What the heck? How on earth is success like sausage? What do you mean?
Well, I think success is very similar to sausage. With apologies to non-meat eaters, sausage tastes pretty awesome, just like success. But there are some things that going into making sausage that might make it a bit less appetizing if you really think about it. Same as success. What do I mean by that?
When I was running Omega, before the big payoff, I had a business with over 300 people, and a $2 million dollar line of credit. Just to make it interesting the bank had a lien against my house in the event something went wrong. Yep, the place where I lived with my kids. One bad move and boom, goodbye villa, hello streets.
This is no pity party. But it is important to see success for what it is. An arduous journey to get past seemingly neverending obstacles while fending off the competition along the way. It can be incredibly fun and enjoyable. Except when it isn't. And if you want success, you don't get a button to select "fun stuff only". You get the spoils, but you also are in for the headaches and risks.
So yes, success is like sausage, you'd be surprised what goes into it.
But don't let that stop you from taking a bite.
Showing posts with label goal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goal. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
OMG - It's 2014 and I don't have any New Years Resolutions!!!
Hi there!
Here are a few tips on making something happen in 2014. Some folks will disagree with my suggestions, but tough tiddliwinks.
How to set goals, the quick version:
How to set goals, the quick version:
1. Keep it simple, measurable, and in spite of the "soar with eagles" chatter, within reasonable grasp. Complexity messes up your thinking, measurement is essential, and by finding some things you can get done with a modest effort, you can always reset your target with the confidence gained from round one.
2. Find a way to give your goals some synergy. Losing weight? How about a 5k run as another goal? The training will help with your other goal of losing weight. Losing weight will make running easier. Or if you want to read more, then add joining a book club. You get the idea.
3. Write it down! Commit it to a friend! - Everyone says this. Why? Because it works. Writing it down makes you internalize it. It's harder to forget. If you put it somewhere (like your calendar) it will keep staring you in the face. Good. Tell a friend too. They can also stare you in the face! If you have someone who will give you a friendly nudge, take advantage of it. Big help.
4. Don't be too rigid. Things go wrong. Adjust and move on. Rigid thinking is what puts goals on the shelf for another year. Relax a bit and if something goes wrong, dust yourself off, adjust and keep plodding along. You'll make it!
4. Don't be too rigid. Things go wrong. Adjust and move on. Rigid thinking is what puts goals on the shelf for another year. Relax a bit and if something goes wrong, dust yourself off, adjust and keep plodding along. You'll make it!
5. Whatever you do - this is critical. Have fun. The more fun your goals are to reach, and the more fun you inject into the mindset, the more likely you'll make it happen. Fun: have it!
Get your PEN and PAPER. Make it happen. Don't clean a drawer. Don't have a bagel. Sit down and move your life in a better direction for 2014.
Have fun. Really. Lot's of fun.
Happy New Year.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Don't Waste Your Effort...Really, Don't!
Once upon a time I swam for the Miami-Dade Community College swim team. Perhaps a better way to phrase it, they didn't prevent me from practicing with them. That said, I was decent enough, and was fast enough to stay out of their way. It was a point of pride with me that I was there, and I trained HARD!
You might think I would have developed a bit of insight after having to learn how to swim properly at the age of 23. Previously, I couldn't even get my face in the water. But a few sessions with a friend that had a swimming background put me on the path to swimming quasi-normally.
One week we "hosted" the University of Miami swim team, as their pool was being renovated. This was a great opportunity as UM had some potential Olympians on their team. Swimming next to them was going to be a treat. A chance to measure oneself against greatness. Well, after a brief comparison I was ready to drop the idea of measuring anything.
The first time I set off next to one of the team, I was dumbfounded. Was the guy being pulled by a jet ski? I redoubled my effort. This made me marginally faster, and massively exhausted. He, on the other hand, appeared to be having a nice leisurely dip. ARRGGGHH. My only hope was to be less embarrassed over a short distance. So much for training HARD.
Had I been wasting my time? No, I had gotten much better than before, and the training had made a difference. But, if my goal was to diminish the gap between myself and the UM swimmers, I knew pretty much instantly that MORE TRAINING was NOT the answer.
This leads me to my point. Effort is great. But effort without great technique can be wasteful, and potentially damaging. Too often the standard motivational cry is to TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT. Good luck with that. My experience is that while clearly motivation is important, as you approach higher levels of competition, how you try is likely more important than how hard you try.
When you want approach the top of a sport or field of endeavor, pretty much everybody is motivated. In a swim competition you need only look around the pool to see that everyone is very fit. Past that point the biggest differences are down to technique.
To improve myself I solicited a member of the UM team to train me. While I never got anything close to good enough to compete with them, I made amazing progress in improving my own times. To do this, I had to take a step back and evaluate my approach. By being objective, I knew I was in very good condition, had an excellent diet, and was putting forth an tremendous effort. Trying harder would have been pointless.
Thus, when I say "Don't Waste Your Effort" I mean it literally. Put forth an effort, absolutely. But be sure you are putting forth the right effort. In a race, nobody cares about your horsepower, they care about your speed. By putting your effort to translating horsepower to output, you won't waste your effort. You'll get more out of doing less.
That's the right way to apply effort.
