Mission Commitment Part II

-By Jaime Willis

"Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda

As many of you know, I am currently working on a goal to complete fifty 10Ks in 2011.  Today is the last day of January, and I have finished six 10Ks!  I am really happy with my progress and am (not so) secretly hoping to finish this goal much earlier than in December, as I'd originally thought.  But, when people find out I'm running multiple 10Ks a week, they are usually incredulous.  The number one comment I've heard so far from folks is "I couldn't do that." 

WHY NOT?

A 10K is 6.2 miles, and I consider one 'run' if I complete that distance walking, jogging, or running indoors or outdoors on a treadmill, elliptical, crosstrainer, or road all at one time.  To me, the only really challenging part is the "all at one time" rule.  If I got to aggregate my time on cardio machines throughout the week, it would be a lot easier.  But there is no "race" deadline.  I could literally take a three hour stroll and that would count.  So when folks say, "I couldn't do that," I think to myself, "someone needs a lesson on mission commitment." 

Terol Pursell, Sean Feehan, Ryan Darling and Jared Walker lead the pack as they run through pouring rain during a cross country practice Sept. 23, 2010, on north Icon Road, bordering the campus of Northwest Missouri State University. (Darren Whitley/Northwest Missouri State University)

Mission Commitment can be loosely defined as "Relentless pursuit of your goal." I think the real key to mission commitment is being relentless. No matter who or what gets in your way, you will work around or through each challenge to make your goal happen.  If you are not relentless by nature, don't worry.  You can learn it! 

Build your Mission Commitment muscles by:

1) Priming yourself to succeed.  You have to believe achieving your goal is possible to be able to pursue it relentlessly.  Your inner dialogue needs to match what you are trying to do.  As I am going to bed, I talk to myself about what I am going to accomplish the next day.  "I am going to run a 10K tomorrow." When I wake up, I continue priming myself by preparing to run -- getting a gym bag together and taking it with me to work, planning out my schedule so I know when I have to leave work to have enough time to run 10K, etc.  

Pro Tip: You may not actually believe what you are priming yourself to do when you start your goal.  That's ok.  Just keep repeating the 'unbelievable' and eventually, you'll 'fool' yourself into believing!

2) Make it easy to begin.  With my goal, I didn't have to ramp up to the 10K distance because I was already in the gym doing cardio for about that long to begin with.  For me, the 'easy' win was the fact that I wasn't racing.  I am a s-l-o-w runner, and I knew the 10K was going to take me 1 - 1.5 hours each time I did it, more if I was walking.  Since the only rule is that I finish the race, I don't have to worry about how slow I am, any finish is a win! (Of course, now that I am doing this multiple times a week, I'm racing myself, but that just makes it fun for me.) 

Whatever your goal is, you need to make the first few steps stupid-easy to complete so you rack up the wins.  If you are having trouble getting to the gym at all, your first win should literally be to show up to the gym.  No workout requirement, no crazy lifting goals, just show up.  The next time, your goal could be to get at least 10 minutes of exercise in.  Stupid-easy.  Once you start racking up the wins, you WANT to keep winning, and *bam* you have mission commitment.

3) Build in accountability.  There are two easy ways to do this: tell folks what your goal is and partner up with someone who is like-minded.  I posted my goal on this blog and on my personal facebook page. So about 750 of my closest friends know that I am running 10Ks this year.  In itself, that is pretty motivating -- I don't want to be a liar to that many people!  I haven't found anyone who wants to run 10Ks with me a few times a week, but I have found other ways to partner up.  In my first race, I got to 4 miles and felt like quitting.  I knew that I could push through, but needed some motivation.  While I was still running, I texted Matt, and he texted back a couple of cheers that kept me on the elliptical for the entire time.  I also plan on running a few 10K road races with friends, another way to stay accountable.

4) Have a Mantra.  When times are tough, when you feel disheartened and ready to quit, when your accountability partner is nowhere to be found, you have to have something at the ready to keep you limping forward.  In Matt's most recent marathon in Austin, Texas, he hit a wall at mile 17 or so.  He could have quit - plenty of people do.  But he just kept repeating to himself "Don't stop, just keep moving."  Especially in physically challenging circumstances, it is rarely our bodies that will give out first--it's our minds!  Get your mind on 'auto-pilot success' by having a mantra you can repeat over and over again until you get through it.  On a challenging section of one of my runs, I literally repeated "mission commitment" with every step to remind myself of why I was doing this.  On another run, I played Destiny Child's Survivor on repeat for the last 20 minutes of my run.  

"I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up, I'm not gon' stop, I'm gonna work harder,

I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it, I will survive, Keep on survivin'" - Destiny's Child

Whatever your goal, I KNOW you can do it.  Build up your mission commitment muscles and you'll see success in sight! 

TGIF: Jenna Bryson

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great week of achievement this week. If this is your first time reading our blog, Welcome! You can read more about Velocity in the tabs above this post. If you'd like a daily dose of inspiration, like us on facebook or add us on twitter.

