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Danger Danger

by Walt | Mar 9, 2017 | Success | 0 Comments

“The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.” –Tacitus

Danger. And opportunity.

Risk. And reward.

I thought about these things as I was watching the Weather Channel from the warmth of the Dunkin Donuts… just before Ann and I headed off into the White Mountains for a day of climbing.

The weather folks – all wearing arctic gear and carrying yardsticks – were sounding the alarm: a nor’easter bearing down; a dangerous storm; a storm of historic proportions. Cataclysmic even.

Buy batteries; and flashlights; stock up with food and water; stay inside; hide out; don’t move.

We moved. And climbed and laughed and shivered. The wind tossed us around. But we experienced the beauty and the grandeur and the power of the storm. We connected with the mountains we so love; and with each other. We had a blast.

The Chinese symbol for danger is also read as opportunity.

The truth is, there is no reward without some risk.

But sadly, as a culture, we’re told that risk is bad. Playing it safe is “in.”

Insure everything; protect it all; risk nothing.

But here’s another sad truth: When we play it safe, we play small.

It is those who have dared to push beyond the boundaries in medicine, science and technology; those who have dared to defy the odds in adventure, athletics and exploration; those not concerned by perception or bound by convention; who lead the charge, who make the breakthroughs, give us wonder, and reap rewards.

In every recession giants of industry and enterprise have been created. In every market crash millionaires are made.

In every arena victory belongs to those who confront their fears and, in the face of failure, in the face of risk, step boldly forth.

Meg Cabot writes, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all.”

Leadership expert Robin Sharma says, “Do work that scares you (If you’re not uncomfortable often, you’re not growing very much.” As entrepreneurs, he says, “We’re paid to be scared. We’re paid to play out on the edges.”

The message of my own book Journeys on the Edge is that life is lived most poignantly out there; that we come most alive out there on that edge.

Of course, we can cower. And many will. But none of us will get out of this thing called life alive.

So why not dare to dream; dare to live out loud; dare to play full out?

Dare to make your life extraordinary.

Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Do one thing every day that scares you.”

What will it be for you today?

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Are you ready to push the edges in your business and your life? Let’s connect. Email me: [email protected]

Get Out Of Your Biz NOW

by Walt | Mar 2, 2017 | Success | 0 Comments

It was Sunday night; I was looking at the calendar for the week ahead; and I was hating what I saw.

Two days away from my clients and my business. And not for vacation.

My quarterly meeting with my own mastermind community.

Immediately the resistance settled over me; and the litany of plausible excuses for not going clamored in my head:

I’m too busy.
I don’t have the time.
I have programs to plan.
I have classes to teach.
I have clients to serve.
I have way too much to do.
What I really need is a vacation.

Then I had to coach my bad self off the ledge.

What would I tell a client? I’d tell a client:

That taking the time to work on your business on a regular basis is every bit as important (if not more so) than working in your business.
That pulling yourself out the the weeds gives you a fresh perspective.
That surrounding yourself with powerful colleagues on the same path allows you tap into collective wisdom and access amazing resources.
That getting feedback from coaches and mentors uncovers blind spots.
That being with people who want for your success renews you.

I had to drag myself. But, off I went. It was an amazing two days. I was able to see clearly again what most needs my attention in the quarter ahead. I came back energized and on fire.

Too many really talented entrepreneurs and business professionals toil continually in their businesses without ever experiencing the prosperity and success that they deserve. Because they are toiling in their businesses, and never really working on their businesses. Don’t let this be you. The time you spend out of the fray working on your biz yields returns beyond your wildest imaginings.

Get out now.

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When you’re ready to take your biz to the next level, let’s connect. Email me: [email protected]

Your Road Blocks & Hula Hoops

by Walt | Feb 23, 2017 | Success | 0 Comments

“I need to do some research on the market.”

“I need another certification.”

“I need to build a website.”

“I’m not sure of my target audience.”

“I think there’s a seminar I should take first.”

“I’m still a bit unclear about my message.”

“I don’t really know what to start writing about.”

“I’ve never spoken to a group before.”

“I’m too young.”

“I don’t have enough experience.”

“I think I might be too old.”

And on and on and on…

In the course of my coaching, I hear them all. Every single one of them.

The excuses we all create for not beginning, for not starting out, for not taking action. The obstacles we set up; the hurdles we drag out; the hoops we think we need to jump through .

We do this because we are afraid.

We fear that we are not enough. We fear ridicule and condescension. We fear failure. We fear success.

It’s easier to stay put, stay safe.

It’s easier to pretend. It’s easier to be ‘busy’ doing things that we tell ourselves are ‘conditions’ for taking action… rather than really taking action.

Rather than risking.

If it looks important and sounds important it surely must be important.

Maybe we can fool the world. But not ourselves.

In staying safe, we’re playing small.

And the world so desperately needs those gifts that are yours alone to give: your writing, your speaking, your coaching, your art, your service, your teaching, your product, your ideas.

By taking action, you will find your direction, discover your voice, clarify your vision, define your mission.

By taking action, you will draw to you opportunities and resources and people who will support you.

