving these times, but getting ripped and rich during these times. No excuses, no bullshit. It's time.
Flip the switch
Friday, March 19, 2010
A little vacation...to let go
Tomorrow my family and I are heading down to Captiva Island for a ten day vacation...a much needed break at this stage of the game. It's been a pretty long winter and I'm ready for a little sun and some time to chill. I know my wife and kids are really looking forward to having my fullest attention, as I've been working pretty long hours lately with the spring busy season just around the corner. My body could use the rest as well. The last few weeks have been grueling with the added mileage I've been putting down. I'm really stoked about getting away.
I did have a message I'd like to share, though, before I get back to packing for our early morning departure. The past couple of days I've had a ton of stuff to do in order to be able to get away and not be distracted by loose ends while I'm down in Florida. Lots of details need attention before I bail out for ten days...paying people, paying suppliers, scheduling projects, estimating for material lists, sales follow through stuff, etc...a long, long list of pretty important stuff.
At about 6:30 tonight, as I'm still pushing through my list of work details, trying to make certain I don't leave ANYTHING left to chance, I realized something. I can not take this stuff so damn seriously all the time. We all need to take our work seriously, please don't misunderstand. I take my customers and their well-being as seriously as anybody. But, I just can't hold on to this stuff so damn tight. My expectations are so high, I expect every job to be so damn perfect, there's no way I could ever be satisfied with the outcome...because no job is ever going to come out perfect. I'll never walk away with a perfect record in terms of how my customers perceive me. I'm way too obsessed with the outcomes. I think I just need to make sure my crews know what's expected, make sure they have everything they need(from me on my end), and just let it happen. On the customer side, I need to make sure they understand what we interpreted their needs as being, what our solution is going to look like, and make sure they know that it's a major construction process and to expect things to stay fluid...there's no perfect process that will work on every project. If I'm able to create the expectation up front that we may run into challenges on the job, then I'll have less pressure to make sure everything goes perfectly on every job. I mean, I can only do what I can do. This isn't life or death here. Yes, it's important, and I'm going to give it my best. But, I can no longer worry about whether everything goes perfect and that every single customer loves me. Follow up, yes. Be a customer punching bag...no.
And in the end, the reason I'm doing all of this--the working ridiculous hours, knocking on doors(which isn't the most glamorous gig in the world), the huge risks I've made financially, the early morning runs(so I can work 12 hours and still get home at a decent hour), etc, it's all for my family...so they can have the best life has to offer. I want my life to serve as an example, not a warning. If I can't step away from my business and lock in 100% on my family, then I will end up a warning. It's the "richest man in the graveyard" story. No way. I don't care if it's at the end of the workday on Friday or on a trip to Captiva for two weeks, we've got to be able to set the shit aside and enjoy ourselves, enjoy our families, enjoy our friends. That's what this trip is going to be about.
I guess it's about faith, in the end. I just need to have faith that things are going to work out. The crews will do their best work, the customers will fulfill their end of the deal, the work will continue to flow, and people will continue to trust my team with their projects. Holding on too tight may just retard the flow of abundance, and hell, I might be guilty of this lately. Not any longer. I'm just going to give it my all, but that will have to be good enough. Just going to let it go. And let the chips fall where they may.
Take care, have a great night.
Flip the switch
I did have a message I'd like to share, though, before I get back to packing for our early morning departure. The past couple of days I've had a ton of stuff to do in order to be able to get away and not be distracted by loose ends while I'm down in Florida. Lots of details need attention before I bail out for ten days...paying people, paying suppliers, scheduling projects, estimating for material lists, sales follow through stuff, etc...a long, long list of pretty important stuff.
At about 6:30 tonight, as I'm still pushing through my list of work details, trying to make certain I don't leave ANYTHING left to chance, I realized something. I can not take this stuff so damn seriously all the time. We all need to take our work seriously, please don't misunderstand. I take my customers and their well-being as seriously as anybody. But, I just can't hold on to this stuff so damn tight. My expectations are so high, I expect every job to be so damn perfect, there's no way I could ever be satisfied with the outcome...because no job is ever going to come out perfect. I'll never walk away with a perfect record in terms of how my customers perceive me. I'm way too obsessed with the outcomes. I think I just need to make sure my crews know what's expected, make sure they have everything they need(from me on my end), and just let it happen. On the customer side, I need to make sure they understand what we interpreted their needs as being, what our solution is going to look like, and make sure they know that it's a major construction process and to expect things to stay fluid...there's no perfect process that will work on every project. If I'm able to create the expectation up front that we may run into challenges on the job, then I'll have less pressure to make sure everything goes perfectly on every job. I mean, I can only do what I can do. This isn't life or death here. Yes, it's important, and I'm going to give it my best. But, I can no longer worry about whether everything goes perfect and that every single customer loves me. Follow up, yes. Be a customer punching bag...no.
And in the end, the reason I'm doing all of this--the working ridiculous hours, knocking on doors(which isn't the most glamorous gig in the world), the huge risks I've made financially, the early morning runs(so I can work 12 hours and still get home at a decent hour), etc, it's all for my family...so they can have the best life has to offer. I want my life to serve as an example, not a warning. If I can't step away from my business and lock in 100% on my family, then I will end up a warning. It's the "richest man in the graveyard" story. No way. I don't care if it's at the end of the workday on Friday or on a trip to Captiva for two weeks, we've got to be able to set the shit aside and enjoy ourselves, enjoy our families, enjoy our friends. That's what this trip is going to be about.
I guess it's about faith, in the end. I just need to have faith that things are going to work out. The crews will do their best work, the customers will fulfill their end of the deal, the work will continue to flow, and people will continue to trust my team with their projects. Holding on too tight may just retard the flow of abundance, and hell, I might be guilty of this lately. Not any longer. I'm just going to give it my all, but that will have to be good enough. Just going to let it go. And let the chips fall where they may.
Take care, have a great night.
Flip the switch
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Time is flying by. I mean flying by, at record breaking speed. The more time passes, the less time you and I have to build whatever it is we're trying to build. I heard a great expression this afternoon, listening to an interview with Jeff Walker, conducted by Tony Robbins. "In the end, every one of our lives is going to serve as either an example to follow, or a warning". Any of us, who is not presently doing what we love or not following through on the tasks we damn well know will make our lives better and get us on the path to doing what we love, our lives will serve as warnings. Warnings on what road not to take. Plain and simple.
It's tough love time, people. We can not continue to have the same conversations with the same people(or ourselves) about how we need to make these changes, while doing nothing. If you aren't taking action, you are not getting this message.
The time is right now. Take a good hard look in the mirror and ask yourself..."will my life continue down the path of being a warning to your family, your children, on how not to live?" It is your choice. It's my choice as well. Together, we can get this right.
On a positive note, I'm having some thoughts about what I'm going to do next week with the blog, since I'm going to be in Captiva Island, Florida for the next ten days or so. I'm planning to keep the blog content flowing, because of a couple of reasons. One, is I love to do it, quite frankly. Two, is because I have momentum and I fully subscribe to the notion that you either have momentum and are growing or you don't and are dying. Sad, but true.
But, the down side of this is that if I don't shut my hard-drivingness down, my wife and kids may go loco on me. Don't want that, and I don't want to waste a chunk of dough on a trip in which I can't let go mentally of the things I'm driving so hard to manifest.
So, I'm thinking the tone of the blog may change next week. Hopefully, you'll find the content worthwhile, and I am sure you will. Every time I go away or get away, I tend to get totally re-focused and am on fire with creativity and drive. I don't want to oversell it, but I just wanted to give you a heads up. So, there's your heads up...you've been warned.
In the meantime, if you have any comments about what I've been rapping about, let me know. I'd love for this thing to be more of a conversation than a monologue. If not, if you'd rather remain anonymous, that's cool too. I thank you for plugging in.
What would you think of some video on this stuff? Maybe some raw, real footage of some stuff that will add to the messages? Let me know...
Flip the switch
It's tough love time, people. We can not continue to have the same conversations with the same people(or ourselves) about how we need to make these changes, while doing nothing. If you aren't taking action, you are not getting this message.
The time is right now. Take a good hard look in the mirror and ask yourself..."will my life continue down the path of being a warning to your family, your children, on how not to live?" It is your choice. It's my choice as well. Together, we can get this right.
On a positive note, I'm having some thoughts about what I'm going to do next week with the blog, since I'm going to be in Captiva Island, Florida for the next ten days or so. I'm planning to keep the blog content flowing, because of a couple of reasons. One, is I love to do it, quite frankly. Two, is because I have momentum and I fully subscribe to the notion that you either have momentum and are growing or you don't and are dying. Sad, but true.
But, the down side of this is that if I don't shut my hard-drivingness down, my wife and kids may go loco on me. Don't want that, and I don't want to waste a chunk of dough on a trip in which I can't let go mentally of the things I'm driving so hard to manifest.
So, I'm thinking the tone of the blog may change next week. Hopefully, you'll find the content worthwhile, and I am sure you will. Every time I go away or get away, I tend to get totally re-focused and am on fire with creativity and drive. I don't want to oversell it, but I just wanted to give you a heads up. So, there's your heads up...you've been warned.
In the meantime, if you have any comments about what I've been rapping about, let me know. I'd love for this thing to be more of a conversation than a monologue. If not, if you'd rather remain anonymous, that's cool too. I thank you for plugging in.
What would you think of some video on this stuff? Maybe some raw, real footage of some stuff that will add to the messages? Let me know...
Flip the switch
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
What is up with this fatness?
My body is not changing the way I'd hoped. I'm still looking like dogshit and I'm fully aware of why this is so...My diet is the primary driver of my lack of results, this I know for certain. My diet has been attrocious. Completely ridiculous behavior, and I'm almost sick to write about it. Believe me, I have NO delusions about who I am or what I do or don't do. In fact, I'm as aware of my shortcomings as most, it seems to come with the territory when you develop self-awareness and consistently analyze your behavior.
Before I get too down on my patterns, I find it necessary to point out that I've been rocking....absolutely kicking ass with the other aspects of my life. Both gigs are flying in terms of sales year to date, profitability, and the sales pipelines are full to the brim. My financial picture is improving daily, and I'm closing in on being able to throw down the jack for my dream home...all great stuff...all a result of these Simple Disciplines that are highlighted in 90 Days to Discipline. So, good job Greg.
Now, it's time to kick my own ass a little bit...The first place to look, when you're not doing the things you know you should be doing, is your belief systems. If you're not taking action in one particular area of your life, it's usually a product of some belief that's at odds with the goal you're pursuing. Or, it could simply be the fact that your goals in this aspect are impotent and you're not getting enough leverage on yourself thinking about the reasons why you want to make these changes. In my case, I've set a goal of weighing 165 pounds and having 8% bodyfat. Something deep in my brain is either against that goal or is afraid of achieving it...for whatever reason. My challenge would be to uncover this negative, disempowering belief, and leverage a new, more empowering belief in its place. This isn't an easy task, by any means. Hell, millions of people spend hundreds of millions on shrinks every day in this country, attempting to dig into themselves and understand why they do what they do.
I'm inclined to believe my inaction is a product of having impotent goals. Well, maybe that's not the best way to characterize my struggle. The best way to phrase it is that mentally, the goal makes complete sense...yes, looking good at the pool or beach or whatever would be nice. But, I'm leaving it there. I'm not working myself into a lather over what it would really feel like to make this goal real. In my business and financial life, every day, twice per day, I go through a very vivid "as if" scenario in which I'm the guy I want to become in this realm -- I'm leading a couple of huge businesses, I'm speaking in front of huge audiences, I've authored successful books, I'm earning a great living. My house is huge and beautiful. I can actually picture myself sitting in my office, that's decked out in the most exquisite dark mahogany woodwork. I feel myself get into my ride and pull out of my four car garage and jump on the accelerator cruising down Airport Road in Bloomington, on my way to the office. Most importantly, I can actually FEEL WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE THIS MAN. The man who's got the discipline, the focus, the skills, and the work ethic to build and manifest this level of success and abundance for my family. I can feel it...which is a cool thing, really. I look forward to this exercise, it's become one of my favority Simple Disciplines. Nerd Alert.
I'm just not doing that with my health and fitness goals. I throw it into my visions on occasion, but it's just not a priority. This may just be the wake up call I needed, in understanding just how critical the visualization process is, in building the visions we've created for ourselves. I'm on my way with the other aspects of my life...the biz and finance, the things goals, personal development, and contribution. And I can say with confidence the reason is because my emotions have evolved into a white hot obsession in these visualizations.
Now, I just need to focus more time, energy, and faith in this jacked up physique. I think I'll begin my vision with a scenario in which I arise early, before dawn and hit the gym. When I roll out of the rack, I can actually feel my abs contract and easily pull myself up out of bed...versus the circus act it is presently, when my gut makes me struggle to get up. I'll picture myself brushing my teeth before hitting the gym, and I look up in the mirror and see Brad Pitt's body from Fight Club with my dome on it. How about that? That's a pretty damn good motivator. Then I'll hit the trail for a quick 5 miler, flying on the trail, running at a 7 minute mile pace while feeling light and quick. Strength training after with a full-body workout, with an emphasis on explosive, crossfit type training. During this workout I'm strong, lean, and explosive.
Of course, I'm not lean, explosive or even very strong right now. But, this type of visualization tends to create awareness of what it'd feel like, look like, smell like to be, do, and have what I do in my vision. It propels us into taking massive action, because we can actually feel what looking like this would feel like. This is a hundred times more powerful than just sort of intellectually understanding what it would mean to be in better shape. That's weak as shit. And look where it's gotten me. Nowhere.
One other thing...I am going to work towards making the building of my body a passion of mine. This perspective is more positive than the way I've been viewing workouts and nutrition...as a necessary evil. If I can make have a more upbeat, positive inner dialogue about fitness and diet, I'll get much better results and I'll be more likely to view going to the gym as something I GET to do , versus something I HAVE to do. We'll try it. I'll keep you all updated
Do me this favor, though. Share your thoughts on this stuff. If you have something to add, please do so. If you want to call bullshit on something, call bullshit on it. I'd love for this to be a conversation. Could turn out to be a real fun thing...a bunch of people working hard to get better every day.
Flip the switch
Before I get too down on my patterns, I find it necessary to point out that I've been rocking....absolutely kicking ass with the other aspects of my life. Both gigs are flying in terms of sales year to date, profitability, and the sales pipelines are full to the brim. My financial picture is improving daily, and I'm closing in on being able to throw down the jack for my dream home...all great stuff...all a result of these Simple Disciplines that are highlighted in 90 Days to Discipline. So, good job Greg.
Now, it's time to kick my own ass a little bit...The first place to look, when you're not doing the things you know you should be doing, is your belief systems. If you're not taking action in one particular area of your life, it's usually a product of some belief that's at odds with the goal you're pursuing. Or, it could simply be the fact that your goals in this aspect are impotent and you're not getting enough leverage on yourself thinking about the reasons why you want to make these changes. In my case, I've set a goal of weighing 165 pounds and having 8% bodyfat. Something deep in my brain is either against that goal or is afraid of achieving it...for whatever reason. My challenge would be to uncover this negative, disempowering belief, and leverage a new, more empowering belief in its place. This isn't an easy task, by any means. Hell, millions of people spend hundreds of millions on shrinks every day in this country, attempting to dig into themselves and understand why they do what they do.
I'm inclined to believe my inaction is a product of having impotent goals. Well, maybe that's not the best way to characterize my struggle. The best way to phrase it is that mentally, the goal makes complete sense...yes, looking good at the pool or beach or whatever would be nice. But, I'm leaving it there. I'm not working myself into a lather over what it would really feel like to make this goal real. In my business and financial life, every day, twice per day, I go through a very vivid "as if" scenario in which I'm the guy I want to become in this realm -- I'm leading a couple of huge businesses, I'm speaking in front of huge audiences, I've authored successful books, I'm earning a great living. My house is huge and beautiful. I can actually picture myself sitting in my office, that's decked out in the most exquisite dark mahogany woodwork. I feel myself get into my ride and pull out of my four car garage and jump on the accelerator cruising down Airport Road in Bloomington, on my way to the office. Most importantly, I can actually FEEL WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE THIS MAN. The man who's got the discipline, the focus, the skills, and the work ethic to build and manifest this level of success and abundance for my family. I can feel it...which is a cool thing, really. I look forward to this exercise, it's become one of my favority Simple Disciplines. Nerd Alert.
