Be the Miracle

- by Matt Leedham

I love it when silly little things smack you upside the head and spark an idea, or better yet…action! Last night I turned on the TV after dinner and saw that the 2^nd half of Bruce Almighty was playing. Toward the end of the movie, God tells Bruce:

“You want to see a miracle, son? BE the miracle.”

I thought about this line all night. And then other things started to pop into my head. How about this gem?

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi

Maybe Gandhi and God are saying the same thing. And yes, I know God was Morgan Freeman in a Hollywood comedy film. But the message was the same, and that’s what’s important.

Then I thought of something else I posted on Facebook a couple of months ago.

“If you see a problem, it’s yours. If you think somebody should do something about it, remember, you’re as much a somebody as anybody.” - Center for Zen Buddhism

I hope that this sparks you to take action in your community. I hope you will take ownership of problems that you see around you.

However, I also hope it sparks you to take action in your personal lives. Don’t hope for the miracle that’s going to get you everything you want in your career, family, health, relationships, etc. BE the miracle. Be the change you want to see in your own life. If you see a problem within you, guess what…you own it. Do something about it.

How will you be the miracle today? This week? This month? Leave a comment below.

Awespiration

- by Jaime Willis

When I woke up this morning, Steve Harvey was on the radio telling me to "Think Big." Big thinking is a great way to start off your week, so I thank Steve for reminding me.

As I was getting up and preparing for the day, I wondered how I could encourage you to think big as you are setting and achieving your goals. In our goal-setting course (by the way - the next class is just around the corner - Saturday, December 11 - sign up now!), we talk about creating a "painted picture" of your life three years from now. A great painted picture requires big thinking, but how can you exercise your "big thinking" muscles?

Luckily, there are some researchers that can point us in the right direction.* Dacher Keltner is a psychology professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who has been studying awe. In one of his experiments called the 20 Statements Test, he asks participants to complete 20 sentences beginning with "I am..." One group of participants completes the task in front of a full-size replica of a Tyrannosaurus Rex while the other group writes sentences while facing a hallway wall. *Hat tip to David Hochman, who wrote "The Wonder of it All" in the December 2010 issue of Oprah magazine, which introduced me to the study of awe.

The result? The T-Rex group were three times likelier to describe themselves as part of something larger than the hallway group. Keltner states that awe inspires people to think big!

Psychologist Michelle Shiota says that "Awe is a response to things you don't have a mental template for." So how can you fit more awe into your life?

1) Be inspired by nature. There is nothing more awe-inspiring that walking through the giant Redwoods in California or seeing the stars on a cloudless Montana night sky. Remember the scene in Contact when Jodie Foster is trying to explain her experience in space to Congress? That was true awe of nature!

Photo Credit: Rolf Hicker.

2) Meditate on acts of great generosity or humanity. I was so awe-struck by the Chilean miner rescue that I was glued to the television and internet for the entire day the miners were finally brought up out of the earth.

Photo Credit: Alex Ibanez/AP via the Christian Science Monitor

3) Try something new. I had the amazing opportunity to zipline through the rainforest in Costa Rica two years ago. The rush of "flying" over the lush treeline was so awe-inspiring, I did the entire zip course twice. Even in our daily life, though, we can find ways to try new things and experience awe. Walk a different way through your neighborhood, really look at the scenery you are passing by in your drive to work, or choose a new lunch spot.

4) Join the crowd. Being a part of a "big" experience is a great way to feel awe and think big. Remember the rush of hearing your favorite song live at your first concert? How about the joy of being part of an Improv Anywhere mission? I recall the wonder of a huge snowball fight in Dupont Circle during last year's snowpocalypse.

Photo Credit: James Calder

Tell us in the comments below what you are getting your "awespiration" from today.

Inspiration is Perishable

- by Matt Leedham

In the book Rework, which we have previously referenced, the final chapter is called “Inspiration is Perishable.” The founders of 37signals go on to say, “We all have ideas. Ideas are immortal. They last forever. What doesn’t last forever is inspiration. Inspiration is like milk. It has an expiration date.”

This week is all about gratitude.

I’m thankful for inspiration. I’m thankful for all that inspires us. I’m thankful for both the people that inspire us and the people that fuel our inspiration through support and encouragement.

