W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - 4 Questions to clarify your priorities.

Last week I talked about the myth of work / life balance and suggested it is not about balance, it is about focus and priorities. 

The challenge then is to make sure you are very clear about your priorities in life. How can you be sure what they are? What can you do to get the clarity you need?

Here are four questions to help you clarify the priorities in your life:

1. If you knew with 100 % certainty that you only had one year left to live, what would you do?

2. If you knew with 100 % certainty that you only had 6 months left to live, what would you do?

3. If you knew with 100 % certainty that you only had one month left to live, what would you do?

4. If you knew with 100 % certainty that you only had 24 hours left to live, what would you do?

What would you do? Who would you call? Who would you forgive? Who would you ask forgiveness from? Who would you tell that you love them? 

What's Important Now? - Do those things now. Forgive those people, starting with yourself. Tell those people you love them, starting with yourself. Make those calls.

None of us know when the moment of our death will be. Live your life so when that moment comes you have no regrets because you understood your priorities, focused on them and lived a life that reflected them. That's What's Important Now?  

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - The myth of Work - Life balance.

I continually hear people talk about the important of Work - Life balance and the need to get more balance in their life. 

I find it interesting that we refer to work, which occupies 40 to 60 hours out of most people's week, as separate somehow from our life. If you have a job then work is part of your life. The stage of life you are at, and the type of work you do (work at an office, work from home, work on your education, work on your health, etc) will determine how big a part of your life work actually is. 

According to www.dictionary.com the definition of balance is: a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.

If you spend 40 to 60 hours a week at work and another 5 to 10 hours a week commuting to and from your place of employment, you cannot spend an equal amount of time in hobbies and with your children and with your spouse and volunteering and coaching youth sports and….. well you get the point. 

It is not about balance. It is about focus and priorities. It's about What's Important Now?

What's Important Now? - Determine who and what are the priorities in your life. 

What's Important Now? - Become aware of where your focus and energy is when you are at work.

What's Important Now? - Become aware of where your focus and energy is when you are with your family.

What's Important Now? - Become aware of where your focus and energy is when you are reading a great book or out on the golf course with friends?

If your focus and energy are not on the task at hand, or on the people you are with, there is an issue you need to address. It is not about balance, it is about focus and priorities. That feeling of dissonance you experience when you are one place and your focus is elsewhere because you are feeling guilty should tell you that your focus, priorities and energy are misaligned. 

Stop seeking balance. Instead use Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now? - to guide your decisions and keep your focus and energy on what is truly important. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com to arrange for me to speak to your team,  your organization or at your next conference. 

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - The courage to quit.

"Giving up doesn't always mean you are weak.. sometimes it means you are strong enough to let go."

Unknown

Within the National Speakers Association one of the most talked about keynote presentations was one delivered by Joe Calloway at an NSA conference about ten years ago. The topic of that presentation was, "What do you need to let go of?" Joe challenged everyone in the audience to become aware of what they were holding on to that no longer best served them or their clients, and then let go of those things. For speakers that may be old speeches, old PowerPoint slide decks or old products.  

I had heard about this talk for years and when I finally watched the video of that presentation it had a profound impact on me. One of the questions Joe asked that resonated with me was, "What are you good at, that you feel trapped by?" That question made me realize that regardless how much we try to convince ourselves otherwise, if we feel trapped we will never be truly great in that area, never do our best work and as a result fail to best serve our audience. Watching that presentation caused to pause and think about what I needed to let go of, to give up on, to quit. It made me realize what I felt trapped by that I needed to stop doing. As a result I made the decision to step away from some of the seminars and presentations I was delivering. When clients called, I let them know I was no longer providing that training and recommended other speakers and trainers who could best serve their needs. As hard as it was to walk away from that income it brought a powerful sense of freedom. I have since used this strategy in other areas of my personal and professional life. 

What about you? what do you need to give up on? What do you need to let go of? What do you need to quit? What are you good at that you feel trapped by? 

Is it a job? Is it the excuses you make about why you don't eat better, exercise regularly or get enough sleep? Is it the stories you tell yourself to justify spending too much time at work and not enough with your family? Is it a relationship? Is it outdated ways of thinking? is it the way you treat other people? Is it your spending habits? 