I'm just not doing that with my health and fitness goals. I throw it into my visions on occasion, but it's just not a priority. This may just be the wake up call I needed, in understanding just how critical the visualization process is, in building the visions we've created for ourselves. I'm on my way with the other aspects of my life...the biz and finance, the things goals, personal development, and contribution. And I can say with confidence the reason is because my emotions have evolved into a white hot obsession in these visualizations.
Now, I just need to focus more time, energy, and faith in this jacked up physique. I think I'll begin my vision with a scenario in which I arise early, before dawn and hit the gym. When I roll out of the rack, I can actually feel my abs contract and easily pull myself up out of bed...versus the circus act it is presently, when my gut makes me struggle to get up. I'll picture myself brushing my teeth before hitting the gym, and I look up in the mirror and see Brad Pitt's body from Fight Club with my dome on it. How about that? That's a pretty damn good motivator. Then I'll hit the trail for a quick 5 miler, flying on the trail, running at a 7 minute mile pace while feeling light and quick. Strength training after with a full-body workout, with an emphasis on explosive, crossfit type training. During this workout I'm strong, lean, and explosive.
Of course, I'm not lean, explosive or even very strong right now. But, this type of visualization tends to create awareness of what it'd feel like, look like, smell like to be, do, and have what I do in my vision. It propels us into taking massive action, because we can actually feel what looking like this would feel like. This is a hundred times more powerful than just sort of intellectually understanding what it would mean to be in better shape. That's weak as shit. And look where it's gotten me. Nowhere.
One other thing...I am going to work towards making the building of my body a passion of mine. This perspective is more positive than the way I've been viewing workouts and nutrition...as a necessary evil. If I can make have a more upbeat, positive inner dialogue about fitness and diet, I'll get much better results and I'll be more likely to view going to the gym as something I GET to do , versus something I HAVE to do. We'll try it. I'll keep you all updated
Do me this favor, though. Share your thoughts on this stuff. If you have something to add, please do so. If you want to call bullshit on something, call bullshit on it. I'd love for this to be a conversation. Could turn out to be a real fun thing...a bunch of people working hard to get better every day.
Flip the switch
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Nine Thousand New Competitors
All of a sudden, everybody and their brother is now a contractor in my market. Last year, I had five legitimate competitors on the roofing side of my contracting biz. This year, I have 13. Thirteen companies are now marketing themselves as the best roofing company in Bloomington/Normal, and what's funny is they all claim to have over 15 years in the business. A company that's three months old has twenty years in the business? What a bunch of crap. I get it, though...one guy on the crew has been shingling for 15 years...
The bottom line is regardless of what any of these folks are claiming in their marketing messages, I have to step up my game, big time. There are more options than there's ever been in choosing a roofing contractor, and I have to do whatever it takes to be the one they not only choose to call about bidding the job, I have to be the one they trust to do the job. That's what my life is now about...well...my business life.
So, how do I do that? I don't know exactly, to be forthcoming...but, I think I've got some pretty good ideas. I'll run them by you all, let me know if you think any of them will work.
The nature of my business is such that the main challenge is getting the opportunity to bid it. There's a ton of competitors and the phone book has sixty different companies a homeowner can call. Traditional forms of advertising are ineffective today, considering the fact we all get hit with hundreds of thousands of marketing images and messages per day,and we've gotten real damn efficient at ignoring most of them. Getting a chance to bid the job is the deal for us, and there's no one answer as to how to go about doing that.
The approach that's worked for us in the recent past is to focus on the neighborhoods that need the work we perform. Sounds simple, I know, but for years the industry has always gone out and pitched a one-way sales message at the general populous, hoping a tiny fraction of those folks will jot down the phone number and call them when they need a roof. My trust in that system is gone, because I just don't see people buying roofs that way.
I'd say the majority of people make major purchases like home improvements through word of mouth...asking the folks within their family, social circles, etc who they'd recommend for whatever they're looking for. The other primary method is to observe the work going on in the neighborhood, because in these subdivisions, all of the houses are the exact same age and are getting the work done. So, they'll watch the neighbor's job and just sort of keep tabs on who does good work...or seems to, who shows up early and stays on the job, who keeps the place clean, etc. I don't know exactly what they look for when they're paying attention...all I know is that they do pay attention.
With this in mind, I'm pouring all of my resources into these neighborhoods and into taking care of my "List". My list is everyone I've done work for, everyone I've quoted, and really, everyone I've ever talked to about anything having to do with home improvements. We know who the people are in town who are going to need roofs, and I plan to spend every minute of just about every day making sure someone from my organization is out finding out every piece of information we can about these people, so that we can add them to our list and make sure they think of us when they do start the process of buying a roof.
Maybe your business is also having these kinds of challenges, in finding enough qualified people to do business with? Perhaps this list approach could benefit you and your organization? I'll go a little further...to see if it's something you can use.
The philosophy behind this "list" is quite simple...we want to develop long-term relationships with a ton of great people and become what I like to call "business friend" with them. Most of the list work will be done through email and will be executed by an auto responder outfit. We gather their emails and add them to the list, put them into the system, and carry on a conversation with them...as if they were business friends. The last thing I want to do is choke these people's inboxes with a bunch of cheesy, one way salesy bullshit that will drive them crazy. No, my goal is to get them some cool ideas that will help them with their house, and really keep the focus on them. I want to be viewed as the guy who's more focused on getting them squared away than getting a sale...or whatever. This way, I can feel good about what I do and I won't be the dude everyone's bailing out on when they see me at Starbucks or Sunday Mass or wherever. I couldn't stand myself if I were the salesy type everyone was avoiding. That's not my goal. I want each person to see me as truly interested in keeping them up to date on what's going on in the world of exterior home maintenance, energy efficiency, roofing tips, etc.
The key is to keep the dialogue in dude speak. The minute we get caught trying to sell something, we're dead in the water. My focus will be to give them something of real value...some real content in every message, that helps them. If I give them enough cool content, maybe they'll trust me enough to buy something from me when I have something to sell them...maybe. We'll see. In the meantime, it's balls to the wall in building this list. I'm looking for the best people in my market to help out. That's it.
Think about that, though. Think of the power of building a nice list of folks who trust you because you've always been cool, you've always had their back, and you've always been honest with them. And most importantly, you've always worried more about their well-being than yours. That's capital. Serious long-term capital.
What kind of list should you be building? What do you know or have inside you that could help people, that would be fun as hell to talk about? Or better yet, what would you like to learn about, that you could then turn around and help people with, that would be awesome to do? This is a great place to begin building a business, if you haven't started one yet. The way to do it is to find a thing to talk about, and start building a list.
I'm fairly new to this marketing style, but I've invested a lot of time and a ton of dough in it. The more I learn, the more I'll share. Stay tuned. I fully believe it's the way of the future, as the internet becomes a bigger and bigger part of our lives.
flip the switch
The bottom line is regardless of what any of these folks are claiming in their marketing messages, I have to step up my game, big time. There are more options than there's ever been in choosing a roofing contractor, and I have to do whatever it takes to be the one they not only choose to call about bidding the job, I have to be the one they trust to do the job. That's what my life is now about...well...my business life.
So, how do I do that? I don't know exactly, to be forthcoming...but, I think I've got some pretty good ideas. I'll run them by you all, let me know if you think any of them will work.
The nature of my business is such that the main challenge is getting the opportunity to bid it. There's a ton of competitors and the phone book has sixty different companies a homeowner can call. Traditional forms of advertising are ineffective today, considering the fact we all get hit with hundreds of thousands of marketing images and messages per day,and we've gotten real damn efficient at ignoring most of them. Getting a chance to bid the job is the deal for us, and there's no one answer as to how to go about doing that.
The approach that's worked for us in the recent past is to focus on the neighborhoods that need the work we perform. Sounds simple, I know, but for years the industry has always gone out and pitched a one-way sales message at the general populous, hoping a tiny fraction of those folks will jot down the phone number and call them when they need a roof. My trust in that system is gone, because I just don't see people buying roofs that way.
I'd say the majority of people make major purchases like home improvements through word of mouth...asking the folks within their family, social circles, etc who they'd recommend for whatever they're looking for. The other primary method is to observe the work going on in the neighborhood, because in these subdivisions, all of the houses are the exact same age and are getting the work done. So, they'll watch the neighbor's job and just sort of keep tabs on who does good work...or seems to, who shows up early and stays on the job, who keeps the place clean, etc. I don't know exactly what they look for when they're paying attention...all I know is that they do pay attention.
With this in mind, I'm pouring all of my resources into these neighborhoods and into taking care of my "List". My list is everyone I've done work for, everyone I've quoted, and really, everyone I've ever talked to about anything having to do with home improvements. We know who the people are in town who are going to need roofs, and I plan to spend every minute of just about every day making sure someone from my organization is out finding out every piece of information we can about these people, so that we can add them to our list and make sure they think of us when they do start the process of buying a roof.
Maybe your business is also having these kinds of challenges, in finding enough qualified people to do business with? Perhaps this list approach could benefit you and your organization? I'll go a little further...to see if it's something you can use.
The philosophy behind this "list" is quite simple...we want to develop long-term relationships with a ton of great people and become what I like to call "business friend" with them. Most of the list work will be done through email and will be executed by an auto responder outfit. We gather their emails and add them to the list, put them into the system, and carry on a conversation with them...as if they were business friends. The last thing I want to do is choke these people's inboxes with a bunch of cheesy, one way salesy bullshit that will drive them crazy. No, my goal is to get them some cool ideas that will help them with their house, and really keep the focus on them. I want to be viewed as the guy who's more focused on getting them squared away than getting a sale...or whatever. This way, I can feel good about what I do and I won't be the dude everyone's bailing out on when they see me at Starbucks or Sunday Mass or wherever. I couldn't stand myself if I were the salesy type everyone was avoiding. That's not my goal. I want each person to see me as truly interested in keeping them up to date on what's going on in the world of exterior home maintenance, energy efficiency, roofing tips, etc.
The key is to keep the dialogue in dude speak. The minute we get caught trying to sell something, we're dead in the water. My focus will be to give them something of real value...some real content in every message, that helps them. If I give them enough cool content, maybe they'll trust me enough to buy something from me when I have something to sell them...maybe. We'll see. In the meantime, it's balls to the wall in building this list. I'm looking for the best people in my market to help out. That's it.
Think about that, though. Think of the power of building a nice list of folks who trust you because you've always been cool, you've always had their back, and you've always been honest with them. And most importantly, you've always worried more about their well-being than yours. That's capital. Serious long-term capital.
What kind of list should you be building? What do you know or have inside you that could help people, that would be fun as hell to talk about? Or better yet, what would you like to learn about, that you could then turn around and help people with, that would be awesome to do? This is a great place to begin building a business, if you haven't started one yet. The way to do it is to find a thing to talk about, and start building a list.
I'm fairly new to this marketing style, but I've invested a lot of time and a ton of dough in it. The more I learn, the more I'll share. Stay tuned. I fully believe it's the way of the future, as the internet becomes a bigger and bigger part of our lives.
flip the switch
Monday, March 15, 2010
A week's results
A quick rundown of last week's results....
I ran 31 miles total last week in total. Great week...the highest in the past six years, I'd say. I capped it off with an absolute sufferfest this weekend with my wife. She and I have never really been able to run together much...we have always ran at much different paces. But, she's worked hard at building her mileage and her pace, and has gotten into badass shape, so we're good to go. What a cool thing -- to go out and run until everything in you is screaming to stop, with your mate right by your side, suffering through it with you. Sounds weird to say it but I think it was a phenomenal experience we shared. I can't put my finger on what specifically it was that made it such an impact, but there was something to it. We had been out there before together, but she always had to ride her bike along side me on my long runs. This was different. She was in it with me, and she took great pride in doing so.
On the strength front, I did 900 pushups, 1100 crunches, and 310 pullups. Pretty good start. The one thing that concerns me is that I've not been able to get to that level where I'm sore the next day...from the strength training side of this deal. I'm concerned. My past experience and conditioning tell me I have to be sore as hell to know I hit it hard the day before. Not sure that's even accurate. Who knows?...there's so much information and misinformation out there. Hell, read Mens Health or any other fitness mag and you'll find four articles in there, all taking contradictory positions, with research backing all of them. Paralysis by analysis. Who cares. Do this, don't do that. Do that, don't do this. It's confusing as hell. Just move your fat ass, I say.
All in all, I'm stoked about the progress I'm making in my life right now. The consistent running at high miles always seems to strip away the noise in my head and allows me to enjoy myself, instead of obsessing about every little detail. Details in my business, details in my other business, details in my investments, details in my relationships, details in my cash flow. This stuff adds up. If I'm not able to stow it away and deal with it in chunks, I hear the noise and it hurts the quality of my life. Ultimately, it effects the quality of my family's lives, and I don't want to ever be the guy who drains the room of energy and life. Hell, my family looks to me to "bring it" every time I walk through the door. If I'm distracted, I let them down.
Both businesses are cranking right now. My contracting biz is starting to explode. My activity level has been tremendous...canvassing personally, building the marketing systems, and closing deals. We are 25% ahead in sales of YTD in 2009...off to a great start. My other biz endeavor is rocking as well. We are 42% ahead of last year's numbers. Amazing! No question in my mind that it's about what's going on inside of me that's giving me the results. It's 90 Days to Discipline that's driving this train. The discipline and perserverence it takes/builds is all we need to build the life we want for us and our families. I, personally, will never look back. I will never accept mediocrity for us again. This is who I've become. Have I made all the changes I want to make? No...absolutely not. But, am I rockin and rollin? Hell yeah.
So, here we are...a month or so later and we're still doing our deal. We're visualizing first thing in the morning. We are locking in for our hour of power, during which we go through gratitude, visualize as if, and then bust our butts in the gym. We lock into our plans to achieve and make sure our day is focused 100% on executing our Simple Disciplines -- those highest-value tasks that drive 95% of our positive results for our fitness, businesses, relationships, bank accounts, spirituality. Then we do the deal at work...selling, building marketing systems, doing the things that allow us to experience massive growth through personal relationships and closing deals with confidence yet a sense of urgency. We work hard, we work smart, and we serve(at the highest levels), those who can help us.
Then we come home and be the best men we can be...for our wives and our children. We lead, by example, lives of virtue, of discipline, of compassion and of hard work. Our kids will never want for anything because they've learned, by example, what a life of true service is about.
Then we wrap it all up with some blogging, writing, studying, so we can separate ourselves from the rest of the pack. Because, in the end, everybody is out selling, calling on customers and prospects, adding value. The difference is that we study and pour ourselves into mastering our craft, so that we are able to serve at the highest level, not at a mid to low level. Commitment fellas. It's what will determine whether our families get to experience all of what life has to offer or they get rationalizations about why they can not. That will be determined at certain moments of decision...early in the morning, when you're all tucked in bed still and you're deciding whether or not to get up before dawn and get your butt moving for the day, and when your evening is winding down...the kids are in bed and you must choose between blogging, writing, studying or watching the ballgame or Criminal Minds. It's these moments of decision our destinies are shaped.
Life, Success are a marathon, not a sprint. This I know for sure. But, we have to get on board right now, because our future is determined by what we do every day, not what we do every once in a while. Get your Simple Disciplines down on paper. Commit to doing them. Commit to doing the things that will set you free. You may not become rich, in financial terms...but you'll absolutely become rich in knowing you have the courage and discipline to follow through on whatever you set out to achieve. That's freedom.
