Let me start off by saying that I'm not a nutritionist, personal trainer or any other type of professional related to health and wellness; however, I have lost 65 pounds and I'm now in the best shape of my life.
I was inspired to write this after reading an article that talked about overweight being a choice. While I fully understand there are medical conditions that can lead to being overweight, my firm belief is that the majority of people are overweight as a result of the choices they're making. Moreover, like my former self, those choices are being made out of a lack of understanding on the right things to do.
There are many books and professionals out there on the topic of healthy living, fitness and losing weight, all I offer here is what worked for me. The one thing that I will caution you on is that there is no quick fix, miracle diet or secret to losing weight. It takes hard work, discipline, an ability to push yourself to do things when your body doesn't want to and many months of consistency to achieve your goal.
So, what was my secret to losing 65 pounds and counting? The answer: the 5 W's. Why, What, When, Where and Who. I didn't learn then all right away, but now I understand them and know they are the reason for where I am today.
What's the one that get's missed the most? The same W that I missed when I started my health and fitness journey? I'll save that one for the end.
Let's start with WHY. There's a reason I wanted to talk about WHY first... WHY is your purpose, WHY is the reason, WHY is the thing that will keep you going when your body is in pain from working out the day before, WHY is what drives you to lace up your shoes and go for a run despite the rain and cold, WHY will help you defeat the excuses. To find your WHY you've got to dig deep; it could be your kids and wanting to see them grow up to have kids of their own, it could be your own health crisis like diabetes, it could be in support of a loved one or any number of other things. Before you succeed in losing weight, you first need to find your WHY.
WHAT is the part that most people get. WHAT is a balanced diet and eating healthy things like whole foods, and if you don't know what whole foods are then I suggest you read up on them. Try reading E3 for Life or The Power of Food by Adam Hart. WHAT is also exercise. I workout and or run 4-5 times per week but I didn't start there. All that I would recommend is to do something, and whatever that something is you should try to make it something you enjoy because that will make the exercise easier. Start, then push a little more each time. I need to make absolutely clear that WHAT is not dieting, it's not miracle weight loss drugs and it's not easy. WHAT is hard work, it takes discipline and will get you the results you want.
You are going to need the support of the people around you, especially immediate family and friends; these people are the WHO. Remember though, WHO starts with you. If the lifestyle of your entire family is one of the sources of your current health state then you should have a family plan of action for weight loss. Working as a team is way easier than doing it on your own. My wife and I help each other.
WHERE is one of the bigger derailers to losing weight. WHERE is at work, it's out for dinner, it's at home, it's everywhere you're going to be tempted to fall off the rails. At home stay away from processed foods. At work, take a brown bag lunch that you made the night before and fill it with healthy options (you'll actually save money doing this too). At restaurants, choose the healthy options and avoid the grease. No matter WHERE you are you have a choice, remember your WHY and be strong.
I wanted to save the best for last, you guessed it, WHEN. How many times have I heard in articles, on TV and from friends, "I workout, eat healthy, but I just can seem to shed the pounds." Believe me, I was there too, but found the answer in WHEN. Assuming you've nailed the other W's, this W is the key. Your biggest meal of the day should be breakfast, followed by a medium sized lunch, then a small dinner. If you need a snack in between keep it small and healthy like an apple or yogurt. The concept is simple, your body needs time to digest, process and burn off the food you eat. If you starve yourself all day only to have a big and late dinner then your body doesn't have time to burn off what you ate, consequently the pounds don't drop no matter how healthy you think you're eating. To take this to the next level throw in a workout BEFORE breakfast and you'll be surprised how much energy you have throughout the day.
If you're serious about losing weight, try following my 5 W's for 30 days. What do you have to lose?
Vision
Monday, November 4, 2013
Saturday, August 17, 2013
The Secret is There is NO Secret
So many people are out there looking for the secret recipe to lose weight, have a successful career, how to eat healthier, develop better relationships and a million other things people want to strive for.
There is NO secret!
The answers are out there, already discovered by many other people who wrote about what they discovered. The best part is, it's never complicated. Success is usually a few simple steps taken and maintained with discipline. Really. No secrets.
The secret to losing weight... Eat healthy, whole foods, reduce/eliminate processed foods, eat proper portions (big breakfast, medium lunch, small dinner) and mix in daily exercise. You just have to do it.
The secret to success in anything... Work harder than everyone else, emulate people who are already successful in the area you're aiming for and keep a positive attitude through thick and thin. You just have to do it.
There it is, no secrets. If you want more details then find as many books are you can in the area you're aiming for and teach yourself. Learn, grow and do it and be disciplined about it.
There is NO secret!
The answers are out there, already discovered by many other people who wrote about what they discovered. The best part is, it's never complicated. Success is usually a few simple steps taken and maintained with discipline. Really. No secrets.
The secret to losing weight... Eat healthy, whole foods, reduce/eliminate processed foods, eat proper portions (big breakfast, medium lunch, small dinner) and mix in daily exercise. You just have to do it.
The secret to success in anything... Work harder than everyone else, emulate people who are already successful in the area you're aiming for and keep a positive attitude through thick and thin. You just have to do it.
There it is, no secrets. If you want more details then find as many books are you can in the area you're aiming for and teach yourself. Learn, grow and do it and be disciplined about it.
Friday, July 26, 2013
I Commit To...
Eating more whole foods and less processed foods. You don't need to search for health food if you just choose to eat healthy food.
Daily exercise. I used to weigh 235 pounds, now I weight 170 pounds... I am proof that regular exercise and eating healthy works.
Being the best and most positive role model possible for my children. I know my children are 100% a product of how they are raised by me and my wife.
Life-long learning. I don't know everything and never will, but if I keep reading and learning then I can add more value to my family, friends, coworkers, employer and everyone else I meet along life's journey.
Being positive. Positive or negative attitude is a choice. Why choose negative?
Seeking first to understand, then to be understood. This is a tough one, a constant test, but a necessity.
What positive choices will you commit to?
Daily exercise. I used to weigh 235 pounds, now I weight 170 pounds... I am proof that regular exercise and eating healthy works.
Being the best and most positive role model possible for my children. I know my children are 100% a product of how they are raised by me and my wife.
Life-long learning. I don't know everything and never will, but if I keep reading and learning then I can add more value to my family, friends, coworkers, employer and everyone else I meet along life's journey.
Being positive. Positive or negative attitude is a choice. Why choose negative?
Seeking first to understand, then to be understood. This is a tough one, a constant test, but a necessity.
What positive choices will you commit to?
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Rule #8 - Be Honest With Yourself, and Others
This seems so simple and matter-of-fact but it's all to often ignored; the importance of being honest.
We've all done it, myself included, told the little white lie (to ourselves or others) or even told a big hairy lie. Big ir small, ourself or to others, out of avoidance or fear, no matter why we weren't truthful, we made the easy decision.
Telling the truth is rarely the easy road to travel; truth can make you unpopular, people may not believe you, truth can hurt others or even ourself. A lot of the time truth is hard so we avoid it with a lie.
My motivation for wanting to improve in this area is my kids and the need for them to have a positive role model. With honesty as a foundation, I (with my wife's help) want to give my kids the best shot at growing up to be outstanding, charismatic and honest people. People respect honesty.
We can all continue to do better with our honesty because in the end it's the best way to live. Truth... Short-term pain for long-term gain.
Choice and Discipline.
We've all done it, myself included, told the little white lie (to ourselves or others) or even told a big hairy lie. Big ir small, ourself or to others, out of avoidance or fear, no matter why we weren't truthful, we made the easy decision.
