Success or failure in the new year?

2011, there is nothing special about it other than it is the number to appear after 2010.

I want to share some thoughts for a few special groups of people.

Now the biggest chunk of contact I get is through social net working systems like FB and Twitter. I see a nice sized crowd day to day in the gym and during my travels, but the real heap of it is from the chunk of people who friended me on FB.

I don’t know 90% of these people. I only see what they put out. This leaves me about to make some predictions and guesses, more than enough info to be fairly accurate.

A question for you…

How many times did I read “2010 sucked, but 2011 will be awesome!” ?

Too many times. Like no shit over 200 times over the weekend.

Reality check for some people, 2010 did not suck.

Furthermore 2011 will not automatically be any better or any worse.

What will most likely be the deciding line?

Your actions. Maybe your lack of actions.

Actions. Deeds. Things done.

Facta non verba

What are you in control of?

Probably not as much as you would like.

You are not in control of your job, not really as much as you would like.

If you work for someone else, you are at some degree being leveraged by what they do and don’t do.

If you are self employed you are leveraged by the whims of your customers.

Everyone is leveraged by time.

Time is perhaps your most valuable resource. It’s a nonrenewable resource, and it has no consideration for us.

Do you believe you are in control of your time?

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

How this year plays out is in your hands.

You can accept that as a fact, or you can deny it.

One of those actions is empowering, the other is defeating.

Look back at the Ford quote.

What I am going to share with you are opinions and ideas. I can’t promise to you they will work. I can promise if you do nothing to modify your actions this year will play out similar to last year. Maybe that is a good thing, maybe it’s a bad thing. Only you can decide.

Enter The White Board!

This year Frankie Faires turned DDN and I on to this concept. I confess I have not applied it to it’s fullest potential, but from the limited use I have taken it has been valuable.

A shit list keeps a man on task

The idea is simple. Write down all of the things you want to have done in blocks of time that are reasonable and feasible for the task. How you build the list is up to you, there will be some obvious individual tastes involved.

I write things down in the order I need them to happen, followed by the order I want them to happen.

Needs and wants, I assume you know the difference?

From here it is much like the application of the testing model for movement.

“Can I do this today?”

“Is this the right time to begin this task, and if I do can I finish it to satisfaction today?”

“If I do this today, what will I not be able to do?”

These questions help you select the direction to move in at that moment.

Sounds simple? Yup.

Complication of a task is moving in the wrong direction. I would like to say that is a fact, but so many people are busy trying to make things harder than they need to be…so I will chalk it off to opinion.

Take a lesson from Iron Chef

This image makes me uncomfortable, I think that guy is pretty damn creepy

A series of questions relating to your goal.

“What must happen now for that to happen later?”

“What is the beginning step to complete this goal?”

“What is a realistic time line for completion of this goal?”

I learned a lot of lessons when I started cooking. I am not a great cook. I do ok. What I have learned about great cooks is something which is useful here to this post.

A great cook knows when to start each element of the meal so that everything finishes on time, at the same time. A great cook serves hot food hot and cold foods cold.

A great cook does not have to resort to microwave ovens and freezers to play catch up (hacks or short cuts) and this translates to better tasting food.

This lesson carries over to goal setting and task completion. You should do what you can to understand the timing of things for your goal. If you set goals with time lines that are unrealistic, you will fall away from them. That is ok too, unless of course you want things to go better.

Be honest as you seek to understand your motives

I share this story because I see something like this often.

8 months ago I am contacted by a man who wants to bench press 350. His max press for 1 rep was 290 at the time. In 14 weeks He achieves the 350. 60 lbs in 4 months yet when he gets it he is bummed out and somewhat pissed off about it. I ask him “whats wrong boss? You just nailed a great number!”

” I dunno, I thought I would be bigger”

Hold on there chief. You said you wanted to press 350. Not get bigger.

Make sure your goal meets the outcome. Do you want something to happen because you want that to happen, or are you expecting something else to happen?

Relating to the New Year, and the insanity of the gym binge America is about to under go…

Here is something to keep in mind. Being that I am involved in this industry, I feel inclined to share a secret with you. If you are lacking of a girl friend/boy friend, its not related to your fat belly, fat ass, little chest, and/or little arms. Its your personality and social stuff. Maybe instead of weight lifting you need to practice walking up and saying hello to people. You + or – 10 lbs will not likely fix that. Just a thought for the new year…

Now tie it all back together

This year is no different from last year unless you are going to do something different.  New actions. Not just new ideas, run those ideas down with follow through. Take a fucking risk. Do something new.

Or don’t.

Either way your life is in your hands.Not really control, but it’s in your hands.

In the end, when it sucks, make it a new kind of suck. I can tell you from personal experience new shit is typically better than the old shit. Variety is a plus.

ATG