Being a quitter has a negative connotation in our society. However, as pointed out in the opening quote, sometimes it takes great strength and courage to quit and walk away. Joe Calloway inspired those who heard his message to have the courage to let go. 

Ask yourself Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now? 

What's Important Now? Determine what you need to let go of, what you need to quit in your life. 

What's Important Now? Find the courage within you to walk away from the thoughts, behaviours and habits that are getting in the way of your pursuit of personal excellence.

What's Important Now? Allow yourself to feel good about the choices you made and the actions you took. Celebrate having the courage to quit.  

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com to arrange for me to speak to your team,  your organization or at your next conference. 

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - I don't care how you are. It is just something I say.

How are you? 

How many times have you asked that question or some version of it? How many times have you been asked the question?

How many times have you actually listened to the answer? When I say listened, I do not mean just the words, but the tone, the inflection, the emotion behind what is said, or perhaps more important, what is not said.

For many people "How are you?" has become just words that flow from their lips without thought and without concern for the response. 

We should really stop the charade and just say, "I really don't care how you are or how you are feeling but I am going to ask anyways to appear to be polite so don't feel bad if I do not appear to be paying attention to the answer. After a trite response please feel free to ask me the same question and not care about the answer either." How are you? is just so much easier.

What's Important Now? - If you are going to ask the question then pause and truly listen to the answer. If you sense something is wrong or troubling the person take the time to ask followup questions. You might just be surprised at people's reactions when they realize you actually care how they are.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have me speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Shut up. Stop whining and……..

During my presentation The Pursuit of Personal Excellence I share my personal story of the time in my life when I was consumed by victim thinking and made some less desirable decisions. Decisions that resulted in my spending a number of months living in the back seat of a 1964 Plymouth. Throughout the presentation I share strategies for breaking free of victim thinking including some of the ones I used to go from being a 60 pound overweight pack a day smoker with a grade 10 education to where I was able to change my life and realize my dream of becoming a police officer. During the strategy component of the seminar I mention a book by Larry Winget titled, 'Shut up. Stop Whining and Get a Life.' The title says it all and always gets a laugh as everyone can all imagine someone in their life they need to buy the book for. When I figured this out (and I have had to do it a few times in my life), it changed everything for me. That was the point when I started to take responsibility for my choices, thoughts, actions and attitude. 

Watching a the FIFA World Cup game (soccer for us North Americans) the other day reminded me of the book. The players are incredible athletes with impressive levels of fitness but, they make me want to scream at the television, "Shut up. Stop Whining and play the game." The feigned injuries, the constant whining to the referee detracts from the game. The players antics got me thinking about how applicable the first part of Larry's book title is. How often have you wanted to tell someone to:

• Shut up. Stop whining and change your attitude.
• Shut up. Stop whining and change your circumstances.
• Shut up. Stop whining and change your job.
• Shut up. Stop whining and change your language.
• Shut up. Stop whining and change your thinking.
• Shut up. Stop whining and start hanging out with new friends. 

Ask yourself how often people have wanted to tell you to "Shut up. Stop whining and………… (fill in the blank)" 

What's Important Now? - Heed the advice of Nike and 'Just Do It' - Shut up. Stop whining and get a life. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have me speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Who are your heroes?

"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure inspite of overwhelming obstacles." 

Christopher Reeves

I use the above quote in the presentation The Heroes Path to Excellence in Law Enforcement, which I deliver to law enforcement officers throughout North America. It is important for officers to understand that heroes are ordinarily men and women, like them, who find something inside of them that allows them to persevere and endure when others might quit. Many of the heroes I talk about in that presentation are law enforcement and military personnel. Most of the heroes in our lives however, are ordinary men and women who do not serve in the military and are not in law enforcement.

What about you? Who are your heroes? Interestingly enough when Ron Scheidt and I put together the books am I that man? How heroes, role models and mentors can shape your life, we asked the contributors (all men) to write about heroes, role models and mentors in their lives. The heroes most wrote about were their fathers. They talked about how their fathers had demonstrated unconditional love for their families, moral courage and a powerful work ethic during their lives. 

When Disney TV interviewed children and asked them about their heroes most of the kids talked about their parents, not fictitious superheroes as we might suspect. May and June are months where we celebrate these heroes with Mothers Day and Fathers Day. 