Telling the truth is rarely the easy road to travel; truth can make you unpopular, people may not believe you, truth can hurt others or even ourself. A lot of the time truth is hard so we avoid it with a lie.
My motivation for wanting to improve in this area is my kids and the need for them to have a positive role model. With honesty as a foundation, I (with my wife's help) want to give my kids the best shot at growing up to be outstanding, charismatic and honest people. People respect honesty.
We can all continue to do better with our honesty because in the end it's the best way to live. Truth... Short-term pain for long-term gain.
Choice and Discipline.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Today Was a Great Day!
Today was a great day!
5AM - Woke up, worked out and started the day with energy.
6:30AM - Headed to the office before continuing Downtown.
8AM - Attended a Lean Summit presented by Lean Sensei and featuring a keynote presentation by Dr. Jeffrey Liker, author of the Toyota Way and co-author of multiple other Toyota books. Lean, leadership and a lot of learning were on the agenda.
6:30PM - Back at home for dinner with the family, caught up on everyone's day. I especially like hearing how my 3.5 year young daughter's day went.
7PM - Play time with my kids before bed time. Tonight it was a tea party with my daughter.
8:30PM - After the girls were in bed I headed out for a 7km run.
9PM - Wrote this post and an entry in my journal.
9:30PM - Spent time with my wife.
Somewhere between 10PM and 11PM - Read then get some sleep. Right now I'm reading "Teaching the Elephant to Dance" by James Belasco, it's a little dated but the concepts still ring true. Tomorrow will be another early rise so I can make another great day.
5AM - Woke up, worked out and started the day with energy.
6:30AM - Headed to the office before continuing Downtown.
8AM - Attended a Lean Summit presented by Lean Sensei and featuring a keynote presentation by Dr. Jeffrey Liker, author of the Toyota Way and co-author of multiple other Toyota books. Lean, leadership and a lot of learning were on the agenda.
6:30PM - Back at home for dinner with the family, caught up on everyone's day. I especially like hearing how my 3.5 year young daughter's day went.
7PM - Play time with my kids before bed time. Tonight it was a tea party with my daughter.
8:30PM - After the girls were in bed I headed out for a 7km run.
9PM - Wrote this post and an entry in my journal.
9:30PM - Spent time with my wife.
Somewhere between 10PM and 11PM - Read then get some sleep. Right now I'm reading "Teaching the Elephant to Dance" by James Belasco, it's a little dated but the concepts still ring true. Tomorrow will be another early rise so I can make another great day.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Choices
A recent conversation with someone and how they reacted to a traffic altercation inspired me to write.
NO MATTER WHAT SOMEONE ELSE DOES TO YOU, YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE OF HOW YOU'RE GOING TO REACT. You don't have to 'flip the bird' in return. You don't have to swear back. You don't have to hit back. You don't have to stoop to their level. You do have an ability to make a choice.
In a striking example of coincidence there was even a news report on tonight of parents involved in a physical altercation at their children's sports day event. The parent who did most of the damage in the fight was reportedly heard saying, "she started it". This parent, and everyone else on the face of the earth, can make the choice to not take the eye for an eye mentality.
I strongly urge you to think about who's watching when you choose how you're going to react. Kids? Family? Friends? Colleagues? Boss? How you react to any situation will create a perception of you in other's eyes. What perception do you want people to have of you? Their perception is created by you and only you.
Something I always try to do is look at the situation from the other person's point of view. Maybe they're having a bad day, they're running late or they've just received some bad news. Regardless, you have no idea why they reacted the way they did, so don't form negative assumptions, rather choose to do the right thing and make the situation better with your reaction. Besides, it's more important to be happy then right. Agree?
Like I've said may times in the past, success kn anything comes down to choice and discipline, and the same goes for when you're faced with a tough situation. Make the right choice for your success, happiness and health.
How great would the world be if we all lived our lives seeking to understand and choosing a positive response in every challenging situation? One person at a time, we can get there.
NO MATTER WHAT SOMEONE ELSE DOES TO YOU, YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE OF HOW YOU'RE GOING TO REACT. You don't have to 'flip the bird' in return. You don't have to swear back. You don't have to hit back. You don't have to stoop to their level. You do have an ability to make a choice.
In a striking example of coincidence there was even a news report on tonight of parents involved in a physical altercation at their children's sports day event. The parent who did most of the damage in the fight was reportedly heard saying, "she started it". This parent, and everyone else on the face of the earth, can make the choice to not take the eye for an eye mentality.
I strongly urge you to think about who's watching when you choose how you're going to react. Kids? Family? Friends? Colleagues? Boss? How you react to any situation will create a perception of you in other's eyes. What perception do you want people to have of you? Their perception is created by you and only you.
Something I always try to do is look at the situation from the other person's point of view. Maybe they're having a bad day, they're running late or they've just received some bad news. Regardless, you have no idea why they reacted the way they did, so don't form negative assumptions, rather choose to do the right thing and make the situation better with your reaction. Besides, it's more important to be happy then right. Agree?
Like I've said may times in the past, success kn anything comes down to choice and discipline, and the same goes for when you're faced with a tough situation. Make the right choice for your success, happiness and health.
How great would the world be if we all lived our lives seeking to understand and choosing a positive response in every challenging situation? One person at a time, we can get there.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
The Right Thing To Do
As part of my fitness goals I wanted to have an event that I was aiming to complete. The tough part is that I'm not a marathon kinda guy and can't see myself running constantly for a long period of time, and on top of that my knees probably wouldn't hold up.
Now, the Tough Mudder, that's right up my alley. If you haven't heard of the Tough Mudder then I highly recommend checking it out on Youtube. It's a team event that combines fear inspiring obstacles with a long distance cross country run. It's billed as probably the toughest event on the planet. So, ready for the challenge, I signed up for the Tough Mudder with a team from my work.
How do I tie this into the right thing to do? Well, after paying and registering to run the Mudder I found out that my oldest (3.5 years old) daughter's first gymnastics show is the same day as the Mudder. This is where I was faced with a decision.
Now, in previous posts I've talked about knowing your purpose and starting everything with WHY. It is my purpose that allowed me to know what the right decision was. As much as I wanted to run the Mudder I chose to go to my daughter's gymnastics show and lose the $170 registration I paid.
My true north and purpose is to be the best role model and dad (with my wife's help) I can be for my kids; this drives and motivates me in every decision I make. So, the right decision we easy.
I know my true north, if you don't know yours I highly recommend you find it.
Make it happen!
Now, the Tough Mudder, that's right up my alley. If you haven't heard of the Tough Mudder then I highly recommend checking it out on Youtube. It's a team event that combines fear inspiring obstacles with a long distance cross country run. It's billed as probably the toughest event on the planet. So, ready for the challenge, I signed up for the Tough Mudder with a team from my work.
How do I tie this into the right thing to do? Well, after paying and registering to run the Mudder I found out that my oldest (3.5 years old) daughter's first gymnastics show is the same day as the Mudder. This is where I was faced with a decision.
Now, in previous posts I've talked about knowing your purpose and starting everything with WHY. It is my purpose that allowed me to know what the right decision was. As much as I wanted to run the Mudder I chose to go to my daughter's gymnastics show and lose the $170 registration I paid.
My true north and purpose is to be the best role model and dad (with my wife's help) I can be for my kids; this drives and motivates me in every decision I make. So, the right decision we easy.
I know my true north, if you don't know yours I highly recommend you find it.
Make it happen!
Thursday, June 6, 2013
What's Next?
