1806, 2013

You just kinda want it – you don’t want it as much as you want to be cool

By |June 18th, 2013|Motivation, Uncategorized|0 Comments

“Most of you say you want to be successful … but you don’t want it bad – you just kinda want it …
you don’t want it badder than you want to party …
you don’t want it as much as you want to be cool …
most of you don’t want success as much as you want to sleep”

Wow. Now that’s a reminder. A reminder that you can’t wish your dreams into being. Thinking something is all well and good, but it’s not the same as doing. Success doesn’t just happen – it takes hardwork and commitment and discipline. It takes pushing through the ups and downs that come your way on the journey. It takes saying no to things and forgoing other things. It takes not accepting excuses. It takes an active decision to prioritise that goal and dream that you’re chasing. It takes time. And it takes motivation.

When I coach or speak to people about motivation I always explain that to be truly effective it has to come from the heart not the head. That is, it comes from deep inside you. It isn’t just positive talk that stems from your head. Or that song or speech or video that pumps you up for that moment. Or consciously willing yourself to do something. They’re all fine and good. But real motivation is a deep powerful force coming from within you – pushing you forward to what you want. That help you get through those obstacles and set-backs and disappointments. It is those deep unconscious emotional drivers in action (see Chapter 4 of my book ‘A Life That Counts‘ for more on this and the psychology around the Limbic System / motivation / making change.

So use this video to inspire you, but realise that to really start to move forward to the things you want it will take two things:

1. A decision

2. Figuring out WHY you really want that thing / goal / dream. The deep reason of why you want whatever you want to achieve / be / do. No, really: why do you want it? What will you get from it? How will you feel about yourself? What will it mean to achieve your dream?
You see when you’re clear on ‘why’ you’re doing something, then the ‘hows’ become clearer and become simply a means of making the ‘why’ come to pass.

 

Here’s a couple of examples of what I mean from two incredible contributors to my book.

1. Lydia Lassila (Olympic Gold Medallist):

‘Throughout my whole career, I was frustrated because I knew my potential. I knew I was better than the results I was showing. I’d perform well and have a sense of accomplishment, but I’d then get another injury and get so down and disappointed. What kept me going, though, was knowing I was better and could be better and that I had the potential to be number one in the world. I hadn’t got there yet, but that was what was motivating me: the fact that I knew I hadn’t yet reached my full potential. I knew my potential was the gold medal. I knew it was to break the world record. It’s personal reward, and I’ll take that to the grave with me.’

2. Michael Milton (World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability, multiple Paralympic Gold medallist, Winter and Summer Paralympian):

‘One of the things cancer takes away from you is your own belief in yourself, particularly as your body starts to fail. You start to lose that self-worth. About a month after I’d finished my cancer treatment, I really had no idea of where or what I wanted to do in my life. The prognosis looked good in terms of going into remission, and my health had improved, but I just didn’t know what I was going to do. Was I going to be an athlete or apply for a real job? I found myself sitting with my ‘Goals’ folder, and when looking through it, I saw a goal I’d set myself 18 months before: to go to Beijing as a track cyclist. I think that when I wrote that goal down, it was more of an option at the time. I wasn’t fully committed to it at that time, and so after I’d researched it and considered it further, I wrote on another piece of paper a whole pile of points – the good things that could come out of this goal even if I didn’t achieve it. This was my ‘why’ and helped me to really commit to the goal fully. It was about getting healthy and fit again. It was about giving myself something to do. It was about motivation to get out of bed on a daily basis when I had no energy. It was more than just achieving that goal. And I remember the reward of just receiving that phone call from the head coach telling me I’d been selected for Beijing, and just sitting on the bed with my wife, crying our eyes out.’


Challenge

What do you want ?
Why ?
Find your ‘why’ and get clear on that …
and then watch and feel the difference in your motivation and then your behaviour.

 

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201, 2013

Pure inspiration V – Arthur Boorman

By |January 2nd, 2013|Motivation, Overcoming Adversity|0 Comments

Here’s something to start your new year off with a new mindset and inspiration.

This video shows the remarkable transformation Arthur Boorman made in his life in less than a year. Authur was a disabled veteran of the Gulf War for 15 years, and was told by his doctors that he would never be able to walk on his own – never, ever !

He stumbled upon an article about Diamond Dallas Page doing Yoga and decided to give it a try — he couldn’t do traditional, higher impact exercise, so he tried DDP YOGA and sent an email to Dallas telling him his story. Dallas was so moved by his story, he began emailing and speaking on the phone with Arthur throughout his journey – he encouraged Arthur to keep going and to believe that anything was possible. Even though doctors told him walking would never happen, Arthur was persistent. He fell many times, but kept going. As he did he not only lost a lot of weight, he gained tremendous balance and flexibility. But more than that – he gained the hope that maybe someday he’d walk again. And he did !

