Formula for Success

The winners in life know the rules of the game and have a plan. Whether you're looking to heal a relationship, get a new job, lose weight or find inner peace, consider these characteristics which are common to people who succeed.

Have a vision. Champions get what they want because they know what they want. They have a vision that keeps them motivated and efficiently on track. They see it, feel it, and experience it in their minds and hearts. What is success for you? You won't get there without knowing what it feels and looks like.

Make a strategy. People who consistently win have a clear and thoughtful strategy. They know what they need to do and when they need to do it. They write it down so they stay on course, and avoid any alternative that does not get them closer to the finish line.

Find a passion. Are you excited to get up in the morning? People with a passion are, and they're energized about what they are doing. You need to live and breathe what it is that you want, and be passionately invested in both the journey and the goal.

Live the truth. People who consistently win have no room in their lives for denial, fantasy or fiction. They are self-critical rather than self-deluding, and they hold themselves to high but realistic standards. They deal with the truth, since they recognize that nothing else will make their vision obtainable.

Be flexible. Life is not a success-only journey. Even the best-laid plans sometimes must be altered and changed. Be open to input and consider any potentially viable alternative. Be willing to be wrong and be willing to start over.Take risks.People who consistently win are willing to get out of their comfort zone and try new things. Be willing to plunge into the unknown if necessary, and leave behind the safe, unchallenging, and familiar existence in order to have more.

Create a strong nucleus. Surround yourself with a group of people who want you to succeed. They will move with you toward your goal. Choose and bond with people who have skills, talents and abilities that you do not. Winners give and receive by being part of other people's nuclear groups.

Take action. Do it! People who succeed don't just sit and think about what they want to do. They take meaningful, purposeful, directional action consistently and persistently. Every step they take puts them toward the outcome they're looking for.

Set priorities. People who are consistent winners manage their challenges in hierarchical fashion. They commit to managing their time in such a way that does not allow them to spend time grinding along on priority number two or three if priority number one needs their attention.

Take care of yourself. People who consistently win are consciously committed to self-management. They are the most important resource they have in achieving their goals. They actively manage their mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health.

Time is Elastic?

You may or may not have heard the theory that time is in fact elastic. That in space time moves slower than on Earth and that "there is no absolute time, time moves differently from one object to the next and in one location to the next" - (Alan McDougall, Senior Physicist, in reference to Einstein's Theory of Relativity).

Now, I know what you are thinking, what does this have to do with me, this blog, lIFe? Well, to illustrate my point I have a quick story. At a recent doctor's appointment I was kept waiting 25 minutes despite the fact that I had specifically made my appointment for 9am - the first one of the day. Incredibly annoyed and checking my watch every 3-5 minutes time seemed to slow to a crawl. When the doctor finally arrived she commented on how hot the room was, then after pleasantries and observing my mood as being less than excited she asked if I had been waiting long.

It occurred to me that as 'valuable' as her time is, she apparently has quite a bit of it and is not held to a schedule that holds her accountable to others. If I was to walk out the door annoyed and not return it would not affect her livelihood in any way. It would not affect the receptionist who put someone else in another room ahead of me in any way. As they both know there are patients (re:customers) lined up to see them. General Practitioners are in demand and a government facilitated (with free health care to all that need it) necessity.

My day to day life, as with most in the customer service industry (IE. banking, realty, hospitality, finances), especially during these economic times, is exactly the opposite. Time, mine and that of my customers, co-workers and family members, is incredibly important, to myself, and to them. We all work hard to manage it, balance it between spheres and allocate it depending on the carefully mapped out quarter of the year.

My point is, time might be elastic (I'm pretty sure it is for my four year old daughter), my weekends tend to go quickly and my commutes often go slowly, but until you can see this reality for others always treat time as a invaluable commodity.

When is it time to Walk Away?

"You got to know when to hold 'em

Know when to fold 'em.

Know when to walk away...

And know when to run."