But really, I’m most thankful for that moment when inspiration first occurs. That moment when it first hits you and you either decide to act on it or tuck it away. That’s a critical time in our lives and sometimes we don’t even know it. Speaking from experience, you must act immediately. That inspiration most definitely has an expiration date.

At the very least, furiously scribble down notes about what has you so pumped up at that moment. As Sam Horn (author and intrigue expert) says, “ink when you think” and “jot it while it’s hot.”

You must get that inspiration out of your head and down on paper. I liken it to dreams. Have you ever noticed how quickly and easily a dream can slip out the window of your mind? When you first wake up, you remember a thought or a place, but a moment later…it’s gone.

Rework goes on to say, “Inspiration is a now thing. If it grabs you, grab it right back and put it to work.”

So, during this season of thanks and giving, what has you inspired? Are you thankful for it? Have you supported or encouraged someone that seems inspired? Have you inspired someone to take action today?

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our friends, family, and followers in the U.S. Have a very safe and happy holiday!

Gratitude in the Midst of Struggle

By Jaime Willis

"Hope is a choice, not a sum. You can have as much of it as you damn well please, regardless of circumstances." - Matt Ruff, Sewer, Gas, and Electric

This is week is all about gratitude.

Some of you may be struggling this week to feel thankful. You may be dealing with financial difficulties, personal set-backs, family drama, loss, or illness. You may wonder what you have to be grateful for as nothing in your life is going as you want. I hear you. It is hard to gather the emotional strength to soldier on and stay positive in tough times.

What can you do to build a grateful heart in the midst of struggle?

First, dig deep and try to find a silver lining in whatever difficulty you are dealing with. When I am struggling and can't find anything to be positive about, I go back to the basics. As people who know me well know, I am frequently sharing my thanks for flush toilets. Really! There are folks in other parts of the world that don't have indoor plumbing. I am grateful that no matter what else I may be struggling with in my life, I am not worried about outhouses and chamber pots, because I have flush toilets. My thanksgiving for indoor plumbing may seem silly, but it always helps me put my situation in context -- it could be a lot worse.

Second, when you can't find the strength to grab your own silver lining, lean on your support system. G at Momastery.blogspot.com spoke about this in her blog today, and it was so powerful, I wanted to share with you all:

There is a song by Bebo Norman, called "Borrow Mine." It is a song he wrote about a conversation heard between two friends; one, who was going through deep personal troubles, told the other, "I just don't know if I have faith anymore." The other friend replied by saying, "Then, you can borrow mine. I'll have enough faith for both of us."

I am constantly amazed when my friends offer me encouragement and support at just the right time to pick me up. I am so grateful for the love and support of my family and friends, especially in my times of struggle.

Last, I want to share a few songs (below) that help keep my spirits up when I'm feeling low.

I hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving!

Hope by Twista featuring Faith Evans

Life Goes On By Chris Kazi Rolle

Things Can Only Get Better By D:ream

Over the Rainbow - What a Wonderful World By Isreal "Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole

Thank You By Dido

Sphere of Influence

- by Matt Leedham

“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.”
- Willie Nelson (singer, songwriter, poet)

This week is all about gratitude. The benefits of being thankful are enormous. In fact, the Wall Street Journal just published an article this morning that shares "a growing body of research suggests that maintaining an attitude of gratitude can improve psychological, emotional, and physical well being."

We often hear the term “sphere of influence,” meaning those people, communities, and resources that we can impact, change or influence. It’s our “reach” – the things that we can touch and move through our actions and words. I am grateful for being able to impact those around me. And I am grateful that my sphere continues to grow. But this is not what I am thankful for today.

Today, I express gratitude toward the sphere that influences me. If I stop spinning, brace myself, and look around, I have the beautiful opportunity to be influenced by so many wonderful things. I am thankful for my wife’s loving support, my family’s and friends’ unique perspective on the world, the books I read, the movies and documentaries I watch, the music I listen to, the blogs and articles I read, and the interactions I have with strangers and acquaintances alike.

All of these bits of information enter my mind, get smashed up and are run through some crazy algorithm in my mind. What comes out the other end is my perception of the world and my core values. And since I love my world view and embrace my core values, I too love and embrace the people and things that help influence it.

So, if you have ever contributed writings or music, or to science or politics, or have worked with me, hung out with me, befriended me, shared a meal with me, spoke to me, or merely crossed paths with me, I have one thing to say…

THANK YOU!

