3 Behaviors That Position You To Win

Did you wake up this morning and think to yourself, “I want to feel worse than I did yesterday?” Or maybe you said to yourself, “I want to have less money in my bank account than I did yesterday” Or, did you say to yourself, “I want my relationships to stink?” My guess is that you didn’t wake up this morning, or any other morning, thinking any of those things to yourself.

Most likely you woke up saying to yourself, “I want to be healthier, wealthier and wiser.” There was some part of you that wanted to be at least a little better than you were yesterday.

Three years ago I found myself in the worst health of my life (you can read more of that story here). After a fateful trip to my doctor I realized I had to make changes. At that point a tiny fire was lit and I began to capitalize on it. I began to do many things that turned my health around but there have been three behaviors which have been major keys to success, winning and getting healthier.

JOIN A CHALLENGE

One of the most motivating things for me is being part of a challenge. When I’m competing, achieving milestones and working towards an end goal I’m at my best. And when there’s a reward at the finish line, even better.

When you intentionally put yourself outside of your comfort zone you have to find strength you didn’t know you have had. You have to dig deep and learn new things that help you rise to the challenge. Authors Adam Morgan and Mark Barden explain that authentic success is really about changing our stories from “We can’t, because,” to “We can, if.”

BECOME PART OF A COMMUNITY

Laird Hamilton says, “A lonely place is an unmotivated place”

The first couple of years on my health journey were done without a lot of interaction with other people. I kept to myself and didn’t think connecting with others about exercise and diet would help much. But last year I was part of a few different health challenges that changed my perception on a community.

Last year I connected with a number of people who were at different points in regards to their health. I met coaches and trainers who have been helping people achieve their health goals for decades. My path crossed and I connected with people who had great insights on nutrition and supplementation. There were others that were in the same spot as me; they had been getting healthier but wanted to go to the next level. And then I met some who were where I had been, just getting started and needed encouragement to begin.

Throughout the year I got to know a lot of people and through those relationships experienced the best year of my life in regards to my health.

MAKE A COMMITMENT TO CHANGE

You will have daily opportunities to turn back to where you came from. If you are going to make long-lasting, long-impacting change it takes daily commitment.

When you are part of a community there’s accountability and encouragement to change and stick with the commitment. You have others around you, on the same journey and pursuing similar goals that keep your tank full. And when you have a “why” like a challenge, there’s a purpose that drives you and helps you stay on track.

Change takes time which is why you have to stay committed to the process. You have to be patient. And if you are looking to lose weight or change the composition of your body you have to change your thinking and know it will be a lot of work and effort. I found that taking pictures of myself along my journey helped me to see the changes that the scale didn’t reveal. In addition to the photos, I also took my body measurements every couple of months because those also revealed what the scaled did not.

SUCCESS AND WINNING IS YOUR DECISION

You are not at the mercy of your circumstances, body type, personality or anything else. Getting healthier begins with a decision to get healthy. Putting these three behaviors; challenge, community, and commitment to change into practice will help you maintain that decision.

 

 

 

Setting Goals Are Really Cool (quote from my 8 year old)

I’m sure you have heard this quote multiple times throughout your life – “from the mouths of babes”. Earlier tonight I was talking with my 8 year old, Judah. He was discussing with me his goals that he filled out in Seth Godin’s Pick Four book (I purchased a copy for each of my kids). As we were talking he said, “I bet a lot of people’s lives have been changed because of this book – because they set goals.” He said, “It’s very cool to set goals and then if you achieve your goals your life will be a lot better.”

I couldn’t have said it better!

 

15 Point Checklist for Ads – Part 2

8. Did you draft your entire ad to fulfill your own ad objective?

9. Is your objective a direct sale?

10. Is your guarantee visible?

11. Is your phone number apparent from 3 feet away?

12. Is your logo small enough?

13. If it’s a direct-selling ad, do you have a dashed box or some call-out around your order coupon?

14. Does your ad show immediate benefits to the reader?

15. Do you have room, can you show several benefits in a bulleted list?

What would you add to this list?

Bump in the Blog Road

Over the past several weeks I’ve been working on putting together a new theme for my blog. I gave Thesis a run along with some other architectures and themes. Earlier today I decided to transfer everything back to WordPress – hosting, storing my content, etc…-unfortunately it all didn’t work out as smoothly as I had hoped.

I think most of my posts are here but if not, well….

So – back on track and pushing forward

Look Up!

Just because you went to market with one strategy and were successful doesn’t mean the same strategy will lead you through the correct door the next time. This thought was made very real to me yesterday while attending the Internet Retailing Conference and Expo here in Chicago where Blackhawk madness is at a fever pitch.

The conference is being held at McCormick Place – a great conference center. The sessions I attended all day were located in one area of the conference center and I used the same restrooms each time I needed too. The restrooms I used had two entrances into the mens room – an entrance on the left and on the right – it didn’t matter which door you went in you made it to your destination.

At the end of the day I was on my way to the shuttle bus and needed to use the restroom one last time. But this time I was in another part of the conference center. I looked up and saw the signs pointing to the restrooms. I took a left, walked down the hall a little and saw the restroom on the left. It looked just like the others I had visited throughout the day – an entrance to the left and an entrance to the right. I chose the entrance on the right but it was “wrong” as I soon discovered when I rounded the corner to see a lady washing her hands. Shock hit me and I quickly did a one-eighty and headed out in the left entrance which was the “right” entrance.

So even though you may be familiar with your market it doesn’t mean you can always reach your destination through the same doors you’ve always reached them through.

What are you new doors, new entry points that you are discovering?

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Updating Site

I’m currently in the process of returning to WordPress as my blog provider – please be patient as things change.

Back (blog)Home

After spending the last several months with Typepad as the service for my blog I’ve returned to where I began – WordPress. I’ll be upgrading the look over the next few days – stay tuned.

Good to be back (blog)home.

Poor Customer Service Costs Companies $83 Billion Annually

MediaPost Publications Poor Customer Service Costs Companies $83 Billion Annually 02/18/2010.

Lessons from a six year old turkey sandwich chef

At lunch today my six year old wanted to make his own turkey sandwich. So…he toasted the bread – then placed about a tablespoon of mayo in the center of one piece of bread and proceeded to spread it in the middle but not quite to the edges. He then carefully placed his slice of turkey and muenster cheese on top of the mayo and completed his piece of culinary artwork by placing the remaining piece of bread on top.

Lessons/Observations:

1. He wanted to do it by himself and not have his dad micro-manage the process. EMPOWER.

2. He wanted to do it by himself so he could tell others he DID IT by himself. RECOGNITION.

3. After he finished spreading the mayo I helped him get it to the 'edges' by holding the knife at a different angle. He said, "Oh, I was holding it this way but holding it your way finished the job". He was open to receiving instruction and doing things another way. TEACHABILITY

Now excuse me, I'm off to to see the chef for my own turkey sandwich!

Have You Heard The News?

The
changing way we learn of news – #Walter Cronkite #Michael Jackson #Ed
McMahon #Steve Mcnair – I learned of all of their deaths FIRST via Facebook
or Twitter. I didn't hear of it first from a newspaper, cable network or the radio I heard from my friends or the people I follow.

If we want to reach people with our message we must be listening where they talk – we must be talking where they are listening.