 Here we are, four months into 2021 and chances are, your "resolutions" are a distant memory. Why do we fight the same battles over and over year after year with the same bad results? The problem with big "New Year's Resolutions" is that we don't strategically plan and schedule the habits that it will take to reach the smaller milestones along the way towards the big goal. You see, when we look at our goals from the perspective of a year long time frame, it is hard to actually wrap our minds around the enormity of actually reaching the big goals we set. We don't know what exactly to do. How am I going to lose 100 pounds? How am I going to pay off $10K in debt? How am I going to run a marathon? How am I going to increase my business net profits by 10%? When you look at big goals like these, they can overwhelm and intimidate you into inaction. That is why most New Year's Resolutions go unresolved. You just don't know where to start. I've personally dealt with this and have helped hundreds of people that have dealt with this same paralyzing problem. A couple of years ago, I developed a system for tracking not only the "big goal", but the milestones along the journey and the habits that it will take to reach every milestone. If you've followed any of my content, you know that I am a big believer in tackling huge tasks and setting big goals. However, I take a different approach to actually realizing those goals - I believe the only way to successfully and consistently keep killing it is to just worry about the next small bite of the big goal out in front of you. By doing this, you can break any big project, goal, or task into manageable bites. Attached is the Goal and Habit Tracker that I have used personally and with my coaching clients to do some pretty incredible things.... one step at a time.... I guarantee you that if you will follow this formula, you'll reach heights you once thought impossible. Some of you have been exposed to my "Great 8" concept - Every night writing down the 8 most important things you can do the following day in the following areas: Fitness, Family, Finances, and Faith (2 each). I will expand on that in the following posts, but for now, download this free resource and start your journey to making the second half of 2021 the best it can be! Instructions: For every goal, you need to establish milestones along the way. I use 30 day, 90 day, and 6 month time frames. For instance, if your yearly goal is to lose 50 pounds, you'd need to establish three different milestones. 30 day might be 5 pounds, 90 day could be 15 pounds, 6 month could be 30. Now, here is where the magic comes - the daily habits. Under the 30 day milestone, write down three daily habits you need to put in place to reach the first milestone. (Exercise 30 minutes, Drink 64 oz. of water, etc...). After 30 days, evaluate your progress and then set your daily habits for milestone 2 and on down the line. Make sure to subscribe to the weekly newsletter to receive encouragement, support and many more resources.
 I don't know about you but sometimes I hit my day like a runaway train steaming down a hill. Half of the day can disappear before it seems like we gain any control. You don't have to live like that anymore. If you could do anything to take better control of your days, it would be to establish a morning routine or some would say a morning ritual. There is nothing magic about these things, but if you will implement them daily, religiously, and guard them ferociously, your life will change and you will gain control of your days. I say 6 at 6, but it could be at 5, at 7 or anytime you have 30 minutes. Before you say you are too busy, I would counter with - you are too busy to not do this! Your outlook, your attitude, your productivity, and your overall spirit will improve if you will just do this. Here is my daily routine: (I'm awake by 4:30, but it can be done at any time) 1 - Do nothing for 5 minutes. The first five minutes of your day should not be doing anything. Get out of bed, go to a quiet place in your home and just sit. Let your mind relax and your juices start flowing without any agenda. 2 - Drink 16 oz of water. You can drink this over the course of your 30 minute morning routine, but make sure you get it in. We are chronically dehydrated and you especially need hydration in the morning. You can have your cup of coffee as well, but the water is key! 3 - Write down 5 things you are grateful for. You will be starting a running list. Each day you will add 5 more things. This list will grow and you will begin to see just how blessed you are even when things are tough. This list can include anything! Some days, I write down that I am thankful for good coffee and Sour Patch Kids (my favorite candy). It is important to start your day with gratefulness. 4 - Spend 5 minutes praying or meditating. This is a great time to pray for others and turn your focus off of yourself. I am a Christian, so prayer is an important part of my life. Use this 5 minutes to set your mind away from yourself and on others and God. 5 - Write down the 5 most important things you need to accomplish today. So many times we just jump into our days with no direction. Write your priorities down and then go attack them. If you can only get one thing done today, what is most important? Do that thing. This exercise keeps you calibrated with your long term goals and objectives. 