And on that note, leave us a comment below…you will be contributing to everyone’s sphere that influences them. And I, for one, will be very grateful for it!

Giving Thanks

- by Jaime Willis

"If a fellow isn't thankful for what he's got, he isn't likely to be thankful for what he's going to get." Frank A. Clark, former Democratic Congressman for the State of Pennsylvania

This week is all about gratitude.

When you are nose-to-the-grindstone, working, working, working on getting your goals accomplished, it is sometimes difficult to gain perspective on how far you have come especially if you aren't near the finish line. It's hard to be grateful for what you have right now, when your eye is on what you want to have.

At the beginning of the year, I set a health goal for myself. I wanted to lose 60 pounds. I decided to employ a personal trainer to assist me, and I thought I would go boot camp style --working out seven days a week and dieting in order to get the weight off as quickly as possible -- I was aiming for 3 months (20 pounds a month) to reach my goal.

As I am sure you may have already guessed, that didn't happen. It's now the end of November and I still haven't reached my goal. I could tell you all about my setbacks -- when I stopped eating right, when I stopped obsessively going to the gym, when my attitude about this goal was grim. But I won't.

I will tell you that 11 months later, I am down 45 pounds! I am not at the finish line yet, but I am much, much closer than I was when I first made this goal last January. Imagine if I hadn't set this goal for myself? Not only would I not be this close to achieving it, but I could have spent the last 11 months going in the opposite direction and gained more weight.

So this week, I am thankful that my hard work and dedication to my goals are paying dividends. I am grateful that it has taken me this long to lose the weight because slow weight loss is more likely to be long-term weight loss. I am thankful that I can continue to work hard and know that I will reach my goal soon.

A friend of mine recently watched a marathon in which a runner collapsed literally 100 meters from the finish line and was carted away by paramedics. (You can watch the footage here). The runner in question saw my friend's video and contacted him. Although he was initially embarrassed to see his moment of weakness immortalized, the runner realized that he had done the best he could that day, and running 26.1 miles is still a huge accomplishment.

What can you be thankful for right now without waiting to reach your goal? Let us know in the comments.

Be Authentic

- by Matt Leedham

Authenticity is an interesting word, but an even more fascinating concept. It has Greek roots from autos “self” + hentes “doer, being.” You could interpret this as “being yourself.”

The first step to being yourself is knowing yourself. Have you asked yourself why you are where you are in life? Why you have the things you have? A few years ago, I really started to notice that question pop up in my head. Why did I go to college? Why did I study Sociology? How did I end up in this career path with these possessions? Was it intentional or was it a result of expectations of other people, one after another, that has led me here? Or worse yet, was it a result of pressure from that amorphous group of “other people,” our society, that has led me here.

I started asking myself the tough questions. I started getting myself aligned. I reflected and defined my core values, and then to took the time to ensure my personal vision and the goals I set were in alignment with those core values.

So, if the first step is knowing who you are, the second step must be “doing what you are.” As Seth Godin says in his post on authenticity, “you could spend your time wondering if what you say you are is really you. Or you could just act like that all the time.” Well said! As we know, actions speak louder than words.

Let go of preconceived categories and labels of what you should be. Reflect on who you are. But most importantly, ACT on what you are. That is being authentic.

Thoughts? Questions? Use the comment section below.

Your Golden Rule

- by Jaime Willis

For years, Nordstrom’s Employee Handbook was a single 5×8” gray card containing these 75 words:

Welcome to Nordstrom. We’re glad to have you with our Company. Our number one goal is to provide outstanding customer service. Set both your personal and professional goals high. We have great confidence in your ability to achieve them.

Nordstrom Rules: Rule #1: Use best judgment in all situations.

There will be no additional rules. Please feel free to ask your department manager, store manager, or division general manager any question at any time.

During this time, Nordstrom had the highest sales per square foot performance in the retail industry – by almost double. (hattip: 37signals.com)

In our goal setting courses, we spend a big chunk of time talking about core values because we know how important values are to goal execution. Your core values should act as your operating manual for your life, and need to be specific and clearly defined.

But values don't work if you don't *use* them in your day to day life. I like the idea of putting together your own golden rule as a shortcut to your core values, reminding you what you believe when you are faced with the daily grind of life.

Nordstrom's Golden Rule: "Use your best judgment."

