How to Develop a Mindset for Success

I'm really proud of the Achieve Momentum NOW! program which will be released on May 2nd to subscribers of my 'Momentum' e-zine and to all of my affiliates subsciber lists.

This program is an 8-week course that helps anyone create a Mindset for Success. The past two years I've offered the program live at the first of the year as a New Year's Resolution commitment program and the results have been outstanding.

It's been said that business success is 80% mindset and attitude and only 20% mechanics. I find so many people with a tremendous amount of intelligence, and skill but lack what I call a mindset for success and so they fall short of achieving their full potential.

About 4 years ago I created a program called End Procrastintion NOW! ( wwwEndProcrastinationNOW.com ) because I found so many business professionals stuck and mired in a habit of procrastination. And the sad thing is, they didn't even know it because they were doing 'stuff' but not the 'right stuff.' They were busy doing things that distracted them from doing what was truly most important and so they were falling short of achieving their goals.
Two years later, I created a program that creates new habits of thinking, feeling and acting because it takes place over 8 consecutive weeks.

I'm really proud of the Achieve Momentum NOW! program in its ability to help people create that success mindset.

I'm excited and looking forward to seeing how its received next week when its released as a home study program. To learn more about it you can visit www.AchieveMomentumNOW.com and get on the waiting list so you can get a very special discount offer before its released to the general public.

Let me know what you think...thanks.

I feel different today

Less than two full days since the big event and I feel different. I felt different all day on Friday, actually, too.

It's a air of confidence I didn't have before. I really feel like a different person. I'm now looking for other opportunities to play out and identifying the next songs I want to learn to perform live. It's a new exciting part of my life. I think that's a given, but I really believe it is spilling over to my business as well.

Yesterday I felt really confident about the direction my business is headed, and some of the business opportunities that are starting to come my way. I don't think that's a coincidence, I believe that the confidence created by stepping out of my comfort zone and becoming a musician (a new identity I believe I'm now creating within myself) has opened me up to stepping out of my comfort zone and doing more courageous things in my business.

This is a great thing on a number of levels. The most important of which, though, is the fact that I've been touting a theory in my coaching practice that confidence in one context of your life or business can be used to create confidence in other areas to give you a jump start to getting to the next level, even though you may not possess all the knowledge and skill necessary to be experienced, you still have enough to put yourself out there and begin gaining even more experience.

So, I think my experience this week is reinforcing that belief. Something I'll keep tabs on in the coming weeks and give you an update as we move forward.

'Til Next Time...

I Did It, What Are You Gonna Do?

I did it! I actually did it!

And, I was pretty good, too. Or at least some people said I was. After just 15 months of guitar lessons and 6 months of voice/singing lessons, I made my Open Mic debut. I played and sang two songs, Bruce Springsteen's 'Devils & Dust' & 'The Price You Pay.'

When I finished my mini-set, a woman sitting at a table next to ours turned around and said, "you did very well, you would never know you've only been playing for 15 months, great job." She made my night and validated all my hours of practice.

I was actually amazed at how little nervousness I felt last night. I felt a little anxious as I walked into the club early in the evening but never really got nervous. I realized that there were two basic reasons why I felt little nervousness.

The first is that I really felt prepared. I had rehearsed the two songs to the point of knowing the chord changes and the lyrics without needing the lyric/chord sheet that I had on the stand in front of me. So, preparation is key. Preparation creaes confidence. True confidence surpresses any nervousness.

The second thing that prevented debilitating nervousness was my absolute passion and enthusiasm for what I was about to do. I had set a goal to play at an Open Mic from the time I began my guitar lessons 15 months ago. Except my original goal was to do it within 3 years. In August '05, I committed to doing it before the end of the 2005 calendar year.

I wanted to do this more than anything I've wanted to do in a very, very long time. I was ready. I was enthusiastic and looking forward to the night.

So, for all of you who are paralyzed by stage fright and are among those that would rather be in the casket at a funeral than doing the eulogy standing in the front of the casket, the number one way to overcome that fear is preparation. Prepare and practice your material so you know it like the back of your hand.

My wife took some pictures just to prove I actually did it, but if you look at them, you'd never believe I was actually singing because all 8 pictures taken in the 7-8 minutes I was performing all have my mouth closed, or hidden behind the mic. It doesn't look as if I was singing, but I was.

So, now that my Open Mic debut is out of the way, I'm even more enthusiastic about doing it again. I'm ready to make this my #1 hobby. I'm already planning my next event and the songs I want to play.

I fulfilled the goal I set last year that truly seemed like such a long way away when I first got started. But in applying the Japanese concept of Kaizen (continuous improvement), little by little, day-by-day, I saw gradual progress and that kept me going.

I'd be remiss if I didn't challenge each of you, as subscribers to the 'Momentum' e-zine and The Business Achievement Gym community, to reaching the summit of your next hill to conquer. What would it be? Why not honor my achievement, by making a commitment to yourself and decide on a real deadline for that goal you've been putting off? For me? Please?