Today, I am so happy to introduce you to one of my most talented friends, Jenna Bryson.  And, as an extra added bonus, today is Jenna's birthday!  While Jenna is originally from the DC/Baltimore area, she's been making things happen for herself in Los Angeles for the past several years.  She has built a pretty amazing following from scratch and has had some amazing successes already, including performing at Molly Malones, opening for Lindsey Harper at Saint Rocke, and performing at the Verizon Wireless in Irvine California at the Country Throwdown.

While her full album isn't yet available on iTunes, you should definitely get "Happy," her first single released on iTunes, and be sure to check out the rest of her tunes on YouTube.  Fan her on facebook so you can wish her a Happy Birthday!   Jenna's fantastic and I am sure you will be inspired by her achievement today.

Photo by Jeff Drongowski

I am a singer and a songwriter from Los Angeles, CA (by way of Columbia, MD originally). I post songs and videos all over the internet; you can find most of my links at www.jennabryson.com. I’m also on facebook and youtube.



What the press is saying about Jenna:


"'Me Minus You' tugged at all the right heartstrings of the OurStage community with fans voting it to the top of the Pop Channel." -Sam Coren, OurStage.com

"Jenna's indie/acoustic style is charming with a creative twist.  She will capture your heart with her silky vocals and velvety strums." - Drake Ilich, Music Dealers

"...fiery, sultry, sweet, and sticky, almost like a hot August night." - Bog Legget, Music Connection

My goal was to record a fully-produced, 10 song album of my original songs and I wanted it to sound amazing, like the kind of recordings you hear on the radio.

I chose this goal because the music industry is very different than it was years ago. If you want to be a professional singer-songwriter you basically have to do it yourself. The music industry is not like it was in the past; you don’t have to get anyone’s permission to record your songs. Contrariwise, if you want anyone to ever hear your songs and like them, if you want to make music your career, you’ve got to work extra hard to get yourself out there. This means finding a producer, finding musicians, and paying for your songs to get recorded and sounding as amazing as they possibly can.

The first step I took was finding a producer for my music. It was important to me to find someone who would “understand” or “get” my music. And it was important to me to feel like I could trust that producer to bring the songs to life in such a way that would do them justice. So, I met with a couple producers and partnered-up with the person I thought would be the best for the job. I had lots of songs I wanted to record, so I played them for my new producer and helped choose the ones that would be best for a full album.
The main obstacle I encountered was the issue of money and a lack thereof. I went into this project wanting the best for the songs and their respective recordings, which meant spending a lot of money for the best session musicians to play on the tracks, the best sound mixers, the best mastering, etc. I am an independent artist, meaning I have no record label footing the bill, so initially, I was paying for everything out of my own pocket. The months were passing by quickly and I was low on funds. Lucky for me, I was working with an incredibly supportive producer who ended-up investing financially into the project to help keep it alive and see it through to the finished product in a timely manner.
Listening to the songs over and over as they were coming to life… that helped me stay motivated, definitely! I couldn’t wait to hear what we would add next to the songs, which instruments would be recorded next, what my finished vocals would sound like over the music… hearing my songs, that I was used to hearing simply on acoustic guitar or keyboard, now played by professionals, was motivation in and of itself.
So many people helped make this goal happen, but the most instrumental in making this happen was my producer Gary Tharp. Gary was also the one who lined-up all of the musicians (Craig Stull, Chris Chaney, Matt Laug, Jamie Muhoberac, Kavin Hoo, and Deron Johnson) and other technicians (Bob Horn, mixer, and Gabriel Wallach, mastering).



I think I cried a little. After that, I released one of the songs from the finished album to iTunes. That was my celebratory “Yay! I did it!” and a great way to let others know that the album was finally complete.

I would suggest doing just what I did: first, find a producer who’s idea for the project aligns with yours (absolutely vital, in my opinion). This person will also be your team-mate & advocate, and help you find the right musicians and organize recording sessions, etc. If you don’t have a lot of money for recording, see about entering into a production deal with your producer OR perhaps find an investor who can loan you the funds or partner with you as an executive producer. After that, just stay excited about the project and always make sure you’re not settling for anything; if something doesn’t sound right to you, or you think “this or that” could be better, make it happen!
The next goal is to have a huge album release show & celebration! I’m saving-up money to pay for the best live musicians to accompany me on-stage, as well as press the album into CD’s so that I can sell them at the show. What good is an album release party without physical copies of the album, after all?!

10 Tips to Having an Awesome Day

-by Matt Leedham

How was your morning?

Mine was awesome. And it wasn’t by accident.

We all have choices to make every day and you can choose, right now, to make tomorrow awesome.