I haven't written in my blog for a while, and have no good reason for this. I've been keeping a journal for over a year now and find that to be an amazing source of reflection and insight into being human. In my journal I write about events from the day and my insight into their meaning and purpose or spontaneity.
It could be the journal or maybe I've run out of things to say, either way I seem to be diminished to some degree when it comes to writing.
I've thought about writing about things like:
- 1000 ways to live a healthy lifestyle
- 100 opportunities to stay positive
- 10 most defining moments in my life
As I write this I'm trying to understand WHY I feel compelled to write despite not knowing what to write about. All too often in the world today people just DO, without understanding why they're doing it and I don't want this blog to be something like that.
One thing is for sure, I'm a life long learner and writing in this blog and in my journal allow me to continuously learn about myself.
It could be the journal or maybe I've run out of things to say, either way I seem to be diminished to some degree when it comes to writing.
I've thought about writing about things like:
- 1000 ways to live a healthy lifestyle
- 100 opportunities to stay positive
- 10 most defining moments in my life
As I write this I'm trying to understand WHY I feel compelled to write despite not knowing what to write about. All too often in the world today people just DO, without understanding why they're doing it and I don't want this blog to be something like that.
One thing is for sure, I'm a life long learner and writing in this blog and in my journal allow me to continuously learn about myself.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Ingredients to my Fitness Success
New Years 2012 I made a resolution to be in the best shape of my life. Since making that choice there have been a number of elements (or ingredients) that have been part of my continued fitness success and I want to give credit where credit is due. Some of these things came along prior to my 2012 resolution, but they have all played (and continue to play) a role in getting me to better health.
Why? For me, starting with "why?" has been a huge focus as of late. Said differently, starting everything with purpose. Why did I want to be in the best shape of my life? The simple answer is for my kids. I wanted to set an example for them, to live a healthy and active lifestyle. With obesity all around us, and your health being a choice in most instances, I wanted to do whatever I could to help my children be able to make the right choices for their own health.
Choice & Discipline. Working out is hard, don't kid yourself, it's not easy. So if I was going to get in the best shape of my life then I not only needed to make that decision but also to have the discipline to stick with it. That means going for a run even if it's raining, waking up and working out even if I'm tired and eliminating excuses. Choices that I made that have helped me reach my fitness goals:
- Cut out the TV watching.
- Run 5km-8km two or three times each week.
- Wake up at 5AM and workout before going to work, and do this five or six times each week.
- Make and take my lunch to work each day. Choose healthy food.
- Eat a big breakfast, medium size lunch and a small dinner.
- Take my vitamins every day.
My Amazing Wife. I have the best wife ever. She is completely understanding and supportive of my fitness goals, which does wonders for motivating me for continued fitness success. Thank you Kylie!
Gerard Recio (an example). I met Gerard, a fitness professional, a number of years ago when I was playing Ultimate, and he's the one who introduced me to Nike Fuel. Gerard has also given me some exercise pointers along the way. With his regular updates and posts on social media, G continues to set an example for me and many other people.
Nike Plus & +Nike Fuel (Setting & tracking results). If you can't measure something, how will you know if you're getting the results you want? Other than a scale, Nikeplus and Nike Fuel help me track my progress in many more ways than just weight. Pace, distance, Nike Fuel points and calories are just a few ways I track my fitness goals and results.
Sean T (Insanity). Insanity is as it sounds, insane. From a home workout point of view, this high-intensity, six-day a week workout schedule tipped my workout routine to the complete opposite side of the scale from where it used to be. Insanity did a few things for me: it got me comfortable with working out at home, it got me used intense workouts (suck it up!) and it helped me understand the need for discipline if I wanted results. I still use Insanity elements in my workouts today.
Duncan Parker (Ultimate). If you haven't heard of Ultimate, it's basically a mix between frisbee, soccer and football. Duncan is one of my best friends and the one who got me involved in Ultimate many years ago, a self-officiated sport that made exercise fun. I played for a number of years at a mid-to-high level until my knees couldn't keep up with all the cutting and jumping; I had to choose between stop playing Ultimate to save my knees or risk needing knee surgery. As much as I miss the sport, I know I made the right decision for my body.
Guido Wisotzki (Brown bag it). Guido is a physiotherapist near where I live who was helping me with some back pain I was having. Somehow, during one of my appointments, we got on the topic of overall health and Guido made a comment about the positive effects (in many ways) of brown-bagging a lunch rather than eating out for lunch. Over a year after having Guido say this to me, making healthy choices and taking my own lunch to work each day, this has been a big part of being in the best shape of my life. By-the-way, Guido fixed my back pain too!
Who knows, maybe the ingredient list will grow... Stay tuned.
Adam Hart (Eat whole foods). Adam was brought to Ideon a few weeks ago to talk to the company about healthy eating and the Power of Food. Adam opened my eyes to the world of whole foods and how by simply adding them to my diet and continuing to eat the things I like that there are tremendous health benefits. I have more energy, feel better, have a stronger immune system, sleep better and I'm giving my body the nutrition it needs. Don't take my word for it, just ask the number of Ideon team members who have also added whole foods to their diet.
Why? For me, starting with "why?" has been a huge focus as of late. Said differently, starting everything with purpose. Why did I want to be in the best shape of my life? The simple answer is for my kids. I wanted to set an example for them, to live a healthy and active lifestyle. With obesity all around us, and your health being a choice in most instances, I wanted to do whatever I could to help my children be able to make the right choices for their own health.
Choice & Discipline. Working out is hard, don't kid yourself, it's not easy. So if I was going to get in the best shape of my life then I not only needed to make that decision but also to have the discipline to stick with it. That means going for a run even if it's raining, waking up and working out even if I'm tired and eliminating excuses. Choices that I made that have helped me reach my fitness goals:
- Cut out the TV watching.
- Run 5km-8km two or three times each week.
- Wake up at 5AM and workout before going to work, and do this five or six times each week.
- Make and take my lunch to work each day. Choose healthy food.
- Eat a big breakfast, medium size lunch and a small dinner.
- Take my vitamins every day.
My Amazing Wife. I have the best wife ever. She is completely understanding and supportive of my fitness goals, which does wonders for motivating me for continued fitness success. Thank you Kylie!
Gerard Recio (an example). I met Gerard, a fitness professional, a number of years ago when I was playing Ultimate, and he's the one who introduced me to Nike Fuel. Gerard has also given me some exercise pointers along the way. With his regular updates and posts on social media, G continues to set an example for me and many other people.
Nike Plus & +Nike Fuel (Setting & tracking results). If you can't measure something, how will you know if you're getting the results you want? Other than a scale, Nikeplus and Nike Fuel help me track my progress in many more ways than just weight. Pace, distance, Nike Fuel points and calories are just a few ways I track my fitness goals and results.
Sean T (Insanity). Insanity is as it sounds, insane. From a home workout point of view, this high-intensity, six-day a week workout schedule tipped my workout routine to the complete opposite side of the scale from where it used to be. Insanity did a few things for me: it got me comfortable with working out at home, it got me used intense workouts (suck it up!) and it helped me understand the need for discipline if I wanted results. I still use Insanity elements in my workouts today.
Duncan Parker (Ultimate). If you haven't heard of Ultimate, it's basically a mix between frisbee, soccer and football. Duncan is one of my best friends and the one who got me involved in Ultimate many years ago, a self-officiated sport that made exercise fun. I played for a number of years at a mid-to-high level until my knees couldn't keep up with all the cutting and jumping; I had to choose between stop playing Ultimate to save my knees or risk needing knee surgery. As much as I miss the sport, I know I made the right decision for my body.
