Weekly Wednesday Inspiration #19

-by Matt Leedham

Have you had a hard time motivating yourself to put air in those tires and get out on your bike for some exercise? Me too. It's tough. I mean, there are so many other competing priorities, and we never have enough time.

But you know what most of us do have? Two arms.

This guys does not!

Meet 34-year old Damian Alfonso, a Cuban cyclist that has overcome a challenge that many of us cannot even imagine. Not only does he not let his impairment prevent him from doing what he loves, but he excels at it. Damian will be competing this year to qualify for the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.

Time to dust off the old bike and get out there!

Unstoppable

-by Matt Leedham

A very respected peer of mine recently introduced this concept to me as it relates to coaching (thanks Stephanie McDilda!). She’s built a keynote/workshop around the idea of being unstoppable, and although I have not yet heard the content, knowing her and the idea of being unstoppable, I have no doubt it will be a powerful experience.

I would love for Stephanie to write a guest post someday soon (hint, hint!), but in the meantime, let me briefly share what I believe being unstoppable means.

Being unstoppable means…

…that you have a purpose which drives an undying passion.

…that your passion can create undying energy in pursuit of it.

…that you have tenacity and grit.

…that you have encountered, embraced, and fought through external obstacles to your goal (e.g. money, time, connections, etc.).

…that you have faced, leaned into, and conquered internal obstacles to your goal (e.g. fear, insecurities, rejection, etc.).

…that you realize there is a forest beyond the trees, and small setbacks are not deal-breakers.

…that sometimes you have to climb the mountain and sometimes you have to walk around the mountain, and that the only thing that matters is that you get to the other side.

…that there are ebbs and flows to progress.

…that you stay the course in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, etc., etc.

Be your own juggernaut. Be an unstoppable force in your life. Be the purposeful, intentional, unrelenting, tenacious fighter that you are.

Are you there yet? Do you feel unstoppable? Tell us about it!

Kicking down the Obstacles

-By Jaime Willis

"Obstacles are those frightening things you see when you take your eye off the target."

- Curt Carlson

Girls can't do math.

Moms can't be powerful executives and good parents at the same time.

Short people can't play basketball.

Men should be the family providers.

Real guys don't cry.


We've heard all of these things before, haven't we?  Even though none of them are TRUE, how many of us have allowed ourselves to be deterred from reaching a goal because it didn't fit in with conventional thinking?

Did you want to be excited about school, but were afraid of being called nerdy?

Did you want to be athletic,  but just "knew" that chubby kids can't play sports?


Think about one goal that has eluded you for the longest time. Ask yourself if you are buying into false conventions about that goal.

Do Diets ALWAYS fail?

Do night owls NEVER get up early?

Do the rich ALWAYS get richer and the poor ALWAYS get poorer?

Nope.  There are people who manage to do whatever they set their mind to regardless of conventional thinking.  You can be one of those people!  Just give up the belief that convention is always right and attack your goal as if succeeding were a foregone conclusion.

Just take Mike Flynt.  In 1965, Mike was on the first state championship football team of the high school featured in "Friday Night Lights."  After high school, he went to Ranger school, then on to Sul Ross State University.  After playing two years of exceptional football, including the team's only win against Texas A & I, Mike was kicked off the team in 1971, his senior year, due to fighting.

Although Mike moved on to become a successful strength and conditional coach, inventing the Powerbase training system, he always regretted not being able to complete his final year of football in school.  At 59 years old, Mike, at the prodding of his old football buddies, suited up and joined Sul Ross State University for his final year of eligibility.  Mike didn't listen to those who told him he was too old to finish his dream - he just went ahead and did it.

Believe it!  Achieve it!

Bad Days

-by Matt Leedham

I have to be honest. I’m a little surprised you’re even reading this post right now because I could barely get out of bed to write it. Yesterday I developed a fever that spiked at 102.5 degrees and after hardly moving all day, I popped some Nyquil before going to bed at 9pm. I woke up this morning, still battling a fever, but feeling a little bit better and am willing myself to write this.

What do you do with bad days? Like yesterday, sometimes they knock you on your butt. Other days aren’t quite as bad. Sometimes you are ill. Sometimes you are blue. Sometimes you just wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Sometimes you receive news that isn’t so great, and sometimes people do things that aren’t so great. And sometimes your motivation meter is registering low.

Speaking from experience, one bad day can snowball into multiple days, a week, and sometimes get you completely off track. When you have big plans to achieve big goals, these disruptions can be devastating.

Here are some tips to get back on track:

1. Be honest with yourself. Recognize and acknowledge what is happening. Many times, this alone will end the vicious cycle.
2. Make a plan for tomorrow. Jot down your ideal day for what tomorrow will look like. Review it before you go to bed and prime yourself to succeed when you wake up.
3. Talk to someone. I find that just being honest with someone else about how you feel reduces the perceived size and importance of what’s holding you back.
4. Re-center yourself. Whether you meditate, pray, exercise, or do yoga, spend some time bringing yourself back to center. For me, a simple 5-minute breathing exercise is enough to ground me and bring clarity to the day.
5. Write and write often. If you don’t already have an outlet for writing, consider journaling or blogging. This can be done in many ways. For example, I have committed to keeping a gratitude journal in 2011. I plan to jot down 3-5 things I am thankful for each day. If you’re just getting started, start with one thing a day and go from there.