Here’s how you can do it:

**Disclaimer: Not all of this will fit everyone’s lifestyle. Take what you like and leave the rest.

1. Prime Yourself. You can’t prime yourself while you’re sleeping, so let’s start with before you go to bed. Assuming you haven’t been drinking and are going to bed at a reasonable hour, take 10 minutes in bed to prepare yourself for tomorrow morning. Think about opening your eyes and looking at your clock. What time does it say? See the clock in your mind. Then see yourself sitting up and taking a deep breath. Continue to do this visioning exercise until your first family/work commitment. Then get some rest, because tomorrow is going to be awesome.
2. Take Care of Your Body. After you rise and take a deep breath, drink a tall glass of water. Every nutritionist and physical trainer will tell you to do this. You are dehydrated after sleep, and it’s the first thing your body needs. Next, do something physical. If you don’t like to work out in the morning, that’s okay. Just take ten minutes to stretch or do some light calisthenics. By this time, you should be awake for 30 minutes and it’s time to eat a small meal. It’s called breakfast for a reason – you’re breaking a 12-13 hour fast.
3. Meditate or Pray. Exercising and awakening your mind is just as important as getting your body moving. Again, this doesn’t have to be a 30-60 minute session with incense and candles. Just find a quiet, comfortable place and be present. You can pray, or focus on something specific (like your breathing), or just analyze the random thoughts running through your head. There are some great apps for your mobile device that can actually assist with this if you need help (like me).
4. Be Thankful. Research tells us that people who are thankful and have gratitude are happier and have a positive outlook on life. I recommend that you keep a gratitude journal and just jot down three things that happened to you yesterday. The key here is to write what that thing was and why you are thankful for it. Just yesterday, someone told me they try to write three emails, make two phone calls, and write one note to people they are thankful for. Try doing that once a week!
5. Review Your Values/Vision/Goals. That’s it. All you have to do is read them. Read them twice for good measure. Just read them and reflect on them for a minute.
6. Brainstorm Your Activities. Take a moment to jot down all the things in your head that you would like to accomplish that day. Put them into categories (e.g. Personal, Work, Family, etc.). Try to rank each category’s list, putting the things that must get done at the top. Simply getting your thoughts out of your head and onto paper has a calming effect.
7. Review Your Schedule. Take a look at your calendar and see if there are any large commitments that may affect your productivity. Try to schedule chunks of time for meaningful work (i.e. NOT EMAIL). Apply the priming/visioning technique mentioned in the first tip – see yourself walking through the day and being very successful.
8. Breathe. That’s it. Take 30 seconds, close your eyes, and take 5 deep breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Nice and easy.
9. Get in the Zone. This means different things for different people. But do whatever it takes for you to get hyper-focused. For me, it’s putting on my Bose noise-cancelling headphones and listening to music without words (usually ambient drum and base). When I do this, I find that I get in zone and can really crank out my tasks.
10. Check-in with Yourself. Don’t let yourself go the whole day without checking back in with yourself. Lunch time is usually a good break for this. Has something got you worked up or out of whack? If so, revisit tips 2,3,4, and 8.

I truly hope you are able to accomplish tips 1-9 BEFORE opening your inbox. Resist the urge and start the day right. For me, 1-5 happens at home and takes about 45 minutes. I engage in 6-10 at work and it usually takes about 20 minutes.

I hope you find this useful. And more importantly, I hope you have an awesome day tomorrow.

Getting Through It

-By Jaime Willis

When you start to feel . . . do. For example – when you start to feel scared because you don’t have enough money….find someone to give a little money to. When you start to feel like you don’t have enough love. . . find someone to offer love. When you feel unappreciated, unacknowledged . . . appreciate and acknowledge someone in your life in a concrete way. When you feel unlucky, order yourself to consider a blessing or two. And then find a tangible way to make today somebody else’s lucky day. This strategy helps me sidestep wallowing every day. -Momastery.blogspot.com

Sometimes, life is just tough. Getting through the day is hard, much less trying to accomplish anything productive during the day. Here are some tips on how to get through a low period and keep on pursuing your dreams.

1) Have perspective. Pain, even the worst type of pain, subsides over time. Your troubles are temporary. Some day in the not too distant future, you *will* be doing better. Remember that what you are going through now is not forever.

2) Follow Momastery's lead: when you are feeling down, help someone else. It may not solve your problem, but being able to feel useful, helpful, or loved in any capacity can give you the "juice" and energy to work on your own troubles.

3) Phone a friend. Whatever you are going through, you are not the only one. Learn from someone else's experience, commiserate with them, or just be heard.

4) Seek professional help. Sometimes, the problems we face are not solvable on our own. Substance abuse, for example, is almost never something you can 'fix' by yourself. Find the right support for your problem, whether it be medical professionals, counselors, coaches, business advisors, or mentors.

5) Tough times build our character. It takes rain to make a rainbow, and you may need this experience to really appreciate the reward that comes later.

Good Luck! You CAN do it!

The Happiness Advantage

-by Matt Leedham

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending an event in LA, hosting 50+ entrepreneurs from the western U.S. To wrap up the day and half of learning, we went to a dinner event in Santa Monica featuring a one hour presentation by none other than Shawn Achor, the guru of positive psychology and author of “The Happiness Advantage.”