Guido Wisotzki (Brown bag it). Guido is a physiotherapist near where I live who was helping me with some back pain I was having. Somehow, during one of my appointments, we got on the topic of overall health and Guido made a comment about the positive effects (in many ways) of brown-bagging a lunch rather than eating out for lunch. Over a year after having Guido say this to me, making healthy choices and taking my own lunch to work each day, this has been a big part of being in the best shape of my life. By-the-way, Guido fixed my back pain too!
Who knows, maybe the ingredient list will grow... Stay tuned.
Adam Hart (Eat whole foods). Adam was brought to Ideon a few weeks ago to talk to the company about healthy eating and the Power of Food. Adam opened my eyes to the world of whole foods and how by simply adding them to my diet and continuing to eat the things I like that there are tremendous health benefits. I have more energy, feel better, have a stronger immune system, sleep better and I'm giving my body the nutrition it needs. Don't take my word for it, just ask the number of Ideon team members who have also added whole foods to their diet.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Passion = Success
We all have a drive to be successful. To be successful in life, love what you do. Whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability. Whatever your ability is, drive to get better. Whatever you want to be better at, make the choice. When you make a choice, have the discipline to stick with it. In order to have discipline, you need to understand why? Once you understand why, you have meaning and purpose. With meaning and purpose comes passion.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Short Term or Long Term Focus?
I was out for a run tonight and had an epiphany.
Life, and success in it, is all about whether you have short or long term goals. Think about it... Here's two examples using career and health. Short term focus begets excuses, long term focus begets success.
In your career if you have a short term focus then you're going to be looking at the dollars you're making, the title on your business card, if you're climbing the ladder or not and why you don't get recognized. With a long term focus you're going to be focused on going the extra mile, working within your circle of influence, building relationships and growing your skills.
With your health, a short term focus will cause you to be disappointed with missed goals, fill a void with food, skip a workout and/or eat unhealthy because it's easier. With a long term focus on your health you will create daily rituals that will take you closer to your goal and most importantly you will know WHY you want to be healthier.
When you focus on the long term and then do all the things that you need to do well to get there then the success will come. More often than not, if you have a short term focus then you're not going to get to where you want.
Choice and discipline, that's what it's all about. Begin with the end in mind and stay the course. Don't waver. Be strong. Persist. You can do it!
Life, and success in it, is all about whether you have short or long term goals. Think about it... Here's two examples using career and health. Short term focus begets excuses, long term focus begets success.
In your career if you have a short term focus then you're going to be looking at the dollars you're making, the title on your business card, if you're climbing the ladder or not and why you don't get recognized. With a long term focus you're going to be focused on going the extra mile, working within your circle of influence, building relationships and growing your skills.
With your health, a short term focus will cause you to be disappointed with missed goals, fill a void with food, skip a workout and/or eat unhealthy because it's easier. With a long term focus on your health you will create daily rituals that will take you closer to your goal and most importantly you will know WHY you want to be healthier.
When you focus on the long term and then do all the things that you need to do well to get there then the success will come. More often than not, if you have a short term focus then you're not going to get to where you want.
Choice and discipline, that's what it's all about. Begin with the end in mind and stay the course. Don't waver. Be strong. Persist. You can do it!
Sunday, March 10, 2013
There Are NO Failures
The meeting didn't go the way you planned. You haven't lost the weight you were hoping to lose. It doesn't look like you're going to make your monthly budget. You're not where you want to be in your career.
How do we view these events? Positive or negative? You have a choice. My suggestion is to take a potentially sub-par outcome and treat it as nothing more than a result. Don't think of it as a failure, just a result. Not only will this keep you in a more positive state of mind but it will also get you on the fast track to achieving a better result next time.
The first time I heard about this philosophy was a few years ago in an audio recording of an Anthony Robbins speech, where he said, "...there are no failures, only results." At the time the statement didn't have a huge impact, but over the next few years to now I've kept this idea in the back of my mind.
My Lean and business experience has also helped to support the "No Failure" mindset. I have a growing understanding that there are desired results and actual results; my job is to understand the gap between the two. Once I understand the gap, I need to eliminate it and achieve the desired result(s). The best part, once I reach the desired result then I need to move the desired result out even farther and create a new gap.
The gap is made up of waste (there are 8 forms of waste), outdated paradigms, WWADI (way we've always done it), fear, lack of training and many other things. Eliminate these things are you will achieve the desired results.
Leave the fails for Youtube, we want results. Make it happen.
How do we view these events? Positive or negative? You have a choice. My suggestion is to take a potentially sub-par outcome and treat it as nothing more than a result. Don't think of it as a failure, just a result. Not only will this keep you in a more positive state of mind but it will also get you on the fast track to achieving a better result next time.
The first time I heard about this philosophy was a few years ago in an audio recording of an Anthony Robbins speech, where he said, "...there are no failures, only results." At the time the statement didn't have a huge impact, but over the next few years to now I've kept this idea in the back of my mind.
My Lean and business experience has also helped to support the "No Failure" mindset. I have a growing understanding that there are desired results and actual results; my job is to understand the gap between the two. Once I understand the gap, I need to eliminate it and achieve the desired result(s). The best part, once I reach the desired result then I need to move the desired result out even farther and create a new gap.
The gap is made up of waste (there are 8 forms of waste), outdated paradigms, WWADI (way we've always done it), fear, lack of training and many other things. Eliminate these things are you will achieve the desired results.
Leave the fails for Youtube, we want results. Make it happen.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
The 8 Wastes in Your Business
All businesses are full of waste. Moreover, the waste is preventing you from higher profit, shorter lead times, better quality, less headaches, better teamwork, reduced costs and so much more.
There are eight forms of waste that you need to be looking for at all times. The first seven were originally identified by Taiichi Ohno, the late Toyota executive who also pioneered other Lean concepts such as JIT and TPS. Each of these categories of waste should be treated with equal importance, none are more important than another.
1. Transportation - Using people to move material, information and supplies is a waste. Ideally, any and all transportation should be automated. People need to be used for value added work and moving stuff around is NOT value added work. Examples of transportation waste would be people pushing stuff on carts from here to there and forklifts moving material/pallets around.
2. Inventory - No inventory is ideal, but sometimes a small buffer inventory is needed due to lead times or minimum order quantities. Anywhere inventory is needed there should be a kanban in place to manage the inventory based on pull from the customer.
3. Motion - This waste is all about ergonomics. Everything needed for a task should be within arms reach; moreover, there shouldn't be any excess bending, turning or reaching for tools or parts.
4. Waiting - Waiting for ANYTHING is a waste; people, material, supplies or information.
5. Over Production - Making too many _____. Have you ever made too many copies of a document? Have you ever produced more widgets "just in case"? Do you double-enter information anywhere in you business/supply chain? If you answered yes, then you're producing waste.
6. Over Processing - This is using inappropriate tools to achieve a quality product or service. Two great examples would be using a dull axe to chop down a tree or cracking a walnut using a sledgehammer.
7. Defects - These are any mistakes or errors, both internally and externally. If a product is produced that does not meet the customer's expectations then a defect has been produced. When a process produces a defect the process should stop immediately, fix the problem that created the defect and only when the problem (and the root of the problem) is corrected should the process continue.
8. Skills - Whenever you don't take full advantage of your people's talents and abilities then you are wasting them. Involve your people in problem solving, kaizen and improving your business.
Tim Woods, just remember Tim Woods and you will remember the eight forms of waste. What do I mean by Tim Woods? Look at the first letters of each of the wastes. Taa daaaa.