6 - Exercise and Stretch. This will mean something different for everyone. Even if you haven't exercised in years, implement this into your daily routine. The difference will be unbelievable! This may be the time in which you run, walk, pop in an exercise DVD, do yoga... It doesn't matter what the exercise is, just make sure you do it early. It will give you a shot of adrenaline for your day! These aren't magic bullets, but they will sure seem like it! Commit to doing this for 30 days. If it doesn't transform your days, you can always go back to the old ways.... I promise you won't go back. Please leave a comment with your thoughts or your experiences with a morning routine. Make sure to sign up for the weekly newsletter to join the community of ordinary folks doing extraordinary things!  My grandfather was a farmer. He farmed several acres of land behind his home-place and produced the best vegetables and fruits I've ever tasted. I spent many a morning as a child following his tractor around pulling potatoes from the ground or picking any vegetable you can name. You learn many valuable lessons on a farm: hard work, discipline, and enjoying the fruits of your labor. The fruits and vegetables that were so tasty when harvested only came because at some point, my grandfather put out the seeds. For days and weeks after planting the seeds, there would be nothing but dirt. However, he would continue to water and fertilize and pull weeds until something amazing happened - the seed sprouted. Soon after, this seed would transform into a beautiful fruit or vegetable. Any good farmer will tell you - Plant seeds now for the season to come. There is no shortcut. Our lives are much like this. Some of you may read this and know that you have seeds that need to be planted. You can visualize the "crop" you want to harvest and you want it now. You may be thinking about all of the changes you wish you would've made already or the results you wish you had. Well, the time to plant the seed is now. Take the first step. Maybe it is time to join the gym. Maybe it is time to walk around the block one time. Maybe it is time to.... whatever your desire is.... plant the seed today..... Join the community of people doing hard things daily and make your goals and dreams a reality! Subscribe to our weekly newsletter filled with tips and encouragements to help you be all you can be.  Why do we find ourselves at the end of our days so many times without accomplishing our most important tasks? You may feel exhausted and wonder how you could possibly squeeze more out of your days.... yet, you seem to always be chasing.... In our last blog post, we covered the importance of a morning routine. We've received great feedback on your results from implementing this into your lives. Keep it up! I want to elaborate a little more on one of the components I laid out - the 5 minute prioritization of your day! This is an extremely simple but unbelievably powerful exercise. Here you go: 1 - Every morning, write down the 5 most important things you need to accomplish today. This includes all areas of your life - personal, spiritual, professional. Don't overcomplicate this. Think "If I could only accomplish a couple of things today, what are the most important ones?" 2 - Review them to make sure they align with your long term goals. You should not be wasting your time on anything that doesn't lead you to the accomplishment of your goals and dreams! 3 - Keep this list on you all day. You can put this list on your smartphone or use one of many productivity apps available. Some choose to use the old fashioned written list. Whatever works! 4 - Don't let yourself chase rabbits during the day. Work on your number one priority until it is finished and then move to your next. This way, if an emergency arises, you've accomplished your most important tasks. Not doing this is why you sometimes feel like a gerbil in a wheel. You work hard all day but feel like you get nothing accomplished! 5 - Review nightly! Don't skip this. At the end of your day, review your list. Ask yourself these questions: Did I accomplish my tasks? Why not? What stole my time? How can I improve? This cycle will do amazing things for your productivity. For weekly tips and life hacks, subscribe to the weekly newsletter! Keep taking those small bites!  There are two things that you better learn to do fast if you want to achieve your long term potential - Win and Lose. If you can develop the ability to not let either of these bog you down, they will both make you better. Win Fast Too often, we put in a ton of work for a project or a goal and then when we reach that goal or have a big win, we spend too much time "basking in the glory". It is fine to take a small amount of time to enjoy the victory and savor the accomplishment, but don't fall into the trap of complacency. The victory or realization of a goal is not an end in itself, it is a part of your bigger vision for your success. I have watched too many people get off the couch, accomplish the awesome goal of completing a 5K or other race and then spend the next three months talking about how awesome it was to run a 5K....while they pack on 15 pounds... Don't do that! Enjoy your accomplishment and go eat the victory dinner, and then ask the question, "What's next?" Keep charging towards your larger goals and vision for your life. Everybody loves to win, learn to do it fast and you will enjoy many more! When you have the big win, debrief with these three questions: 1. What made myself of this project a success? 