His story is proof, that we cannot place limits on what we are capable of doing, because we often do not know our own potential. Niether Arthur, nor Dallas knew what he would go on to accomplish, but this video speaks for itself. In less than a year, Arthur completely transformed his life. If only he had known what he was capable of, 15 years earlier !

Do not waste any time thinking you are stuck – you can take control over your life, and change it faster than you might think.

So may this video give you that injection of inspiration you need for 2013. Believe in yourself and go after your dreams – whatever they are – they might just come true !

 

 

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2011, 2012

Pure Inspiration IV – Sung-bong Choi

By |November 20th, 2012|Motivation, Overcoming Adversity|0 Comments

I’m in tears as I write this. This is pure inspiration – exactly what I want this blog to provide. To give you and I together another dose of inspiration for our week.

And what a dose of inspiration it is. An example of how your past doesn’t define your future. An example of guts and inner fortitude, but also of good decisions. Consider the courage it took to get himself off the street; the courage to take any singing lessons in the first place; and the massive courage to go on the show when Sung-bong thought he was an average singer (even if he was wrong !). An example of the dignity of a young man and the honest compassion of the judges.

May you be inspired to not let your past define your future and to go after your dreams with all you have.

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811, 2011

Pure Inspiration III – Pass the Bucket with Amy Purdy

By |November 8th, 2011|Motivation, Overcoming Adversity|0 Comments

It is funny isn’t it how someone’s raw and real-life story smacks you in the face and makes you realise how lucky you are.  Whether it be the beggars you pass in the street in India, the smiling face of an African child playing in the dust, or … Amy Purdy !

Stop and be thankful for how blessed you are to even be watching this. And determine that these little shots of inspiration will move you to live a significant, meaningful purposeful life – a life that counts !

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1309, 2011

How bad do you want it ?

By |September 13th, 2011|Action, Motivation|0 Comments

Today I have invited a good mate of mine Tim Birch to write the weekly blog. Tim is an inspirational guy and one of those good guys all-round. In many ways we’re cut out of the same stone and we often trade quotes or videos or thoughts. That was why, as expected,  I knew he’d come up with something inspiring and challenging. Over to you Tim …

“How often does ‘life’ get in the way of our best laid plans and intentions? So often the things we know we want to achieve get pushed further and further away due to the circumstance we let limit us…

I say ‘let’ because there is always a choice. A choice to say ‘Yes, I’m getting up when the alarm sounds to take a step in achieving my dream’, or ‘Yes, I’ll spend my weekend focussing on my studies’. The alternatives to these two scenarios may be staying in the warm, cosy bed or heading out to see friends for dinner…but at what cost.

You need to make your goals and dreams mean something and often it is only when these things seem like they will be taken from us that we start to really fight for what we want.

The below clip illustrates that, “when you want to succeed, as bad as you want to breath, only then will you be able to succeed”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aowB5wNPvWQ&feature=player_embedded

Don’t tell me how bad you want to succeed.  Get up each day and show me.  No one will remember you for what you planned to accomplish in life.  You will only be remembered for what you actually did.

My challenge – What will you do today ?

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208, 2011

Driven by the pot of gold !

By |August 2nd, 2011|A Life That Counts, Miscellaneous, Motivation|0 Comments

This is an extremely interesting video because it speaks of a couple of themes that I wrote about in my book ‘A life That Counts’.

  • Purpose Driven – each of us is unique. There is no one like us in the entire world. We have unique talents, characteristics, personality and make-up. And that is foundational for us to believe we have been designed for a purpose. Every one of us has an inkling that we were born for something bigger. And that drives us as much as chasing the pot of gold and being driven by money.
  • Deep Motivation – I have written before about how we are not driven solely by our words and thoughts. That emotions and feelings play a significant role. In fact, our emotions are our strongest, most powerful driver, and often drive us in unconscious ways, well before we are consciously aware of it. eg You don’t need to think about being hungry or tired or scared or embarrassed. These just happen unconsciously and it affects our emotions and our physiology. What this means is that our emotions (our heart) are our primary driver of motivation. This is reflected in deep passion as opposed to conscious motivation (trying to talk yourself into being motivated). That is where the expression comes from – ‘the heart is the strongest muscle in the body’. So never forget that we are driven more by our emotions than by anything conscious. (Knowing your ‘why’ and your purpose are reflections of this).  With that in mind, is it such a surprise what this video talks about ? is it such a surprise that the carrot (eg money) or the stick (eg sacking) that most employers try to drive us with are not as effective as they might otherwise think ?
  • Making a difference – we all have a deep seated desire to make a difference in this world. To leave a legacy. To help others.  To live a purposeful and significant life above our own. To live a life that counts ! This is not so surprising. So let’s embrace it and make a difference. For surely the world needs it. And after all – a waterfall starts with a raindrop. Every little bit helps. Be the difference you want to see in the world and let that reflect in your personal world as well as in how that translates into your business world with your staff / colleagues / how you do business.