Now what? Get out from behind your desk, talk to your people/team, go to the gemba, look for the waste and ask your team to help.
There are eight forms of waste that you need to be looking for at all times. The first seven were originally identified by Taiichi Ohno, the late Toyota executive who also pioneered other Lean concepts such as JIT and TPS. Each of these categories of waste should be treated with equal importance, none are more important than another.
1. Transportation - Using people to move material, information and supplies is a waste. Ideally, any and all transportation should be automated. People need to be used for value added work and moving stuff around is NOT value added work. Examples of transportation waste would be people pushing stuff on carts from here to there and forklifts moving material/pallets around.
2. Inventory - No inventory is ideal, but sometimes a small buffer inventory is needed due to lead times or minimum order quantities. Anywhere inventory is needed there should be a kanban in place to manage the inventory based on pull from the customer.
3. Motion - This waste is all about ergonomics. Everything needed for a task should be within arms reach; moreover, there shouldn't be any excess bending, turning or reaching for tools or parts.
4. Waiting - Waiting for ANYTHING is a waste; people, material, supplies or information.
5. Over Production - Making too many _____. Have you ever made too many copies of a document? Have you ever produced more widgets "just in case"? Do you double-enter information anywhere in you business/supply chain? If you answered yes, then you're producing waste.
6. Over Processing - This is using inappropriate tools to achieve a quality product or service. Two great examples would be using a dull axe to chop down a tree or cracking a walnut using a sledgehammer.
7. Defects - These are any mistakes or errors, both internally and externally. If a product is produced that does not meet the customer's expectations then a defect has been produced. When a process produces a defect the process should stop immediately, fix the problem that created the defect and only when the problem (and the root of the problem) is corrected should the process continue.
8. Skills - Whenever you don't take full advantage of your people's talents and abilities then you are wasting them. Involve your people in problem solving, kaizen and improving your business.
Tim Woods, just remember Tim Woods and you will remember the eight forms of waste. What do I mean by Tim Woods? Look at the first letters of each of the wastes. Taa daaaa.
Now what? Get out from behind your desk, talk to your people/team, go to the gemba, look for the waste and ask your team to help.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
No Excuses!
There's always an opportunity to come up with an excuse. Why? Why do people make excuses?
My feeling is that there's a few reasons why people make excuses; they don't want to deal with a potential failure, it's going to be hard work, and/or they're worried what others might say. There's probably a lot more reasons why people make excuses, but these three are the main ones. You are stronger than these things!
The famous quote that comes to mind is by the Star Wars movie character Yoda, who said "Do or do not, there is no try." Excuses fall somewhere between 'do' and 'do not', in the same place where 'trying' lives.
If you're looking for the pathway to success then you have to take the path that is free of trying and excuses. The first step on the path to success starts with choice and discipline, the choice to walk the path and the discipline to stay on the path despite distractions, bad habits and temptations to get off the path. A choice to make excuses is a choice to accept mediocrity, and if that's your choice then be happy with it and don't regret the outcome. What I believe is that we all have a choice between regret and discipline. What do you choose? I choose discipline.
Don't give up, persist. Don't try, do. Don't complain, influence. Don't keep doing the same, change. Don't settle, succeed.
My feeling is that there's a few reasons why people make excuses; they don't want to deal with a potential failure, it's going to be hard work, and/or they're worried what others might say. There's probably a lot more reasons why people make excuses, but these three are the main ones. You are stronger than these things!
The famous quote that comes to mind is by the Star Wars movie character Yoda, who said "Do or do not, there is no try." Excuses fall somewhere between 'do' and 'do not', in the same place where 'trying' lives.
If you're looking for the pathway to success then you have to take the path that is free of trying and excuses. The first step on the path to success starts with choice and discipline, the choice to walk the path and the discipline to stay on the path despite distractions, bad habits and temptations to get off the path. A choice to make excuses is a choice to accept mediocrity, and if that's your choice then be happy with it and don't regret the outcome. What I believe is that we all have a choice between regret and discipline. What do you choose? I choose discipline.
Don't give up, persist. Don't try, do. Don't complain, influence. Don't keep doing the same, change. Don't settle, succeed.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Why I'm Successful
My success maxims: There is no one definition of success. Despite what you may read, there is not a set of magical steps that will get you to success. You should never let anyone prevent you from getting to your success. There is only one person responsible for your success, you.
With that being said, here are my own principles that I follow and what I believe make me successful.
Choice and Discipline - Everything in life is a choice; your health, career, relationships and everything else. Depending on what you want to get out of life you will need to achieve certain things to get there. For example, if you want to be in good health then you're going to have to make a choice to eat a balanced diet and exercise. Now comes the discipline... You know what the choice should be to achieve good health, but do you have the discipline to stick with it every day, week, month, year and so on? If success is your goal, then discipline is essential to get there.
Success is being happy with my choices - The choices I make define who I am. I don't regret any choices I've made in my life, and for the choices that didn't turn out as I would have liked, I choose to learn from them rather than regret.
Balance is essential - So many people say they want balance but don't follow up, not me. An average weekday for me looks like this... Starting at 5AM after 7-8 hours sleep... Workout (45 min.), work with passion (9-10 hours), family time (2-3 hours), improve myself through reading, writing, hobby or anything (1 hour), leaving a couple hours for meals, travel or adding a bit to the other areas. Weekends, replace the work piece with family time. This is my balance.
Start with Why? - This is a relatively new principle for me, one that I picked up only a few months ago. It stemmed from a TED Talk that I watched of Simon Sinek titled "How Leaders Inspire Action". If you haven't watched it I highly recommend you do. The concept is that most people start with What, then How and finally (yet rarely) figure out with Why they do things. Simon says (no pun intended) start with Why? Then go to How and end with What. By starting with WHY you do something you will give meaning and purpose to everything you do; moreover, when you start with Why, the How and What take care of themselves.
Kaizen - Kaizen is a Japanese word for continuous improvement that means many things to me. Most significantly, kaizen is a passion to make things better, reflection, respect for others, knowing what I can influence and not allowing the things that I can't influence to affect me.
Be myself, everyone else is already taken - There's not much more I can say about this, it's pretty self explanatory.
Keep learning and reading - I read as much as I can, a chapter each day is my goal. I believe that in order to fuel personal growth and to keep my mind sharp that need to keep reading and feeding my brain. During an acceptance speech at the Teen Choice Awards, Will Smith talked about the keys to life being running and reading, check it out on Youtube.
Exercise - My gut feeling is that we all tend to ignore the fact that we're not going to live forever. On top of that, as we go through life we also tend to ignore our health until a health crisis forces us to change destructive habits or even worse, when it's too late for change. If you're one of these people it's never too late, and if you're not one of these people then I commend you. Regular exercise will not make you live forever, but it will definitely allow you to enjoy your time on this Earth with more energy and more years than if you don't achieve regular exercise.
I'll leave you with this... Don't settle for mediocrity. Find your success, whatever it is, and go get it.
With that being said, here are my own principles that I follow and what I believe make me successful.
Choice and Discipline - Everything in life is a choice; your health, career, relationships and everything else. Depending on what you want to get out of life you will need to achieve certain things to get there. For example, if you want to be in good health then you're going to have to make a choice to eat a balanced diet and exercise. Now comes the discipline... You know what the choice should be to achieve good health, but do you have the discipline to stick with it every day, week, month, year and so on? If success is your goal, then discipline is essential to get there.
Success is being happy with my choices - The choices I make define who I am. I don't regret any choices I've made in my life, and for the choices that didn't turn out as I would have liked, I choose to learn from them rather than regret.