Wil Wheaton's Golden Rule: "Don't Be a Dick."

Jaime's Golden Rule: "Do the Right Thing."

What's your Golden Rule?

Lighten Up!

- by Matt Leedham

I told my wife the other day that I wanted to write on the topic of not taking yourself too seriously. Her response was, “ummmm.” You may not know my wife, but I know her quite well. That little sound she made, as cute as it was, clearly told me that I had no business writing on the topic. Good point! Which is precisely why I MUST write on the topic.

You see, our angle on this entire blog and even in our live courses, is to be as open and transparent as possible to, a) encourage you to do the same in your lives, and b) so that we can learn and grow from this experience as well. It does me no good to pretend that I’m someone that I’m not (foreshadow: my next post will be on authenticity). So, this is my way of being open and honest with you…and with myself.

I’ll admit it, sometimes I take myself too seriously. Sometimes I get too wound up when I want things to go just right. Sometimes I get caught up in the image of things and how I appear to other people. Sometimes I cover up my mistakes so that I save face. Sometimes, I’m just downright grumpy and moody. It’s all so ridiculous though. It causes me more stress and anxiety trying to be perfect than to just admit my faults and chuckle about my failures. In fact, it’s quite liberating to be honest with yourself and others regarding who you are and in what ways you’re not perfect. You should try it!

Don’t take yourself too seriously when setting personal goals. Have a sense of humor. It’s okay to admit previous failures. It’s ok to let your image go. What are you so worried about? Who is “your image” for? In fact, what is “your image” anyway? It’s just you – right here, right now. There is no image. Don't let the fog of what other people think cloud your judgment or influence the direction of your life.

Live your life and enjoy the ride. Having said that, let me end on a light note with a powerful quote from a classic film:

“Life’s a garden. Dig it.” - Joe Dirt

Leave us silly thoughts or stories in the comment section below!

Cheer Leaders

- by Jaime Willis

I've spent the past several days in a drooling stupor as I recovered from my tonsillectomy (not as bad as everyone says, honestly). Anyways, in my recovery, I had a chance to catch up on my internet blog-reading and even discover a few new blogs. I want to share part of a great post made by Zan McQuade (btw, best name ever, right?) in her blog www.thatcupoftea.com.

"Sunday was the New York marathon. I'm not an athlete; I get winded just briskly walking the mile to the racecourse to cheer on my friends. But there's something inspiring about watching people accomplish that thing they've wanted to do for years, that thing they've trained for and anticipated for months. That thing that to complete requires some sort of superhuman PUSH, determination like no other...

I don't know the psychology involved, but I've heard from various marathoners that it helps to hear people just call out their name as a bit of encouragement. Something in me tells me that if I were doing something particularly difficult, and someone shouted "way to go Zan!" I'd feel bolstered. Or at least pretend to be. So I started shouting out the names of strangers.

Who knows if it was me, but I counted at least three of these strangers who were walking by the time they hit 108th street, who heard my ridiculous clap, my lone "you can do it!", looked at me, and their expression changed from the dead despair of defeated men to the inspired confidence of runners. And they would start running."

But it isn't just marathon runners that need the encouragement, is it? We all need a little push forward sometimes. We would all do better if someone was clapping and cheering us on, wouldn't we?

While I sat there last night wishing I had my own tonsillectomy Cheer Section - "Way to Rest, Jaime!" "Keep up the good napping!" - I thought that I would take the time to cheer on a few others in their own personal quests.

"WAY TO GO JACKY!" My friend Jacky is ordering a new dishwasher by herself in Italian (she moved to Italy several months ago with no Italian language skills) --way to go outside your comfort zone!

"KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK RACHEL!" My friend Rachel is helping to get out the vote for a non-profit childhood obesity project.

"YOU CAN DO IT TAYLOR!" Taylor has started her own landscaping company in New Orleans!

"AWESOME JOB, REDDIT!" The readers of Reddit have done some amazing and inspiring things for each other!

"YOU'LL GET THROUGH IT!" Storm of Paul and Storm's guitar was stolen from Chicago's O'Hare Airport last night. He is astounded by the feedback and offers of assistance through Twitter.

Join me in being a Cheer Leader -- find at least one person in your life that you can encourage today and share with us in the comments.

When Vulnerable is Good!

- by Jaime Willis

Don't let anyone tell you differently -- being a goal-driven achiever is hard.