~ Kenny Rogers (The Gambler)

So that's it. Lance Armstrong comes back to the tour - and places third. Definitely a respectable placement, and nothing to be scoffed about.

But there were a couple of things that maybe - maybe - tarnished the finish.

a) He didn't finish first. He could have retired on a high, the clear and definitive, undisputed champion of the race - but he came back, and finished third. He says that he came back in order to keep raising money for cancer research and to keep his profile high - but was he suffering from a lack of publicity when he was retired? Also - by coming back and not winning, is he going to see himself drift into irrelevance as people move on to someone they view as "more impressive"?

b) Worst of all, there's bickering between himself and the winner, Alberto Contador. I have to be honest - no matter who's at fault, no matter if it's justified - never air your team's dirty laundry. No one comes out looking good. Lance looks bitter, and like he's trying to justify why he didn't finish first, and Alberto Contador looks like an egotistical prima donna. Neither person comes off well.

I've always respected many things about Lance Armstrong - and justifiably so, I believe. Granted, I don't know the man himself - only the public figure. Ego? Probably - but he had the wins to back them up. He could just smile and brush the criticism aside, because he's won year after year. He always seemed above the fray - a person who could let their accomplishments speak for themselves. Until now, that is.

Sometimes it's hard to see our role models become too human.

~Guy

The long road to Australia…

There is no road that leads anywhere that doesn’t have its ups and downs. In fact we should never want our roads to be bump free…for how are we able to learn or experience anything without the peaks and valleys that life has to throw at us?

My long road to Australia started last fall in 2008. An invitation was sent out…a challenge…and the opportunity was open. I personally jumped at the possibility which I felt was another chance of a lifetime that I felt I had received. To be asked to ride across Canada in 2007 and now this – a chance to do it all over again except this time in the land down under…what an amazing concept and how fortunate was I to be asked to be part of the team!

Let’s step back in time…last summer we were busy with our summer events. Many of us spread ourselves thin and some may even do a little too much, but our passion usually gets us through to that finish line injury free. Well, to close the loop here, I ended up injuring myself during the West Coast Trail hike. I knew something bad happened but I had no idea that I had torn my medial meniscus in my right knee and damaged it enough to warrant surgery.

Fast forward a bit. The winter months were spent on the spinner building a base and developing power. Towards the end of the indoor season, I knew I had a major problem. Driving was becoming more painful and walking properly after a spin class was difficult.

I was blessed and was giving a chance to jump the line for an MRI – right after I went back for a CT Scan. After seeing multiple Dr’s I got in with the best knee guy in town. Dr. Brian Day. I went to see him and for 500$ he moved my knee around and told me I needed surgery without a doubt. He said I was strong but that my injury was catching up and I needed to make a decision on what to do. I decided to go the private route and pay to get fixed right away…

Within a couple weeks I was on the operating table getting knocked out…I woke up in a daze and a monster bandage on my knee. The tide had changed and I was now on the road to recovery..

This road has had many road bumps. The training, the pain, the good times, the memories…

Last week I posted that I was looking for support and couple days after I sent out a personalized note to many asking for the same support…with an open heart I am happy to share that I have raised over half of what’s needed to pay for my ticket to Australia..

Thank you so very much for all your support so far!

More updates to come…the journey on the road to Australia is not over…in fact it will truly begin when we clip-in…

What makes a good speaker?

This past weekend the leaders of Innovative Fitness got together to discuss our companies opportunities in the future, our current situations and growing as a group/individuals to lead our respective facilities. During this forum, we were very fortunate to listen to a guest speaker – Mike Bushore.

He is one of the top speakers I have had the privilege to listen to. He is a customer at the White Rock facility who is the chief innovation officer at Coast Capital Savings. He has given speeches and presentations to some of the biggest organizations in the world, such as Microsoft. His presentation this weekend was about how a business can be successful by being different.

The message and tips he was able to share were all ideas and concepts that we have heard but he was able to shine the light in a different way. During the presentation, every leader hung off every word he said, laughed at his jokes and made the connection with what he was saying to our current situations.