June is a time when you honour those men in your life who were, and still are heroes to you: your father, grandfather, step father, father in law, surrogate father and other men in your life who exemplify what it means to be a father, a hero. 

In honour of Fathers Day Ron and I have decided to offer special pricing on the am I that man? book and Challenge Coin sets and on the 10 book Mentorship package and case lots. You can take advantage of these specials at www.amithatman.com. 

What's Important Now? - Take time this month to celebrate the men who serve as heroes in your life. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have me speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Are you a carrier?

"A healthy attitude is contagious but don't wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier." 

Tom Stoppard

Too many people seem to feel their attitude, their happiness, their success, their career advancement, basically their life, is someone else's responsibility. They blame their attitude on their circumstances, their co-workers, their boss, their job or their surroundings. 

Your attitude is a choice. It is within your control. You get to choose whether you are a carrier of a healthy attitude, or one of negativity. 

What's Important Now? - Choose well. Choose to be a carrier of a healthy contagious attitude. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have me speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Timing is everything.

I recently had dinner with two people who understand and personify the W.I.N. concept. During dinner we had a discussion about applying W.I.N., especially to situations at home. As we talked I had an important revelation. It is not just about asking ourself What's Important Now?, it is also about the timing of when we ask ourselves that question.

How often have you been asked to take on an extra project at work or with that community group, work an extra shift or deliver a presentation that required you to travel out of town and be away from your family? How many times has your immediate default answer been yes? Once you had time to sit back and reflect, you realized that by saying yes to work, you were going to be saying no to something with your family. Then the internal struggle begins. 

One voice in your head is saying, "It is an important project/presentation/cause and I am helping by saying yes." The voice in your gut however is saying, "I am going to miss the soccer game/dinner with the family again/helping my spouse with that project I promised I would help with, etc." The turmoil is compounded by the fact you would now like to back out of the work commitment but, 'you gave your word and you cannot go back on that.' You then beat yourself up for realizing too late What's Important Now?

The time then to ask Life's Most Powerful Question is before you make the commitment. 

What's Important Now? - Change your default answer from 'yes' to 'let me get back to you'. Get as much information as you can, look at the impact of the choice, ask yourself What's Important Now? and then make your decision. Sometimes this will only take a few minutes, sometimes it will take considerably longer. Sometimes you will say yes, and other times you will say no. The time spent will be well worth it however, as you will be at peace with the decisions you make. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have me speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question -You don't have to be the best.

"Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best."

 Henry van Dyke

You don't have to be the best; you just have to do your best. 

Trying to be 'the best' means you are constantly comparing yourself to others. Being the best is always subjective. There is very rarely agreement on the best movie, the best speaker, the best actor, the best team, the best athlete, the best …. well you get the point. 

During my Pursuit of Personal Excellence I always talk about the fact that excellence is a moving target. It is about making a commitment to always be better tomorrow than you are today. And, it is about being the best that you can be, not about being as good as or better than someone else. 

What's Important Now? - Embrace excellence by striving to always be and do your best. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have me speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Ah, the stories we tell ourselves.

We all tell ourselves stories. Some are actually true. Many however, just make us feel better about the decisions we are making.

You tell yourself, "My family is my number one priority, the most important thing in my life." Yet, you spend 60 to 80 hours a week at work and when you are at home you are engrossed in your work and not paying attention to your family. This makes you uncomfortable so you tell yourself the story that you are doing it for your family so your kids can have the things that you did not and have a better life. Yet, what your kids really want is to spend some quality time with you, not more stuff. You tell yourself that you are seeking that promotion at work so you can better provide for your family. You tell yourself that as soon as you get that promotion you will spend more time at home knowing that the job will in fact require you to spend more time at work. You tell yourself that your family understands that you are on the road and away from home all the time because you are doing important work and 'saving / changing the world'. Yet, they sit at home and wonder why 'the world' is more important to you than they are. In an interview with Darren Hardy for Success Magazine Rabbi Shmuley made a profound statement when he said, "You are no hero if the people who mean the most to you, think the least of you." He related how he was on a mission to save the world, and finally realized it was at the expense of his family. He had to change the stories he was telling himself to justify his schedule. If his family was in fact the priority, he had to prove it through the way he lived his life. 

