Celebrate like a child!

-By Jaime Willis

Last week was my birthday.  At my age, birthdays are no longer the euphoria-enducing affairs they once were.  I don't go to bed excited for the day to arrive, imagining what great toys I will receive and what celebrations I'll have.  I enjoy greetings from my friends and family, and usually organize a dinner at my favorite restaurant and call it a celebration.

Jaime & friends at Alero in Washington, DC

This year, however, turned out a little differently.  Of course, I still got lots of birthday greetings and cards, and I still had a wonderful dinner party with my friends.  But, my nephews, 2 year old-Tate and his brother, 3.5 year-old Landon, understood what a "birthday" is.  They were so excited to hear that Aunt Jaime was having a birthday.  Their initial suggestions for presents included a vacuum (huh?) and a dump truck (this one I understand, as they both love cars and really, anything with wheels).

So, when I came home to Michigan for the weekend, my brother and sister-in-law told me that I would be having a real birthday party, as the boys were so excited to celebrate.

When I went over to my brother's house on Friday evening, the boys greeted me at the door.  "Happy Birthday Aunt Jaime!" "Happy Birthday Aunt Jaime!," they both shouted with glee.  They could hardly wait for the party scheduled for Saturday evening.  Their energy was infectious -- and I found myself excited for my birthday again too.  Would I really get a dump truck?

I decided to go out all for the party -- I bought my plates in my favorite characters, Batman & Hello Kitty, a bouquet of balloons, and playdoh party favors for all the guests.

Batman, Hello Kitty, and the cake Landon, Tate, and their Mom, Becca, made.

The boys and I spent the hour before the party deciding which guest would receive which color of playdoh, what we would make with it after the party (cars, cars, and more cars), and trying not to touch the "lalloons."

I ended up with some truly awesome gifts -- a matchbox car, an "awesome job" dog stamp, some airplane stationary, and a ceramic kitty.

We played with playdoh, ate cake, and the boys ran around the house trailing bunches of balloons until they were too tired to stand.

The evening was so enjoyable! It was so fun reliving a birthday through the joy and wonder of toddler eyes.  I wonder how many other things in our lives would be different if we enjoyed them like my nephews do.  Car rides are the epitome of awesome -- so a traffic jammed commute may seem like a cool adventure.  Getting to play outside is so fun -- when is the last time you walked out of your door just to experience nature?  The night isn't complete until the boys have been read a story -- when is the last time you took time to read for fun?

Think today about how you can live your lives a bit more like a small child -- I have no doubt your day will be cheerier for it.  Happy Monday!

I'm Tired, I'm Jazzed!

-By Jaime Willis

I'll warn you right now, this may be a weird blog post as I have yet to make it to bed today (yesterday?). But the reason for that is pretty awesome -- Matt and I are bidding on a project to help bring positive thinking and goal-setting into the K-12 classroom!

And this is just one of several huge projects Velocity is juggling behind the scenes here a "1 Achiever Place." We've got another proposal already in, we're finalizing copy on a program we're co-hosting for families this fall, and we had another AMAZING class this weekend.

All this stuff is super cool in it's own right, but it's even cooler when you understand that this is the power of intention. When Matt and I started Velocity ten months ago, we were pretty intentional about our goals for our business. We set big goals and some smaller milestones to get us there through 2012.

And here's the crazy thing about goals -- they don't really happen linearly. There is usually a lot of momentum and therefore a lot of stuff happening either right at the beginning or right at the end of your goal.

For example, if you are losing weight, when are you going to typically lose the most? At the start of your diet, because you are making the biggest changes to your current eating and exercise habits. By the time you get to the 'last ten pounds,' you are going to fight toothe and nail to get that off a pound (or less) at a time.

If you are going into business, the opposite is true. Oh, there is a lot of momentum and work involved in starting a business, don't get me wrong! But, you do lots and lots and lots of work and see barely any results. And then, like magic, 8 or 10 or 12 or 24 months down the road, all of your hard work blossoms into contracts or clients or great opportunities for you and your business to succeed.

Whether you are tired of working on your goal right now or *jazzed* that the goal is coming to fruition (or both at the same time!), keep up the good work! Success is on your horizon.

Have a great day, y'all!

Celebrate Your Success!!

-By Jaime Willis

If you can believe it, you can achieve it.

Yesterday, I was reflecting on the past eight months.  Eight months ago, Matt and I had our first "Velocity" business meeting.  I put Velocity in air quotes, because choosing our name was probably one of the longest aspects of starting a whole new business adventure together.  

Eight months later, we've reached over 500 people via live workshops & meet-ups, facebook, twitter, and on this very blog.  But we haven't just spoken to you, we've seen the fantastic things y'all are capable of!

In the last six months Velocity Alumni (workshop attendees and coaching clients) have:

• Bought a home;
• Ran a Half Marathon;
• Ran a 10 miler;
• Wrote thousands of words towards a book;
• Found a new job (and got a huge raise!);
• Lost Weight;
• Whittled down their debt; and
• Started a new business venture.

And that is just naming the folks who have reported back to us.  I am so inspired and proud of our alumni, I just wanted to give y'all a shout out!  Amazing work - keep it up!! Or as Charlie Sheen famously said recently, "WINNING!" 

We believe that EVERYONE can live their dreams.

As you slog through your work day today wondering where you got off track and hoping somehow you can start LIVING again, please know that your dream is absolutely within your grasp. 

Believe it.  Achieve it.  

If you need a road map, encouragement, or just to surround yourself with positivity, please contact us - I am confident that we can help!

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!

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!

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!

Momentum & Inertia

- by Matt Leedham

As a child, I can remember riding my little BMX bicycle with pads on the handle bar and cross bar. I would run out of the house, pick it up off the driveway and go shooting off into the neighborhood to join my friends. My favorite part was getting started. I’d put the right pedal as high as it would go on its rotation and stand straight up on it so that I was well above the bike. My weight would push the pedal down quickly, and I would get my first jolt of movement.

Once I got moving though, it seemed much easier to increase my speed or just let my bike carry me down the road without much effort at all. Why is that?

The law of inertia states that objects at rest tend to stay at rest, and objects in motion tend to stay in motion – that’s why it takes a little extra effort to get started. But once momentum sets it, you’re on your way!

What’s true for bicycles, cars, trains, and planes is also true for motivation, confidence, achievement, and happiness.

“Momentum fuels motivation. It keeps you going” writes Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, founders of 37 Signals. They’re referring to employee motivation in their book Rework. But the same is true for personal goal setting and achievement.

The key to momentum and overcoming the law of inertia (while at rest) in our personal lives is small wins.

Small wins help you see your progress and fuel the fire to keep going. When setting big, aggressive personal goals, break them down into bite-size chunks by creating:

1. Achievable wins along the way that serve as signposts and milestones indicating your progression toward success,

2. Regular “pulse checks” with yourself to know that you are progressing as planned or need to tweak your path, and

3. A very specific action plan that you can work on today, checking things off as you go.

And there is one more step that is absolutely critical to keep the momentum going. You must celebrate the small wins!

Tell your friends and family, treat yourself to something you enjoy, or just pat yourself of the back and be proud that you are making progress!