I featured Shawn in a post a few weeks ago in December and was very surprised and happy to hear that I would get to meet him in LA.

First impression? This guy is the real deal. I had the opportunity to engage him an interesting conversation about his adventures over the last year traveling, speaking, writing, and consulting. As it turns out, he’s not only talking the talk (backed up with extensive research), but is walking the walk and can speak from experience.

Shawn covered a lot of information, but here are two things I learned:

We’re Doing It Wrong. Can you believe that our perception of happiness is wrong? Most people believe that if they can just achieve that goal, or get that promotion, or lose that weight, that then they’ll be happy. Shawn’s exhaustive research at Harvard and at Fortune 500 firms suggests just the opposite. The problem is that once we achieve a goal, our milestones for achievement get pushed further back because we want to achieve more. Therefore, we're always chasing happiness. However, if you start by focusing on positivity and priming yourself to be happy, you will become more confident, successful, and productive. Invest in yourself first – the ROI is worth it!

Activation Energy. According to Shawn’s research, even the slightest hindrance can prevent you from doing something you know you want to do. The message is, make accomplishing your goals as easy as possible. If you want to work out in the morning, wear your gym clothes to bed. If it’s reading more, put books near your favorite sitting areas or on your bed.

Likewise, use this trick in reverse. If you want to watch less TV, Shawn gave a great example of taking out the batteries of the remote and putting them in the other room. This would mean that he would have to spend the time to go get the batteries and put them in the remote, which he would only do if he REALLY wanted to watch TV. In other words, the activation energy it would take to pick up a book on the coffee table was less than going into the other room to get the remote batteries, so he would read instead of watching TV.

You can read more about ways to stay positive and increase your happiness in the first post I wrote about Shawn's research.

The Best of Friends

-by Jaime Willis

"We all need friends with whom we can speak of our deepest concerns, and who do not fear to speak the truth in love to us." -Margaret Guenther

Hannah, Jaime & Jacky,  NYC January 2011

This past weekend, I had a wonderful time with two of my best friends in New York City. Because we live in three different cities in two different continents, we cherish our infrequent 'face time' together.

After getting home last night, I reflected a little on why I love these two women so much. They are amazing, strong, intelligent, and funny. One of the things I like most, though, about our 'pajama summits' is our ability and desire to work through each other's most difficult problems with love and a lot of push-back.

You can probably share a struggle with most of your friends and they will commiserate with you. That's what friends are for--they listen, they get outraged on your behalf, they comfort, they share stories of when it happened to them. But a true friend will also push you to challenge your own perception of what is happening. A true friend will tell you when you are acting a little too pitiful and need to 'buck up.' A true friend will tell you that there is no easy way around the thing you are struggling with but to wade in and get dirty. (A true friend will be right there getting dirty with you!)

Each of us this weekend had a chance to share what was most troubling right now in our lives. And each of us were comforted but also challenged by the other two. Some of the challenges we gave to each other:

Focus on the possibilities, not just the (potential) problems. Negativity begets itself, so if you want something great to happen, spend more time anticipating that it will be great!

You don't have to get an A+ in life; accept that some days are bad days and you are still an amazing person anyways.

Being the recipient of someone else's help is far more difficult than being the helper. Be gracious in your needs, not ashamed and angry.

Stop talking about it and start doing it. We'll be here to brush you off if you fall, but you *have* to get out there and do it!

When you are trying to achieve a goal, you *will* have challenges and setbacks. Those are inevitable in life. If you have a friend, a 'challenge buddy' that can not just comfort you, but also give you a loving kick in the pants towards the right direction, you are going to be much more successful!

TGIF: Sam Horn

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great week of achievement this week. If this is your first time reading our blog, Welcome! You can read more about Velocity in the tabs above this post. If you'd like a daily dose of inspiration, like us on facebook or add us on twitter.

Our Achiever this week is the amazing Sam Horn. A six-time published author, public speaker, and a business dynamo, Sam is also an enthusiastic giver and a warm friend. Having met Sam personally, if you have a chance to see her speak or an opportunity to read her books, TAKE IT. Without further ado, Sam Horn!
Sam Horn, The Intrigue Expert, is an award-winning communication strategist with a 20 year track record of results with an international clientele including Intel, Cisco, Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), Young Presidents Organization (YPO), Fortune 500 Forum, NASA, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, KPMG and Capital One.

A couple other notes about Sam:

She is the author of 6 books from major publishers (Tongue Fu!®, POP!, ConZentrate, What’s Holding You Back? and the upcoming SerenDestiny) which have been translated into 17 languages, endorsed by Seth Godin, Stephen Covey, Tony Robbins, John Gray, Susan Jeffers, Jeffrey Gitomer and Ken Blanchard and featured in NY Times, Investors Business Daily, Boston Globe, and the Washington Post.