Balance is essential - So many people say they want balance but don't follow up, not me. An average weekday for me looks like this... Starting at 5AM after 7-8 hours sleep... Workout (45 min.), work with passion (9-10 hours), family time (2-3 hours), improve myself through reading, writing, hobby or anything (1 hour), leaving a couple hours for meals, travel or adding a bit to the other areas. Weekends, replace the work piece with family time. This is my balance.
Start with Why? - This is a relatively new principle for me, one that I picked up only a few months ago. It stemmed from a TED Talk that I watched of Simon Sinek titled "How Leaders Inspire Action". If you haven't watched it I highly recommend you do. The concept is that most people start with What, then How and finally (yet rarely) figure out with Why they do things. Simon says (no pun intended) start with Why? Then go to How and end with What. By starting with WHY you do something you will give meaning and purpose to everything you do; moreover, when you start with Why, the How and What take care of themselves.
Kaizen - Kaizen is a Japanese word for continuous improvement that means many things to me. Most significantly, kaizen is a passion to make things better, reflection, respect for others, knowing what I can influence and not allowing the things that I can't influence to affect me.
Be myself, everyone else is already taken - There's not much more I can say about this, it's pretty self explanatory.
Keep learning and reading - I read as much as I can, a chapter each day is my goal. I believe that in order to fuel personal growth and to keep my mind sharp that need to keep reading and feeding my brain. During an acceptance speech at the Teen Choice Awards, Will Smith talked about the keys to life being running and reading, check it out on Youtube.
Exercise - My gut feeling is that we all tend to ignore the fact that we're not going to live forever. On top of that, as we go through life we also tend to ignore our health until a health crisis forces us to change destructive habits or even worse, when it's too late for change. If you're one of these people it's never too late, and if you're not one of these people then I commend you. Regular exercise will not make you live forever, but it will definitely allow you to enjoy your time on this Earth with more energy and more years than if you don't achieve regular exercise.
I'll leave you with this... Don't settle for mediocrity. Find your success, whatever it is, and go get it.
Friday, January 25, 2013
The World of You, What and Try.
We need to change.
We live in a world of You, What and Try. And although not everyone is plagued by this mindset, unfortunately the vast majority of us are. We need to change. What do I mean by You, What and Try? Let's start with You; this is essentially a focus or blame of our current situations on anyone or anything other than ourselves. Moreover, it's always looking for a scapegoat or external reason that we didn't achieve the results we want. This could be health, economy, career, family or anywhere else we're not successful to a point where we believe we should be. Next is What. We're a species that is getting more and more attached to the What in life, the material things. What I want; faster internet, more money, better health, fancy car, deeper relationships, and so on... These are all what we want, they're "stuff" without meaning or purpose. Lastly, there's Try. This lovely three letter word is widespread and instils failure the moment it leaves our lips. "I'll try to...", and when you don't get the results you want? Hey, at least you tried...
We need to change to a mindset of Me, Why and Can. it's all up to you, no one else. Where ever you get to in life, or don't get to, you're the one that got you there. We all need to focus on ourselves and what we can influence, stop wasting time on things you can't control. Believe me, you can control more than you think. When you hit road blocks and challenges you can rise up and keep moving forward or you can give up. The world is full of people who have risen above challenges that seem insurmountable, be inspired by these people. Don't wait and see, don't follow the crowd and don't be afraid of what others will say (they're just envious that you stepped up when they couldn't). Be a leader. Why... Do you know why you do what you do? Why do you go to work? Why do you eat the way you do? If you want more out of life then you have to start with why, your purpose, something deep within you driving you forward. Without that meaning behind accomplishments you just get "stuff", and most of the time the "stuff" isn't really what you need or want. Lastly, you Can. You can achieve whatever you want and can be successful at whatever you want. Seriously, you can. You just need to know why you want it and have a purpose or understand that you're future is in your hands. Take "Maybe" and "try" and replace them with "Can" and "Will".
Me, What and Can are not easy and take discipline, which is why we don't all do it. It's hard, we try, we don't know why we're doing it and then blame external reasons when we don't get there. I ask you this, if you could choose regret or discipline, which one would you pick? Make a choice and be happy with which ever one you picked.
We live in a world of You, What and Try. And although not everyone is plagued by this mindset, unfortunately the vast majority of us are. We need to change. What do I mean by You, What and Try? Let's start with You; this is essentially a focus or blame of our current situations on anyone or anything other than ourselves. Moreover, it's always looking for a scapegoat or external reason that we didn't achieve the results we want. This could be health, economy, career, family or anywhere else we're not successful to a point where we believe we should be. Next is What. We're a species that is getting more and more attached to the What in life, the material things. What I want; faster internet, more money, better health, fancy car, deeper relationships, and so on... These are all what we want, they're "stuff" without meaning or purpose. Lastly, there's Try. This lovely three letter word is widespread and instils failure the moment it leaves our lips. "I'll try to...", and when you don't get the results you want? Hey, at least you tried...
We need to change to a mindset of Me, Why and Can. it's all up to you, no one else. Where ever you get to in life, or don't get to, you're the one that got you there. We all need to focus on ourselves and what we can influence, stop wasting time on things you can't control. Believe me, you can control more than you think. When you hit road blocks and challenges you can rise up and keep moving forward or you can give up. The world is full of people who have risen above challenges that seem insurmountable, be inspired by these people. Don't wait and see, don't follow the crowd and don't be afraid of what others will say (they're just envious that you stepped up when they couldn't). Be a leader. Why... Do you know why you do what you do? Why do you go to work? Why do you eat the way you do? If you want more out of life then you have to start with why, your purpose, something deep within you driving you forward. Without that meaning behind accomplishments you just get "stuff", and most of the time the "stuff" isn't really what you need or want. Lastly, you Can. You can achieve whatever you want and can be successful at whatever you want. Seriously, you can. You just need to know why you want it and have a purpose or understand that you're future is in your hands. Take "Maybe" and "try" and replace them with "Can" and "Will".
Me, What and Can are not easy and take discipline, which is why we don't all do it. It's hard, we try, we don't know why we're doing it and then blame external reasons when we don't get there. I ask you this, if you could choose regret or discipline, which one would you pick? Make a choice and be happy with which ever one you picked.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
What is Lean?
Here's a presentation (click the link) I posted on Slideshare that I give when people come to Ideon and want to learn about Lean. It's titled What is Lean?
It's much better hearing the presentation, but the slides give you an idea.
It's much better hearing the presentation, but the slides give you an idea.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
Does your team know what the bigger picture is at your company? Do your people come to work only to bury their heads in work and then lift their head at the end of the day not knowing what they're working towards? Why do we perform the work we do each day? Are all people/departments aligned and moving in the same direction?
These questions, and more like them, should always be on your mind, especially if you're in a leadership role. I'll take this opportunity to remind you that anyone can be a leader, you don't need to have a title (read "The Leader Who Had No Title" by Robin Sharma if you don't believe me). Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs as they're commonly referred to, can help any organization create some clarity and answer the questions I started this post with.
In the Lean environment where I work, that I help drive, KPIs are a growing way of life that tie each Team Member and their work to a higher target that we're all a part of. Now, you don't need to be Lean or Lean trained to understand and apply KPIs, which is why I wanted to write this. Hopefully I can share some knowledge that will help you create some unity and clarity with your own and your team's work.