Flip the Switch
I ran 31 miles total last week in total. Great week...the highest in the past six years, I'd say. I capped it off with an absolute sufferfest this weekend with my wife. She and I have never really been able to run together much...we have always ran at much different paces. But, she's worked hard at building her mileage and her pace, and has gotten into badass shape, so we're good to go. What a cool thing -- to go out and run until everything in you is screaming to stop, with your mate right by your side, suffering through it with you. Sounds weird to say it but I think it was a phenomenal experience we shared. I can't put my finger on what specifically it was that made it such an impact, but there was something to it. We had been out there before together, but she always had to ride her bike along side me on my long runs. This was different. She was in it with me, and she took great pride in doing so.
On the strength front, I did 900 pushups, 1100 crunches, and 310 pullups. Pretty good start. The one thing that concerns me is that I've not been able to get to that level where I'm sore the next day...from the strength training side of this deal. I'm concerned. My past experience and conditioning tell me I have to be sore as hell to know I hit it hard the day before. Not sure that's even accurate. Who knows?...there's so much information and misinformation out there. Hell, read Mens Health or any other fitness mag and you'll find four articles in there, all taking contradictory positions, with research backing all of them. Paralysis by analysis. Who cares. Do this, don't do that. Do that, don't do this. It's confusing as hell. Just move your fat ass, I say.
All in all, I'm stoked about the progress I'm making in my life right now. The consistent running at high miles always seems to strip away the noise in my head and allows me to enjoy myself, instead of obsessing about every little detail. Details in my business, details in my other business, details in my investments, details in my relationships, details in my cash flow. This stuff adds up. If I'm not able to stow it away and deal with it in chunks, I hear the noise and it hurts the quality of my life. Ultimately, it effects the quality of my family's lives, and I don't want to ever be the guy who drains the room of energy and life. Hell, my family looks to me to "bring it" every time I walk through the door. If I'm distracted, I let them down.
Both businesses are cranking right now. My contracting biz is starting to explode. My activity level has been tremendous...canvassing personally, building the marketing systems, and closing deals. We are 25% ahead in sales of YTD in 2009...off to a great start. My other biz endeavor is rocking as well. We are 42% ahead of last year's numbers. Amazing! No question in my mind that it's about what's going on inside of me that's giving me the results. It's 90 Days to Discipline that's driving this train. The discipline and perserverence it takes/builds is all we need to build the life we want for us and our families. I, personally, will never look back. I will never accept mediocrity for us again. This is who I've become. Have I made all the changes I want to make? No...absolutely not. But, am I rockin and rollin? Hell yeah.
So, here we are...a month or so later and we're still doing our deal. We're visualizing first thing in the morning. We are locking in for our hour of power, during which we go through gratitude, visualize as if, and then bust our butts in the gym. We lock into our plans to achieve and make sure our day is focused 100% on executing our Simple Disciplines -- those highest-value tasks that drive 95% of our positive results for our fitness, businesses, relationships, bank accounts, spirituality. Then we do the deal at work...selling, building marketing systems, doing the things that allow us to experience massive growth through personal relationships and closing deals with confidence yet a sense of urgency. We work hard, we work smart, and we serve(at the highest levels), those who can help us.
Then we come home and be the best men we can be...for our wives and our children. We lead, by example, lives of virtue, of discipline, of compassion and of hard work. Our kids will never want for anything because they've learned, by example, what a life of true service is about.
Then we wrap it all up with some blogging, writing, studying, so we can separate ourselves from the rest of the pack. Because, in the end, everybody is out selling, calling on customers and prospects, adding value. The difference is that we study and pour ourselves into mastering our craft, so that we are able to serve at the highest level, not at a mid to low level. Commitment fellas. It's what will determine whether our families get to experience all of what life has to offer or they get rationalizations about why they can not. That will be determined at certain moments of decision...early in the morning, when you're all tucked in bed still and you're deciding whether or not to get up before dawn and get your butt moving for the day, and when your evening is winding down...the kids are in bed and you must choose between blogging, writing, studying or watching the ballgame or Criminal Minds. It's these moments of decision our destinies are shaped.
Life, Success are a marathon, not a sprint. This I know for sure. But, we have to get on board right now, because our future is determined by what we do every day, not what we do every once in a while. Get your Simple Disciplines down on paper. Commit to doing them. Commit to doing the things that will set you free. You may not become rich, in financial terms...but you'll absolutely become rich in knowing you have the courage and discipline to follow through on whatever you set out to achieve. That's freedom.
Flip the Switch
Friday, March 12, 2010
Help a friend
If you help enough people get what they want, you'll end up with everything you want...Zig Ziglar.
So true. Seems as though the more I pay attention to this principle, the more the world confirms it. This concept has been top of mind for me for the past two years. This kind of focus has almost forced me into the mindset of looking for opportunities to help the great people I know who could ultimately help me. Last night I had one of these example come up, so I feel compelled to share the story.
Our market here in Bloomington is relatively small in the remodel/home building arena. There's a lot of volume, but there's a relatively small number of "players"...a few big fish in a small pond. A few years ago I met one of the good guys on the real estate/home building side. He instantly made the list...the list of guys who could have an impact on my business, if I made it a point to help him.
Make a long story short, today he's been a great help in my business. He's given me roof projects on four or five of his rental properties, and has referred at least twelve people who've bought roofs from me. Awesome center of influence for me, to say the least.
Last night, I got a chance to re-pay this man. I was going door to door in the premier subdivision in town, trying to drum up leads for my contracting biz. I was having a good amount of success, really, and was feeling pretty damn confident. I stopped at the house I actually consider my dream home, because it's about 16 years old, and will be needing a roof soon. The owner was friendly...receptive. Turns out he's selling the place and would rather the new owner handle the roof. His only immediate request was that I help him with a leak he's been dealing with since last summer. When he told me he was wanting to sell, I asked who he was planning to list the house with. He had no real loyalty to any particular realtor, but had decided to use a guy I know at Prudential. By the way, this guy he said he was using, the realtor, is a total dick. He took a bunch of free window treatments from my wife, promising to steer business her way and never reciprocated. He's one of those blowhards who takes free lunches all week from small business owners who count on realtors to direct business to them, as their main system of marketing. This guy really only worries about himself, yet he promises everybody everything, just to look big time. Anyway, because of the tremendous support I've received from my realtor buddy, I went out of my way to push the issue with this homeowner. By the time I left, he couldn't wait to speak to my friend. When someone gives such strong reviews, who has no skin in that particular game, it sends a strong signal to the buyer. I think I just got my friend a $1.8 million listing. All because he helped me over and over without any expectation of getting anything in return.
This morning, by 9:00 am, I've already received two calls from people with roof issues who got my number from this same realtor. Amazing what happens when you help great people without expectation. It's the way the world works.
The real key here is that you're only going to get referrals from people if they're willing to go out of their way to help you. You have to make quite an impression for them to carry you that close in their day to day dealings. Think about that for a second. Everybody has their own issues they're dealing with. The last thing on anybody's mind is what's going on with you and what you need. They've got their own problems...family problems, cash flow problems, employee problems, customer problems, you name it. So, when, in the course of their day, somebody mentions in passing needing a roof, I'd better have done them right if they're going to stop what they're doing and say...."I've got a guy you have to call. He's the best, the only guy in town I'd ever use for a roof project". My situation last night is a great example. My boy has given me over $50,000 in profit from his referrals. Hell yes I'm going to find him every single piece of business I can find. His commission potential on this one house is at $108,000. Think he'll go out of his way to keep referring me to folks who talk about needing a roof? I believe he will. Plus, it felt damn good to make that call to tell him I may have gotten him a listing. Is there anybody out there fighting in your corner?
Keep this in mind when you feel like you're done for the day or the week. There's always time to go out and find a way to help somebody..especially somebody who could help you at some point.
Flip the switch
So true. Seems as though the more I pay attention to this principle, the more the world confirms it. This concept has been top of mind for me for the past two years. This kind of focus has almost forced me into the mindset of looking for opportunities to help the great people I know who could ultimately help me. Last night I had one of these example come up, so I feel compelled to share the story.
Our market here in Bloomington is relatively small in the remodel/home building arena. There's a lot of volume, but there's a relatively small number of "players"...a few big fish in a small pond. A few years ago I met one of the good guys on the real estate/home building side. He instantly made the list...the list of guys who could have an impact on my business, if I made it a point to help him.
Make a long story short, today he's been a great help in my business. He's given me roof projects on four or five of his rental properties, and has referred at least twelve people who've bought roofs from me. Awesome center of influence for me, to say the least.
Last night, I got a chance to re-pay this man. I was going door to door in the premier subdivision in town, trying to drum up leads for my contracting biz. I was having a good amount of success, really, and was feeling pretty damn confident. I stopped at the house I actually consider my dream home, because it's about 16 years old, and will be needing a roof soon. The owner was friendly...receptive. Turns out he's selling the place and would rather the new owner handle the roof. His only immediate request was that I help him with a leak he's been dealing with since last summer. When he told me he was wanting to sell, I asked who he was planning to list the house with. He had no real loyalty to any particular realtor, but had decided to use a guy I know at Prudential. By the way, this guy he said he was using, the realtor, is a total dick. He took a bunch of free window treatments from my wife, promising to steer business her way and never reciprocated. He's one of those blowhards who takes free lunches all week from small business owners who count on realtors to direct business to them, as their main system of marketing. This guy really only worries about himself, yet he promises everybody everything, just to look big time. Anyway, because of the tremendous support I've received from my realtor buddy, I went out of my way to push the issue with this homeowner. By the time I left, he couldn't wait to speak to my friend. When someone gives such strong reviews, who has no skin in that particular game, it sends a strong signal to the buyer. I think I just got my friend a $1.8 million listing. All because he helped me over and over without any expectation of getting anything in return.
This morning, by 9:00 am, I've already received two calls from people with roof issues who got my number from this same realtor. Amazing what happens when you help great people without expectation. It's the way the world works.
The real key here is that you're only going to get referrals from people if they're willing to go out of their way to help you. You have to make quite an impression for them to carry you that close in their day to day dealings. Think about that for a second. Everybody has their own issues they're dealing with. The last thing on anybody's mind is what's going on with you and what you need. They've got their own problems...family problems, cash flow problems, employee problems, customer problems, you name it. So, when, in the course of their day, somebody mentions in passing needing a roof, I'd better have done them right if they're going to stop what they're doing and say...."I've got a guy you have to call. He's the best, the only guy in town I'd ever use for a roof project". My situation last night is a great example. My boy has given me over $50,000 in profit from his referrals. Hell yes I'm going to find him every single piece of business I can find. His commission potential on this one house is at $108,000. Think he'll go out of his way to keep referring me to folks who talk about needing a roof? I believe he will. Plus, it felt damn good to make that call to tell him I may have gotten him a listing. Is there anybody out there fighting in your corner?
Keep this in mind when you feel like you're done for the day or the week. There's always time to go out and find a way to help somebody..especially somebody who could help you at some point.
Flip the switch
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Results mar 11, 2010
Rested today, and ate a ton. My body needed the rest and the fuel. Back at it hard manana!!
Measure and quantify
Are these goals we've created as far away as they seem?
Think about just one of your "things" goals we've created over this journey...and consider what you need to do financially to get it. For the sake of our discussion, let's look at an example, so we can determine exactly how much we have to step up our earnings. A dream home...Imagine I've gone out and taken a great photo of the house my wife and I just love. It's hanging on our bathroom mirror for me to see every morning when I arise and every night before I rack out. The lakefront lot...the open floor plan, the quad staircases, the five car garage, the office with the dark mahogany woodworking. My wife would be stoked beyond belief if I brought home the keys to this place.
Ok, now let's use this goal to take a hard look at the numbers, to determine how much extra money we've got to make to have this home, to see how far we are from making this happen. Once we figure out how to break our goals down into workable numbers...and they are workable, we can apply our formula to just about everything else we wish to be, do, or have. My goal is to bring these dreams, that just seem like abstract, hazy "what ifs", much closer, because you'll see we're not that far away once you put the numbers to them. The house scenario will illustrate my point.
Look at what the house costs. Let's say it's $650,000. Compare that with our current hypothetical mortgage and take the difference. Let's say our place now costs $2,000 per month, with taxes and insurance. The difference is $4,000 per month, roughly, when you add in the extra dough on the principal, plus the increase in taxes. Now we've got a real number to work with. $4,000
Now, let's look at how I get paid for what I do. I have two main vehicles for earning money. One is as a commissioned sales rep/owner of a manufacturing company; the other is a contracting business in which we complete projects for homeowners..mainly roofing. What do I need to do to earn an extra $4,000 per month? What do you need to do to earn the $4,000?
On the rep side - my commission rate is 5% on what I sell. I'd need to sell $80,000 per month extra to be able to buy that home. On the contracting side, my average sale is $10,000, with a profit margin of 30%....$3,000 per project. So, I'd need to sell a job and a half per month to make it work. Simple right?
Let's take the equation a step further, to gain a better understanding. In order for me to sell an additional $80,000 per month, what would I need to do? Well, there's a bunch of ways to get to $80,000, but let's begin with our average customer and use that as our baseline. The average dealer direct customer is going to buy $10-$20K per month from us. We'll use the $10K for our formula. We need 8 customers buying $10K each to get us there.
We have a couple of strategies we can utilize. One, is to find 8 new dealers...guys that have never bought anything from us. We could also go to our existing dealers and figure out a way to earn a greater percentage of their business or we could dig in and help them grow their business with us organically. These are our choices.
In my experience, it's always more effective and cost effective to grow the business with the folks who are buying from you now. New customers are more difficult to get in front of. They're going to take time, for sure, and there are lots of variables in the equation that take time to uncover and understand. The dealers who've already raised their hands and said "I like you, I trust you, I'm going to buy from you", these folks are gold, because they already see the value in you and your product and organization.
That all being said, I like the concept of utilizing both strategies. Organic growth is easier, it's less expensive, less time consuming, and it works. But, new business is the lifeblood of any organization. We have to bring new faces into the mix...it's how we increase our market share and develop more quality relationships with people in our industry. So, I'm going to shoot for $30K of organic growth and $50K of new biz growth. This will make my partners happy and we'll get to know more people for future growth.
What do we need to do over the next 90 days to get those 5 new dealers on board? We simply have to work the numbers. Sales, as we all know, is a numbers game, ultimately. It's a relationship game, but we have to work the numbers in order to hit our numbers. We see x number of prospects...we pitch x number of deals...to convert y number of dealers. You know your numbers, I can't help you with that. The only thing I can offer is my numbers, so you can see a real example of what this looks like.
I usually convert 3 to 5 out of 10 dealers I speak with. I'm talking about guys who take the time to sit down and really open up about their business. If I can get them talking about what's going on and what keeps them up at night, my closing ratio goes through the roof. But, for this example, I'll use 3 of 10 as my number. So, I need to cultivate deals for 20 prospects, in order to get my 5 or 6 new guys on board.
My system for working new guys is like this...I schedule meetings with them every other week for the entire quarter, making sure I get my mug in front of them six times. Each time I'll make damn sure I'm bringing it....I'm not showing up to kick the tires and beg for business. I'm showing up with focus, intensity, and a sense of urgency to help him grow his business. I don't worry about mine. If I help him, my numbers will be there. So, for the next quarter, I'm going balls out to help these 20 guys grow and make more profit. The numbers will be there...I promise you.
The existing customer approach is no different, except the numbers change. I'll dig in with my 5 or 6 top existing dealers, who I know have the ability to buy more from us, or have the capacity to grow. I'm also going to see them every other week for the next quarter, taking the same approach. Laser focused on growing their business. No begging, no whining about the economy, no nonsense at all. I'll come in with leads that I found canvassing the night before. Imagine the response you'll get if you walk into that owner's office with three qualified leads. He'll love you forever. But, again, it's the same intense approach. They'll see you're for real and are willing to do what you say you'll do.