Fire up and have a great week !

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1907, 2011

Pure Inspiration II

By |July 19th, 2011|Motivation, Overcoming Adversity|0 Comments

Kurt Fearley

Well what more do I need to say ?

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2203, 2011

10 things to know about you

By |March 22nd, 2011|Motivation|0 Comments

Do you know there is no one else like you in the entire world. You’re one of a kind. A ‘once in all history’ event. A miracle. Completely unique. An amazing individual … so with that in mind, here’s some other thoughts for you / about you / for you …

1. You are not your body and your body is not you but you best look after each other anyway. You might be together for a while.

2. You’ll never have more potential than you do right now, so find a way to use more of what you’ve got.

3. It’s not a time issue. It’s a how-you-manage-your-time issue. After all Mother Theresa and Bill Gates and Bono and Nelson Mendella and Michael Phelps all only have 24 hours in the day too.

4. You’ll never be perfect , so aim for better.

5. You’ll never live in the future or the past, so find a way to be happy in the now.

6. Life doesn’t get better, you do. Life is life – it will happen to you, around you and despite you. It’s your job to get better in the middle of it all. We can choose how we feel and how we respond. One person sees a problem. Another person sees a lesson. One person sees an obstacle. Another person sees a challenge.  Things only have the meaning you give them. Every day, you get to create your own reality. We are often just too busy rationalising, justifying and making excuses. So choose wisely.

7. The only thing you can change about the past is how it affects us.

8. You’ll never find yourself or happiness in things. So stop looking there. Your happiness works from the inside-out. Not the other way around.

9. Even though you might not feel it, think it, believe it or hear it, you are good enough. And you do deserve it.

10. Real success is not about what you earn, own, achieve or win but who you become along the way.

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1312, 2010

My b’day post – the strongest muscle in the body is the heart

By |December 13th, 2010|Motivation, Passion|0 Comments

This is my birthday present to you on my birthday today. I chose this because it is so dear to me. This video inspires me every time I watch it and it represents so much to me.

Here’s why I love it and here’s the takeaway for you !

  • Heart = motivation and perseverence. Talent is common and talented people who do not fulfill their potential is almost a proverb. To be successful and achieve all you want takes more than just talent – it takes motivation, perseverence, guts, courage and hardwork. And that comes from your heart.
  • The Limbic System – in my upcoming book ‘A Life that Counts’ I explain this in more detail, but in brief, the Limbic System is an area in our brains that control out base emotions – fight or flight, anger, sex drive, attraction, fear, hunger. It is a strong and powerful force that drives us  (often unconsciously). It is not your conscious motivation (frontal lobes). Think of it as heart. So is more than just a saying to say the heart is the strongest muscle in the body – it is grounded in psychology and how our brains work.
  • Heart = passion. Passion = motivation and drive. Motivation = the day to day energy to become all you can be.
  • Heart = emotion. And that is how I want to live me life. Not out of obligation. Not out of duty. Not because I have to. Because I want to and because I love doing it. And following your heart is not always easy. In fact it is easier said than done. I know, I’ve left my job twice to follow my heart and chase my dream. It comes at a cost but it is a better way.

And so on my birthday may I give you the one of the best presents I can give you – the inspiration and encourgement to follow your heart and live from your heart. And may you encourage me to continue to do the same.

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1910, 2010

Put some energy into your life

By |October 19th, 2010|Action, Finding your dreams, Motivation, Passion|1 Comment

I was thinking about various books and speakers the other day and one interesting thought came to me.

The authors and speakers who are most successful (eg Richard Branson and Anthony Robbins at a recent seminar) refer often to “never giving up” or “always find a way to make it happen”… It was only the lower level speakers and less known authors wo you often hear say, “this only takes half an hour a day to be successful..”

They annoys me because they are lying to sell their system / product. To achieve requires effort. The key is to get your purpose, values, emotional state, strategies and life structure right, so that you can ENJOY putting in the effort along the way.

You may remember a video I had in one of my previous posts from Michael Jordon (one of my heroes). In it he says …

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

And after two Olympic Games, I absolutely know this to be true. You achieve because you work hard at it. Talent is never enough. A system may be good but it takes work. You will inevitably face obstacles and at that point you need perseverence and mental toughness to keep going. To be successful requires:

1. Putting effort and energy into your life (and the many forms that that takes)

2. Putting it into the best strategies, decisions and structure. (don’t find these first before you find the energy to put into them)

My challenge today is to find that energy FIRST. Forget the structure or strategy. That gets added once you find and have the energy to apply to it. This is the key !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-EMOb3ATJ0

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