I look forward to hearing from you at MomentumChallenge@TheAchievementGym.com

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The True Meaning of Achievement

I’ve been extremely fortunate to achieve many of the goals I set for myself early in my career. I went from a wide-eyed 7-year old dreaming of a career in professional baseball to a 22-year old intern helping to run one of minor league baseball’s most successful franchises to a 37-year old company President running one of minor league’s baseball most successful franchises.

At the age of 37, in my 18th season and looking back at my career I had been named “Executive of the Year”, one of my team’s won an “Organization of the Year” Award, I worked with many players that passed through my teams on the way to significant Major League Baseball careers, won a league championship, had equity ownership in the franchise and was earning a six figure salary. All of this while working in a game I once loved with all my heart and soul, but now was bored to tears and absolutely miserable and I knew it was time to move on.

At the end of my 20-years in baseball I came to realize that all of those things I achieved really didn’t matter on the surface. Sure, I had earned some money and was smart enough to put some away for a rainy day; I had earned some awards, and had the championship ring all sports figures strive for. But it really didn’t mean anything to me when I would be sitting alone late in the leftfield patio during the 7th inning stretch at a ballgame just wishing it would be over so I could get home before midnight, because I’d have to get up and do it all again in a few hours.

What I came to realize in looking back at those years was that it wasn’t what I had achieved that meant the most, but what I had become in the process of achieving those things.

What I had achieved were just mementos and souvenirs to enjoy in moments of reflection and appreciation, but what I had become was something I could use. I could use it to get to, and be successful in, the next phase of my personal and professional life.

What I had become was a confident, courageous, compassionate and focused business leader with a unique core of beliefs that I knew would allow me to be successful in whatever endeavor I chose for my next career. What I chose didn’t matter, because who I had become gave me the foundation for success. Those values, beliefs and skills were 100% transferable.

So, what I’ve learned on my journey to achievement in my 25-year professional career is that the true meaning of achievement isn’t what you achieve; it’s who you become on the journey. And, who you become on the journey creates a powerful identity that will propel you to even greater achievement.

Best wishes for achieving your greatest dreams, and, more importantly for becoming the person that will get you there.

NOTE: If you’d like an opportunity to create a powerful identity to propel you to even greater achievement, the Self-Study version of the Achieve Momentum NOW! Program will show you how to do that, where for 8-weeks you will work to create the focus, the emotions, and the qualities of your unique “momentum identity," with consistent weekly accountability throughout your enrollment in the program. For more information go to: www.AchieveMomentumNOW.com

I'm Giving Up...the Reason for Achieving Goals

That's right! I'm giving up. The Achievement Expert is giving up! I'm giving up my focus on achieving as an end result. Here's why I'm giving up....

Last week my father-in-law passed away, and experiencing the loss through my wife and her family has impacted me more than losing both my parents within a span of 8 weeks exactly three years ago. That may be because many times its tough to watch those you love go through a painful experience, more so than it is to experience it yourself.

To be honest, my father-in-law and I weren't very close. We had little in common outside a love for baseball and our favorite team, the New York Mets. But I have lost much of my interest in baseball (and yes, even the Mets) since leaving the game in 2001 - so we really didn't even have that. He was an outdoorsman who loved hunting, fishing, bird watching and just the magic of nature. In my childhood development, none of that was on my radar screen, and most of them still aren't.

I realized while I was sitting and listening to the beautiful tributes given by his four daughters during the funeral service, that despite the man's shortcomings, some of which were unique to him and some of which we all have a piece of, he had impacted a great number of people during his lifetime. He impacted them not so much by what he accomplished, but by how he accomplished it and the lessons he taught everyone along the way.

Dennis Saylor left a legacy, but I don't think he ever sought to do so. His legacy was an end result of who he was, how he was and what he was. It was an end result of how he showed up everyday. And, if there was one attribute that he espoused, it was consistency.

Everyone knew who, what and how he was. Maybe that conflicted with some people along the way, and could be seen as inflexible and as one daughter's eulogy identified as 'fussy,' but at least you knew where he stood and how he would respond.

What legacy did he leave? He left four independent daughters who have found their own way in life and have become successful on their own terms, on their own timeframe. He left a loving wife, who, although was probably as dependent as any spouse would be after 40 years of marriage, is also extremely capable and independent and will thrive in the years to come.

I realized while listening to the eulogies, that Dennis Saylor spent his life living the values taught in The Achievement Gym. He made lemonade out of every lemon that was thrown at him, he focused only on what he could control and let everything else go because it was useless to waste energy on things you could do nothing about. He lived that way until his last breath. A lesson for all of us.

I'll leave you with one of his last gems of wisdom, which he commented to one his daughters shortly after coming home under the care of Hospice, and after a moment of feeling a sensation that he was going die- he said, "you don't get to deal the cards, you only get to play the hand you're dealt."

How are you playing the hand you've been dealt? If you'd like to be more effective playing your deck...The Achievement Gym may be able to help. Anyway...if you'd like to learn what I learned from this experience, which is the "True Meaning Of Achievement" click here.

