I’ve delayed writing this post because some technical difficulties have prevented me from announcing one of the projects I’ve been working on.  Stay tuned for more info on that.

When I started the 31 Days of Blog Awesomeness I didn’t think much of it.  I just figured I’d answer some questions people ask me all the time anyway and share some of my thoughts on motivation, goals and success.  It’s been a great journey.  At the end of this post I’ll put a link to a summary of all of the 31 Days as a reference.

I ran Cross Country in high school.  I wasn’t a terribly gifted runner but I was never the slowest on the team either (if you include the girls).  I did Cross Country for two reasons.  1. My older sister ran and since it was the first sport of the season when I entered high school I figured it would be easier to get a ride home with her so I may as well run too. 2. It was a way to get in shape and lose weight for wrestling.  Distance running has a lot of opportunity for life metaphors.  Let’s explore a few.

Incremental Goals

One of my coaches taught us that although every race was 3 miles and ended with a finish line it was important to focus on visible goals.  Run hard to the farthest tree, then run hard to the light pole, then run hard to the turn, etc.  This works for life too.  Who doesn’t want to be rich and have millions in the bank.  Sometimes it’s good to set your mind on $100, then save hard to $1,000, then save hard to $5,000…

Apexing

Some courses had a lot of turns and so we were taught to look forward and pick the most direct route through the turns thereby needing to run a lesser distance and conserve energy.  I think about how we were taught to ‘apex the turns’ whenever there seem to be a series of obstacles that need to be overcome.  Look forward through them all and chart the most direct route.

Hydrate

We all know our bodies need water to function and in running that means avoiding cramps and having better endurance.  In life staying hydrated means remembering to take in the things that feed our soul.  We have to keep ourselves emotionally hydrated so that when a tough hill comes along we have the stamina to reach the summit.

Never Look Back

My most memorable race was run on a rainy day in the middle of nowhere complete with enough mud to last a lifetime.  I got a decent start and after some bumping and elbowing (in self defense of course) I found myself at the front of the pack.  I ran hard, but never looked back.  I could hear the footsteps of somebody right behind me.  From the sound of it they couldn’t have been more than a couple strides behind me.  It pushed me harder and I ran my best race that day.  When I reached the finish line and finally looked back I was surprised to see nobody remotely close.  I had been hearing the sound of my own feet echoing off the walls of the desert hills.  When we know our goal, we’re well hydrated and things are working out there’s no need to look back.  Push forward.  Stay focused.  Win the race.

Pace Yourself

In one of my first distance races in middle school I laid back a bit too much and when it came time to surge I had plenty of energy but not enough time to catch up to the leader.  I lost the race only by a few strides but I hadn’t even given it my all.  I learned that day that you’ve got to pace yourself just right and avoid going out too hot and burning out or too cold and falling behind.

Sprint to the Finish

If you reach the finish line and you’ve got more left in you then you didn’t do your best.  Once you see the finish line in sight it’s time to muster up all you have left and sprint to the finish.  I’m always surprised at how often good projects get abandoned so close to completion.  If you’ve paced yourself right you should have just enough energy left in you to let lose and finish.

Finish

After my great win where I never looked back I got a bit cocky and went out hot in a race with a lot more runners.  I forgot the pacing lesson, or at least learned the other half of it, and after leading for the first half of the race I got winded and fell behind.  As each runner passed me and I fell farther behind I got more and more discouraged and wanted to quit.  My bruised pride fought back and told me to finish.  I pushed through to the finish and still placed well.  You may not always be first, but if it’s a project worth finishing it’s your duty to get it over the finish line.

Know When to Quit

By my Senior year of high school I had decided I no longer wanted to run.  I wasn’t dedicated enough for it to be a successful year for me.  Instead I organized an official  Men’s Volleyball club for the school and made new friends and great memories.  Sometimes it’s time to quit a project.  Be strong enough to know when you’re not committed to the success or that the project is no longer viable and be willing to quit.  If you chose to quit you must do it because it is right, not because you are tired or lazy or some other lame excuse.  To repeat the above line if the project is worth finishing it’s your duty to get it over the finish line.  If it’s not worth it anymore, quit now before you waste any more time on it.

There you have it.  The end of the 31 Days of Blog Awesomeness.  Here’s a link to the summary of posts.