In total, we're actually targeting 25-30 customers in total. These are our targets for the next 90 days. We see half of them this week, the other half next week - 15 calls per week, which is the number I shoot for. If you're seeing much more than 30, it seems to me like you've got too much going on. You can't do that many people justice. Remember, we're not just looking to make sales...we're looking for great people to be our partners. We must position ourselves as one of the elite. Our actions dictate how we're positioned with our customers and prospects. High-level problem solving, laser focus on growth and profitability, with a sense of urgency to close business every single day with your new partners will allow you to shatter your numbers. Just remember to focus on your core group...we can't spread ourselves too thin.
At the same time, I'm going to work to earn that same $4K on the contracting side of my business. Why not? If I earn $8K per month extra, instead of just the $4K, that'd be just fine. How do I do this? This is much easier to figure out....
My canvassing experience has provided us with pretty reliable metrics. We know that a canvasser will generate at least one good lead per hour if they work the targeted neighborhoods we've outlined in our packet. We close at least one out of three leads we run. So, to find a job and a half per month, we need an extra 4 or 5 leads. Simple. Real damn simple. All I have to do is get the canvassers out an extra hour or so per week. That'd give us the numbers we need to earn an extra $4,000 per month that would allow me to buy my wife and kids the house of their dreams...in this scenario.
Moving forward, we all need an action plan. My plan is to make damn sure I know who my 30 targets are on the rep side. I've got six geographic segments of my sales territory with five targets in each, approximately. Develop a route plan to cover all of your targets each time you hit that segment of the market. Remember, the goal is to hit each target every other week. This really goes right back to our Simple Disciplines. We have to make our sales calls every day. In order to get them all scheduled, we have to make our phone calls - 10 per day. This will ensure we're seeing enough people and have the funnel full at all times.
The plan for my contracting biz is to have the canvassing team out working for leads 16-20 hours per week. This should result in 16 - 20 leads per week. This will give me the 5-6 jobs per week I'm shooting for this season. This sytem will shatter the $4K needed to buy that dream home.
We can't forget to remain balanced. We have to get our butts in shape...running, doing pushups, pullups, crunches. We have to keep eating clean. I've got to keep blogging and working to complete my first book. Gotta keep locking in with the wives when we walk through that door. We've got to keep studying and learning. It's all about balance. We want to be much more than just a money maker.
Hopefully, I shared enough specifics for you to apply this to your situation. You may have different goals, I'm sure your numbers are different. Doesn't matter. What matters is that it's easy and it's key to break these goals down. When we sit back and just sort of dream of having nice things, it's easy to leave it at that - a dream. If we take a minute to look at the numbers, we often see we're much closer than we think. Would it really be that difficult to generate an extra $4K per month? It's closer than we all think. We just have to stay focused on those Simple Disciplines.
Flip the switch
Think about just one of your "things" goals we've created over this journey...and consider what you need to do financially to get it. For the sake of our discussion, let's look at an example, so we can determine exactly how much we have to step up our earnings. A dream home...Imagine I've gone out and taken a great photo of the house my wife and I just love. It's hanging on our bathroom mirror for me to see every morning when I arise and every night before I rack out. The lakefront lot...the open floor plan, the quad staircases, the five car garage, the office with the dark mahogany woodworking. My wife would be stoked beyond belief if I brought home the keys to this place.
Ok, now let's use this goal to take a hard look at the numbers, to determine how much extra money we've got to make to have this home, to see how far we are from making this happen. Once we figure out how to break our goals down into workable numbers...and they are workable, we can apply our formula to just about everything else we wish to be, do, or have. My goal is to bring these dreams, that just seem like abstract, hazy "what ifs", much closer, because you'll see we're not that far away once you put the numbers to them. The house scenario will illustrate my point.
Look at what the house costs. Let's say it's $650,000. Compare that with our current hypothetical mortgage and take the difference. Let's say our place now costs $2,000 per month, with taxes and insurance. The difference is $4,000 per month, roughly, when you add in the extra dough on the principal, plus the increase in taxes. Now we've got a real number to work with. $4,000
Now, let's look at how I get paid for what I do. I have two main vehicles for earning money. One is as a commissioned sales rep/owner of a manufacturing company; the other is a contracting business in which we complete projects for homeowners..mainly roofing. What do I need to do to earn an extra $4,000 per month? What do you need to do to earn the $4,000?
On the rep side - my commission rate is 5% on what I sell. I'd need to sell $80,000 per month extra to be able to buy that home. On the contracting side, my average sale is $10,000, with a profit margin of 30%....$3,000 per project. So, I'd need to sell a job and a half per month to make it work. Simple right?
Let's take the equation a step further, to gain a better understanding. In order for me to sell an additional $80,000 per month, what would I need to do? Well, there's a bunch of ways to get to $80,000, but let's begin with our average customer and use that as our baseline. The average dealer direct customer is going to buy $10-$20K per month from us. We'll use the $10K for our formula. We need 8 customers buying $10K each to get us there.
We have a couple of strategies we can utilize. One, is to find 8 new dealers...guys that have never bought anything from us. We could also go to our existing dealers and figure out a way to earn a greater percentage of their business or we could dig in and help them grow their business with us organically. These are our choices.
In my experience, it's always more effective and cost effective to grow the business with the folks who are buying from you now. New customers are more difficult to get in front of. They're going to take time, for sure, and there are lots of variables in the equation that take time to uncover and understand. The dealers who've already raised their hands and said "I like you, I trust you, I'm going to buy from you", these folks are gold, because they already see the value in you and your product and organization.
That all being said, I like the concept of utilizing both strategies. Organic growth is easier, it's less expensive, less time consuming, and it works. But, new business is the lifeblood of any organization. We have to bring new faces into the mix...it's how we increase our market share and develop more quality relationships with people in our industry. So, I'm going to shoot for $30K of organic growth and $50K of new biz growth. This will make my partners happy and we'll get to know more people for future growth.
What do we need to do over the next 90 days to get those 5 new dealers on board? We simply have to work the numbers. Sales, as we all know, is a numbers game, ultimately. It's a relationship game, but we have to work the numbers in order to hit our numbers. We see x number of prospects...we pitch x number of deals...to convert y number of dealers. You know your numbers, I can't help you with that. The only thing I can offer is my numbers, so you can see a real example of what this looks like.
I usually convert 3 to 5 out of 10 dealers I speak with. I'm talking about guys who take the time to sit down and really open up about their business. If I can get them talking about what's going on and what keeps them up at night, my closing ratio goes through the roof. But, for this example, I'll use 3 of 10 as my number. So, I need to cultivate deals for 20 prospects, in order to get my 5 or 6 new guys on board.
My system for working new guys is like this...I schedule meetings with them every other week for the entire quarter, making sure I get my mug in front of them six times. Each time I'll make damn sure I'm bringing it....I'm not showing up to kick the tires and beg for business. I'm showing up with focus, intensity, and a sense of urgency to help him grow his business. I don't worry about mine. If I help him, my numbers will be there. So, for the next quarter, I'm going balls out to help these 20 guys grow and make more profit. The numbers will be there...I promise you.
The existing customer approach is no different, except the numbers change. I'll dig in with my 5 or 6 top existing dealers, who I know have the ability to buy more from us, or have the capacity to grow. I'm also going to see them every other week for the next quarter, taking the same approach. Laser focused on growing their business. No begging, no whining about the economy, no nonsense at all. I'll come in with leads that I found canvassing the night before. Imagine the response you'll get if you walk into that owner's office with three qualified leads. He'll love you forever. But, again, it's the same intense approach. They'll see you're for real and are willing to do what you say you'll do.
In total, we're actually targeting 25-30 customers in total. These are our targets for the next 90 days. We see half of them this week, the other half next week - 15 calls per week, which is the number I shoot for. If you're seeing much more than 30, it seems to me like you've got too much going on. You can't do that many people justice. Remember, we're not just looking to make sales...we're looking for great people to be our partners. We must position ourselves as one of the elite. Our actions dictate how we're positioned with our customers and prospects. High-level problem solving, laser focus on growth and profitability, with a sense of urgency to close business every single day with your new partners will allow you to shatter your numbers. Just remember to focus on your core group...we can't spread ourselves too thin.
At the same time, I'm going to work to earn that same $4K on the contracting side of my business. Why not? If I earn $8K per month extra, instead of just the $4K, that'd be just fine. How do I do this? This is much easier to figure out....
My canvassing experience has provided us with pretty reliable metrics. We know that a canvasser will generate at least one good lead per hour if they work the targeted neighborhoods we've outlined in our packet. We close at least one out of three leads we run. So, to find a job and a half per month, we need an extra 4 or 5 leads. Simple. Real damn simple. All I have to do is get the canvassers out an extra hour or so per week. That'd give us the numbers we need to earn an extra $4,000 per month that would allow me to buy my wife and kids the house of their dreams...in this scenario.
Moving forward, we all need an action plan. My plan is to make damn sure I know who my 30 targets are on the rep side. I've got six geographic segments of my sales territory with five targets in each, approximately. Develop a route plan to cover all of your targets each time you hit that segment of the market. Remember, the goal is to hit each target every other week. This really goes right back to our Simple Disciplines. We have to make our sales calls every day. In order to get them all scheduled, we have to make our phone calls - 10 per day. This will ensure we're seeing enough people and have the funnel full at all times.
The plan for my contracting biz is to have the canvassing team out working for leads 16-20 hours per week. This should result in 16 - 20 leads per week. This will give me the 5-6 jobs per week I'm shooting for this season. This sytem will shatter the $4K needed to buy that dream home.
We can't forget to remain balanced. We have to get our butts in shape...running, doing pushups, pullups, crunches. We have to keep eating clean. I've got to keep blogging and working to complete my first book. Gotta keep locking in with the wives when we walk through that door. We've got to keep studying and learning. It's all about balance. We want to be much more than just a money maker.
Hopefully, I shared enough specifics for you to apply this to your situation. You may have different goals, I'm sure your numbers are different. Doesn't matter. What matters is that it's easy and it's key to break these goals down. When we sit back and just sort of dream of having nice things, it's easy to leave it at that - a dream. If we take a minute to look at the numbers, we often see we're much closer than we think. Would it really be that difficult to generate an extra $4K per month? It's closer than we all think. We just have to stay focused on those Simple Disciplines.
Flip the switch
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
results mar 10, 2010
Again, the deal is to complete the following over a 55 day period, that began two days ago:
Run 200 miles
Complete 5000 pushups
5000 crunches
2500 pullups
Today's numbers...
ran 6 miles
50 pullups
Great day. It's days like these I'm proud of most. I had a tough time physically and mentally but pushed through and finished. Outstanding.
Run 200 miles
Complete 5000 pushups
5000 crunches
2500 pullups
Today's numbers...
ran 6 miles
50 pullups
Great day. It's days like these I'm proud of most. I had a tough time physically and mentally but pushed through and finished. Outstanding.
A little push
The discipline to push through, when others quit.
Four miles into my run today, I seriously felt like my heart was going to tear open and spill out onto the gym floor. We all have days where we just don't have much in the tank...today was one of those days. The pain was overriding any drive I had to press on. Repeated attempts to reference some belief in my brain, to find an empowering philosophy failed, time after time. Normally, some strong belief comes to the surface when I'm about to quit and am rationalizing about how much that would actually make sense. Today...nothing.
For some reason, though, I told myself to keep on going, even if I had to walk. Quitting was not an option, even though I was racing through every rationalization I had in the bag. So, I kept on. I slowed the pace to a brisk walk, so I could catch my breath a bit and hopefully, find some reason why I should reach down and find the gumption to keep going. My head was frickin pounding. My legs felt like they were someone else's, and I just could not get it going. Music wasn't doing the trick...nor was any of the internal searching I was doing.
Then it hit me...this blog. I realized I was going to have to sit down tonight and update this thing, and discuss my activity for the day. My goal for this run was six miles, and I wanted to be able to jot that number down tonight when I posted. I swear the pressure that comes with professing your goals to the world is one of the most powerful motivators we have in our arsenal. Nobody wants to look like a poser. It's the worst...at least that's what my rules tell me. I won't look like a douche. I'm sure that's ego..and a problem, in somebody's eyes. I don't care. It's what moves me into action. Now that I know this, I have a hugely effective strategy for leveraging myself into taking action.
The last two miles of the run were still brutal, but I finished. Not sure I would've had the guts to, if I hadn't dug deep and found a reference to drive me into that state of never backing down. We all have our thing that gives us this leverage. It may be a towards thing, it may be an away from thing...doesn't matter. What matters is that we find the leverage we need to get our butts moving. What's yours?
Flip the switch
Four miles into my run today, I seriously felt like my heart was going to tear open and spill out onto the gym floor. We all have days where we just don't have much in the tank...today was one of those days. The pain was overriding any drive I had to press on. Repeated attempts to reference some belief in my brain, to find an empowering philosophy failed, time after time. Normally, some strong belief comes to the surface when I'm about to quit and am rationalizing about how much that would actually make sense. Today...nothing.
For some reason, though, I told myself to keep on going, even if I had to walk. Quitting was not an option, even though I was racing through every rationalization I had in the bag. So, I kept on. I slowed the pace to a brisk walk, so I could catch my breath a bit and hopefully, find some reason why I should reach down and find the gumption to keep going. My head was frickin pounding. My legs felt like they were someone else's, and I just could not get it going. Music wasn't doing the trick...nor was any of the internal searching I was doing.
Then it hit me...this blog. I realized I was going to have to sit down tonight and update this thing, and discuss my activity for the day. My goal for this run was six miles, and I wanted to be able to jot that number down tonight when I posted. I swear the pressure that comes with professing your goals to the world is one of the most powerful motivators we have in our arsenal. Nobody wants to look like a poser. It's the worst...at least that's what my rules tell me. I won't look like a douche. I'm sure that's ego..and a problem, in somebody's eyes. I don't care. It's what moves me into action. Now that I know this, I have a hugely effective strategy for leveraging myself into taking action.
The last two miles of the run were still brutal, but I finished. Not sure I would've had the guts to, if I hadn't dug deep and found a reference to drive me into that state of never backing down. We all have our thing that gives us this leverage. It may be a towards thing, it may be an away from thing...doesn't matter. What matters is that we find the leverage we need to get our butts moving. What's yours?
Flip the switch
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The update
A quick tool to improve your business...
Recently, I came across a great little tool in managing yourself or your team. Well, actually, it's about managing our focus...the ultimate time management strategy. We can't do anything with time, other than manage what we choose to focus on during that time. That being said, I've got something that can help us manage our focus...
Commit to the following exercise:
At the end of each day, send yourself(or have your team send you) a daily business update. The update consists of three questions.
1. What did I do today? These are your results.
2. What challenges/problems did I come up against?
3. What questions do I have as a result?
Simple, yes. Powerful, yes. It's powerful because it drives activity. I don't care what business endeavor you're involved in, activity is the key to driving revenue. The more activity we create on the front end of our businesses, the more opportunities we get to land new deals. It's a numbers game, plain and simple. The more deals we pitch, the more we end up closing. Just knowing you've got to fill out the update will be enough to make sure you're out doing the deal...seeing enough prospects, making enough phone calls, creating awesome solutions for clients, etc.
Now, as a tool for leading new people(other than yourself), the update is extraordinary. First, you'll see if they even have the stones or wherewithall to send you the damn thing. You'd be amazed how many bullshit artists there are out there who talk big game and do nothing. You'll weed these losers out right off the bat. If they do send it, you'll know if they've got the courage and consistency to make it long-term. If they're not coming up against challenges, if they're not coming up with questions - good questions, you'll know they're not doing what they should be doing to make your business grow. The challenges/questions portion will allow you to sift through the bullshit, in case they're putting more focus into lying on the update than they are the actual gig.
The update will make you a better business person...period. The guilt would be overwhelming if you had to bullshit yourself on your own update. That'd be more than I could handle. If you haven't noticed, these are difficult times out there. Millions of good peeps are without work, and would do just about anything to take your job away from you, given the chance. We must step up our game, regardless of how well we may be producing currently. We owe it to ourselves, to our families, to our partners, to our employers to get better and go out and beat the bushes. The update will only help us in this endeavor.