How to Avoid Starting a Failing Business - Pt. 2

OK, after a long layoff, I'm back to posting on my blog, so I guess I better complete my thoughts on How to Avoid Starting a Failing Business.

Hare some tips I've come up with if you're considering starting your own retail business from scratch:
1) Become an expert in Marketing
Marketing is the science of attracting customers to your business. To do it right you must understand human motivation and psychology, and have enough financial resources to test a variety of strategies and messages to find what works and what doesn't.

Before you plunk down one penny to start your business immerse yourself in studying the best in contemporary marketing strategies with proven experts.

People such as Jay Abraham and Dan Kennedy for traditional marketing, Yanik Silver & Alex Mandosian for internet marketing, among others.

I'm noticing that few startup entreprenuers have enough resources to market themselves to begin with, and don't do it thoroughly enough. Usually they put all their eggs in one basket suggested to them, usually by those that sell the medium (such as yellow page sales reps, radio account executives, etc.) and go down a path spending significant resources getting little results.

2) Know Your Limitations & Get Help to Fill the Gap
The best thing about being your own boss is being your own boss and you get to come and go as you please. The worst thing about being your own boss is that you are your own boss and you can come and go as you please.

There is NO accountability and I'm finding it is very easy to fool yourself that you are doing 'important' things, yet they are not the things that will ensure business success, they are just things you have to do to be 'open' for business.

Identify the roles that need to be filled, that are not the 'very best' use of your time and sub-contract for those roles or hire people to fill those roles. Then become the best at the sales and marketing side of your business because no one is going to be as committed to selling your company as you are.

When you focus your energies in this area, you will be able to generate enough to cover the expenses of the staff and sub-contractors you have (you'll have to, and you'll have nothing else to waste your time on!).

3) Commit to Being a Leader not just a Business Owner/Boss
The number one complaint I hear is "you just can't get good help these days,' and "I can't keep any good people on staff." If you want good people to work for your company, you have to do more work before hiring them, instead of after. Usually rookie business owners get it backwards and works like this:

a. Identify how many staff positions you need to fill to function and serve your customers;
b. Put an advertisement in the paper, or ask friends/family for referrals;
c. Take the applications and go through a superficial interview process;
d. Hire whoever has the nicest personality, or has been referred by a friend, family or colleague with little background checking or any further due diligence;
e. Bring them on with little training and communicating very little details regarding the expectations of the job they will be performing and the company they'll be working for;
f. Spend the rest of their time after hiring them worrying about the quality of their work, having to look over their shoulder, correcting mistakes they don't take ownership of, and you go home with stress, frustration and anger, and they go home carefree.

Let's turn this around and see what that creates:
a. Create detailed job descriptions for the roles you need to have fulfilled;
b. Decide on your company's Values and what those values mean to you and how you know when they are being fulfilled by you and your company's team;
c. Interview with those values in mind and notice how the prospective employee fits with those values and the work ethic you need;
d. Spend significant amount of time in a second interview explaining in detail what is expected of the new employee should they be offered a position;
e. Monitor their behavior during their first 3 months and hold them consistently accountable in order to train the desired and expected behavior
e. Provide positive feedback and reinforce things you see they do right.

This is the formula for creating a thriving business you'll eventually be proud of.

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How to Avoid Starting a Failing Business - Pt. 1

The more business coaching I do, the more I am amazed at how clueless many people are who are involved in business startups. Some do so with a franchise opportunity, some decide on their own model. I'm not sure what its like in other communities, but within the last year I've been referred to more and more businesses that are under 3 years old that are struggling.

Maybe I should see it as a good sign for my business coaching business that I'm getting referred to businesses in need. On the other hand I really feel like the old TV commercial in the 70s for Aamco Transmissions which promoted regular auto maintenance service for oil and transmission fluid changes with the phrase "you can pay me now, or you can pay me later." The meaning was that it would cost very little to maintain your car on a consistent basis with regular service visits, or you could pay a lot later when your car transmission or engine fails and you have to have it rebuilt.

If these startup business owners would invest in an independent business coach and business consultant to get off on the right foot and to have an independent third party for feedback and most importantly regular accountability, they would have a much greater chance for long term success with less stress. Unfortunately, most choose to go it alone, or take the advice of their franchisor (if they buy into a franchise), or their accountant or attorney. This does not seem to be working.

Three of these such situations have been presented to me within the last 8 months, all of which are in such a state of financial distress there is no way they can afford to pay me for even my least expensive level of business coaching, and most need significant help way beyond that lowest level program I offer.

I'm in a quandry. All these people are business acquaintances I've come to know over the last few years of being in business with them and in the community. We come across each other at business networking events and on the surface, everything seems to be flowing just fine for them. But, just like the ducks you see gliding across the surface of a lake, they are paddling like crazy underneath to keep the doors open and the creditors off their backs.

I wish I could help them. They're good people, with great intentions and a great product for our community, and they deserve better, but I can't, otherwise I'll end up like them. I'm going to spend some time putting some thoughts together on how to avoid getting into this situation for next time...'til then, hang in there.