For more tips on overcoming material and emotional obstacles, join us for our special New Year’s Resolution Workshop on January 8, 2011. You can sign up here, and use the coupon code “GoalGift” to take 60% off the registration fee!

A Big New Goal

- by Matt Leedham

Last night my brother and I were driving to Yechon in Annandale to have dinner with my wife’s cousins, who have quickly adopted me as one of their own (shout out to the Chungs, the Kimms, the Paes and Mr. Park!). My brother looked at me and said, “so, have you ever thought about learning Korean?”

I really wished he hadn’t asked that. The truth is, yes I have thought about it. And yes, it’s on my 101 list (similar to a bucket list but without the morbid reference). Until that moment, I had successfully tucked the goal of learning Korean deep down into oblivion. I want to learn Korean, but the thought of what it would take to do so makes me quickly focus on other goals in my life.

But it’s time to walk the walk on this one. I can’t honestly write, coach, and teach about achieving difficult goals if I’m not going to get out there and practice what I preach. In fact, just two days ago, I wrote about The Biggest Loser and how the successful competitors are able to shift the context to something bigger than themselves. They are able to focus on “the why” of the goal – the real reason you are committed to something.

So here we go…

(A Big New Goal)

The Goal: Be conversational in Korean by October 1, 2011. Conversational = Ability to greet, chit chat, order food, and ask/understand/answer basic questions.

The Why: 1) It would mean a great deal to me and my wife if I were able to converse more freely with her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. 2) It would mean a great deal to me and my wife to be able to raise our future children in a bi-lingual household. 3) Learning Korean would allow me to achieve something I have doubted I could achieve for many years. 4) We are planning a 3-week trip to Korea with my in-laws in October 2011, which would be a great capstone to a year of learning the language.

Material Obstacles: 1) Time. Let’s be honest – I’m going to need a lot of it. But just like anything else, you make time for what’s important. 2) Money. Language software, text books, and courses are not cheap.

Emotional Obstacles: “I’m not good at learning languages.” I studied Spanish for years in high school and college, and am okay on vocabulary and basic conversational stuff, but never really picked up proper grammar (which is very similar to English, so I’m not sure what that says about me…). Negative self-talk will not help, but I’m going to need some cheerleaders in my corner to make it through this.

Resources: My resources seem endless on support – I’ve got at least 10 family members that will help me along. I’ve got a wife that will happily talk to me in Korean as much as I want (and endlessly watch Korean movies and dramas with me should that be helpful). However, resources in language instruction seem limited. I do have an old text book that was given to me by an owner of a language center in DC. I’ll have to reach out to my network on this.

Network: My network is fairly extensive, but not among language instructors. From what I can gather from 6 years of knowing my father-in-law, the Korean community stays well connected. Whatever I ask of him (e.g. a handyman, a mechanic, a doctor, a hot air balloon driver in Alaska), he always seems to “have a guy.” He always knows someone with that specific expertise. So, perhaps I just need to reach out.

That’s it. I’m doing it. I’ve said it.

Can you help me?

The Biggest Loser

- by Matt Leedham

Last week, the live finale of The Biggest Loser was on NBC and I just couldn’t change the channel. In fact, whenever it’s on, I just seem to get sucked in. It got me thinking…

I think the program “The Biggest Loser” is popular because obesity is an issue that far too many people face in America. Many viewers can connect and relate to the competitors on the show. However, while my weight fluctuates daily, weekly, and monthly too, the real reason I watch the biggest loser is for the mental victories.

Without exception, the contestants on the show, and those that are currently overweight, are dealing with mental and emotional obstacles that seem overwhelming. What makes the show so interesting to me is the break-through moments, the awakenings, the paradigm shifts in the minds of those battling with a variety of tragedies and insecurities. Let’s face it, Jillian and Bob aren’t the world’s best trainers. They are very good trainers, but they are even better therapists. They help people reconstruct their perception of themselves and the world around them.

Rising to the Top
The show starts with many competitors, but only a handful seem to rise to the top. What separates them from the pack?

They have a purpose. They are fighting for something bigger than themselves. They are fighting for their families, for their children, and for their friends. They realize that they’ve made some mistakes and they owe more to the loved ones in their lives. They have a purpose…a reason to live and survive and contribute. They realize that the world is a better place with them in it. They realize that they have something to offer. They are now aware that they matter.

Are you struggling with a goal? Something you know you need to address but can't seem to get it done? Shift your perspective. Change your context. Start with why. Find your purpose for that goal and focus on that. Be relentless.

Limitations

- by Matt Leedham

“Don’t worry, everything is going to be amazing.” –unknown

I posted the image to the right on our Facebook page yesterday and a few people let me know how much they liked it. It’s simple isn’t it? And powerful. To put a little twist on a fairly common expression.

Why do we put limitations on ourselves? Why do we hope for things to just “be okay?”

In our goal-setting workshop this past Saturday, Jaime asked a question you may have heard before, “What would you do if you knew you wouldn’t fail?” In other words, if you removed all of the self-imposed limitations and all of the pre-conceived definitions of what you think you should or could be, what would you do? If you shed all the perceptions of obstacles and hurdles and reasons why you can’t, what’s that one special thing in the back of your mind that you would do?

Well, what is it? What would you do? I'm serious. Leave a response below.