I’m not done with this blog, but I’m done posting every day for a while.

I just noticed that this is post #23 of the 31 Days of Blog Awesomeness.  It’s a bit serendipitous then that this is the topic for the day.  Failure.  This quote has been one of my favorites for a long time.

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. – Michael Jordan

See the video here: http://www.tylerjorgenson.com/2011/01/failure-31-doba-day-23/

Have you ever heard the saying comparing excuses to your backside?  Everybody has them, and they all stink.

Watch this video and tell me if anything sounds familiar.

Just Do It.

If you’re reading this on Facebook or in a feed reader you may need to click through to the original post.

http://www.tylerjorgenson.com/2011/01/no-excuses-31-doba-day-22/

Since you got a “How to” type post yesterday you get a deep thoughts type post today.

One of the things that I battle with, as I am sure many of us do, is procrastination.  One time I was so lazy I didn’t even procrastinate for 3 whole days.  Most of the time I procrastinate by keeping busy on something else that is usually less important.  I prefer to work on stuff that matters, but sometimes other things are easier.  I read this quote the other day and it made me think about working on stuff that matters right away.

“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar

I’ve had an idea for a while that I haven’t been doing much with.  I feel it’s a great idea but I worry that it’s too big of a challenge for me.  I’m resolved to start and get better and better as I go along.

What are you waiting for?  The starting gun already went off.  GO!

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” – Judy Garland

It’s easy to get caught up in wanting to be ‘like’ somebody else.  A charismatic boss, a successful friend or some other person of significance are great people to emulate.  In the end, though, remember that you are your own person.  You have a unique blend of talents unlike any other person.
Be yourself, just be your best self.

Most people that read this blog know that I am currently in the Executive MBA program at USC.  In addition to the excellent professors, good curriculum and amazing campus I get great pleasure from associating with so many brilliant and talented people that comprise my class.  The class has about 70 people in it and we are going through the entire 21 month program together.

The last thing that we did today in class was complete a brief 14 question multiple choice test that was designed to reveal the test takers learning style (3 question sample available here).  The three possible styles were People Learner, Information Learner and Action Learner.  I ended up with points in each category but was very much a People/Action learner.  This makes sense to me and is what I would have guessed before the quiz.  Other people were a bit more surprised with their results.

All of that lead up brings me to a conversation with one of my classmates that I consider a good friend.  I was telling him about some of the projects I was working on and he kept pushing me for a firm date of launch.  He didn’t like my excuses about how there were external factors so he pushed for a date again.  Turns out he was very much and Action learner.  He and I often say this quote to each other, ‘Done is better than perfect’ and it is so true.

Is there something you’ve been talking or thinking about doing for a while now?  Do it.

Day 12 of the 31 Days of Blog Awesomeness covered the idea of imaginary barriers that often stop entrepreneurs from attaining their goals.  Today is about how there is very little difference between obstacles and opportunity.

Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage. Niccolo Machiavelli

Most people think of obstacles as the barriers that prevent them from having access to the opportunities that could make them successful.  If they are pitying themselves enough they’ll even feel like they are the only one with the obstacles in their path and that others have opportunities galore.  A true entrepreneur recognizes that every opportunity comes with obstacles and that is exactly what drives them to succeed.

Obstacle: Something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Opportunity: A chance for advancement, progress or profit; a favorable circumstance or occasion

How can Machiavelli claim that these two are similar when they appear diametrically opposed?  An obstacle is usually present for everybody.  One of the barriers I hear the most is that many businesses and ideas take a great time investment.  Remember that everybody gets 24 hours in a day.  The successful entrepreneur knows that she can harness the power of those hours to accomplish her goals.  She also recognizes that many others will stop at the painted lines and let the opportunity slip.

Opportunity favors the bold.  Obstacles stop the slothful.

This is me on ABC’s Wipeout Season 1.  I’m in the red shirt.  A great example of how obstacles are also opportunities.  The winner of this competition got $50,000.

“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.” Henry Ford

Have you ever driven down a country road and gone over a cattle guard?  A cattle guard keeps cattle that may have gotten out of the ranch from taking a stroll down the road.  They are built into the road as a row of uneven metal slots so that cattle can not walk over them.  Installing a cattle guard is not cheap or easy but ranchers have found more frugal alternative.  They simply paint the lines on the road to mimic the lines of a real cattle guard.  For some reason, I’m sure there is a scientific answer, this keeps the cattle back.