In my opinion, there are three levels of KPIs that all companies should clarify. At each level, you don't want to over-complicate the KPIs by having too many, especially at the high level. As soon as KPIs become too hard to understand they will be ignored, and you want everyone in your organization to know, understand and feel apart the KPIs at all levels. Ultimately, you should tie individual performance to the Front line KPIs and then teach people how what they do everyday drives the overall company performance. Moreover, by improving the KPIs they affect they will be improving overall company performance. use the KPIs to show how one person can impact the company.
Font Line KPI - Value added level, front line staff, creating a finished good or service, etc. An example in a Production environment could be the time it takes for one person on a three-person crew to setup their section of a machine. In an office setting this could be order processing time or paperwork accuracy. These KPIs drive the mid-level KPIs.
Mid Level KPI - Departmental level, gives a picture of the department overall. Another Production example could be average daily production setup times, fill rate or availability. This level drives the high-level KPIs.
High Level KPI - Company level, select one-to-three KPIs in meaningful areas that reflect the "pulse" of the company. An example could be OEE, on-time delivery or customer satisfaction rate.
I can read your mind... "This is all great, but where do I begin?", "What should my KPIs be?" Good questions! The challenging in answering to those questions is that only you and your company can answer them. What's important to your business and your customers? Generally, in my experience, KPIs at the high level usually cover, but are not limited to safety, production, quality, on-time delivery, sales or customer care. Sometimes this overall company snapshot is referred to as the balanced scorecard.
The last piece of advise I can offer is that your KPIs need to be transparent. Don't hide them or hide behind them, post them up for everyone in your company to see. Post them in the lunch room, production floor, office area or anywhere else you will have a large audience. Talk about the KPIs, share them in company meetings, set goals around them, do kaizen to make them better, and don't forget to involve the team.
These questions, and more like them, should always be on your mind, especially if you're in a leadership role. I'll take this opportunity to remind you that anyone can be a leader, you don't need to have a title (read "The Leader Who Had No Title" by Robin Sharma if you don't believe me). Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs as they're commonly referred to, can help any organization create some clarity and answer the questions I started this post with.
In the Lean environment where I work, that I help drive, KPIs are a growing way of life that tie each Team Member and their work to a higher target that we're all a part of. Now, you don't need to be Lean or Lean trained to understand and apply KPIs, which is why I wanted to write this. Hopefully I can share some knowledge that will help you create some unity and clarity with your own and your team's work.
In my opinion, there are three levels of KPIs that all companies should clarify. At each level, you don't want to over-complicate the KPIs by having too many, especially at the high level. As soon as KPIs become too hard to understand they will be ignored, and you want everyone in your organization to know, understand and feel apart the KPIs at all levels. Ultimately, you should tie individual performance to the Front line KPIs and then teach people how what they do everyday drives the overall company performance. Moreover, by improving the KPIs they affect they will be improving overall company performance. use the KPIs to show how one person can impact the company.
Font Line KPI - Value added level, front line staff, creating a finished good or service, etc. An example in a Production environment could be the time it takes for one person on a three-person crew to setup their section of a machine. In an office setting this could be order processing time or paperwork accuracy. These KPIs drive the mid-level KPIs.
Mid Level KPI - Departmental level, gives a picture of the department overall. Another Production example could be average daily production setup times, fill rate or availability. This level drives the high-level KPIs.
High Level KPI - Company level, select one-to-three KPIs in meaningful areas that reflect the "pulse" of the company. An example could be OEE, on-time delivery or customer satisfaction rate.
I can read your mind... "This is all great, but where do I begin?", "What should my KPIs be?" Good questions! The challenging in answering to those questions is that only you and your company can answer them. What's important to your business and your customers? Generally, in my experience, KPIs at the high level usually cover, but are not limited to safety, production, quality, on-time delivery, sales or customer care. Sometimes this overall company snapshot is referred to as the balanced scorecard.
The last piece of advise I can offer is that your KPIs need to be transparent. Don't hide them or hide behind them, post them up for everyone in your company to see. Post them in the lunch room, production floor, office area or anywhere else you will have a large audience. Talk about the KPIs, share them in company meetings, set goals around them, do kaizen to make them better, and don't forget to involve the team.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Choice & Discipline
I find it funny, the more I read, the more I come across books, articles, blogs and online videos touting "The __ Steps to Achieve _____" or some permutation of this title.
I'm here to tell you that there's no magic or secret to achieving whatever you want out of life. Success, in whatever you want, is nothing more than a choice and the discipline to stick with that choice. That's it! Nothing more or less.
You're the only person on the planet who can make the choice for your own success and you're also the only one who can have the discipline to stick with the choices you make. Now, I have a firm belief that we all know what the better choice would be, the difference maker for the successful ones is their ability to be disciplined.
If you want to live a healthier lifestyle, then eat a balanced diet and exercise. Choice + Discipline! If you want to get more out of your career, then put more into your career. Choice + Discipline! If you wish you had more money, then live within your means and save. Choice + Discipline! If you want anything more out of life... You guessed it, choice and discipline.
But discipline is haarrrrrd! No kidding! Suck it up! You can do it!
You can be disciplined, you just need to want it. Bad. So, I ask you... How bad do you want it? And if you truly want it that bad, whatever "it" may be for you, then take the words like "can't" or "try" or "maybe" or "but" and REMOVE THEM FROM YOUR VOCABULARY. Replace them with "will" and "can" and "succeed". Stop complaining, doubting and giving up. Own your future. Start RIGHT NOW.
We all have a choice; regret or discipline? I choose discipline. What do you choose?
I'm here to tell you that there's no magic or secret to achieving whatever you want out of life. Success, in whatever you want, is nothing more than a choice and the discipline to stick with that choice. That's it! Nothing more or less.
You're the only person on the planet who can make the choice for your own success and you're also the only one who can have the discipline to stick with the choices you make. Now, I have a firm belief that we all know what the better choice would be, the difference maker for the successful ones is their ability to be disciplined.
If you want to live a healthier lifestyle, then eat a balanced diet and exercise. Choice + Discipline! If you want to get more out of your career, then put more into your career. Choice + Discipline! If you wish you had more money, then live within your means and save. Choice + Discipline! If you want anything more out of life... You guessed it, choice and discipline.
But discipline is haarrrrrd! No kidding! Suck it up! You can do it!
You can be disciplined, you just need to want it. Bad. So, I ask you... How bad do you want it? And if you truly want it that bad, whatever "it" may be for you, then take the words like "can't" or "try" or "maybe" or "but" and REMOVE THEM FROM YOUR VOCABULARY. Replace them with "will" and "can" and "succeed". Stop complaining, doubting and giving up. Own your future. Start RIGHT NOW.
We all have a choice; regret or discipline? I choose discipline. What do you choose?
Sunday, January 20, 2013
More Help With Your Goals
Here are a few more iphone screens I made. I share them because we all need a little motivation every now and again. Cheers!
Friday, January 18, 2013
Small Goal Setting Tools
In an effort to come up with a creative way to stay focused on my goals, I decided to create my own, personalized iPhone screens. I look at my phone regularly and can now have a quick shot of motivation whenever I do so. Check them out. The "No Comfort Zone" is on my lock screen and the other is on my home screen. Be creative, be progress and be the BEST you can be.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Anyone Can be Successful
Ask anyone who has achieved success in their sport, profession or art and they will all tell you that success comes from a lot of hard work. Moreover, it's not just about working hard, but working harder than the next person and everyone else.
The challenge with saying success comes from hard work is that it doesn't provide much of a guide for people who don't know where to begin. Hopefully the hard work steps below will help; they're something I've learned from my own career to-date and countless books I've read.
Hard work #1 - Figure out what you want to be successful at. Whatever you choose, it needs to be something you truly enjoy doing because you're going to have to spend countless hours growing and practicing the skill set, hobby or talent needed to be successful.