How many times have you written out New Year's Resolutions or birthday promises or just went to bed on a Sunday evening promising to be better and do more the following day, week, month or year?

What makes it so hard is taking those dreams and ideals and really allowing yourself to be vulnerable and open to new experiences that take you outside of your comfort zone.

It is hard to walk into the gym's fitness class with a scary name like "Power Lifting" or "Boot Camp Booty" and make it through for the first time.

It is hard to go out on date after date in the hopes of making that one special connection.

It is hard to look for a job that better fits your needs and desires and get rejected time and again.

It is hard. I know--I feel that way about my goals regularly.

But here's the thing--the same vulnerability you feel when you open yourself up to new ideas and new experiences is what allows you to have the amazing success you are wishing for.

You might look silly the first few classes, but Boot Camp Booty isn't going to kill you. But what a sense of accomplishment you'll have when you get through the whole class--I'll bet you feel so powerful!

You might have a lot of bad dates, but if you keep leaving the door open, I bet the right person will eventually come into your life.

You might get rejected for lots of jobs, but what a great feeling when you finally find the job that fits you and are energized and surrounded by folks that make each day better than the next.

Next time you shy away from your goals because you are feeling scared and vulnerable, give yourself an extra push to meet the challenge head on. You don't have to succeed your first (or second, or third...) try, you just have to try. You'll be amazed at how great you feel for making the effort.

For a great discussion about the power of vulnerability, please watch Brene Brown's Tedx Houston talk. She is a great resource on the vulnerability and the power of imperfection.

One song that inspires me to get vulnerable is Garth Brook's "Standing Outside the Fire."

"Life is not tried, it is merely survived if you're standing outside the fire."

Let me know in the comments how you will stand in the fire as you achieve your goal.

Be Strong

- by Matt Leedham

“You are only as strong as your purpose, therefore let us choose reasons to act that are big, bold, righteous and eternal.” - Barry Munro

Quick disclaimer: I typically research the quotes I use to be sure that proper credit is given. However, I have Googled and Wiki’ed the heck out of Barry Munro and cannot seem to find a note or description of who this person is or when he said this, but he is credited in multiple locations for this quote. If you have information on Mr. Munro, leave a comment!

Regardless of who Barry Munro is, his words are important to those that seek to set meaningful goals in their lives. In fact, it is perfectly aligned with my post from last week (Dare to be Powerful). The point being, all of us have the potential to be as powerful, strong, and influential as we want to be…all in service of our purpose and vision.

Munro goes on to say “let us choose reasons to act that are big, bold, righteous and eternal.” Don’t be confused. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t think this means that you need to be the next Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, or Mother Theresa. Your purpose doesn’t need to be ending world hunger, or stopping social genocide (although, hooray for you if it is!). We all have the ability to be strong in our own personal sphere of influence.

Your purpose from which you choose to act may be building a strong family, helping those in your community, sharing your thoughts and creativity with the world, bringing people together collaboratively, or being a great friend to those around you. Whatever your purpose may be, chose reasons to act that are BIG and bold. You might just be surprised how strong you really are.

Please share your thoughts on purpose in the comment section below.

Just Do It

- by Matt Leedham

There comes a time when all of the writing, thinking, planning, etc. just needs to be put aside. Sometimes, it all comes down to one thing: action.

Four winters ago, before my wife and I were married, we walked home one January evening after dinner in Dupont Circle (Washington, DC). It must have been 15-20 degrees that night. And it was windy. As we approached my building, my wife noticed a man at the top of some stairs leading to a service entrance of the hotel across the street from my apartment. He was curled up in a ball, with no coat or blanket, visibly shivering. My fiancé (at the time) demanded that we do something. She was right. He might not have made it through the night. We called the city’s hypothermia hotline, grabbed a thick wool blanket from the apartment and ran back outside to let him know that help was on the way.

Ever since that night, my wife and I have casually talked about doing a coat drive among our networks of friends and colleagues. Every year around the holidays it kept coming up, but we never took action. There was always so much going on at work, or with family, or with travel. The usual excuses.