Flip the switch
Recently, I came across a great little tool in managing yourself or your team. Well, actually, it's about managing our focus...the ultimate time management strategy. We can't do anything with time, other than manage what we choose to focus on during that time. That being said, I've got something that can help us manage our focus...
Commit to the following exercise:
At the end of each day, send yourself(or have your team send you) a daily business update. The update consists of three questions.
1. What did I do today? These are your results.
2. What challenges/problems did I come up against?
3. What questions do I have as a result?
Simple, yes. Powerful, yes. It's powerful because it drives activity. I don't care what business endeavor you're involved in, activity is the key to driving revenue. The more activity we create on the front end of our businesses, the more opportunities we get to land new deals. It's a numbers game, plain and simple. The more deals we pitch, the more we end up closing. Just knowing you've got to fill out the update will be enough to make sure you're out doing the deal...seeing enough prospects, making enough phone calls, creating awesome solutions for clients, etc.
Now, as a tool for leading new people(other than yourself), the update is extraordinary. First, you'll see if they even have the stones or wherewithall to send you the damn thing. You'd be amazed how many bullshit artists there are out there who talk big game and do nothing. You'll weed these losers out right off the bat. If they do send it, you'll know if they've got the courage and consistency to make it long-term. If they're not coming up against challenges, if they're not coming up with questions - good questions, you'll know they're not doing what they should be doing to make your business grow. The challenges/questions portion will allow you to sift through the bullshit, in case they're putting more focus into lying on the update than they are the actual gig.
The update will make you a better business person...period. The guilt would be overwhelming if you had to bullshit yourself on your own update. That'd be more than I could handle. If you haven't noticed, these are difficult times out there. Millions of good peeps are without work, and would do just about anything to take your job away from you, given the chance. We must step up our game, regardless of how well we may be producing currently. We owe it to ourselves, to our families, to our partners, to our employers to get better and go out and beat the bushes. The update will only help us in this endeavor.
Flip the switch
Today's Results -- Mar 9, 2010
Again, the objective is 200 miles from Mar 8 to May 1, a total of 55 days. Also, to perform 5000 pushups, 5000 crunches, and 2500 pullups.
Today's results...
3 miles
120 pushups
180 crunches
0 pullups
Pretty rough day, mentally, as far as getting off my ass and getting to it. I fought like hell to even get to the gym. Rationalizations were flying around my head all morning, all afternoon. I absolutely hate this side of my brain chemistry. Not sure what it is with our ability to make the worst of decisions sound like a genius plan. The good news is I pushed through it, though. I got some activity done on a day in which I'd have normally have pulled up lame. So, good day all-in-all.
The diet was pretty solid as well. I ate clean at Subway for lunch and had some baked lean chicken breast for dinner, with some steamed broccoli and whole grain noodles. Mixed in an apple mid-afternoon.
Getting closer.
Today's results...
3 miles
120 pushups
180 crunches
0 pullups
Pretty rough day, mentally, as far as getting off my ass and getting to it. I fought like hell to even get to the gym. Rationalizations were flying around my head all morning, all afternoon. I absolutely hate this side of my brain chemistry. Not sure what it is with our ability to make the worst of decisions sound like a genius plan. The good news is I pushed through it, though. I got some activity done on a day in which I'd have normally have pulled up lame. So, good day all-in-all.
The diet was pretty solid as well. I ate clean at Subway for lunch and had some baked lean chicken breast for dinner, with some steamed broccoli and whole grain noodles. Mixed in an apple mid-afternoon.
Getting closer.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Let's pick it up
Wanna join me in a little test?
For the next 55 days(as part of our 90 Days to Discipline), our goal is to push ourselves to the absolute limit, physically. By all means, continue with all of the Simple Disciplines we've outlined...they're the fundamentals we must execute on a daily basis, to create the visions we hold for our lives. We're only simplifying the health and fitness aspect of the program...and I can promise you...the results will be worth the extra pain.
Here's the deal --
For 55 days, let's adhere to a simple plan that will allow us to blow through the extra pounds of fat we have left to shed. One of the worst feelings in the world is feeling fat, especially in a t-shirt. Fat...in a shirt? You've got to be kidding me. I've had enough of this bs. Summer is approaching quickly. Which is normally a great thing. Right now, it's not good thing...it's quite sickening, because I'm still nowhere near ready to strip off the shirt at the beach. Nowhere near.
So, what's the plan?
Massive amounts of cardio...tons of core work and body weight exercises...and a clean diet. Fifteen pounds of fat are keeping me from looking and feeling the way I want to this summer. The trick is to drop the fat, while building or, at least, maintaining the muscle mass we've built up to this point. How do we accomplish this? The best way for me is to keep it simple...
Over the next 55 days:
Run 200 miles
Perform 5000 pushups
Perform 5000 crunches
Perform 2500 pull ups
Let me explain the logic behind this experiment...
My responsibilities at home, with all of my kids' activities, keep both my wife and I hopping. Monday through Saturday is filled with different sporting events, mixed martial arts, voice lessons, guitar lessons, acting lessons...a ton of time and a ton of driving back and forth. Add to this my schedule with the businesses and I'm left with only a couple of extra hours to get several important tasks in -- like blogging, writing my book, reading, planning, bookkeeping, etc. I'm struggling to find the time I need to go to the gym every day and work specific body parts. My normal gig is to go in, blow up two body parts each day, then run. Well, this is actually starting to take its toll because I can't always run over and put two hours in at the gym. When I get to the gym, I end up wasting time trying to figure out which body parts, what exercises to do, how many reps...blah, blah, blah. The whole thing's confusing. The last thing I need at the gym is to have to think a million thoughts. I know it's important, and I'm fully aware of how much this sounds like a huge whaaah fest of excuses and rationalizations. Bear with me...
One of the things I know for sure when it comes to health and fitness is it pays to change things up, to keep our bodies guessing. The change of pace places extra demands on us and is usually taxing enough on our bodies to create real change and improvement. That being said, I want to return to the basics and focus on pure output. Simple, measurable, efficient tasks that will produce results, while saving the extra time of preparing to go to the gym, driving, loading up the weights, resting between sets, etc. This way, we can set out on the trail and just go, without worrying about what our workouts should consist of that day. Our minds will worry less about how and more on just hitting it hard. A good, long run and some push ups, pull ups, and crunches when we're done.
Just so you know, this is a big-time stretch goal for me. I'm not in the greatest of shape right now. The mileage worries me, for sure, seeing as how I haven't ran to this degree in at least five years. If you're sweating the totals on each category, you're not alone. Don't feel bad if you have to walk part of your daily miles...the point is to get out there and put in your mileage. Also, we are all going to need some assistance with the pull ups. I can't just rap off 50 pull ups...no chance in hell. I'll use a chair or something. Point is, this will require some heart and some perserverance to carry on. But, that's what this whole process is about...placing huge demands on us mentally through physical tests. The more we break ourselves down, the stronger we are able to build ourselves back up.
Solid nutrition will be what makes us or breaks us in hitting these numbers. I can't imagine being able to rack up this kind of mileage without fueling up each day with the right foods and plenty of water.
This is something we should do anyway. It's amazing what we can do when we're in a situation in which we must do it. Our "shoulds" in life rarely, if ever, happen. Our "musts" get done. The things we must do always seem to get done. The key is to take our "shoulds" and turn them into "musts". How? By committing to them to the whole world...not looking like a pussy can be a powerful motivator for most people. Exactly why I've created 90 Days to Discipline...it's leveraged me into taking massive action.
I'm going to post my results every day. Please comment with your results. I'll only ask, if you're in...then be in. I want to surround myself with folks who see the value in following through on the commitments they've made...to the group, and to themselves, more importantly. I'd enjoy nothing more than to log onto this blog and see a ton of activity and feedback from the group. Please add whatever comes to mind when you comment. Thanks in advance...It's always more enjoyable to lock arms with other good people and fight the good fight. If nobody joins me in this endeavor, that's fine too. I get off in being able to do things that 99.9% of the population won't do.
Flip the Switch
For the next 55 days(as part of our 90 Days to Discipline), our goal is to push ourselves to the absolute limit, physically. By all means, continue with all of the Simple Disciplines we've outlined...they're the fundamentals we must execute on a daily basis, to create the visions we hold for our lives. We're only simplifying the health and fitness aspect of the program...and I can promise you...the results will be worth the extra pain.
Here's the deal --
For 55 days, let's adhere to a simple plan that will allow us to blow through the extra pounds of fat we have left to shed. One of the worst feelings in the world is feeling fat, especially in a t-shirt. Fat...in a shirt? You've got to be kidding me. I've had enough of this bs. Summer is approaching quickly. Which is normally a great thing. Right now, it's not good thing...it's quite sickening, because I'm still nowhere near ready to strip off the shirt at the beach. Nowhere near.
So, what's the plan?
Massive amounts of cardio...tons of core work and body weight exercises...and a clean diet. Fifteen pounds of fat are keeping me from looking and feeling the way I want to this summer. The trick is to drop the fat, while building or, at least, maintaining the muscle mass we've built up to this point. How do we accomplish this? The best way for me is to keep it simple...
Over the next 55 days:
Run 200 miles
Perform 5000 pushups
Perform 5000 crunches
Perform 2500 pull ups
Let me explain the logic behind this experiment...
My responsibilities at home, with all of my kids' activities, keep both my wife and I hopping. Monday through Saturday is filled with different sporting events, mixed martial arts, voice lessons, guitar lessons, acting lessons...a ton of time and a ton of driving back and forth. Add to this my schedule with the businesses and I'm left with only a couple of extra hours to get several important tasks in -- like blogging, writing my book, reading, planning, bookkeeping, etc. I'm struggling to find the time I need to go to the gym every day and work specific body parts. My normal gig is to go in, blow up two body parts each day, then run. Well, this is actually starting to take its toll because I can't always run over and put two hours in at the gym. When I get to the gym, I end up wasting time trying to figure out which body parts, what exercises to do, how many reps...blah, blah, blah. The whole thing's confusing. The last thing I need at the gym is to have to think a million thoughts. I know it's important, and I'm fully aware of how much this sounds like a huge whaaah fest of excuses and rationalizations. Bear with me...
One of the things I know for sure when it comes to health and fitness is it pays to change things up, to keep our bodies guessing. The change of pace places extra demands on us and is usually taxing enough on our bodies to create real change and improvement. That being said, I want to return to the basics and focus on pure output. Simple, measurable, efficient tasks that will produce results, while saving the extra time of preparing to go to the gym, driving, loading up the weights, resting between sets, etc. This way, we can set out on the trail and just go, without worrying about what our workouts should consist of that day. Our minds will worry less about how and more on just hitting it hard. A good, long run and some push ups, pull ups, and crunches when we're done.
Just so you know, this is a big-time stretch goal for me. I'm not in the greatest of shape right now. The mileage worries me, for sure, seeing as how I haven't ran to this degree in at least five years. If you're sweating the totals on each category, you're not alone. Don't feel bad if you have to walk part of your daily miles...the point is to get out there and put in your mileage. Also, we are all going to need some assistance with the pull ups. I can't just rap off 50 pull ups...no chance in hell. I'll use a chair or something. Point is, this will require some heart and some perserverance to carry on. But, that's what this whole process is about...placing huge demands on us mentally through physical tests. The more we break ourselves down, the stronger we are able to build ourselves back up.
Solid nutrition will be what makes us or breaks us in hitting these numbers. I can't imagine being able to rack up this kind of mileage without fueling up each day with the right foods and plenty of water.
This is something we should do anyway. It's amazing what we can do when we're in a situation in which we must do it. Our "shoulds" in life rarely, if ever, happen. Our "musts" get done. The things we must do always seem to get done. The key is to take our "shoulds" and turn them into "musts". How? By committing to them to the whole world...not looking like a pussy can be a powerful motivator for most people. Exactly why I've created 90 Days to Discipline...it's leveraged me into taking massive action.
I'm going to post my results every day. Please comment with your results. I'll only ask, if you're in...then be in. I want to surround myself with folks who see the value in following through on the commitments they've made...to the group, and to themselves, more importantly. I'd enjoy nothing more than to log onto this blog and see a ton of activity and feedback from the group. Please add whatever comes to mind when you comment. Thanks in advance...It's always more enjoyable to lock arms with other good people and fight the good fight. If nobody joins me in this endeavor, that's fine too. I get off in being able to do things that 99.9% of the population won't do.
Flip the Switch
Today's Results -- Mar 8 2010
Ok, here are today's results:
Remember, our goals are to hit the following numbers over the next 55 days(up to May 1):
Run 200 miles
5000 pushups
5000 crunches
2500 pull ups
I chipped away at the totals today...
Ran 6 miles
150 pushups
150 crunches
50 pullups
The coolest thing for me about my workout today was that there was little to no decisions to make. Normally, my mind goes through a filtering process in trying to design the workout for the day. Occasionally, I'll actually freeze myself into inactivity...or, at least, hesitation from second guessing myself. It's a pain in the ass really. Today was an awesome change of pace. I know I need to bust ass and put some miles in on the road and rap off the other few items. In the end, I felt pretty shit canned from the run and my chest, arms, back and abs were all trashed from the bodyweight stuff. This is going to work out well.
Remember, our goals are to hit the following numbers over the next 55 days(up to May 1):
Run 200 miles
5000 pushups
5000 crunches
2500 pull ups
I chipped away at the totals today...
Ran 6 miles
150 pushups
150 crunches
50 pullups
The coolest thing for me about my workout today was that there was little to no decisions to make. Normally, my mind goes through a filtering process in trying to design the workout for the day. Occasionally, I'll actually freeze myself into inactivity...or, at least, hesitation from second guessing myself. It's a pain in the ass really. Today was an awesome change of pace. I know I need to bust ass and put some miles in on the road and rap off the other few items. In the end, I felt pretty shit canned from the run and my chest, arms, back and abs were all trashed from the bodyweight stuff. This is going to work out well.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Rules Cont...
Our rules determine the quality of our experiences...
This conversation is complex and a couple of blog posts won't do it justice, by any measure. But, I feel compelled to explain it further, since this is the first time most of you have considered this philosophy. I'll do the best I can to give you enough information to, at least, ease the burden that comes with wanting more. I'll begin with expounding upon the rules discussion. Then, I want to spend some time on the spiritual aspect of our journey together, since we've focused so much energy on the process of achievement. I don't want to lose the big picture, here.
At every moment, our brains are asking "what does this mean?". This is how our brain analyzes everything. Somebody smiles at us at the gym -- brain says "what does this mean?". Our rules give us our answer...this person's happy and approves of us. Cool, we get pleasure from that. So, we smile back. Conversely, that same person gives us a nasty glance and looks away. Our brains say "what does this mean?". Our rules say hey, people who look at us this way have a problem with us, they don't approve. The result we get is some level of pain, as we start running through recollections of what may be driving this reaction from her.
Another example: I have a friend who's a gym rat, we'll call him Fitboy. He's in great shape, works out two hours a day during the week, doing strength training and high intensity cardio. The dude's ripped and is a machine. I've got another friend...actually, a family member, who's sort of the opposite. She's not in great shape. She's not obese or anything, but she's not at all where she wants to be. She's overweight, for sure, and is accutely aware of how fit our mutual friend is. Let's call her Unfit Girl. In conversation, the UG tells me how lucky he is that he's got the "workout gene", and that she just doesn't have it. She says she has to struggle to get into the gym every time she does decide to go, while fitboy doesn't have those struggles. This is a great example of how our rules determine our lifestyle. Unfit girl's rules tell her the gym is optional. They tell her it's hard for her, and it's going to be tough. She doesn't really have to go, because she's unlucky and it's just plain hard. If she does go, well, that's great. Fitboy has different rules. His say "I have to go to the gym and bust ass every day, Monday through Friday". His rules also say "I eat for fuel, not for emotional reasons". So, when Fitboy doesn't go to the gym, his brain lays on the pain. He feels terrible about himself. When Unfit Girl doesn't go, her rules tell her it's ok. It's ok because she wasn't born with the workout gene, the way Fitboy was. She's destined to be fat. He's destined to be ripped. No doubt about it.