You tell yourself that your health is a top priority for you, next only to your family. Yet, you are sleep deprived, have not made exercise a priority in your life and you eat crap. You then tell yourself you are too busy right now to work out and do not have time to make a healthy lunch or take time out of our busy day to work out. You tell yourself that as soon as this project is done you will get on track, the same story you have been telling yourself every project. You tell yourself you are too busy yet, people who are significantly more productive than you are eat healthy, make time to exercise every day, get adequate sleep and do in fact make their family a priority. 

You tell yourself that the people in your unit / team / organization are important to you. You tell yourself you are committed to developing them into better leaders and people. You tell yourself that your job is to be a positive role model and a mentor. You tell yourself you are committed to taking the team / unit / organization to the 'next level'. Yet, you are always away working on some 'special project' or 'special assignment', demonstrating to the people in your team / unit / organization that your story is inconsistent with reality. 

We all tell ourselves stories. Some of them are true, some however are fictional stories and some are flat out lies. 

What's Important Now? - Truly examine the stories you tell yourself. Be brutally honest with yourself about which ones are true and which are 'cover stories' to allow you to justify behaviours you know are wrong. If you felt uncomfortable reading this, then I am talking to you. I felt uncomfortable writing it and as a result have begun working on changing my behaviours and my stories. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have me speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - The Fourth C

Last Wednesday I wrote about the 3 C's - Connection - Commitment - Contribution. I received an e-mail response from Vince O'Neil in Oklahoma. Vince is a fellow law enforcement trainer who I have great respect and admiration for. I would like to share his response with you as i believe it has great value.

Brian,

I really enjoyed your article. In the spirit of colleagues sharing, there's a fourth "C" . . . Consciousness. Actually, it's the first "C." Without it none of the Three C's exist. Consciousness is all about awareness, recognition and meaningfulness. The need to connect, commit and contribute to our profession is at the very heart of our vocation; it forms the totality of its foundation. That said, when we lose that sacred consciousness, that's when we become disconnected, complacent, and burdensome. That would be about the time W.I.N. becomes meaningless, and physical death -- mere formality.  

These are not original thoughts by any means. I usually distill processes through Bloom's Taxonomy: having learned it in Educational Psychology, c. 1970, it's become a habit. 'Hope you don't mind me making a contribution. 

Vince O'Neil

Vince makes a convincing argument that Consciousness is actually the first C. It is where connection, commitment and contribution all start. I appreciate Vince sharing his insights.

What's Important Now? - Start with Consciousness and let it flow into the other 3 C's.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - W.I.N. and the 3 C's

At a conference last week I was given the privilege of speaking to the participants during the opening ceremonies. I encouraged them to embrace three words during their week at the conference:

Connection - Commitment - Contribution

As I reflected on those three words over the past week it has become clear to me that like the W.I.N. philosophy, the 3 C's can be applied to a variety of situations. 

Connection: It seems that many people go to events and conferences to Network, believing that networking is a competition to see who can collect the most business cards. In a society where many people feel the goal is to see who can get the most Facebook 'Friends' and 'Likes', who can get the most Twitter Followers and who can Follow the most people on Twitter, many people have forgotten about connection. How many people in your life do you have a deep connection with? When you have serious challenges in your life, or are going through a rough time how many people can you reach out to for help, and guidance? This is not a slam on social media or Facebook, however when you are facing a crisis in your life would you rather have hundreds of Facebook Friends or a few deep connections?

Commitment: What are you committed to? Are you committed to your family? Are you committed to personal growth and development? Are you committed to the pursuit of personal excellence? Are you committed to developing and maintaining those deep personal connections? Are you committed to mentoring and developing other? 

Contribution: What is your contribution to the world? What is your contribution to your community? What is your contribution to your family? What is your contribution to your organization? Have you developed a cause bigger than yourself? Are you a taker or a contributor? Will the world, your community, your organization, your work group be better off because you were here? You can contribute through your time, your passion and your energy. You can contribute by being a role model and mentor. You can contribute by sharing your knowledge, wisdom and experience. 

What's Important Now? - Consider how you can apply the 3 C's in your life. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - The Urgency of Doing

"I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough, we must do."

Leonardo da Vinci

Most of us know what we should do, but we still do not do it.

We know what we should eat, but we eat crap.