In business we often stop when we see an obstacle or a ‘barrier to entry’ only what if the obstacle we are seeing is not real but a painted on impostor?  Any business has risks and real barriers.  The danger is in self imposing extra barriers and then allowing them to stop us.  I have a book called “this business has legs”
about the man that started with nothing and created the $100 Million Thighmaster craze in two years.  He didn’t start with a ton of cash or an amazing mentor.  He saw an idea and he pushed through the barriers.

There is a big difference between ceasing to imagine barriers and not seeing real ones.  Some businesses don’t deserve your energy or have a level of risk that is greater than the potential reward.  But, all to often, we stop working on a project or a business idea because we make up an obstacle.  Some examples of imaginary barriers are:

• “Somebody else already does that.”  So what?!  Can you do it better?  Could you do it cheaper?
• “I don’t know how to do that.” So what?!  Somebody does.  Find them.
• “It costs too much to get started.”  Really?!  The Global market has made a lot of things cheaper.
• “I don’t have time.” – Serious?!  What’s the Bachelors name again?  You’re just being efficient or prioritizing.

What other imaginary barriers can you think of?

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” Henry Ford

31 DoBA stands for The 31 Days of Blog Awesomness and is a project I am currently running on my blog.  View all The 31 DoBA here.

There’s an important principle I want to share with you, some call it the rocking chair test.  I had forgotten where it was I first heard this but luckily the internet has a much better memory than me.  I’ve learned it both as ‘Future Pacing’ in NLP and ‘The Rocking Chair Test‘ in Anthony Robbins’ NAC.  Robbins has a knack for taking stuff that is a bit science-y and making it easier to understand an apply in real life.

The test is used whenever you are at a cross roads in your life.  It could be any sort of decision from taking a vacation, venturing into a new business, quitting your job or making a new connection.  This is what you do:

Close your eyes.  Imagine yourself, 80 years old and retired, sitting on a rocking chair on the front porch of your home.  In this future state reflect back on your life.  Now imagine if you did NOT take the step you are considering.  Experience the pain you feel, if any?  Now imagine that you DID make the decision you’re considering and were successful.  Experience the pleasure you feel in having made the decision and having been successful.

If you felt pain when you thought back on not moving forward with a decision then it may be something you should do.  If you did not feel pain then you should not worry about the decision too much and you may be better served focusing your time and energy on other things.

Why this matters?  Too many times we stress and worry about decisions when they usually crucial.  If they don’t pass the rocking chair test they don’t deserve your stress.  If they DO pass the rocking chair test that does not give you an excuse to worry.  Instead you now know you should focus on and you don’t have to think about the ‘should I’ part of the equation any longer.

Doing this test is one of the reasons I’m at USC right now and helped in my decision to transition out of real estate.

What now?

After reading about the new movie 127 Hours on a popular movie blog I started thinking about the future.  More accurately I started to thing about the present.  If you’re not familiar with the movie it is the story (based on the real deal) of a hiker who gets his arm trapped beneath a boulder in the bottom of a crevasse where nobody knows where to find him, or that he is even there.   The hiker, Aron Ralston, spent 127 grueling hours trapped in what he thought would be his grave.  He saved himself by cutting off his own arm with a dull pocket knife and walking out to freedom.

I watched Ralston talk about this on Jay Leno December 3rd and what I found was most interesting was his talk of how he felt when he realized he’d solved the ‘riddle’ of how to escape… by cutting off he own hand!  When he realized he could use leverage and break his own bones to get free rather than cut through them with a knife he said it was a feeling of ‘ecstasy’.  Do you feel that way when you solve a problem?

In some ways, not at all as literal as Ralston, we all deal with our own rocks and hard places every day.  We get stuck in tough situations and have to find our own way out.  This past week I escaped a couple of my own boulders and it is liberating.  The challenge is that for the past 18 months these were a couple of big boulders I thought about every day.  But, now I’m free.  So now what?

For me it’s time to retreat in order to move forward.  I’m going back over old notes and ideas and evaluating current projects from new angles.  I’m excited about some of the projects I’m working on and I’m focusing on the steps that can be done today to make those projects more successful.

What rocks are you currently stuck under?  How can you escape them?  Now what?