By taking action, you will discern what you really need to sustain you on your journey.

By taking action, you will learn what works well and what needs to be tweaked.

By taking action, even when you fail from time to time, you will move closer to your goals.

You could stay put (safe) for the next six months… and be nowhere in the direction of your dreams in six month’s time. Or you could start out on your desired path, fully fail for half the time… and be well along toward what you truly want.

There are enough real obstacles that will rise up along the way.

You need not create any of your own.

Build it, discover it, create it, refine it… Do it on the go.

Don’t wait. There’s nothing else you need to do.

And there is no time to waste.

Start. Today.

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When you’re ready to bust through, email me: [email protected]

Have You Gone Off The Rails?

by Walt | Feb 16, 2017 | Success | 0 Comments

This is the end of the line for most folks. This is where the cart goes off the track.

Despite the most heartfelt resolutions, despite whatever the best intentions might have been, most folks give up on their New Year’s promises to themselves… right about now.

Not because they didn’t mean what they said.

Not because they didn’t want to change… because they did.

Not because they don’t have dreams for a better life… because they do.

But because life gets in the way.

I know. I was a single dad for a dozen years raising three young boys. I would get up (too late) in the morning, run around getting dressed, getting the kids up, finding the lost socks, and the lost homework, making the lunches, packing the lunches, unpacking and re-packing the back-packs, running the kids to school, tearing off to my office, arriving (too) late to gather up my files, speeding off to court, tying my tie in the rearview mirror and balancing the coffee in my lap (and spilling it), getting the call from daycare to come back because the kid had a 103º fever or head lice or both, scheduling parent-teacher meetings in between client calls, rushing off to soccer practice, making dinner, mitigating the fights, helping with the homework, returning emails and phone calls, and falling into bed exhausted and depleted… only to wake up the next day and do it all over again.

I know.

But change can happen. (I know this too.) What you really, really want in your heart matters. Your hopes and dreams and aspirations matter. They are the call of your Spirit, the Divine within you, to live your best life; to share those gifts that are yours and yours alone to share with the world in the most perfect way possible.

And it’s not too late. (It’s never too late.) Yes, January may be over. And nearly half of February. But the canvas of this New Year still awaits you.

Here’s what’s true: All you need to do is apply a very basic success principle, one of the easiest of all success principles. Take tiny, tiny steps.

At just 1 pound a week, you’ll still lose more than 40 pounds this year

At just 1 page a day, you’ll have well over 300 pages for your book

At just 1 watercolor a week, you could mount an entire show

One job application a day is 30 in a month

One extra sales conversation every single day might double your sales

Take that tiny step today. Just for today. And then do it again. And again the next day. Small steps magnified by time leading to magnificent results.

But today, just think about this day. And take just one tiny step forward.

Remember, races are run one stride at a time; businesses built one product at a time, one customer at a time, one sale at a time; mountains are climbed one step at a time; novels written one sentence at a time; symphonies written one measure at a time; and cathedrals built over generations one stone at a time.

Go back to the beginning of the year, and remember why it was that you wanted to set out on your path. Reclaim that grand vision of that perfect life that is yours.

In every moment of danger, there is also opportunity.

Opportunity still waits for you.

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If you’d like help getting your cart back on the track, email me: [email protected]

Your Feet In The Fire

by Walt | Feb 9, 2017 | Success | 0 Comments

The gym is nearly empty again. And the runners with their new gear have mostly disappeared.

It’s nearly the middle of February. How are you doing on your 2017 goals and resolutions?

Statistically, only a small percentage of the population bothers to make New Year’s resolutions anymore. And of those who do, most abandon the effort by right about now.

You see, life is just way too crazy busy… and even with the best of intentions, it’s easy to slide back into the ‘old ways.’ That book that you had so wanted to write, that new product you were going to drive to market, that new business that you planned to launch, the new job you were going to apply for, your sales calls that you had planned to boost, the weight you said you were going to lose, that fitness program… all back on the shelf again.

“Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans,” John Lennon once said.

And it sure is easy to get distracted.

Frankly, that’s one of the reasons that I so appreciate our coaches (we have 2)… not even considering their perspective, their mentorship, and the resources they provide, the accountability piece is HUGE… staying on track… staying the course… even in times of turbulence and change.

Someone to hold our feet to the fire!

And watching the impact that coaching has in the lives of our own coaching clients – seeing the things that can be accomplished – is nothing short of amazing: businesses, books, health & wellness, new relationships, exciting new careers. It is powerfully transformative and deeply satisfying work.

Peak performers all have coaches… in the arts, in business and in finance… Every Olympic athlete… If you truly want to up your game, if you seek excellence, if you really want to accomplish those important goals, then dial in a coach. It will make all the difference. It certainly has in our lives.

And by the way, if you have fallen off course, no worries. Did you know that a plane flying from San Francisco to Honolulu is off course MOST of the time… but it still gets there because of constant course correction? You can do that too!

Every day is a new day. Every day the chance to begin again.

And the opportunity to finally achieve your most cherished dreams.

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Email me if you’d like to explore how coaching might transform your life!

[email protected]