• Eight weeks ago in reflecting on my personal core values and what I wanted to accomplish in the coming year, I wrote down the goal of having a coat drive.
• Six weeks ago, I reviewed my goals and told my wife about it.
• Four weeks ago, I expanded on that goal, jotting down some ideas about next steps.
• Two weeks ago, I started telling some people about my plans.
• Last week I realized I hadn’t done anything about it and the depths of winter were approaching rapidly.
• This past weekend, disappointed that I still had not moved the ball forward, I committed to taking action on Monday.
• Yesterday, I made 3 phone calls: 1) to my friend who used to work in the wine industry, 2) to another friend who is a phenomenal amateur chef, and 3) to a non-profit dedicated to helping feed and clothe the homeless in the District.
• Today, my wife and I will be sending out an Evite to 50 friends and colleagues inviting them to our house on December 18^th for our First Annual Holiday Wine Tasting for the Homeless. Price of admission = $20 + all the lightly used winter clothing they can find in their homes.

When I boil all of this down and distill it into the truth, I find that making this dream a reality required me to make 3 phone calls and send one invitation. That’s about it. All together, maybe 30 minutes of my time.

Sometimes, you need to “just do it.” We all have resources and networks at our fingertips. We all have the ability to make things happen. Just do it. If you don’t think you have the resources to pull something like this off (or some other big idea you have), I challenge you. By virtue of reading this, you have the same resources I do. Just ask.

What about money, you say? Well the $20/person will cover the cost of the wine. The food is our holiday gift to our friends, family, and colleagues. And the winter clothing is free to collect and donate. Don't let money be an excuse. It's just a brain-teaser with many possible solutions.

The world can ill afford to wait for you to act. You have what you need. It is time to apply your education, knowledge, experience, and resources to improve humankind.

I wrote this one day in my journal a few months ago. The other day, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Just do it.

So, what goal or dream do you have that's just been lying around collecting dust? Leave us a note or a story in the comment section below.

Optimism May Save Your Life

- by Jaime Willis

"It's Impossible," said Pride.

"It's Risky," said Experience.

"It's Pointless," said Reason.

"Give it a try," whispered the Heart.

I've spent the last week in a bit of an emotional upheaval. I called my Grandma on Wednesday evening to chat, only to find out that my Grandfather's health had taken a turn for the worse. Grandpa's cancer was back with a vengeance and his oncologist told the family there was nothing more Grandpa could do but to go home "and wait." Instead of blindly accepting a death sentence, the whole family went into "Get 'er Done" mode. This past Friday, after a squeezed-in appointment with a world-renowned cancer doctor twelve and half hours away from my Grandparent's home, Grandpa was given a new medical regimen with a 70% success rate! While Grandpa is not yet out of the woods, it is incredibly encouraging to learn that there is a viable treatment available!

Other than providing Grandpa with a fantastic medical treatment, the Doctor shared with us another secret to all of our health.

Be Optimistic.

It's that simple. In a 2004 Dutch study, almost one thousand 65 - 85 year olds were tested to determine their relative levels of optimism (vs. pessimism). Then these patients were tracked for ten years, in which time 397 of the 941 patients died. What is fascinating about the study is that the pessimists died at almost double the rate of the optimists! This study has been repeated several times, with similar results. Researchers are still unsure why optimists fare better in life, but it's a fact that optimists live longer lives.

Pessimists not only see the glass as half-empty, but also spend a lot of their time worrying about what bad thing is coming their way next, so they don't really even enjoy life when it is going well. Optimists, on the other hand, live happily through the good times, and remain uplifted during the tough times by believing that there is an answer or a way through their problems.

Here is proof positive that priming yourself to succeed is not only helpful for goal-setting, but may be life-saving!

So, what do you have to be happy about today? Leave us a note or a story in the comment section below.

Dare to be Powerful

- by Matt Leedham

“When I dare to be powerful – [that is] to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”

- Audre Lorde (American Poet, Teacher and Activist; 1934-1992)

This is an interesting quote as it addresses many components of personal goal setting in just one short sentence. Let’s start at the end and move backwards.

“…it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” I addressed fear in two separate posts recently because fear is a critical piece of success. Fear, and the ability to overcome it, seems to be a common trait among people that achieve great things in life. And while I had been suggesting that you become more and more comfortable with it, Lorde is suggesting that you can simply make fear less and less relevant in your life. But how?

