goals

How do you stay motivated when everything in you is telling you to quit? It's a real problem and I think most people have faced it at one time or another. If you don't have a really good reason for pushing yourself outside your comfort zone it's easy to quit.

This last year has been a very successful one as far as my business is concerned but it's not been without its trials. I've been doing a lot of things that were new to me and it has definitely been a time of getting outside my comfort zone.

But that's what a comfort zone is - it's comfortable. It's familiar and it's easy to stay there. If you want to break out of the box and do things that you've only dreamed about doing you've got to leave the comfort zone and make yourself go places that you, thus far, haven't been willing to go.

Sometimes the sense of adventure of doing new things will be enough to sustain you, but in my experience it's only temporary. Living up to the daily commitment that's required to reach new horizons is tough. Really tough. 

Staying motivated isn't easy when the work gets hard. You have to have good reasons for keeping on the same path toward your goal or else you will question why you're even doing it to begin with.

So where do those reasons come from? You've got to look outside yourself and remind yourself of what's most valuable and why you're doing the things you're doing.    Read more »

This week marks one year since I've been full-time in my business at Orracle Media and it's been awesome. I've learned more than I could have imagined and exceeded my expectations and goals for this first year. This is a post that I've been eagerly anticipating writing.

What I've Learned

Since I've been doing this full-time I've learned a lot. I think it takes a good deal of humility (which is not always my strongest asset) to do this kind of thing because you learn things about yourself, your strengths and weaknesses that you may have thought about before, but are now front and center. Without humility you'd just be likely to ignore those things and keeping marching down that same road.

I've learned that there are some things that I'm good at and some areas where I need to get better. That's been my mantra over the last year - "get better".  This really goes for both the things I'm good at and things things that at which I need to improve. You've got to constantly be striving to get better at what you do or you will be bypassed by the competitors out there.    Read more »

I've been reading through Dave Ramsey's new book EntreLeadership: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches (affiliate link) and was reminded of something that I've known for a long time but needed the reminder. It was one of the points that stood out to me most when I attended his live event in Orlando last November and I think it's an absolute key to success.

It's also an old adage from my years in sales. Activity = results. What are the things that you need to do day-in and day-out that produce the results you're looking for? I remember sitting through sales meetings with this being pounded in to our heads and how we needed to make sure that we knew all our numbers so we could pound the phones and stir up more leads. That part sucked. A lot. But I think there is some truth to the principle and as a business owner it's something that I need to take a hard look at.    Read more »

EntreLeadership Session II

Right before the conference I wrote a series of posts about goals and goal setting. The second session at the Orlando EntreLeadership conference fell right in line with those posts and gave me several new things to think about. I remember hearing along the way at some point in the past that goals are dreams with deadlines and this couldn’t be more true. Dreams are just that - visions, platitudes, and fantasies - and are seldom realized in real life because there is little to no effort ever expended in seeming them come true. But at their core is a vision that the dreamer wants to see come true. Goals are dreams that have deadlines and can only be realized through hard work and focus.    Read more »

You must have a plan to achieve your goals, and then execute your plan.  The more clearly you can see the object of your goal accomplished in your mind the faster you will be able to achieve your goal.  This point is crucial.  Being able to get really clear on the things that you want to do, want to be, and want to have makes all the difference. Honestly, a lot of people struggle with this and it’s something I know that I’ve struggled with. I believe that putting in the mental effort here on getting the clarity that’s required to do this successfully is what separates those who actually get things done from those who merely try.  I think this is also the main reason people give up on their goal setting efforts; many people will make the effort to set goals, but it’s those who get clarity who succeed. This is really where the hard work comes in.  I've not come across better information on the science of setting goals than Brian Tracy - this list is also inspired by him. Here is a list of 13 goal setting steps I use for setting goals and planning for life.    Read more »

I’ve got a document in my journal on my computer that covers all the different aspects of my life as my goals are realized. It’s really awesome. It covers where my family will live, what my career looks like, my finances, my relationships, and our future. I’ve even got pictures of our dream house in there.

Goal setting is just as much art as it’s a science that can be learned. I know that I’ve been working on learning how to set and work towards goals for years and years. I’ve been able to make some remarkable progress with goals and taking time to consciously pursue the things I want to achieve in my life. If there is anything that I’ve learned about goals and goal setting is that you must make deliberate, intentional effort in working on them to see them achieved. That’s why it’s so important that the values and things you hold as important in life match up so closely with your goals.    Read more »

It’s that time of year when the businesses of all shapes and sizes start planning for the coming year. David Siteman Garland from The Rise to The Top tweeted a few weeks ago that he was booking engagements and working on his plans for 2011, as are so many others.

It’s one thing to set goals, but entirely another to take meaningful daily steps toward achieving them. Writing them down isn’t enough - you have to put in the work of actually engaging in meaningful work toward achieving them. Early this year I came across Chris Guillebeau’s annual review post and one of the things that stuck out to me was how he set up quarterly reviews to evaluate his progress.    Read more »

Okay, so there is a theme here. But one works in conjunction with the other, and helps me stay on track. I've committed to writing every week with Project 52.  It's something that I've wanted to do for a long time, but now I have the accountability tools in place to help urge me in the right (write?) direction.

I'll be writing a lot about what I read, as I mentioned in my previous post.  Plus, if I'm keeping to my reading commitment, then it gives me something to write about each week if I don't come up with something better! I'm back in game now, so keep your ears tuned in - I'll be writing my review of Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin soon.

There will be news about what projects I'm working on, what I'm learning in social media, and other cool stuff. Stay tuned!    Read more »

This year, it's my goal to read a book a week.  Long ago I learned that constantly adding to your value as a person through a commitment to life-long learning makes you not only more valuable in the marketplace, but also more valuable to your family, friends, and on your job.  There are a lot of things that war for your time, but few can be as rewarding as turning off the television, and digging in to a good book. 

So far, I'm behind - I'm not making good progress.  But there are legitimate reasons for that, and I plan to redouble my efforts and get back on track. I've finished a couple, and most recently I've picked up a couple that are going to take far longer than a week to read.  But that leads me to my next thought - what to read?  The most recent books I've ordered from Amazon are both very dense, heavy material that will take some time to work through. So with that, I'm planning on reading these at the same time that I'm reading something not quite so rich. 

So my bookshelf will continue to expand with a variety new titles, but I will also add a page here to chroincle my goal with my reading list and reviews.     Read more »