She's a 17-time Emcee (and former Executive Director) of the Maui Writers Conference, who has worked alongside Hollywood Directors and bestselling authors including Frank McCourt, Ron Howard, Mitch Albom, Garry Marshall and top agents and editors in the publishing industry.
In 2009, I made a commitment to compete in and complete the Waikiki Rough Water Swim. This is a 2.35 mile swim in the open waters of the Pacific Ocean along Waikiki Beach in Oahu, Hawaii.
I’m reminded of two quotes:

Johnny Depp – “Nobody wants to go out mid-sentence.”

Frank Sinatra – “You gotta live every day like it’s your last because one day you’ll be right.”

It’s amazing how we can lose velocity in our life and get caught up in commitments and responsibilities. Swimming once defined me. But this thing that I loved so much got lost in the midst of my busy life as a business owner who’s often on the road speaking. I chose this goal because of something I saw one morning in my home town of Reston, VA. I live on a lovely lake, and every Memorial Day Weekend, we host a national open water swimming competition. From my porch, I could see the swimmers gathering near the starting line. The different age groups wore colored swim caps that indicated their age group and predicted finishing time.

BANG!

The starter’s pistol fires and the first group jumps in the lake – a group of young, athletic swimmers competing to win.

BANG!

The second group dives into the water – this time a group that is a few years older or not quite as fast.

This continued a number of times until the last group entered the race.

BANG!

The 80 and above age group jumped in and cut through the water. I thought to myself, “80 year olds?! What am I doing sitting on my porch?”

What many people don’t know about me is that I used to swim competitively in college. In fact, I studied and majored in Recreation Administration, and paid my way through college by running recreation programs and coaching tennis and swim teams. I lived in Hawaii for 17 years and was in the ocean at least 4 times per week. Swimming was a big part of my life.

When you see 80-somethings out there being physically active, it reminds you of your own mortality. Not in a morbid way but in an “Am I taking advantage of my freedom and health or taking it for granted and wasting it?” kind of way.

I realized there were no barriers to entry to getting back into swimming. It’s not hard on your knees. It doesn’t matter how much you weigh or how out-of-shape you are. No expensive equipment. No excuses. Anyone can do it anytime they want.

Committing to a public event, race or competition and putting it on your calendar is the best way to get out of inertia and into motion.

Once you’ve literally and figuratively “signed up” and “paid up”, you’ve emotionally “signed on.” The goal becomes a given. Now, all you have to do is figure out how to reverse engineer from there how you plan to achieve it.

The best intentions of getting back into something you love (or starting something new) can fall by the wayside when dealing with the daily pressures of an obligation-packed life. Unless you have something tangible on your calendar you’re working towards that helps hold you accountable.

The Japanese have a strategic planning process known as Hoshin Kanri (which is literally translated to “shining metal, pointing direction” – or in other words, a compass). Part of the theory is that if you start with a problem and try to fix it, your mind will always remain focused on the problem which is a way of anchoring you in what was wrong.

But if you think of perfection (the future) vs. the problem (the past), you stay focused on your outcome, which means it’s no longer in question or in doubt. It’s assumed. Instead of getting distracted or detoured by daily “Should I – Shouldn’t I?” decisions, you’ve made up your mind to do this – all you have to do is stay on track.
I don’t look like a swimmer or an athlete right now (or then). If I let this be an obstacle, competing in and completing that race never would have happened.

Malcolm Gladwell once said, “All I ever see at gyms are fit people getting fitter.”

There are a lot of people who won’t train for a swim because they don’t like how they look in a bathing suit. Some people are discouraged from running a 10K or a half-marathon because they don’t look like the hyper-fit runners they see on the trail. Some people don’t go to the gym because they don’t want to look in the mirror or work out next to lean, hard bodies in spandex.

For those who may think, “I’m not an athlete,” I recommend Mariah Burton Nelson’s insightful and inspiring book, We Are All Athletes.

Doing it is its own best reward. For me, powering through the water is one of life’s great joys. It’s hard to believe something so rewarding - something that once defined you - is no longer a part of your life. Once you start swimming again, it’s as if nothing’s changed. When I’m swimming, I don’t want to be doing anything else. It’s its own best incentive.

My sons. Andrew volunteered to swim the race with me (see picture above). My other son, Tom, served as support crew. They both value their health, keep themselves fit and are wonderful role models for me to get up and get moving.

I celebrated with my sons and family friends after the race. I remember as if it were yesterday sitting at an ocean-side restaurant, debriefing the event and drinking iced-tea after iced-tea to rehydrate. It was such a perfect, blessed day. When you achieve something you’re proud of and get to share it with people you love, you are just lit up. What could be better?

BUT…

Once it’s over, it’s important to put a new event goal on your calendar again.
The 1st thing you should do is sign up with Velocity! The 2nd best thing to do is to seek out an accountability partner to help you along the way. Find a buddy so on the days you’re little light on commitment, they will be there to get you in gear. And when they’re feeling a little lazy or unmotivated, you’ll be there.

Next, realize there is always somebody out there who wants to achieve a similar goal as much as you do – whether that’s participating in the Susan B. Koman Breast Cancer Walk, writing a book, or starting a business. You’re not alone. There are resources and networks available waiting for you to reach out.