We know we should workout regularly, but we sit on the couch and watch TV instead.

We know we should read daily to improve our mind, but we choose not to.

We know we should get 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night, but we don't.

Why? We have not created the urgency of doing. We do not have a why that is powerful enough to overcome the inertia. If knowing was enough we would all eat healthy, get lots of sleep, exercise daily, treat others with respect, save money, be non smokers and lead amazing lives. 

The fact others tell you that you should is not enough. 

What's Important Now? Determine the new behaviour you know you should engage in. Come up with a 'why' that is personal, present tense and powerful enough to overcome the inertia. Once you start there will be some continued resistance but if your why is powerful enough you will overcome that resistance and build momentum. In his book Good to Great Jim Collins describes this as the flywheel principle:

In building greatness,..the process resembles relentlessly pushing a giant, heavy flywheel in one direction, turn upon turn, building momentum until a point of breakthrough, and beyond.

What's Important Now? Create your urgency of doing. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - The Secret to Success

One of the blogs I subscribe to is Gapingvoid Art (www.gapingvoidart.com) by artist / cartoonist / author Hugh Macleod. I read a couple of Hugh's books (Evil Plans and Ignore Everyone) prior to subscribing to the blog. His blog consists of one of his cartoon drawings, which each contain a simple life message and some additional words of wisdom. 

One of his recent posts was 'How to Be Successful'. It contained three points that I believe embrace What's Important Now?

How to be successful:

1. Find out what matters. 

2. Find out who matters.

3. Carry on. 

What's Important Now? Do #1 and #2, then carry on. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Building a ship?

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea" 

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

This quote is consistent with Simon Sinek's theory on "Start with Why". In both his book and his TED talk Sinek  makes a strong case that before you get to how and what you need to start with why. I believe this is true in sales, in business and in life. 

If you want to make significant and lasting changes in your life you need to start with why and "long for the endless immensity of the sea". This is the reason most people fail to stick with New Years resolutions. They only focus on the what (lose weight, work out more, quit drinking) without first creating an impelling why. 

When I work with people using Performance Enhancement Imagery (PEI) or teach PEI to trainers and coaches one of the keys is to find out from the person who is benefitting from the imagery, "Why is this change important to you?" Without a compelling why (for them, not for anyone else), the how and what will fade away and the change will not last.

If you want to inspire people in your organization to pursue excellence or gather support for your cause start by teaching them to long for the immensity of the sea; start with why. 

If you want to make lasting changes in your life, first determine why it is important to YOU. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Do the math.

Some Sochi Winter Olympic statistics:

• 2800+ athletes
• 88 nations
• 98 events - 7 sports (15 sport disciplines)
• Population of the USA - 317,541,000 - Athletes competing in Sochi - 250
• Population of Canada - 35, 295, 770 - Athletes competing in Sochi - 220

Now that you have a few facts here is a question - What do you celebrate? 

Do you celebrate the journey of these athletes to just get to the Olympics or do you just celebrate the podium finishes? Do you celebrate the effort these men and women have put in for years, and that they put in at the games or just the victories? 

Sadly, society has gotten to the point where many people only celebrate podium finishes and some only celebrate Gold medal wins and see Silver and Bronze medals as a disappointment. 

Take a few minutes and do the math (I would do it for you, but math is not my thing). What percentage of residents of Canada and the US will ever qualify to compete in the Olympics? Of all the athletes that do compete in Sochi what percentage will actually win a medal? 

Take a few minutes and read the blog post The Ups and Downs of Sochi by Scott Perras, a proud Canadian, a biathlon athlete, an Olympic athlete and a young man I am proud to call my friend. It will give you some insight into one of those 2800 athletes and the realities of Olympic competition. 

We need to learn to celebrate the journey of these men and women. We need to celebrate the effort, the sacrifices, the passion, the commitment to their sport and to their countries. We need to celebrate the competition not just the result. 

What's Important Now? Ask yourself "What am I celebrating today?" Celebrate your journey. Celebrate the small successes in your life. Teach your children and your employees to celebrate their successes. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Somebody helped you. Who?

"No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you."

Althea Gibson

Last week I talked about the Olympics and challenged you to become Olympic calibre in your personal and professional life.