“…use my strength in the service of my vision…” To use your strength, you must first know your strength. Through my experience in working with others, I find that there is a standard gap between having a strength, and knowing that strength. To know yourself comes from a deep respect and acceptance of who you are, at the core, and can be achieved through personal reflection, or exercises to elicit your core values, tendencies, preferences, and behavioral and thinking styles. That’s why, at Velocity, we spend a significant amount of time focusing on core values in the beginning of our live courses. It’s the foundation for moving forward and is critical to understand about yourself.

The second part of this section of the quote is about vision. What does it mean to have a “vision?” You may hear about vision and mission statements in corporate settings, and it’s not much different in your personal life. A vision is an image or a picture of where you want to be at a future date. Some people prefer to think 1 year out, and others think 3 years out. I generally advise people not to think out much further than that, as things can change so much and the vision can become blurry. The key to having a vision is to imagine it and write it down with such vivid detail that it seems real. Think of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa – the beauty is in the detail. That’s why some people refer to your personal vision as your “painted picture.”

When you know yourself and your strengths, and have a clear, vivid image of where you want to go, can you see how fear becomes less relevant? Can you see how emotional challenges and obstacles begin to melt away? Can you see how material challenges and obstacles, while very real and tangible, become puzzles through which you need to find alternate solutions? Living with confidence in knowing who you are and where you want to go is very liberating.

And finally, can you see how this “knowing of yourself” and this “visioning” can be quite powerful?

Dare to exercise the strengths you have. Dare to use those strengths in service of your vision. You can overcome fear and achieve great things. Dare to be powerful, my friends.

How have you used your strengths in service of your vision? Share your thoughts and stories below and leave a comment!

Strategies & Actions

- by Jaime Willis

This past Saturday, we held our first live Introductory Goal Setting Workshop! It was a lot of fun for Matt and I, and the participants had a blast too. If you missed it, no worries--we already have two additional workshops scheduled for December 11 and January 8, so sign-up today!

At Saturday's workshop, one of the questions participants asked was that we speak in a bit more detail about the difference between Strategies and Actions.

The backstory -- you should already have identified a SMART goal that you want to work on based on your Core Values and your Personal Vision. For the purposes of our discussion, let's assume your SMART goal is:

"To Make Two International Trips in the year 2011."

Strategies are like the big buckets you need to focus on to accomplish your SMART goal. What are some strategies for the goal above?

1) Choose trip locations & dates

2) Create trip budgets & savings plans

3) Research more about trip locations

4) Plan key outcomes for trips

5) Deal w/ Trip Logistics

If I want to make two international trips next year, I need to cover each of the areas mentioned above--I have to know where I am going, how I am paying for it, what it's like where I am going, what I want to do when I get there, and figure out the logistics of the trips (visas, shots, guides, packing, time off of work, traveling companions, plane tickets, accommodations, etc.).

Actions are all the steps you will need to take to complete a specific strategy. Since I already know where I am going (South Africa in February, Portugal in September), let's focus on the budget. In order to budget for the trips (Strategy #2), I need to take the following actions.

1) Confirm trip dates and price out airfare on those dates.

2) Research & price out accommodations for those dates.

3) Research cost of ground transportation for both trips (will I need to rent a car? If not, how much should I anticipate spending in taxis and other public transport?)

4) Know how far the US Dollar goes in each location. (This will help me estimate costs for food, experiences, and shopping).

5) Total up estimated expenses. Add 10-20% to each trip total, depending on how good

you are at sticking to your budgets on vacation.

6) Create a funding timeline -- usually, airfare needs to be bought month(s) in advance, so that is a large upfront cost. Accommodations are usually just reserved, but sometimes a deposit must be put down. Then, you need to have money saved to take on the trip.

7) Figure out how much you need to save each month to meet your budget, and where the money is coming from (in my case, I get a lot of my travel funding by doing paid consulting work on the side, so knowing how many consulting gigs I need to book and by when is critical).

Each of your action items should have a deadline attached to it, so you know what you need to doing on a monthly, weekly, and even daily basis.

Matt and I recommend that you don't create action items further out than 90 days. As long as your strategies and actions are written out and prioritized, you only need to focus on the things that need to get done now to achieve your goal. In three months, you can re-evaluate your plan and adjust accordingly.

Strategies & Actions are the building blocks to your goal achievement, so get out there & start achieving!

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META: We decided to migrate our Velocity Blog over here to Blogger so folks can interact with us better. Please feel free to comment on our posts, email us and ask questions, or forward blog posts on to your friends. We'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading. - Jaime