On any given day, we have the freedom to get off the couch, pick a tangible goal and work toward it. And I am not using the word “work” casually. The benefits that come from establishing something meaningful and investing “sweat equity” to pull it off – no matter what - provides a recurring momentum in our lives. It provides velocity.

As test pilot Chuck Yeager said, “At the moment of truth; there are either reasons or results.” At the end of my life, I want results, not reasons for why I didn’t do what I knew was right and wanted to do.My mantra for this year is “contrast.” My goal is to do the opposite of my “always.”

It means looking at routines and habits and asking if they’re serving me or sabotaging me. So, if I normally focus on pragmatic ideas people can instantly use in their professional lives; I now include personal stories to balance that “neck up” intellect with embodied, heartfelt emotion.
I’ve spoken primarily in the U.S. (more than 30 states) so this year, I’m going on a speaking tour through Europe – to Russia, Germany, England, France, Spain Netherlands and beyond, and already have a relationship with British Airways.

As an entrepreneur, we often end up working solo; so I’ve become involved in a mastermind group and I’ve sought out strategic partnerships which have already enriched my life in ways better than I could have imagined.

I have always been grateful to do work I love that matters with people I enjoy and respect. Changing up patterns and committing to “Do the New” has made my personal and professional life even more fulfilling.

Trust Your Gut

-by Matt Leedham

“There is no such thing as a normal human being.” – Benjamin Carson, M.D. (ground-breaking pediatric neurosurgeon)

By nature, we are extraordinary. We have in us the ability to do amazing things. Stop thinking so much and trust your gut. Then act.

Research indicates you’d be more right than wrong if you just went with your first instinct. In fact, it is believed that humans have learned how to make quick decisions with limited data as a necessity for survival. Maturing as a species over centuries and generations we have become quite good at this.

There is a word for this phenomenon: heuristics. These are methods used to find a solution that is good enough when a more detailed search for information is not practical. Examples include “rule of thumb”, educated guesses, and common sense. (paraphrased from Wikipedia).

So think about where you see yourself in one year. Think about the goals you are setting for yourself. Are you trusting your gut? Are you asking too many questions and getting bogged down in the weeds? Have you always wanted to do something special but talk yourself out of it? Are you denying yourself the use of your innate heuristic abilities?

Trust your gut and take action. Do one thing you believe in today. The world will thank you for it.

Mission Commitment

-by Jaime Willis

"Pike had focused on a goal and would drive forward like a relentless machine. Back in Cole's Ranger days, they had called this mission commitment, and Pike's mission commitment was off the charts."

"The Sentry" by Robert Crais

First things first -- I read. I read a lot. I've been a prototypical nerd pretty much since the pampers stage. What may surprise you, however, is that I read a lot of pop fiction. I'm ok with my 'pop' fiction addiction, and it was reading one of the latest from a favorite author, Robert Crais, that I was inspired to write this post.

Joe Pike is one of the main characters in Crais' book series. His talents as a Marine, an L.A. Police Officer, and former mercenary aid him as he runs a gun shop in LA and co-owns a private investigation firm with his best friend Elvis Cole. Pike is literally a silent partner--he rarely talks and when he does, it's as if he's being charged by the letter. Pike is recognizable as the tall, well-built, brush-cut blond in aviator sunglasses, a sleeveless sweatshirt, and jeans driving a pristine Jeep Cherokee. And, if you didn't notice before now, you'll likely also remember him for the two bright red arrow tattoos on the outside of each arm that point forward. Forward is the only direction Joe Pike knows. (Since I can't post a picture of a fictional character, here's a pic of WWE superstar John Cena, also a former Marine. Imagine him with sunglasses and red tattoos, and without the WWE trashtalk and the "jazz hands" bit, and you've got Joe Pike.)

Even though he's fictional, Joe Pike's relentless pursuit of his goals is inspiring to me. When I read the quote I excerpted at the top of the page in Crais's latest book, I actually stopped reading to digest that a bit.

"Pike's mission commitment was off the charts."

I thought to myself, I wonder where my mission commitment is on the charts? When I am pursuing a goal, am I doing so relentlessly or haphazardly and half-heartedly? Am I, like Joe Pike, constantly moving forward?

For those of you who would rather be inspired by a real life hero, look no further than Carl Brashear, the first African American master diver in the Navy, and the inspiration for the movie Men of Honor starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. When Brashear was injured on the job, his injury should have permanently derailed his goal of becoming a master diver. But Brashear's mission commitment was so high, he chose to get his leg amputated and begin vigorously training to get reinstated to full active duty. In addition to being the first African American master diver, Brashear was the first amputee to return to full active duty as a Navy Diver.