2. Is there anything I could have done to be even more successful in this project? 3. Where do I go from here? Then move on to the next mountain to climb! Lose Fast We've all seen a golfer absolutely fall to pieces on a golf course. What usually causes the most monumental of meltdowns is a person allowing one bad shot to turn into another and then another and then, well you get the picture... Tiger Woods' Coach said of him that one of the things that separated Tiger from most other golfers was his ability to put the bad shot behind him and attack the next shot like the bad one never happened. We have to develop that same mentality in our lives. Don't let a loss turn into another loss. Think of how this usually plays out: - You splurge at lunch and figure what the heck, you might as well just blow the diet all day. - You spend too much and run up a credit card so just figure that you might as well keep overspending. - You miss a sale so you don't make any more sales calls that day because you are discouraged. - You are thinking of examples in your life right now.... When you lose, and you will lose, do it fast. Ask these three questions and then move on! 1. Why did I lose? 2. What shortcuts or missteps did I take that caused me to not be successful? 3. What lessons did I learn from this missed opportunity? I can promise you that if you learn the art of Winning and Losing Fast, your success rates will start to skyrocket because your mind and motivation will be high.  Why do most goals fizzle out for most people? Think about it.... Think for a minute about some of the goal failures you have had in your life. Maybe they went something like this: - I'm going to lose some weight! -I'm going to be a better husband. - I'm going to make more money. -I'm going to get better at running. While on the surface, these may seem like fine goals, they are set up for failure. Why, you ask? It's because they aren't SMART. No, I'm not saying you are dumb for wanting these things, I am saying that without the acronym SMART applied to your goal setting, chances are you will fail. So what is SMART? The acronym SMART is a mechanism for evaluating your goals. You simply ask these questions: S - Is my goal specific? In our previous blog post, we talked about the importance of determining what you are aiming at. This is the step in which you determine exactly and specifically what you are trying to accomplish. No matter what the goal is, the more specific you are the better chance you have of achieving it. Why? Because the more clearly you define what you want the more solidly it will be locked into your mind. If you need to lose weight, determine exactly how much. If you want to pick up new clients, determine exactly how many. M - Is my goal measurable? If there is no way to measure your goals, you have no way of knowing if you are being successful. The ability to measure your goals allows you to course correct when need be if you are off track. If you are trying to lose 50 pounds in a year, you can measure your results weekly to see if you are on track. A - Is my goal achievable? This is where many people get in trouble. I am a huge proponent of setting very challenging goals, but there is a fine line between challenging and unattainable. If you set an outlandish goal with no chance of success, you are obviously doomed and most likely to give up all together. So you are 100 pounds overweight? It is unattainable to lose 100 pounds in 90 days so don't set that goal. You have to evaluate realistically what your chance for success is. I always like to use this as a test - If I only veer off course a couple of times, can I still attain my goal? This gives you the ability to make a couple of missteps but not many. If you set a goal that demands perfection, you will fail. R - Is my goal relevant to my overall life plan? I've worked with many people developing their life plans. These are the road maps for your life. They tell you what your core values are, what your mission is, and what is important to you. There is no need to set a goal to run a marathon if it will take you away from your core mission. There is no need to set a goal to make $100K if the pursuit of that goal will divert you from your mission. The goal setting process should stem from your core values and life plan. T - Is your goal time bound? You must set time limits!! I will lose 50 pounds is a honorable wish, but it is just that without being time bound. Make sure to state your goal with time addressed - I will lose 50 pounds before June 30 is a much better statement of your goal. Setting a time frame adds accountability and forces you to act because you know the deadline is looming! If you follow this simple process and view all of your goals through this lens, your probability of success will skyrocket! Keep taking those bites and make sure to sign up for the weekly newsletter!  