This is how our rules work in our every day lives. They're guiding our behavior minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day. It's a constant process of asking ourselves "what does this mean?". This dictates our moods(states), it dictates our actions, which produces our lifestyle.
Now, there's much more to all of this than just our outcomes, in the physical sense. This is what I want to cover in today's post. Throughout 90 Days, we've focused on our visions, and what we need to do on a day to day basis to make them real....which is awesome. I'm in 100%. But, I need to make sure we're all keeping the big picture in focus here.
The readers and/or participants of 90 Days to Discipline are accutely aware of their aspirations. We spend a great deal of time focusing on what we want...what we want to become, build, create, have, do...We have achieved clarity in knowing where we're headed. Consequently, we are also aware of our shortcomings. The commitment to the Simple Disciplines we've outlined for each of us is tough. We don't always have the energy, desire, or the inclination to execute all of these high-level tasks every single day. It's tough, and can be down right brutal at times. When I fail to follow through on even one of my Simple Disciplines, my brain gives me some level of pain...a good thing ultimately, this is how we develop discipline and good habits. But, we have to be careful in the process...
The day may come in which one of us or some of us, can not do some of these fundamental tasks we've committed to doing. An injury or an illness could prevent us from being able to strength train or run. That same injury could keep us from being able to work, ever again if the deal is serious enough. What I'm trying to say is that we can't necessarily define ourselves through our actions.
We are more than just physical beings who produce, consume, set goals and reach them. We are spiritual beings, and we must all explore this side of ourselves, because in the end, the physical realm won't matter. We won't care what kind of car we drove, or how big our house was. The size of our investment portfolio will be secondary to the more important aspects, like were we good people? Our last days will be spent reflecting on the things that truly matter. I can promise you I won't be picturing my Aston Martin when I'm sitting in my rocking chair in Florida, at age 88. No, I'll be thinking about the people I love and the times we've spent together. I'll be thinking of some of the folks I've wronged, over the years. I will be, hopefully, sharing memories of trips, vacations, and great experiences with my children and their children and maybe their children. Our relationships and our contribution are what will truly matter in the end.
The ancient Egyptians had a pretty neat belief about death. They believed that when a person died and her eternal fate was being determined, as to where she spent eternity, she was asked two questions. Her answers determined whether she got into heaven or would be condemned to hell. The questions were...Did your life bring you joy? The second, a bit more telling...did your life bring joy to others? Reflection like this makes me realize that our goals are just something we do...they're not who we are. A man can go out and achieve the most amazing success in the physical...cars, mansions, hundreds of millions of dollars, power, fame, whatever..and still be an empty sole. Look around, we see this everywhere in our pop culture, in which we lift these celebs up as heros, yet they're despicable human beings. They seem to have life by the short hairs...money, fame, everything, yet they can't stand to look themselves in the mirror.
I'm still going to go out today and kick seven shades of ass in my business. I'm still going to lift until my arms tear apart and run into my lungs burst into flames. I'm still going to build my businesses and my income so that my family can live insanely fun lives. But, the focus is going to be on becoming the best man I can become, for what I can give back and contribute...not for what I can obtain. If I were to lose all of my material wealth, I'd still be the man I am today, and nobody can or will ever take that away from me.
90 Days to Discipline is a commitment we've made to ourselves. It's about knowing what we want, being crystal clear about it, so we can create a roadmap to get us there. This sort of clarity creates a sense of purpose inside each of us. This purpose will drive us to become the best version of ourselves we can be. The self-discipline and belief in ourselves will lift us to great heights within our own minds. And if a day comes when we're no longer able to do some of the things we've grown accustomed to doing, it simply won't matter to us. Our inner courage and strength will define us. Of course we will have manifested success in the physical realm, and I'll never apologize for that. Hell, I want my family to have the best in life and experience everything life has to offer. There's absolutely no shame in wanting the best. The difference is we won't let that material success define us. Our strength, discipline, and courage to be ourselves, at all costs will always define this group.
Flip the Switch
Flip the Switch
This conversation is complex and a couple of blog posts won't do it justice, by any measure. But, I feel compelled to explain it further, since this is the first time most of you have considered this philosophy. I'll do the best I can to give you enough information to, at least, ease the burden that comes with wanting more. I'll begin with expounding upon the rules discussion. Then, I want to spend some time on the spiritual aspect of our journey together, since we've focused so much energy on the process of achievement. I don't want to lose the big picture, here.
At every moment, our brains are asking "what does this mean?". This is how our brain analyzes everything. Somebody smiles at us at the gym -- brain says "what does this mean?". Our rules give us our answer...this person's happy and approves of us. Cool, we get pleasure from that. So, we smile back. Conversely, that same person gives us a nasty glance and looks away. Our brains say "what does this mean?". Our rules say hey, people who look at us this way have a problem with us, they don't approve. The result we get is some level of pain, as we start running through recollections of what may be driving this reaction from her.
Another example: I have a friend who's a gym rat, we'll call him Fitboy. He's in great shape, works out two hours a day during the week, doing strength training and high intensity cardio. The dude's ripped and is a machine. I've got another friend...actually, a family member, who's sort of the opposite. She's not in great shape. She's not obese or anything, but she's not at all where she wants to be. She's overweight, for sure, and is accutely aware of how fit our mutual friend is. Let's call her Unfit Girl. In conversation, the UG tells me how lucky he is that he's got the "workout gene", and that she just doesn't have it. She says she has to struggle to get into the gym every time she does decide to go, while fitboy doesn't have those struggles. This is a great example of how our rules determine our lifestyle. Unfit girl's rules tell her the gym is optional. They tell her it's hard for her, and it's going to be tough. She doesn't really have to go, because she's unlucky and it's just plain hard. If she does go, well, that's great. Fitboy has different rules. His say "I have to go to the gym and bust ass every day, Monday through Friday". His rules also say "I eat for fuel, not for emotional reasons". So, when Fitboy doesn't go to the gym, his brain lays on the pain. He feels terrible about himself. When Unfit Girl doesn't go, her rules tell her it's ok. It's ok because she wasn't born with the workout gene, the way Fitboy was. She's destined to be fat. He's destined to be ripped. No doubt about it.
This is how our rules work in our every day lives. They're guiding our behavior minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day. It's a constant process of asking ourselves "what does this mean?". This dictates our moods(states), it dictates our actions, which produces our lifestyle.
Now, there's much more to all of this than just our outcomes, in the physical sense. This is what I want to cover in today's post. Throughout 90 Days, we've focused on our visions, and what we need to do on a day to day basis to make them real....which is awesome. I'm in 100%. But, I need to make sure we're all keeping the big picture in focus here.
The readers and/or participants of 90 Days to Discipline are accutely aware of their aspirations. We spend a great deal of time focusing on what we want...what we want to become, build, create, have, do...We have achieved clarity in knowing where we're headed. Consequently, we are also aware of our shortcomings. The commitment to the Simple Disciplines we've outlined for each of us is tough. We don't always have the energy, desire, or the inclination to execute all of these high-level tasks every single day. It's tough, and can be down right brutal at times. When I fail to follow through on even one of my Simple Disciplines, my brain gives me some level of pain...a good thing ultimately, this is how we develop discipline and good habits. But, we have to be careful in the process...
The day may come in which one of us or some of us, can not do some of these fundamental tasks we've committed to doing. An injury or an illness could prevent us from being able to strength train or run. That same injury could keep us from being able to work, ever again if the deal is serious enough. What I'm trying to say is that we can't necessarily define ourselves through our actions.
We are more than just physical beings who produce, consume, set goals and reach them. We are spiritual beings, and we must all explore this side of ourselves, because in the end, the physical realm won't matter. We won't care what kind of car we drove, or how big our house was. The size of our investment portfolio will be secondary to the more important aspects, like were we good people? Our last days will be spent reflecting on the things that truly matter. I can promise you I won't be picturing my Aston Martin when I'm sitting in my rocking chair in Florida, at age 88. No, I'll be thinking about the people I love and the times we've spent together. I'll be thinking of some of the folks I've wronged, over the years. I will be, hopefully, sharing memories of trips, vacations, and great experiences with my children and their children and maybe their children. Our relationships and our contribution are what will truly matter in the end.
The ancient Egyptians had a pretty neat belief about death. They believed that when a person died and her eternal fate was being determined, as to where she spent eternity, she was asked two questions. Her answers determined whether she got into heaven or would be condemned to hell. The questions were...Did your life bring you joy? The second, a bit more telling...did your life bring joy to others? Reflection like this makes me realize that our goals are just something we do...they're not who we are. A man can go out and achieve the most amazing success in the physical...cars, mansions, hundreds of millions of dollars, power, fame, whatever..and still be an empty sole. Look around, we see this everywhere in our pop culture, in which we lift these celebs up as heros, yet they're despicable human beings. They seem to have life by the short hairs...money, fame, everything, yet they can't stand to look themselves in the mirror.
I'm still going to go out today and kick seven shades of ass in my business. I'm still going to lift until my arms tear apart and run into my lungs burst into flames. I'm still going to build my businesses and my income so that my family can live insanely fun lives. But, the focus is going to be on becoming the best man I can become, for what I can give back and contribute...not for what I can obtain. If I were to lose all of my material wealth, I'd still be the man I am today, and nobody can or will ever take that away from me.
90 Days to Discipline is a commitment we've made to ourselves. It's about knowing what we want, being crystal clear about it, so we can create a roadmap to get us there. This sort of clarity creates a sense of purpose inside each of us. This purpose will drive us to become the best version of ourselves we can be. The self-discipline and belief in ourselves will lift us to great heights within our own minds. And if a day comes when we're no longer able to do some of the things we've grown accustomed to doing, it simply won't matter to us. Our inner courage and strength will define us. Of course we will have manifested success in the physical realm, and I'll never apologize for that. Hell, I want my family to have the best in life and experience everything life has to offer. There's absolutely no shame in wanting the best. The difference is we won't let that material success define us. Our strength, discipline, and courage to be ourselves, at all costs will always define this group.
Flip the Switch
Flip the Switch
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Our Rules
Time to give ourselves a break...
Our rules are the deciding factor in how we evaluate ourselves -- whether we feel we're successful in our lives or not. The rub is that we didn't even get to choose our rules...they were given to us. What a deal, huh?
Consider this scenario:
It's 6:30 am on a Monday morning, and we're just finishing up a shower, after having ran 8 miles this morning on the trail. You and I have already done more physically than 99.9% of the population will do this entire week...and it's before 8:00 on Monday morning. You're taking your shower at your place, I'm taking mine at my place. Same activity from both of us, yet we're in totally different places mentally and emotionally. You are ecstatic with yourself, having started the week on a high note, arising early and getting a long run in. You feel on fire, ready to kick ass this week, because you're feeling great about yourself. I, on the other hand, am in a different place. Instead of congratulating myself for a good beginning to my week, I'm thinking about my buddy Lance, and the fact he's probably run 10 miles, and has already done some crazy crossfit type of workout. Lance already looks the way I desire to look. He's not sucking gas the way I am right now, as I shower and can barely feel my legs. Lance is, in fact, probably stretching right now, which is what I should be doing. I tell myself, "you're never going to get that fit if you keep cutting these workouts short, taking the easy way out". Wow. Different perspective, huh?
The difference lies in our rules concerning this aspect of our lives. In this case, your rules tell you that running 8 miles is damn good. Hell, it's beyond good...it's righteous. Your performance has exceeded your rules for what is acceptable in your life. My rules are more demanding. Mine say, I have to not only run like a damn Kenyan, I've got to strength train and stretch, and have 4% bodyfat in order to be pleased. Instead of focusing on what I've done and feeling grateful about it, I'm choosing to focus on what I haven't done, compared to someone else.
The result of these two very different sets of rules is that you're set up to feel successful, while I'm set up to fail...and fail miserably.
Three or four weeks into 90 Days To Discipline, we need to take a hard look at the rules that govern our lives. Most of you probably have never thought about even having rules, at least on a conscious level. The best way to find your rules is to ask yourself.."what would have to happen in order for me to feel successful in my health and fitness?...or in my career? To be a great dad?" Your rules will tell you what they expect. Some may say "I've got to be able to run 4 miles in 26 minutes, bench 350 pounds, perform 22 pullups, and have 6% bodyfat". Tough rules. Another may reply..."I just have to wake up today, above ground". Little easier set of rules to achieve.
This is critical information to have, knowing what your rules are, so we can set ourselves up for success instead of being doomed to failure. The guy who's demanding the 6:30 minute miles and the 22 pullups has high expectations, which is good, but he's probably going to run into some challenges when he's 40. Think about it. 22 pullups at 40? Not likely. It's possible, don't get me wrong, but it's unlikely. By no means do I discourage outrageous expectations...hell, mine are as outlandish as anyone's. But, there's a difference between expectations and RULES. Rules say, if we don't hit this expectation, we're unhappy...or we're a failure. Look at people like Elvis, Michael Jackson, or Liz Taylor. They all experienced huge success, by cultural standards, yet they found themselves in the depths of despair and misery. All because their blueprint for their lives, in how they measured "success" was more than likely, unattainable.
There are two ways of becoming a success, in your own terms. One is to raise your performance to meet the standards dictated by your rules, no matter how ridiculous they are. The other is to re-establish rules that are doable. I suggest a little of both. We need to grow, it's part of human nature. But, let's set our rules up so that we don't have to be overachievers all the time to feel halfway decent about ourselves. This way, when we do follow through and kick ass in the different aspects of our lives, it's more like the icing on the cake, instead of that feeling of "finally, we're doing a decent job". Because when we're not superheros anymore, we don't want to have to be, in order to be able to look ourselves in the mirror.
Think about it...we always take more action when we FEEL successful. We know we can impact this by changing our rules, changing our blueprint. Let's improve, for sure. But, let's also give ourselves a break, so we don't HAVE to overachieve every single day to feel good.
Flip the Switch
Our rules are the deciding factor in how we evaluate ourselves -- whether we feel we're successful in our lives or not. The rub is that we didn't even get to choose our rules...they were given to us. What a deal, huh?
Consider this scenario:
It's 6:30 am on a Monday morning, and we're just finishing up a shower, after having ran 8 miles this morning on the trail. You and I have already done more physically than 99.9% of the population will do this entire week...and it's before 8:00 on Monday morning. You're taking your shower at your place, I'm taking mine at my place. Same activity from both of us, yet we're in totally different places mentally and emotionally. You are ecstatic with yourself, having started the week on a high note, arising early and getting a long run in. You feel on fire, ready to kick ass this week, because you're feeling great about yourself. I, on the other hand, am in a different place. Instead of congratulating myself for a good beginning to my week, I'm thinking about my buddy Lance, and the fact he's probably run 10 miles, and has already done some crazy crossfit type of workout. Lance already looks the way I desire to look. He's not sucking gas the way I am right now, as I shower and can barely feel my legs. Lance is, in fact, probably stretching right now, which is what I should be doing. I tell myself, "you're never going to get that fit if you keep cutting these workouts short, taking the easy way out". Wow. Different perspective, huh?
The difference lies in our rules concerning this aspect of our lives. In this case, your rules tell you that running 8 miles is damn good. Hell, it's beyond good...it's righteous. Your performance has exceeded your rules for what is acceptable in your life. My rules are more demanding. Mine say, I have to not only run like a damn Kenyan, I've got to strength train and stretch, and have 4% bodyfat in order to be pleased. Instead of focusing on what I've done and feeling grateful about it, I'm choosing to focus on what I haven't done, compared to someone else.
The result of these two very different sets of rules is that you're set up to feel successful, while I'm set up to fail...and fail miserably.
