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
Monday, March 8, 2010
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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