Questions of the Week:

What is your system for prioritizing tasks so that each day there is some measurable victory towards achieving a desired outcome?

What are you most proud of right now? What are the things you most grateful for? As we head towards the halfway point of 2021, keep the theme of where are you winning? Are you making what you intending? Where are you giving? And how are you living your best life?

If you could rewind the week and have been able to do it over again, would you change anything? What would you have focused on more? Less?

“Don’t mistake movement for achievement.” Where might we be confusing sweat equity with productivity?

How can we prioritize the calendar to carve out an additional 30 minutes per day to chip away on higher value projects?

Mid-Year Reflection 

It’s June 1, 2021… How is that possible? This week my amazingly kind and sweet wife Shanna drove her Grandfather George, to his annual (minus last year) Seaplane reunion. The last Navy Seaplane was retired in 1967, so many of these amazing individuals are in their 90’s and I believe the youngest is 80. She took our sons, and this is either their third or even forth reunion to visit living history. While she is out of town, I decided to watch a movie documentary on the life of another amazing human, Zig Ziglar. While I had been writing and preparing for a different blog post, it just struck me on how many lives he changed and shaped. What completely threw me for a surprise was when my long-time coach and mentor Dianna Kokoszka appeared on this movie. Zig, helped shape her life and she helped shape mine so I’ll post my original plan next week and this is some things I just enjoyed and thought I’d share. 

“Success is a pile of garbage. It’s all the dumb things you did, and you’re standing on them instead of laying under them. That’s all it is, but the view is amazing.” 

– Dave Ramsey

“We're all going to get knocked down we're all going to have difficulty in life, don't tell people about your problems because 90% don't care the other 10% are glad you got them. The most important thing you can do is get off the ground. I refuse to believe there's any difficulty, any problem, or any obstacle that will keep us from reaching our goals and objectives. That's why so few people get up off the ground and if you always remember that quitting is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Nothings as good as it seems, and nothing is as bad as it seems and somewhere in between reality falls.” – Lou Holtz

The Seven Steps of Goal Setting – Zig Ziglar (7 Steps to Success) 

1. IDENTIFY THE GOAL: If you don’t identify a target you will never hit it. When you identify a goal it means that you write it down and describe it clearly. Don’t set any nebulous targets. If you want to have specific success you must have specific targets. A goal “To improve my results” or “To spend more time on homework” is not specific. A specific goal would be “To increase my marks by 10% for each subject”. 

2. LIST THE BENEFITS - WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? Once you identify a specific goal you need to list the benefits you will receive when you reach that goal. Let’s face it, we only do the things we want to do and are willing to do. If there are no personal benefits your motivation for completing the goal will be diminished. You will need all the personal motivation you can muster, and understanding what’s in it for you is vitally important. 

3. LIST THE OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME: There will be some rough spots on your journey as you work to achieve your goals. Many of them can be anticipated and if you can anticipate something you can prepare yourself in advance to overcome it. So, think it through and make a complete list of all the things that can prevent you from being successful. If you can’t think of everything, ask a trusted friend who knows you well to help you finish the list. 

4. LIST THE SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED: Knowledge gives us the power to accomplish things we would not otherwise be able to do, and skills give us the tools to take advantage of our knowledge. There is a direct relationship between knowing and doing, and successfully accomplishing your goals will require that powerful combination. 

5. IDENTIFY THE PEOPLE AND GROUPS TO WORK WITH: People do a better job when we have the help of others. They can help us with knowledge and skill and can offer valuable advice we need to be successful. So when you set your goals always consider the people and the groups you can work with that can help you be more successful. 

6. DEVELOP A PLAN OF ACTION: This is the most critical step and it involves thinking through the details of how you will achieve your goal. 

7. SET A DEADLINE FOR ACHIEVEMENT: If you don’t set a deadline for completing your goals you will not be able to be accountable to yourself, or anyone else. If you are not accountable for your goals you will not achieve them.