Three or four weeks into 90 Days To Discipline, we need to take a hard look at the rules that govern our lives. Most of you probably have never thought about even having rules, at least on a conscious level. The best way to find your rules is to ask yourself.."what would have to happen in order for me to feel successful in my health and fitness?...or in my career? To be a great dad?" Your rules will tell you what they expect. Some may say "I've got to be able to run 4 miles in 26 minutes, bench 350 pounds, perform 22 pullups, and have 6% bodyfat". Tough rules. Another may reply..."I just have to wake up today, above ground". Little easier set of rules to achieve.
This is critical information to have, knowing what your rules are, so we can set ourselves up for success instead of being doomed to failure. The guy who's demanding the 6:30 minute miles and the 22 pullups has high expectations, which is good, but he's probably going to run into some challenges when he's 40. Think about it. 22 pullups at 40? Not likely. It's possible, don't get me wrong, but it's unlikely. By no means do I discourage outrageous expectations...hell, mine are as outlandish as anyone's. But, there's a difference between expectations and RULES. Rules say, if we don't hit this expectation, we're unhappy...or we're a failure. Look at people like Elvis, Michael Jackson, or Liz Taylor. They all experienced huge success, by cultural standards, yet they found themselves in the depths of despair and misery. All because their blueprint for their lives, in how they measured "success" was more than likely, unattainable.
There are two ways of becoming a success, in your own terms. One is to raise your performance to meet the standards dictated by your rules, no matter how ridiculous they are. The other is to re-establish rules that are doable. I suggest a little of both. We need to grow, it's part of human nature. But, let's set our rules up so that we don't have to be overachievers all the time to feel halfway decent about ourselves. This way, when we do follow through and kick ass in the different aspects of our lives, it's more like the icing on the cake, instead of that feeling of "finally, we're doing a decent job". Because when we're not superheros anymore, we don't want to have to be, in order to be able to look ourselves in the mirror.
Think about it...we always take more action when we FEEL successful. We know we can impact this by changing our rules, changing our blueprint. Let's improve, for sure. But, let's also give ourselves a break, so we don't HAVE to overachieve every single day to feel good.
Flip the Switch
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Take a step at least
Tony Robbins once said "never leave the site of setting a goal or making a decision without doing something toward its achievement". Great advice.
My primary "things" goal is to own a kick ass sports car. Originally, I wrote down an Astin Martin. The DBS Volante model is the one I enjoy most, or at least I think I would enjoy the most, since I've never driven one. But, recently...within the last six weeks or so, the Audi A8 and R8 have climbed the ladder toward the top of my hot car wishlist. Either way, it's easy to understand what I'm working towards here.
The cynic may rush to judgement upon hearing this, labeling me shallow or superficial, or whatever. Number one, I don't give a rat's ass what assholes like this think or say. They're chickenshit and are more worried about telling others what we can't do instead of doing anything themselves. Number two, they'd be right if I went into hock over a car like this, while my kids ate cat food at home. If I had the jack...correction...WHEN I have the jack, I'll walk right into that dealer and drop $130K on one of these badboys and won't lose a wink of sleep over it.
Today, I took a necessary step toward making this dream a reality. I scheduled a meeting with the owner of the Audi dealership in Highland Park and announced I would be coming in to look at the R8 and A8 models he had on the lot. He was able to fit me into his schedule pretty much right away(no wonder, the place was a ghost town when I got there). My intention was to solidify this goal by throwing a little gas on the fire. I want one of these rides pretty damn bad, I think about it regularly.
After this trip to the dealership, this goal has reached a "whole nother" level inside of me. Owning a car like James Bond has been on my mind for some time, yes, but now it's a white hot burning obsession. Just the appearance of both models blew me away. The R8 was sleek, low to the ground, and the power was beyond anything I'd ever driven or ridden in. The A8 was absolutely pimp. It was jet black with crazy technology inside. The smell of the finest leather I'd ever experienced on both car's interiors is still lingering in my senses. Driving these machines made me feel like a better man. I could build anything I decide to in the state I found myself in, driving these fine automobiles.
But, look at that other paragraph again. I said I scheduled a meeting with the owner of the lot. Notice I didn't sneak onto the damn thing, and hide from every salesperson, hoping to not be noticed. Straight to the top...the only way to approach something like this. How would James Bond go about getting a car like this?
WWJBD(what would james bond do)?
We all need this type of emotional draw toward our goals if we truly want to reach them. Just thinking about them on an intellectual level will not do it. If we can't FEEL what it's going to FEEL like when we be it, do it, have it...whatever IT is, then we'll have to rely on will power when the going gets tough while pursuing this goal. Will power alone is rarely enough. It may be enough for those rare few who were either born with or instilled with the self-discipline to just decide to perservere. Most of us don't have this kind of strength and will power. We need this extra boost of being able to feel what it's going to feel like when we've done it.
My suggestion is to take one of your goals in each category of your life, and take a step toward its manifestation tomorrow. Some small step is all it takes. No, scratch that, that's weak. Go out tomorrow and take a huge step toward your goals. We've got to start thinking much bigger than we have been thinking. And I'll tell you something, I'm not hoping to have this badass car someday. I'm going to have this car within the next three years...and I'm paying cash.
Flip the switch
My primary "things" goal is to own a kick ass sports car. Originally, I wrote down an Astin Martin. The DBS Volante model is the one I enjoy most, or at least I think I would enjoy the most, since I've never driven one. But, recently...within the last six weeks or so, the Audi A8 and R8 have climbed the ladder toward the top of my hot car wishlist. Either way, it's easy to understand what I'm working towards here.
The cynic may rush to judgement upon hearing this, labeling me shallow or superficial, or whatever. Number one, I don't give a rat's ass what assholes like this think or say. They're chickenshit and are more worried about telling others what we can't do instead of doing anything themselves. Number two, they'd be right if I went into hock over a car like this, while my kids ate cat food at home. If I had the jack...correction...WHEN I have the jack, I'll walk right into that dealer and drop $130K on one of these badboys and won't lose a wink of sleep over it.
Today, I took a necessary step toward making this dream a reality. I scheduled a meeting with the owner of the Audi dealership in Highland Park and announced I would be coming in to look at the R8 and A8 models he had on the lot. He was able to fit me into his schedule pretty much right away(no wonder, the place was a ghost town when I got there). My intention was to solidify this goal by throwing a little gas on the fire. I want one of these rides pretty damn bad, I think about it regularly.
After this trip to the dealership, this goal has reached a "whole nother" level inside of me. Owning a car like James Bond has been on my mind for some time, yes, but now it's a white hot burning obsession. Just the appearance of both models blew me away. The R8 was sleek, low to the ground, and the power was beyond anything I'd ever driven or ridden in. The A8 was absolutely pimp. It was jet black with crazy technology inside. The smell of the finest leather I'd ever experienced on both car's interiors is still lingering in my senses. Driving these machines made me feel like a better man. I could build anything I decide to in the state I found myself in, driving these fine automobiles.
But, look at that other paragraph again. I said I scheduled a meeting with the owner of the lot. Notice I didn't sneak onto the damn thing, and hide from every salesperson, hoping to not be noticed. Straight to the top...the only way to approach something like this. How would James Bond go about getting a car like this?
WWJBD(what would james bond do)?
We all need this type of emotional draw toward our goals if we truly want to reach them. Just thinking about them on an intellectual level will not do it. If we can't FEEL what it's going to FEEL like when we be it, do it, have it...whatever IT is, then we'll have to rely on will power when the going gets tough while pursuing this goal. Will power alone is rarely enough. It may be enough for those rare few who were either born with or instilled with the self-discipline to just decide to perservere. Most of us don't have this kind of strength and will power. We need this extra boost of being able to feel what it's going to feel like when we've done it.
My suggestion is to take one of your goals in each category of your life, and take a step toward its manifestation tomorrow. Some small step is all it takes. No, scratch that, that's weak. Go out tomorrow and take a huge step toward your goals. We've got to start thinking much bigger than we have been thinking. And I'll tell you something, I'm not hoping to have this badass car someday. I'm going to have this car within the next three years...and I'm paying cash.
Flip the switch
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
90 Days To Discipline
A quick session to get re-focused on what this program is about...
90 Days to Discipline
For the past seven years of my life, I've poured myself into Personal Development. When I began, I was a pretty average salesman, working for a large manufacturing and distribution company in the building products industry. My numbers were OK, but nothing to write home about. I'd had a couple of huge years back to back in 2001 and 2002 that had put me on the company map, so to speak, so I was still riding that wave, with no great recent sucess. A good friend of mine introduced me to a network marketing company around this time. My wife and I decided to get involved and we worked the business for two to three years. Although we ultimately failed at this endeavor, it was probably the best thing that's happened to/for me up to that point in my career and development. The reason is that the culture within the business was dedicated to personal development.
Network marketing is a business of consistent rejection. If you want your team to survive, let alone prosper, you have to be strong emotionally and be able to do what I call "condition your rejection"...meaning, we all have to let all of the "no's" we hear on a daily basis, go in one ear and out the other, without taking it personally. If we let it get to us and we internalize it, eventually it will destroy our ambition and our willingness to try.
The network marketing guys understand this. They know the folks who stick long-term are the ones who can successfully remain positive and stay locked in on the vision of building a network, instead of getting pulled down by everyone around them(and I mean everyone, because nobody's going to support you in those "stupid pyramid schemes"). My wife, Bridget and I took to the PD right away. In fact, I remember falling in love with it...the books, the audio programs, the seminars. My mind was opened like never before, with all of these positive beliefs about the world. I quickly recognized how limiting my beliefs were about business in general. So much fear, so much doubt circled my head. It's no wonder I had not experienced any real or consistent success. I just didn't have the philosophy required to perservere through the rejection that comes with the pursuit of worthwhile goals.
From that point forward, it was on. Every moment I was in my car I was plugged in to some PD book or program. Didn't matter what, didn't matter who, I was gobbling it up. I was so impacted by the positive beliefs that I actually felt compelled to write, while listening. For as long as a couple of hours on certain occasions, I'd pull my car to the side of the road and scribble notes on whatever I was listening to...Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Napolean Hill, Dale Carnegie. I have dozens of notebooks and journals, all filled with these amazing, life changing philosophies. No matter what I have going on in my life, I engage in some form of PD every single day. It's the one thing in my life that's been unchanging in the last seven or eight years.
90 Days to Discipline is the culmination of that body of work, of thousands of hours of personal development. Every single day, at least an hour per day...hell, sometimes six to eight hours per day, depending upon the length of the trip I'm taking. On trips to Minneapolis, I've listened to Tony Robbins for as many as 10 hours straight. My wife and I went through TR's Personal Power II on a road trip to Captiva Island...18 hours straight. I needed it, looking back. My mind was chock full of doubt, fear, and powerless beliefs about who I was and what my capabilities were. The one thing I knew for sure back then was how much I could not do. And here I was in the middle of trying to build a business career. What a contradiction! I was a farce. But, that's not the case today. I own these philosophies, they're who I am. This is the single biggest contributing factor to my success today. I owe my life to PD, and to God, of course. You get my drift...
So, what is 90 Days all about? Let's go through it again...I'm a huge believer in getting re-sold on what's important and doing whatever it takes to follow through on commitments. I don't care if you began 90 Days and have fallen off...Here's your chance to get back on the horse. You gotta understand, this is a marathon, not a sprint. If I'd have quit every time I set out on a program like 90 Days, and threw in the towel, I'm not sure where I'd be. I know I wouldn't be where I am today...which is owning a couple of kick-ass businesses and making a strong amount of money each year. So, back at it..starting right now.
The Vision -- this is what our lives are going to look like...what we're going to become as human beings, which is by far the most important ingredient. The goals we're working towards are critical, and I'm not taking anything away from the goals. But, they're important for what they make of us as people, what we become in the process. So, who am I? What sorts of things will I believe as this ass kicking leader of three huge businesses? What will my writings look like, now that I've published several books on success, living well, sales and marketing, entreprenuership, etc? What will my life look like?
Along those same lines, what will my business life look like? What sorts of high-level activities will I be focused on during my day? Who will I be working with, as we pursue these worthwhile endeavors? Will my kids one day take over these three companies? What will our headquarters look like? You get the idea...specifics regarding your career, business, and financial situation.
What greater good will you be serving now that you've experienced such amazing financial abundance? How much will you be contributing to your alma mater? What sort of big projects will you lead for the children of your community? Contribution leads to real motivation and ultimately, fulfillment.
Now that we've built our vision in our heads, what will life feel like when this is all manifested? What are our reasons for building this life? For becoming this man? For giving all we give? These are our compelling reasons why we do what we do...this is what will pull us out of bed and into action when we'd rather just stay hidden underneath the covers on that cold winter morning, at 4:45 am.
In each area(health and fitness, biz/career/finance, things, contribution, personal development), I'll ask you to take five minutes and write down everything that you'd love to be, do or have in each category. Five minutes per category. Please be outrageous, don't limit yourself. Fear and conditioning will tell you not to write down certain items...you've got to fight that. After five minutes is up, write down a number next to each item on your list in each category. The number you write tells us the number of years you feel is OK to reach this goal. You'll have some 20's, 10's. 5's, 2's, and some 1's. The ones are what we'll focus on. Take the top two or three one year goals in each category and write them down. Next, write a description of why you want to be, do or have each goal. These are your reasons why...crucial step.
Next, look at each area of our lives and discover the one or two main activities that drive 90% of the positive results in each area. For example, in the health and fitness, obviously, working out drives the results. Mark this one down. Eating right is also an obvious one. Tony Robbins calls this process "chunking". It's simplifying each main category within our lives by focusing our efforts on one or two main actions and taking action, as opposed to complicating things. We can chunk the health and fitness aspect, our careers/financial/business, our things goals, and contribution, and personal development(who we become, because it's most important). In each area, we need to focus on the one or two actions that drive the results. Write them down.
I'll offer my actions...I call them Simple Disciplines. For me, they are as follows:
H/F -- strength training, running
Biz/Financial -- Sales Calls W/W, Prospecting, Canvassing, Building marketing systems, Blogging, Writing my Book
Really, these are the only two that require actions, because our ability to acquire things and to contribute hinge upon our ability to earn. So, we don't need to outlines Simple Disciplines in these categories. Not a bad idea, though to give ourselves some tangible action items to get us closer to our goals in these areas...ie, get a brochure for my Astin Martin, sign a letter of intent to donate $25,000 to my school
So, there you have my Simple Disciplines....
Arise early and visualize my vision, as if it were real, get into peak state
Work out hard
Plan my day and focus on what I need to do today to get closer to my goals
Eat clean all day, for fuel(imagine 165 lbs with 8% bodyfat)
15 Sales calls W/W, 5 with new biz prospects
10 prospecting calls for new biz
5 hours per week canvassing MBJ myself, build canvassing team to generate 16 leads/wk
Blog daily
Write book one hour daily
Visualize at night my vision as if it were real
Now, for the next 90 Days, execute these Simple Disciplines with enthusiasm, passion, and absolute faith that my vision is real...acting as if it were already real....
Guys, we have such an opportunity right now. It's spring, the weather's getting warmer, the sun's shining through a little longer, and we still have some time to get ourselves looking decent for the summer. Our families are counting on us. The country is full of folks who have it much worse than we'll ever know. We've been blessed with tremendous health, great families, and talents beyond what we can even imagine in ourselves. Why not go out and just leave it all out there on the field every day? We have to work anyway? We have to get up and do it all every day anyway. Why not pop up in the morning and go at it 100%? I'm talking balls to the wall every hour of every day, Monday through Friday, so our famiies don't EVER have to worry about money or having enough? Are we going to be one of those guys who looks to someone else to provide us and our famiies what we need when times get tough? We have to decide. It's a simple choice, and we make it every morning when we roll out of our comfy beds. Is this going to be the day we wake up and realize our potential? You decide. I've made my decision.