Hard work #2 - No excuses. Anyone can come up with a excuse to not workout, go the extra mile, work hard, read a book... But not you. You need to eliminate excuses from your vocabulary and push yourself out of your comfort zone.
Hard work #3 - Make the choice. Whether you choose to take all the steps necessary to achieve success or if you choose to accept failure/mediocrity, then be happy with your choice. Your future is in your hands only and when you don't reach your limits you only have yourself to look at. I recommend writing, "It's up to me" on your bathroom mirror. Success is a choice.
Hard work #4 - Not giving up despite setbacks, naysayers and/or failure. Many people have had great ideas or talents but as soon as they receive some form of criticism they abandon their idea/skill. You have to take these negative opinions and situations and grow from them. Reflection is key.
The challenge with saying success comes from hard work is that it doesn't provide much of a guide for people who don't know where to begin. Hopefully the hard work steps below will help; they're something I've learned from my own career to-date and countless books I've read.
Hard work #1 - Figure out what you want to be successful at. Whatever you choose, it needs to be something you truly enjoy doing because you're going to have to spend countless hours growing and practicing the skill set, hobby or talent needed to be successful.
Hard work #2 - No excuses. Anyone can come up with a excuse to not workout, go the extra mile, work hard, read a book... But not you. You need to eliminate excuses from your vocabulary and push yourself out of your comfort zone.
Hard work #3 - Make the choice. Whether you choose to take all the steps necessary to achieve success or if you choose to accept failure/mediocrity, then be happy with your choice. Your future is in your hands only and when you don't reach your limits you only have yourself to look at. I recommend writing, "It's up to me" on your bathroom mirror. Success is a choice.
Hard work #4 - Not giving up despite setbacks, naysayers and/or failure. Many people have had great ideas or talents but as soon as they receive some form of criticism they abandon their idea/skill. You have to take these negative opinions and situations and grow from them. Reflection is key.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Goal Setting
I don't know about you but I've never been great at setting goals. Well, I guess I'm good at setting the goals, just not good at sticking with them. I start strong and have a great focus but unfortunately let things derail me from my focus on the goal. This last year was different though, I set a goal to get in the best shape of my life and did it. This achievement has inspired me to set a range of personal goals for 2013; here's how I plan to stay on track.
Keep the goals in front of me. I've written by fitness goals on the bathroom mirror, they're in front of me when I wake up and before I go to bed, it's regular reminder of what I set out to achieve. Beyond my fitness goals, I've made a graphic of all my goals for 2013 and set it as the wallpaper on my iPhone. Every time I look at my phone I get a gentle reminder to stay on track. How ever you decide to keep your goals in front of you, be creative and put them in a place where you always look.
Make the choice. Setting goals is a personal choice; a very personal choice. Only you can decide to set goals, what goals to set and if you're going to stick with them. Whatever choice you make, be happy with it. Keep them personal too; there's a chance that when someone else see's or hears your goal they offer up some form of judgement or criticism. So, after you make the choice to set and stick with your personal goals, keep them to yourself.
Discipline. It takes an incredible amount of discipline to stick with something for a year, something that you may not want to be doing in the first place but you know the ends is worth it. It takes 30 days to build a habit and in those first 30 days you will be tested may times to abandon your goals. Be strong, push forward, grow and succeed.
Know the Why? I listened to a great presentation by Simon Sinek where he talked about understanding the Why, How and What we do what we do. Most people start with What, then How and rarely get to why. Simon says, if you're going to be great, start with Why? Since listening to this talk, the idea of truly knowing WHY I do anything has become integral to moving closer to, and achieving, success.
Staying on track with my goals is not going to be easy, there are many things that can distract me from achieving my goals. Here's a few things that have derailed me in the past.
Time. There's not a lot of "me" time in the day when you take out work, sleep, driving, eating, etc... So in those precious few hours left over in the day there are many things that can take away from actions that will keep your goals on track. You've got to really look at all the things you do in your "me" time and only focus on doing the things that will move you towards achieving your goals. For example, if you want to be in better shape, how much of your "me" time is spent watching TV?
Comfort Zone. It's easy to do the things you WANT to do. It's hard to do the things (especially in your "you" time) that you perceive as hard, like working out. You have to challenge your comfort zone and do the hard work. If you stick with it, eventually the hard work gets easier.
Excuses. We ALL make excuses. We just need to stop coming up with excuses.
Choices. Everything is a choice, just like setting goals. If we don't set goals then there's no map for where we're going and you're not going to know when you get there; wherever "there" is for you. It's easy to make the choice to do something that's fun, social or plain easier to do; all of which may not be what your goal needs you to be doing.
I'll leave you with this... When I set out to stay focused on goals I do so with the end in mind. The reason I set goals in the first place is to achieve a target, every one of which could never be achieved in a day. By always keeping an eye on the big picture (why I set the goal in the first place) I am able to stay focused each day. Remember, if you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you get there?
Keep the goals in front of me. I've written by fitness goals on the bathroom mirror, they're in front of me when I wake up and before I go to bed, it's regular reminder of what I set out to achieve. Beyond my fitness goals, I've made a graphic of all my goals for 2013 and set it as the wallpaper on my iPhone. Every time I look at my phone I get a gentle reminder to stay on track. How ever you decide to keep your goals in front of you, be creative and put them in a place where you always look.
Make the choice. Setting goals is a personal choice; a very personal choice. Only you can decide to set goals, what goals to set and if you're going to stick with them. Whatever choice you make, be happy with it. Keep them personal too; there's a chance that when someone else see's or hears your goal they offer up some form of judgement or criticism. So, after you make the choice to set and stick with your personal goals, keep them to yourself.
Discipline. It takes an incredible amount of discipline to stick with something for a year, something that you may not want to be doing in the first place but you know the ends is worth it. It takes 30 days to build a habit and in those first 30 days you will be tested may times to abandon your goals. Be strong, push forward, grow and succeed.
Know the Why? I listened to a great presentation by Simon Sinek where he talked about understanding the Why, How and What we do what we do. Most people start with What, then How and rarely get to why. Simon says, if you're going to be great, start with Why? Since listening to this talk, the idea of truly knowing WHY I do anything has become integral to moving closer to, and achieving, success.
Staying on track with my goals is not going to be easy, there are many things that can distract me from achieving my goals. Here's a few things that have derailed me in the past.
Time. There's not a lot of "me" time in the day when you take out work, sleep, driving, eating, etc... So in those precious few hours left over in the day there are many things that can take away from actions that will keep your goals on track. You've got to really look at all the things you do in your "me" time and only focus on doing the things that will move you towards achieving your goals. For example, if you want to be in better shape, how much of your "me" time is spent watching TV?
Comfort Zone. It's easy to do the things you WANT to do. It's hard to do the things (especially in your "you" time) that you perceive as hard, like working out. You have to challenge your comfort zone and do the hard work. If you stick with it, eventually the hard work gets easier.
Excuses. We ALL make excuses. We just need to stop coming up with excuses.
Choices. Everything is a choice, just like setting goals. If we don't set goals then there's no map for where we're going and you're not going to know when you get there; wherever "there" is for you. It's easy to make the choice to do something that's fun, social or plain easier to do; all of which may not be what your goal needs you to be doing.
I'll leave you with this... When I set out to stay focused on goals I do so with the end in mind. The reason I set goals in the first place is to achieve a target, every one of which could never be achieved in a day. By always keeping an eye on the big picture (why I set the goal in the first place) I am able to stay focused each day. Remember, if you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you get there?
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