What made him such an inspiring speaker?
1. He spoke on a subject that we needed to hear. He was able to provide real life examples and relate them to us.
2. He connected with us. He told stories and funny incidents that related to the material that followed.
3. He did not only say what we wanted to hear, but what we needed to hear. He gave us fresh ideas and a new outlook on things.
4. He made 3 points in his speech. He did not bulldoze us with information; he kept it simple, valid and easy to follow. He illustrated a story for each point and made it relevant to us.
5. He brought you into his presentation by asking questions and made you feel that you were the only person in that room.

I was very inspired after Mike’s speech and wished he could have gone on to share more of his ideas and concepts to make us a better more successful company.

The next time I present or speak infornt of a group, I am going to take these five points and use them in my presentation as best I can.

Miscommunication

Following the decisive blow to Napoleon in 1815, a Morse-like message (delivered with powerful light beams), flashed across the English Channel: "Wellington defeated"!

Panic swept through the British nation and its Board of Trade collapsed. The cause of their terror? Much of the intended message - "Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo" - had been obliterated by fog.

How does miscommunication happen? It happens when one side doesn’t communicate enough information to us, or we misinterpret the real meaning of their words. In either case, we get a different meaning of their words than they intended.

This is a becoming a common problem now-a-days because type-based communication is asynchronous communication, meaning that people do not communicate in real time – it’s essentially a telegram. Asynchronous communication does not allow for immediate feedback response, so our minds have to interpret what the other person is saying based upon their typed words alone. Although most common in typed-based communication, miscommunication can also occur in any type of communication setting.

People always fear the worst outcome. In miscommunication, the mind will fill in the missing information with their own creative insight, which is often fear-based - our minds will always think of the worst possible outcomes based on our fears and insecurities. Our minds need logical explanations to events. One of our most basic needs is the need to have answers and the need for reasons and explanations.

Absent those needs, our minds switch to a fear-based mode where we have to satisfy our need for answers with that of assumption. Assumption is a derivative of fear because we always assume the worst based on our fears and insecurities. Assumption therefore fulfills our need for a logical explanation for the unexplainable event and we tend to become locked into that assumption, believing it as truth.

When we are faced with miscommunication, we must keep our minds open to additional possibilities without adopting a certain truth about the other person until we know exactly from them what they are thinking. How can this be accomplished? Well, your fears and assumptions will automatically kick in. There is no way to fend against that because that is how our minds are wired. Instead of adopting those assumptions as the truth however, simply acknowledge those assumptions as one possibility out of a number of possibilities. List other possibilities with your assumptions and acknowledge them all without judging or evaluating them. Simply tell yourself, "These are all possible, but we don’t know the truth yet, so I won’t lock myself into any one of them." By keeping your mind open to additional possibilities, you can break the assumption triangle and prevent miscommunication conflict from happening.

Aspire to Inspire

"The test we must set for ourselves is not to march alone but to march in such a way that others will wish to join us."

-Hubert Humphry, U.S. Vice President, Senator

Not too long ago I found myself discussing the importance of inspiration with a customer. She commented that while doing the most difficult part of the hour, when the weights are heavy, she can't catch her breath or one more seems utterly impossible, but it's not, and she is successful its largely due to someone providing inspiration.

She talked briefly about how important it is to her to feel that someone has done what she is about to do before and that someone is rooting her on and that someone believes that she will be successful in this task.

I began to think about the importance of inspiration on all of its levels. As a coach it is one of the things I love so much about my job. I am that person rooting her on. I wouldn't be asking her if I thought she would fail and while she might not believe in herself at that moment I do.

I began to think about where I draw my inspirations from and how my day to day life is affected by the examples set by others whether purposefully or subconsciously. I have sources whereby I draw inspiration to work that much harder, not give up until a task is complete, and although I am not always successful that is sometimes not the point.

Much like the idea of mentor-ship, leading those around you is best done by being consistent and to always act as though you are setting an example. There are many leaders and many followers who will always play these roles but there are also those who aspire to inspire.