Flip the switch
90 Days to Discipline
For the past seven years of my life, I've poured myself into Personal Development. When I began, I was a pretty average salesman, working for a large manufacturing and distribution company in the building products industry. My numbers were OK, but nothing to write home about. I'd had a couple of huge years back to back in 2001 and 2002 that had put me on the company map, so to speak, so I was still riding that wave, with no great recent sucess. A good friend of mine introduced me to a network marketing company around this time. My wife and I decided to get involved and we worked the business for two to three years. Although we ultimately failed at this endeavor, it was probably the best thing that's happened to/for me up to that point in my career and development. The reason is that the culture within the business was dedicated to personal development.
Network marketing is a business of consistent rejection. If you want your team to survive, let alone prosper, you have to be strong emotionally and be able to do what I call "condition your rejection"...meaning, we all have to let all of the "no's" we hear on a daily basis, go in one ear and out the other, without taking it personally. If we let it get to us and we internalize it, eventually it will destroy our ambition and our willingness to try.
The network marketing guys understand this. They know the folks who stick long-term are the ones who can successfully remain positive and stay locked in on the vision of building a network, instead of getting pulled down by everyone around them(and I mean everyone, because nobody's going to support you in those "stupid pyramid schemes"). My wife, Bridget and I took to the PD right away. In fact, I remember falling in love with it...the books, the audio programs, the seminars. My mind was opened like never before, with all of these positive beliefs about the world. I quickly recognized how limiting my beliefs were about business in general. So much fear, so much doubt circled my head. It's no wonder I had not experienced any real or consistent success. I just didn't have the philosophy required to perservere through the rejection that comes with the pursuit of worthwhile goals.
From that point forward, it was on. Every moment I was in my car I was plugged in to some PD book or program. Didn't matter what, didn't matter who, I was gobbling it up. I was so impacted by the positive beliefs that I actually felt compelled to write, while listening. For as long as a couple of hours on certain occasions, I'd pull my car to the side of the road and scribble notes on whatever I was listening to...Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Napolean Hill, Dale Carnegie. I have dozens of notebooks and journals, all filled with these amazing, life changing philosophies. No matter what I have going on in my life, I engage in some form of PD every single day. It's the one thing in my life that's been unchanging in the last seven or eight years.
90 Days to Discipline is the culmination of that body of work, of thousands of hours of personal development. Every single day, at least an hour per day...hell, sometimes six to eight hours per day, depending upon the length of the trip I'm taking. On trips to Minneapolis, I've listened to Tony Robbins for as many as 10 hours straight. My wife and I went through TR's Personal Power II on a road trip to Captiva Island...18 hours straight. I needed it, looking back. My mind was chock full of doubt, fear, and powerless beliefs about who I was and what my capabilities were. The one thing I knew for sure back then was how much I could not do. And here I was in the middle of trying to build a business career. What a contradiction! I was a farce. But, that's not the case today. I own these philosophies, they're who I am. This is the single biggest contributing factor to my success today. I owe my life to PD, and to God, of course. You get my drift...
So, what is 90 Days all about? Let's go through it again...I'm a huge believer in getting re-sold on what's important and doing whatever it takes to follow through on commitments. I don't care if you began 90 Days and have fallen off...Here's your chance to get back on the horse. You gotta understand, this is a marathon, not a sprint. If I'd have quit every time I set out on a program like 90 Days, and threw in the towel, I'm not sure where I'd be. I know I wouldn't be where I am today...which is owning a couple of kick-ass businesses and making a strong amount of money each year. So, back at it..starting right now.
The Vision -- this is what our lives are going to look like...what we're going to become as human beings, which is by far the most important ingredient. The goals we're working towards are critical, and I'm not taking anything away from the goals. But, they're important for what they make of us as people, what we become in the process. So, who am I? What sorts of things will I believe as this ass kicking leader of three huge businesses? What will my writings look like, now that I've published several books on success, living well, sales and marketing, entreprenuership, etc? What will my life look like?
Along those same lines, what will my business life look like? What sorts of high-level activities will I be focused on during my day? Who will I be working with, as we pursue these worthwhile endeavors? Will my kids one day take over these three companies? What will our headquarters look like? You get the idea...specifics regarding your career, business, and financial situation.
What greater good will you be serving now that you've experienced such amazing financial abundance? How much will you be contributing to your alma mater? What sort of big projects will you lead for the children of your community? Contribution leads to real motivation and ultimately, fulfillment.
Now that we've built our vision in our heads, what will life feel like when this is all manifested? What are our reasons for building this life? For becoming this man? For giving all we give? These are our compelling reasons why we do what we do...this is what will pull us out of bed and into action when we'd rather just stay hidden underneath the covers on that cold winter morning, at 4:45 am.
In each area(health and fitness, biz/career/finance, things, contribution, personal development), I'll ask you to take five minutes and write down everything that you'd love to be, do or have in each category. Five minutes per category. Please be outrageous, don't limit yourself. Fear and conditioning will tell you not to write down certain items...you've got to fight that. After five minutes is up, write down a number next to each item on your list in each category. The number you write tells us the number of years you feel is OK to reach this goal. You'll have some 20's, 10's. 5's, 2's, and some 1's. The ones are what we'll focus on. Take the top two or three one year goals in each category and write them down. Next, write a description of why you want to be, do or have each goal. These are your reasons why...crucial step.
Next, look at each area of our lives and discover the one or two main activities that drive 90% of the positive results in each area. For example, in the health and fitness, obviously, working out drives the results. Mark this one down. Eating right is also an obvious one. Tony Robbins calls this process "chunking". It's simplifying each main category within our lives by focusing our efforts on one or two main actions and taking action, as opposed to complicating things. We can chunk the health and fitness aspect, our careers/financial/business, our things goals, and contribution, and personal development(who we become, because it's most important). In each area, we need to focus on the one or two actions that drive the results. Write them down.
I'll offer my actions...I call them Simple Disciplines. For me, they are as follows:
H/F -- strength training, running
Biz/Financial -- Sales Calls W/W, Prospecting, Canvassing, Building marketing systems, Blogging, Writing my Book
Really, these are the only two that require actions, because our ability to acquire things and to contribute hinge upon our ability to earn. So, we don't need to outlines Simple Disciplines in these categories. Not a bad idea, though to give ourselves some tangible action items to get us closer to our goals in these areas...ie, get a brochure for my Astin Martin, sign a letter of intent to donate $25,000 to my school
So, there you have my Simple Disciplines....
Arise early and visualize my vision, as if it were real, get into peak state
Work out hard
Plan my day and focus on what I need to do today to get closer to my goals
Eat clean all day, for fuel(imagine 165 lbs with 8% bodyfat)
15 Sales calls W/W, 5 with new biz prospects
10 prospecting calls for new biz
5 hours per week canvassing MBJ myself, build canvassing team to generate 16 leads/wk
Blog daily
Write book one hour daily
Visualize at night my vision as if it were real
Now, for the next 90 Days, execute these Simple Disciplines with enthusiasm, passion, and absolute faith that my vision is real...acting as if it were already real....
Guys, we have such an opportunity right now. It's spring, the weather's getting warmer, the sun's shining through a little longer, and we still have some time to get ourselves looking decent for the summer. Our families are counting on us. The country is full of folks who have it much worse than we'll ever know. We've been blessed with tremendous health, great families, and talents beyond what we can even imagine in ourselves. Why not go out and just leave it all out there on the field every day? We have to work anyway? We have to get up and do it all every day anyway. Why not pop up in the morning and go at it 100%? I'm talking balls to the wall every hour of every day, Monday through Friday, so our famiies don't EVER have to worry about money or having enough? Are we going to be one of those guys who looks to someone else to provide us and our famiies what we need when times get tough? We have to decide. It's a simple choice, and we make it every morning when we roll out of our comfy beds. Is this going to be the day we wake up and realize our potential? You decide. I've made my decision.
Flip the switch
Monday, March 1, 2010
A Man on a Mission
One of the philosophies I subscribe to most in my life is the one that says that a man with a true vision is powerful beyond measure. Today I saw a man with this kind of clarity...and consequentially, this kind of power.
This blog post will be short but concise. The focus of today's blog is a simple concept, yet it may very well be the most important ingredient we can find in making our visions real...in making our lives incredible for our families.
I was fortunate enough to spend the morning with a pretty interesting guy. He's one of three partners at a very successful business in our industry. He's been in the business for twenty years, he knows everybody, and is very well respected. He knows the deal, he gets it. This man has been successful for quite a long time, really, by comparison to most folks. Many people have gotten to the top, just to come crashing back down, for whatever reason. This particular guy has been consistent.
But, over the past three or four years, like everyone else in our industry, he's been hit pretty hard by these economic challenges. He was heavily invested in the new construction side of our industry, like 80% of his business came from residential new home building. That business disappeared almost overnight. His business was not only in jeapordy, his survival was at stake. He was forced to break into the remodeling side of the business. Remodeling is a different animal than new construction. Shifting gears was not going to happen with just a flick of the switch. He didn't have the luxury of time. He was forced to figure it out....now.
Long story short, he sold his team on the benefits of switching gears and that's what they did. His entire sales group and service team made the necessary adjustments, but not without some pain, of course. But, in the end, they were able to pick up enough remodel business to keep the doors open and keep just about everybody on board. I believe only three or four people were let go, out of a team of 40 or so.
He made it...a good thing. But, looking back, he was only able to pay himself about half of what he was making in the new construction hay day. Yes, he had survived. But, he was still hurting personally. This was as of last year.
Today is a different story. The guy is a man on a mission. He's not thinking survival anymore. He's got drive in his eyes, you can tell his demeanor is beyond just making ends meet. So, today I got a chance to hear his story, and ask him what the difference is between today and last year, when we were having the conversation about him staying alive. I wasn't expecting the answer I received. In fact, I never would have guessed it...what he told me was the biggest factor in his turnaround.
I'd asked him..."what gives? What's lit this fire inside?" He answered..."You really wanna know? Cuz I could tell ya, but it's gonna seem nuts, Greg". I insisted he lay it on me. He walks over to the couch in his office, picks up a blue print off the back, walks it over to me and drops it in my lap. I glanced, thinking...he's building himself his dream home. No doubt, I knew before he even said a word. Right? Wrong.
He told me it was a facility he was donating to his former high school. For the next 45 minutes, he outlined this brand new football suite/locker room he was building for his old high school. He went through every single detail of the plans with me, describing the lockers and how the kids were going to be able to watch film together, using this high-tech system, sitting in a specific type of high-end chair. He talked about the bathroom, and how the plumber had brought up this new technology for the showers and how they are going to conserve water. He showed me online what the exterior was going to be built with, using this specially coated cinder block that could be done in the brightest of orange and a crisp black, and how they were raising money by selling the blocks for people to have their names engraved.
When he spoke of this deal, he lit up like a Christmas Tree. He has so much passion and love for this project that I could actually see it in his eyes. The whole project is costing $650,000 and he's committed to getting it done. No doubts, no what ifs, no maybe's. He is doing it, no matter what it means.
This is what's driving him these days. His enthusiasm has spread within his team, and they're on pace to destroy the numbers he's projecting for 2010. In fact, they may very well get back to the sales volume they had prior to the bubble bursting in 2006/2007. He'll most likely double his income this year, and it didn't come from just setting a financial goal for himself. It's not coming from hanging a picture of an Astin Martin on his bathroom mirror. It's coming from the heart, from the feeling he's getting from contributing to someone else's life.
Inspiration comes to us when we are working towards or for something bigger than us, bigger than our own desires. Contribution is the only way to fulfillment, I'm convinced of this. I've made a ton of money this past year, and it didn't feel half as good as when I gave ISU a big donation. That feeling surpassed the money in the bank accounts.
We've got to get out of ourselves...whatever that means. I know exactly what I mean when I write that, but it may not make sense to you. But, it's critical. There are so many worthwhile causes out there, that we can contribute to. Doesn't matter what that project is. But, when we give all that we have of ourselves toward something that's going to change somebody's life, without any expectation of getting anything in return, we feel fulfilled.
Whatever it is for you, find it. Go out and explore opportunities to give. It'll change your life, forever.
Flip the switch
This blog post will be short but concise. The focus of today's blog is a simple concept, yet it may very well be the most important ingredient we can find in making our visions real...in making our lives incredible for our families.
I was fortunate enough to spend the morning with a pretty interesting guy. He's one of three partners at a very successful business in our industry. He's been in the business for twenty years, he knows everybody, and is very well respected. He knows the deal, he gets it. This man has been successful for quite a long time, really, by comparison to most folks. Many people have gotten to the top, just to come crashing back down, for whatever reason. This particular guy has been consistent.
But, over the past three or four years, like everyone else in our industry, he's been hit pretty hard by these economic challenges. He was heavily invested in the new construction side of our industry, like 80% of his business came from residential new home building. That business disappeared almost overnight. His business was not only in jeapordy, his survival was at stake. He was forced to break into the remodeling side of the business. Remodeling is a different animal than new construction. Shifting gears was not going to happen with just a flick of the switch. He didn't have the luxury of time. He was forced to figure it out....now.
Long story short, he sold his team on the benefits of switching gears and that's what they did. His entire sales group and service team made the necessary adjustments, but not without some pain, of course. But, in the end, they were able to pick up enough remodel business to keep the doors open and keep just about everybody on board. I believe only three or four people were let go, out of a team of 40 or so.
He made it...a good thing. But, looking back, he was only able to pay himself about half of what he was making in the new construction hay day. Yes, he had survived. But, he was still hurting personally. This was as of last year.
Today is a different story. The guy is a man on a mission. He's not thinking survival anymore. He's got drive in his eyes, you can tell his demeanor is beyond just making ends meet. So, today I got a chance to hear his story, and ask him what the difference is between today and last year, when we were having the conversation about him staying alive. I wasn't expecting the answer I received. In fact, I never would have guessed it...what he told me was the biggest factor in his turnaround.
I'd asked him..."what gives? What's lit this fire inside?" He answered..."You really wanna know? Cuz I could tell ya, but it's gonna seem nuts, Greg". I insisted he lay it on me. He walks over to the couch in his office, picks up a blue print off the back, walks it over to me and drops it in my lap. I glanced, thinking...he's building himself his dream home. No doubt, I knew before he even said a word. Right? Wrong.
He told me it was a facility he was donating to his former high school. For the next 45 minutes, he outlined this brand new football suite/locker room he was building for his old high school. He went through every single detail of the plans with me, describing the lockers and how the kids were going to be able to watch film together, using this high-tech system, sitting in a specific type of high-end chair. He talked about the bathroom, and how the plumber had brought up this new technology for the showers and how they are going to conserve water. He showed me online what the exterior was going to be built with, using this specially coated cinder block that could be done in the brightest of orange and a crisp black, and how they were raising money by selling the blocks for people to have their names engraved.
When he spoke of this deal, he lit up like a Christmas Tree. He has so much passion and love for this project that I could actually see it in his eyes. The whole project is costing $650,000 and he's committed to getting it done. No doubts, no what ifs, no maybe's. He is doing it, no matter what it means.
This is what's driving him these days. His enthusiasm has spread within his team, and they're on pace to destroy the numbers he's projecting for 2010. In fact, they may very well get back to the sales volume they had prior to the bubble bursting in 2006/2007. He'll most likely double his income this year, and it didn't come from just setting a financial goal for himself. It's not coming from hanging a picture of an Astin Martin on his bathroom mirror. It's coming from the heart, from the feeling he's getting from contributing to someone else's life.
Inspiration comes to us when we are working towards or for something bigger than us, bigger than our own desires. Contribution is the only way to fulfillment, I'm convinced of this. I've made a ton of money this past year, and it didn't feel half as good as when I gave ISU a big donation. That feeling surpassed the money in the bank accounts.
We've got to get out of ourselves...whatever that means. I know exactly what I mean when I write that, but it may not make sense to you. But, it's critical. There are so many worthwhile causes out there, that we can contribute to. Doesn't matter what that project is. But, when we give all that we have of ourselves toward something that's going to change somebody's life, without any expectation of getting anything in return, we feel fulfilled.
Whatever it is for you, find it. Go out and explore opportunities to give. It'll change your life, forever.
Flip the switch
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