January. For those of us that are regular gym goers, it is the worst month of the year. Flocks of people show up and then quickly fade as the weeks go by.... There is the temptation for those of us who have stayed committed all year to turn up our noses and look forward to the day they give up. Let me share a story with you that may change your thinking. So, I was that fat guy. 350 pounds. Barely able to walk on a treadmill for 10 minutes. I would've been characterized as morbidly obese. The first day I walked back in the gym, I literally walked out frustrated and discouraged and stopped and got a Big Mac combo at the McDonald's in the gym parking lot. I've been there.... Now, let me share an experience I had at the gym recently. A couple came in and got on the treadmills next to me. They were morbidly obese and I could smell the cigarette smoke on them. For whatever reason that I'm not proud of, I forgot about where I once was. I forgot about how hard it was to be fat and out of shape and walk into a place full of people that looked like people you see in magazines. Today, I teach boot camps, as I write this, I am getting ready to run my 6th Dopey Challenge - a 48.6 mile 4 day running competition. By no means would I be characterized as an elite athlete, but I have accomplished some pretty cool things. So, that being said, I suddenly felt like I was somehow better than these two. I looked at them with a sense of "what are they even doing here?' I jumped off the treadmill, went over and did the workout I had planned and went to the car. And then....like a ton of bricks, it hit me. What a stuck up workout snob I was. Who in the world was I to look down on anyone? How could I quickly forget where i was? How could I forget how hard it was to walk in that gym the first time? How could I forget how embarrassed I was that I couldn't even fit into a 3X shirt? So, I walked right back into the gym. At this point, the couple was kind of aimlessly walking around the gym looking at the equipment having no idea what to do with it. I apologized to them. I told them my story. I told them how fat and out of shape I was. I told them how intimidated I was with the gym. I told them that they could and would change if it was important to them. Hopefully, I encouraged them. So, to you , the fat guy or gal at the gym, you can do this. Stick it out. Don' t be intimidated. You are worth it and you can change! To you, the fit guy or gal at the gym, welcome everyone in. Share your story, encourage, and be the person that may be the difference in someone coming back again and potentially saving their lives. I learned a lesson.  Everyone has dreams. Everyone has goals. Everyone has things they want to accomplish or big things they want to do. Running a marathon, Losing 50 pounds, Making $100K, Getting out of Debt, Raising Successful Kids, Having a Great Marriage, the list goes on and on.... Unfortunately, for most people, these dreams remain just that.... dreams.... So, how do we start making our hopes and dreams come true? How do we start achieving our goals? I strongly believe the biggest problem most people have with goal setting is skipping one or two of the most important steps. Step 1 - Identify exactly what it is you want to accomplish. This is the easier of the two steps. Here, you simple identify what is that big thing you want to do. We will use the example of a marathon. Ask yourself this question: Why do I want to accomplish this? The answer to that question will tell you your chance for success. If it is a internally self motivated goal, you have a much higher chance of success than an externally motivated goal. If you want to run a marathon because you want to prove to yourself that you can put in the training and have the mental strength to see it through, that is great. However, if you want to run a marathon because your friends are doing it, that motivation isn't very strong. Step 2 - Honestly evaluate exactly where you are now. This is crucial and the much harder of the two steps. You need to look yourself in the mirror and ask some hard questions and give honest answers. So you want to run a marathon? Well, if you can't run a mile, it is going to involve some serious sacrifice. You need to say that out loud. So you want to earn a higher income? If you are earning a low wage now, it is important to be honest about that. Here is why these two steps must be done without exception if you want to be successful reaching your goals. These two points are your markers: Where you want to go and Where you are currently. Once you get these two points plotted accurately on the map, you can lay out the plan to reach your goals. In the next couple of blog posts, I will be laying out the process that I use to set goals, lay out an action plan for reaching them, and constantly evaluating progress. One small step at a time... Sign up for our weekly newsletter to join the movement!  48.6 Long Miles. 5K Thursday, 10K Friday, Half Marathon Saturday, Full Marathon Sunday. Thus the name, Dopey Challenge. You've got to be a little Dopey to try it! Well, around 6 years ago, I was morbidly obese to the tune of around 130 pounds overweight! I was approaching my 40th Birthday and knew something had to change, so I did the Dopey thing and set a goal of completing 10 Dopey Challenges from the age of 40 to 50. This past weekend marked number 5!