Folks who are successful are frequently so at the cost of a lot of other things. Olympic gymnasts forgo 'normal childhood' activities to spend hours a day training in their sports. Bestselling authors got through hundreds of manuscript rejections before becoming an 'overnight success.' Actor Will Smith talks about his mission commitment when he says he is not afraid to "die on the treadmill." Brashear chose his goal to become an Navy diver over keeping his leg--that's mission commitment in the extreme!

The relentless pursuit of your goal in spite of any and every obstacle is mission commitment. Take a look at what you are trying to accomplish and ask yourself how committed you are to your mission. My guess is there is a one-to-one correlation between your level of commitment and your odds of success.

Get a Grip!

-by Matt Leedham

We are entering the 3^rd week of 2011. How are your goals or resolutions for the New Year coming along?

This is the make it or break week for many goal-setters. Research by Dr. Maxwell Maltz indicates that it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. What this means is that if you have been consistent from January 1^st, and you keep going for another week, you will have engaged in a new routine that will propel you forward for weeks to come. And in my personal experience, it’s after three weeks that you begin to see results, which is its own greatest motivator.

Get a grip on 2011! Grab it before it slips away. Stay focused on what you planned to do. Here are a few tips to keep you on track:

Recommit to your goals – many times, when we first set goals, we do so in an excited state – one filled with optimism and enthusiasm. After a few weeks, we can lose that feeling, and with it, momentum. Take a half-day or morning to recommit to your goals and get excited about them again. Go somewhere beautiful or inspiring and choose to re-engage.

Visualize success – start with the end in mind. If you’re like me, the end looks pretty darn good! Start there by visualizing success. Once you’ve accepted this, the outcome is no longer in question. It simply becomes something you must do.

Review your goals regularly (e.g. every morning) – writing down and reviewing your goals has an incredible effect on your subconscious mind. You will more clearly see opportunities and unknowingly make decisions that put you closer to achievement.

Phone a friend – ask for help. Working with a friend on a goal will not only help you stay accountable to your plans and push you toward higher levels achievement, but it may just bring the two of you closer together.

Try something new – shake things up! My friend let me borrow the P90X program on DVD recently. Their methodology is all about “muscle confusion,” which means doing a variety of different exercises each day so that the body does not adapt and plateau. Sometimes you can “plateau” on a goal and things become stagnant. Shake things up and try something new to reinvigorate yourself.

Stay focused in 2011 and make it a great year! Be in touch with questions as you achieve great things.

Martin Luther King Jr's Legacy

-by Jaime Willis

"But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness. And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant."

From "The Drum Major Instinct" sermon by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. While we remember the great legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., I challenge each one of us to live his legacy today. King's legacy is one of service and of compassion.

Cory Booker, the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, and probably the most prolific political Tweeter, asked people this weekend to share how they make the world better in small ways. Here are a few of their suggestions.

@SelkieBlue I sometimes anonymously leave box of non-perishable food on stoop of my 93yr old neighbor lady. Its 2 hard 4 her 2 shop

@dwaynetodd just saw a man leave a bag of lunch next to a sleepitwitng homeless man in DC.

@alycyamiller I compliment some1 when I sense they're feeling down

@MzCaliRich: tell grocery bagger thank u or bank teller have a nice day acknowledge ppl who seem invisible smile & look in the eye

@DanielleinDC: shoveling snow for my elderly neighbors

@rainbowlite: I donate old books, magazines , CDs and DVDs to library. I let someone w 1 or 2 items go in front of me at the store. #MLK

@hsmaury: Volunteer at your local animal shelter. #MLK

@hsmaury: Move errant shopping carts out of the parking lot so cars don't get hit. #MLK

@PhilNobleSC: I pick up resturant tabs for service people, especially at airports.

@jenbrentano: my daughter and I get bagels and coffee and bring them to our local fire department.

@mcrumr: leave hidden notes of appreciation for a person to find

I know that I will be spreading the legacy of MLK today, and I hope that this attitude of service lasts longer than today for us all!

TGIF: Amanda Vega

Good morning, Achievers! It's Friday, which means it's time for another episode of This Goal Is Finished. Today, we are excited to introduce you to Amanda Vega, who is an extremely talented social media maven. Although we could discuss any number of great successes she's had in her professional career, she has graciously opened up about a personal goal she's recently accomplished. Read on and get inspired!

I am Amanda Vega, the CEO of Amanda Vega Consulting, a firm that has been around for 11 years specializing in PR, social media, compliance, and web related services. I began my career over 20 years ago as the 22nd employee of AOL where I was a chat moderator. This is my second company (sold the first one to Ogilvy before the age of 24) and I now have offices in NYC, Phoenix, Dallas, and Shanghai and staff all over the world. I’ve written a book "PR in a Jar" and also contributed to "The Social Media Bible."

Usually I don’t get asked about personal goals, so this is a nice change. I adopted the concept of vision board building about 4 years ago and every New Years actually host a vision board party. In 2010, the main set of goals visually represented were related to becoming healthy. Not to be mistaken for weight-loss (though that was part of it,) the goal was to get my body into as good of shape that my lifestyle and likes would allow in order to hopefully successfully get pregnant with my first child.
I have been working on my career since I was 15. My life has been full of crazy hours and stress, and adventure that is enviable to most. But as I neared 35 I realized that I now had a strong marriage and wanted to explore the next part of my life, which was family: something I had never prioritized before at all.