You might think I would have developed a bit of insight after having to learn how to swim properly at the age of 23. Previously, I couldn't even get my face in the water. But a few sessions with a friend that had a swimming background put me on the path to swimming quasi-normally.
One week we "hosted" the University of Miami swim team, as their pool was being renovated. This was a great opportunity as UM had some potential Olympians on their team. Swimming next to them was going to be a treat. A chance to measure oneself against greatness. Well, after a brief comparison I was ready to drop the idea of measuring anything.
The first time I set off next to one of the team, I was dumbfounded. Was the guy being pulled by a jet ski? I redoubled my effort. This made me marginally faster, and massively exhausted. He, on the other hand, appeared to be having a nice leisurely dip. ARRGGGHH. My only hope was to be less embarrassed over a short distance. So much for training HARD.
Had I been wasting my time? No, I had gotten much better than before, and the training had made a difference. But, if my goal was to diminish the gap between myself and the UM swimmers, I knew pretty much instantly that MORE TRAINING was NOT the answer.
This leads me to my point. Effort is great. But effort without great technique can be wasteful, and potentially damaging. Too often the standard motivational cry is to TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT. Good luck with that. My experience is that while clearly motivation is important, as you approach higher levels of competition, how you try is likely more important than how hard you try.
When you want approach the top of a sport or field of endeavor, pretty much everybody is motivated. In a swim competition you need only look around the pool to see that everyone is very fit. Past that point the biggest differences are down to technique.
To improve myself I solicited a member of the UM team to train me. While I never got anything close to good enough to compete with them, I made amazing progress in improving my own times. To do this, I had to take a step back and evaluate my approach. By being objective, I knew I was in very good condition, had an excellent diet, and was putting forth an tremendous effort. Trying harder would have been pointless.
Thus, when I say "Don't Waste Your Effort" I mean it literally. Put forth an effort, absolutely. But be sure you are putting forth the right effort. In a race, nobody cares about your horsepower, they care about your speed. By putting your effort to translating horsepower to output, you won't waste your effort. You'll get more out of doing less.
That's the right way to apply effort.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Success is Not Laying Next to the Road...JKL - Just Keep Looking!
The title of this post should state the obvious. But often people seem to equate success with having made a left turn onto the proper street. That would have saved me several years of experience.
Want to get what you want? How hard are you willing to look for it? The road to success, in whatever form it may take for you, generally has a number of potholes and obstacles. If it were a straight smooth road, the road would be much busier.
So, what can you do to make ensure your arrival at your destination? Keep moving. Even when you don't feel like it. Keep moving.
This is the whole point of the chapter "Just Keep Looking".
A quick example: I wanted to get a US Bank - Club Carlson Premier Card. As a frequent traveler, the card has some significant benefits that I wanted. But alas they refused my application. I then tried calling and making a fuss, speaking to supervisors etc. Still, no change, the answer was NO. In the spirit of my entry, and in keeping with my personality, I opted to contact their Private Banking group.
Now I do realize, that not everyone is a potential Private Banking client. However, I am, and I know enough of the jargon to essentially get across that if they ever wanted a shot at my business, they might want to reconsider their position on my application.
Mission accomplished!
While it might seem like a lot of effort, it wasn't more than a couple hours of total work. By getting the card I qualified for some special privileges that saved me about $3,000 on hotel rooms I'll be staying in over the next couple of months. While I do value my time pretty highly, getting a quick $1,500 a hour seemed reasonable enough as compensation.
If you want something, you need to be willing to JLK - Just Keep Looking. Bags of money are not going to be laid outside your door for you. You need to have an idea of what you want, when you want it, and how you might get it. But you better be willing to be flexible if you want to succeed. The road is also rarely straight.
But JLK! Just Keep Looking! You'll get there, if you persevere and are creative.
Go to it!
Want to get what you want? How hard are you willing to look for it? The road to success, in whatever form it may take for you, generally has a number of potholes and obstacles. If it were a straight smooth road, the road would be much busier.
So, what can you do to make ensure your arrival at your destination? Keep moving. Even when you don't feel like it. Keep moving.
This is the whole point of the chapter "Just Keep Looking".
A quick example: I wanted to get a US Bank - Club Carlson Premier Card. As a frequent traveler, the card has some significant benefits that I wanted. But alas they refused my application. I then tried calling and making a fuss, speaking to supervisors etc. Still, no change, the answer was NO. In the spirit of my entry, and in keeping with my personality, I opted to contact their Private Banking group.
Now I do realize, that not everyone is a potential Private Banking client. However, I am, and I know enough of the jargon to essentially get across that if they ever wanted a shot at my business, they might want to reconsider their position on my application.
Mission accomplished!
While it might seem like a lot of effort, it wasn't more than a couple hours of total work. By getting the card I qualified for some special privileges that saved me about $3,000 on hotel rooms I'll be staying in over the next couple of months. While I do value my time pretty highly, getting a quick $1,500 a hour seemed reasonable enough as compensation.
If you want something, you need to be willing to JLK - Just Keep Looking. Bags of money are not going to be laid outside your door for you. You need to have an idea of what you want, when you want it, and how you might get it. But you better be willing to be flexible if you want to succeed. The road is also rarely straight.
But JLK! Just Keep Looking! You'll get there, if you persevere and are creative.
Go to it!
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