I learned a few very important lessons during this race weekend that may be able to help you conquer some of your big obstacles. 1. Big goals are able to be conquered if you break them down into managable bites. 48.6 miles is a lot of miles and can be overwhelming. I talk to folks all of the time who talk about doing a marathon but are overwhelmed by the thoughts of running 26 miles. I always ask them if they can make it 1 mile. If you can make a mile, you just have to repeat that same mile 26 times. I experienced an injury on the day before the marathon portion and was questionable for the marathon. I decided at the start to take it one mile at a time. Every time I would pass the mile marker, I would then ONLY focus on the next mile. It worked! 2. It is okay to lose the occassional battle as long as you win the war. I set a time goal for the marathon portion of this challenge. I wanted to break 4:20. When I sprained my ankle during the half marathon, that goal went out the window. I then had to look at the long term BHAG (Big hairy audacious goal) that I had set - 10 Dopey Challenges in 10 years. This allowed me to lose the battle (time goal) but develop a plan for winning the big overarching war (10 in 10). There will always be bumps in the road and things that knock us off of our game for a day or two. Keep the end in mind and get back on the horse and move forward. 3. Quitting is always an option, but it should always be the last option. I hear people say all of the time that quitting isn't an option. Well, it is.... it always is. You can choose to quit at any time and for any reason. The diffference between the successful and the ones who always struggle to win at anything in life is the successful will go to any lengths not to quit. They will exhaust every other option before throwing in the towel. There is a bus that sits on the course every 3-5 miles that people get on when they quit. Most get on because they are tired or just mentally beat. Quitting is an option but should only be taken after everything else has been done. Another great weekend in the books! You meet so many inspiring people and see so many people realizing their dreams at Disney races. Maybe you sign up next year? Join the Facebook group that is just a regular group of people doing some extraordinary things in their lives!  Keystone Habits Keystone habits create a chain reaction; changing and rearranging your other habits as you integrate the habit into your life. They have 3 characteristics: they give you numerous small senses of victory; they serve as the soil from which other habits grow; and they give you energy and confidence to do more. Occassionally, you read a book that becomes an instant resource that you know you will refer back to over and over. Charles Duhigg's book, The Power of Habit, is one of those books. I encourage you to add this book to your library and implement its simple yet profound principles. Here are a few things I gleaned. 1. Keystone habits give you “numerous, small senses of victory”. Look out for habits and routines that provide you with a pattern of small wins. According to Duhigg, “small wins have enormous power, an influence disproportionate to the accomplishments of the victories themselves”, and these are “places where momentum can start to build”. Small wins “fuel transformative changes by leveraging tiny advantages into patterns that convince [you] that bigger achievements are within reach”. 2. Keystone habits are “the soil from which other habits [grow]”. Keystone habits aren’t just a new habit, like drinking water as soon as you wake; they’re a platform off of which other habits can grow. For example, I work out every morning at 5 am. This started as a new habit, but over time my morning workout has spawned other productive habits, like drinking 24 oz of water upon waking, eating a high powered smoothie after workout, stretching in the morning, and eating healthy throughout the day. I’ve even recently started to define my three outcomes for the day while I’m exercising daily. 3. Keystone habits give you energy and confidence to do more. I’m paraphrasing what Duhigg says here, because the third characteristic of a keystone habit is a bit more nuanced. Duhigg recommends that you be mindful of “moments when excellence—or change, or perseverance, or some other virtue—seems to become contagious. Keystone habits are powerful because they change our sense of self and our sense of what is possible”. Keystone habits don’t simply stop providing you with energy and motivation after you finish up with your routine; they provide you with an infectious drive to be better and get done long after you’re done. For some of you, the first thing you do in the morning is hit snooze. Let’s dissect this for a minute. The first thing you are doing to start your day is take the easy way out. You are breaking a commitment you made to yourself when you set your alarm. Get up! When you start off on the wrong foot, it is hard to get back going. Early in the morning, you need to start building momentum for your day. Make your bed, drink water, have a devotion or meditation, exercise, whatever is that keystone habit that will spawn the other habits that will make your day a success. You'll be shocked at how much more productive your day will be if you do these simple things early. Make sure to join the ever growing community of regular people doing amazing things by adopting the philosophy of Doing Hard Things Today! |
Author
Archives
April 2021
Categories
All
|
||||
RSS Feed