This week I want to emphasize that the journey to Olympic calibre in sport, business or life is not one you take by yourself. For every athlete that competes in the Olympics there are countless people who helped them get there. There are parents, siblings, spouses, friends, teammates, technical coaches, athletic therapists, sponsors, massage therapists, strength and conditioning coaches, medical doctors, chiropractors, sports psychologists, equipment managers, travel agents, and team logistics people. This list does not cover everyone and did not even mention the people who maintain the event facilities and run the competitive events as well as the officials at all levels of competition. 

At the Oscars they have to limit the winners to a very short acceptance speech or they would go on for hours thanking all the people who helped them reach the pinnacle of their career and win that award. 

The same applies to you. Regardless of what you have accomplished in life there are scores of people who helped you get there. Who are they? Do you understand and acknowledge the role they played in your success? Have you ever thanked them for what they have done to help you succeed? 

What's Important Now? Stay Humble. Stay hungry. Always remember the words of Althea Gibson, "No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you." and reach out to say thank you. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Achievement, the Olympics and You

"Achievement is largely the product of steadily raising one's levels of aspiration... and expectation."

 Jack Nicklaus 

The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics start this week. I always enjoy watching the Olympic competitions and this year I am extra excited as I have had the opportunity over the past couple of years to work as a mental preparation coach for one of the Canadian Olympians.

As you watch the Winter Olympics over the next two weeks remember that the athlete you are cheering for did not start out as an Olympic athlete. In fact, many of those athletes did not even think of the Olympic games when they first strapped on a pair of skis or skates. They simply wanted to be able to make it across the rink or down 100 yards down the hill without falling down. As their competence and confidence grew so did their aspirations and expectations. Some of the athletes transitioned from other sports like track and football into bobsled or other winter sports late in their athletic careers. For all the athletes their ability to get to this level is a result of years of hard work and commitment. Years of steadily raising their levels of aspiration and expectation. 

While most of us will never compete in an Olympic games we can accomplish Olympic level achievement in our own lives as parents, teachers, law enforcement professionals, nurses, sales reps, janitors, truck drivers, or any other field of endeavour. In life, as in the Olympics, achievement is a result of a personal commitment to always be a little better tomorrow than you are today - steadily raising one's level of aspiration and expectation.   

What's Important Now? - What did you do yesterday to make yourself a little better? What are you committed to do today? 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Stop Doing Stupid

During a presentation at a National Speakers Association conference retired Navy Commander Mary Kelly  gave a profound piece of advice to allow each of us to be more productive and successful in our lives - Stop Doing Stupid. 

She encouraged the audience to ask themselves:

• What did I do today that was stupid?
• What did I do today that was a complete waste of time.

This is clear, concise, in your face advice. The message is Stop Doing Stupid, not Stop Being Stupid. It is not about beating yourself up for doing stupid things, we all do stupid things. It is about recognizing it when we do stupid things and changing those behaviours. 

What's Important Now? - Stop Doing Stupid.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - If you can't fly….

"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."

 Martin Luther King, Jr.

As I write this I am looking at this quote on a coffee cup I received from a Victim Services group I did a presentation for. This is a powerful message for people who have been victims of crime or victims of tragedy. 

It is also a powerful message for each of us in our day to day lives. 

Some days we wake up with great expectations for the day, expecting to fly, then something happens that takes the wind out from beneath our wings. The tendency can be to stop, hunker down, feel sorry for ourselves, write the day off as a loss and just do nothing. 

I have these days. I think we all do. I have days when I sit down to write one of my three weekly blogs, or work on a new presentation or seminar all fired up to write great content and have an amazingly productive day and something happens that throws me off. It might be an e-mail or phone call with bad news. It might be an unexpected bill or expense from your car or an appliance breaking down. It might be an illness in the family. Whatever it is, you feel like life just clipped your wings.

For me the key is to just keep moving forward. To keep writing, keep learning, keep working to find the good in the experience and to seek to put whatever happened in perspective. I may not be overly productive, I may have just crawled through the day but, at the end of the day I can be proud of the fact I kept moving forward and made some progress. Sometimes however, just the simple act of moving forward helps us to regain momentum and get back on track. 

It can be easy to make excuses, sink into victim mode and stop moving forward. 

What's Important Now is to choose something different. 

What's Important Now is to choose to keep moving forward. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com