I felt that if I were going to go down the road of bringing a child into the world, I was going to approach it with the same tactical and focused/informed mind that I do my business projects. And everything I read and saw pointed to the fact that (a) getting pregnant, (b) having a healthy pregnancy, and (c) having the healthiest child possible was all related to a healthier lifestyle (exercise, clean food intake, relaxation, flexibility, limited alcohol and no smoking) than I was living. So the goal was imperative.

The first step was committing my mind to the process without feeling that I was somehow giving something up. I had to focus on the positive rather than the “look what I have to sacrifice” point of view.
It’s the same for everyone I suppose. I attend a lot of parties and host a lot of parties. I truly enjoy decadent food and truly hate doing cardio. I found obstacles on every plane ride and business trip (either bad food choices, or my complete lack of discipline when it comes to fine dining.)

I had to embrace the fact that I have a certain lifestyle and work within it. With the help of my trainer, we set up a pretty standard list of foods that I like and that I pretty much eat 5 days per week. Food goals became make every MEAL count, instead of every DAY count. That way, if you can have 4 of your 6 meals per day be healthy, you are doing much better than the average person.

I found that I really enjoy doing weights, boxing, etc. So I vowed to never miss the weighted workouts with my trainer. But the cardio is where I have peaks and valleys. The goal really became then moving for 30 minutes per day.

Midyear I invested in a BodyBugg and took it totally seriously. Okay, I was obsessive. And it really did work. Having something obnoxious on your arm that hinders your outfit choices and stares at you like a reminder to do the right thing really helped me.

Weighing myself everyday motivated me. New clothes did as well. Feeling better and more energized was good.

Brian Peitz at Fuzion Fitness in Phoenix – a trainer that isn’t a meathead and that listened to MY lifestyle and worked around it. (No wine isn’t a possibility for me.)

The BodyBugg.

My husband getting on board helped as well.

My friends knowing to keep telling me it was working.

Well, we certainly celebrated. When I found out I was pregnant my doctors first reaction was that the original 30 pound weightloss was certainly what made it possible. Then it became a game to keep on track and keep losing while pregnant – something they said was impossible.
My advice is this: you are a different person than everyone else. You have to find what’s right for you and it’s seriously the most simple formula ever: calories in/calories out. Carbs, proteins, times of days to eat, etc. are merely tools to help REFINE weight loss, not requirements to lose. Take it slow -- plan on losing just 1-2 pounds per week. And don’t remove things you enjoy. You can have cake (or wine) – you just have to make sure you offset the intake by moving.
Well, the next goal will be to continue on the journey when the baby comes in February. I still had 20-30 pounds to go toward my goals and have lost another percent of body fat while pregnant. So it will be fun to work with a new set of challenges and also keep going.

Rules for Accountability Partners

-by Matt Leedham

In our goal setting workshops, we stress the importance of having accountability partners or groups. Having someone hold you accountable is a great best practice that many successful people use. But not everyone knows what it means to be an accountability partner – it’s not a skill they teach you in school.

Has someone asked you to be an accountability partner? Looking for tips to give your challenge buddy to be more effective? Keep the following in mind:

Ask a TON of questions. Goals do not exist in a vacuum. Goals are (or at least should be) connected to something deeper. If properly designed, goals should be aligned with both the achiever’s core values and personal vision. So, dig deep. Understand the “why behind” the goal. It will help you keep the real reason in the forefront. For example, losing weight is not just about shedding pounds – it’s usually about health, confidence, love, family, etc.

Ask permission. What type of coach is needed? Do we need the drill sergeant or the therapist? Or do we just need a friendly voice in our corner? The accountability coach should ask permission up front to have the uncomfortable conversation if necessary, and to confront situations that need to be addressed. Having this permission alleviates miscommunication and increases the effectiveness of the relationship.

Set up check-ins. We’re all busy. The worst thing that can happen to accountability partners is infrequent communication. Set up a time to meet regularly (e.g. every week or every other week) to check in on how the achiever is progressing. Set alerts to text or email the achiever with quotes of wisdom and positivity. This is a great indirect way to push them along.

Be generous. Offer up all of your resources and networks. An accountability partner needs to be resourceful and generous. You have agreed to be responsible for the achiever’s success or failure, so pull out all of the stops and help them get it done. Between the two of you, you likely have what it takes to make the goal a reality.

Celebrate the wins. This is the fun part! Celebrating the wins (even the smallest victories) helps create momentum and confidence. And confident momentum will propel anyone forward to keep achieving. Be a part of the celebration and keep cheering your partner on!

Being recruited as an accountability partner is a great honor. Accept it humbly. You are now co-responsible for someone’s personal success, achievement, and happiness. You are a critical piece in helping us build a community of achievers!