Tuesday, December 31, 2013

What do you NEED for 2014?

It's not about Resolving (see Resolutions).

Let's break it down:
Resolutions= re-solutions.

Re-Solving.

Why should you RE-Solve, SOLVE AGAIN, the things you tried last year?

Forget that.

GET IT DONE.

Don't set Resolutions. Set Solid, Attainable, Realistic Goals.

Should they push your limits? Absolutely.
Should they be hard? You Betcha.
Should they seem insurmountable? Absolutely not.

You want to have the best year yet in 2014?
Set Daily, weekly, and monthly goals.

Make sure every day you do something that gets you to your weekly and monthly goals. Be it getting your training in, or making sure you get enough rest and recovery, make sure to hit those daily goals….which lead to achieving weekly goals, which leads to attaining monthly goals, which allows you to experience success, and solid decision making.

You see, Decision making, is like muscles: you need to train the neurons to get the job done right.

That's right, when you DECIDE (Latin routes of Decidere, De+caedere, meaning "To cut off"), you're actually training the nervous system.

Exercise your decision making muscles every day, and pretty soon, you'll stop putting off the "Big" decisions, and just knock 'em out.

Trust your gut. Trust your instinct.

If you were driving down the road, and a deer ran out in front of your car, would you first weight your options, think about which was the best option at this time…or would you slam on the brakes?

That's what I thought.

Don't be afraid, Trust your instincts.

Take 10 minutes a day, and get it done.

It's as easy as 1, 2, DECIDE.

Life's too short to live in regret.

Monday, December 30, 2013

Life is like a 1,000 piece puzzle….

In order to make progress on it, you don't need huge chunks of time and effort.
Just Consistency.



Progress in life, sometimes means things start to look as they should, with you only making small changes/taking small actions on a day-to-day basis. Consistently.

What makes someone become a top professional? Is it knowledge? Is it luck?

As Steven Pressfield states in his book "Turning Pro", it's being consistent. Going to work EVERY DAY. Regardless of how you feel, you get up, and go to work. And, "Never Hold Your Best Stuff".
You have to be willing to put your mind to it, get it done, and then PUT IT OUT THERE!



Think of it as having a 1000 puzzle out on your dining room table, and every morning and evening, spending only 10 minutes on it per session.

After a few weeks, without much thought, you've completed a masterpiece!

Take 10 minutes in the morning, and 10 min in the evening each day to set targets for the day, and reflect on those targets….you'll be amazed at the effect this has on your life after just a few weeks!




Saturday, December 28, 2013

Behind closed doors, when everyone else isn't expecting it.

It's not for the fanfare, nor for the limelight.

During my time working for the University of Pittsburgh Mens Basketball program, I used to return back to "The Pete" again late in the evening, usually between 10-11pm. But this time (except during tournament time) was for ME.

11pm at night.

Just me, 4 basketballs, The automatic rebounder in the Auxiliary gym deep in the bowels of the arena, and my "500's" mix tape -because I would usually shoot between 500-600 shots PER SESSION. I made this tape to be exactly 48 minutes long. Long enough for QUALITY repetitions, with built in rest periods. Perfect form. Perfect biomechanics. Perfect footwork.

I was there minimum 3-4 days a week, although it was more like 5-6x a week… unless I had to work my other job, or had a lot of studying.

Why? Because I love the game of basketball. Because I love hard work.

Because I loved the fact that I was dedicated enough to take my ass to the gym at 11pm at night, on a cold December night, when everyone else was sleeping, or getting ready for bed, I was in the gym.

With a focused training plan.

Truth be told, I miss it.
I miss working for the team. I miss watching and learning from practices and games.

But most of all, I miss my late-night practice sessions.

There's nothing like being so committed to a goal, that you're going to work on it at 11pm after a 17 hour day….and you can't wait to do it.

What's your goal that you're committed to? Are you doing the work when no one else is, and not because you want others to SEE you, but because you love the hard work?

Don't Flatter Yourself. Love the Journey. Sweat. Work Smarter, not harder.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

The "secret" to success

The secret to success?

Working at it every day.
Learning from your mistakes, and others mistakes.
Be curious to learn more about what it is you want to be successful in.
Ask questions.
Find a role model, someone who has been or is, where you want to be.
Talk to their role models.
Know a lot about your subject, but a little about other related (and non-related) subjects as well.

Over the last year, I have spent a lot of time "Sharpening my saw", or learning. But unlike the past, I have broadened my learning to allow me to challenge different parts of my brain, and different aspects of myself. From Anatomy and Physiology, to psychology and personal development, to new languages, it has been far more interesting, and far more educational a journey, than had I just stuck with what I "Needed" to know.

See, it's not the pursuit of excellence that leads us to be unhappy…. it's losing ourselves to the tunnel vision of success: "when I accomplish this, I will be happy", then you accomplish it, and you aren't happy, so you set your goal further ahead, rinse, and repeat.

As Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi states:

"The Paradox of rising expectations suggests that 

improving the quality of life might be an 

insurmountable task. in fact, there is no inherent 

problem in our desire to escalate our goals, as long as 

we enjoy the struggle on the way. The problem 

arises when people are so fixated on what they want to 

achieve that they cease to derive pleasure from the 

present. When that happens, they forfeit their chance of 

contentment."

So what is success?
True success is a lot of things, ingredients if you will, that allow you to see your experiences for what they are and were, learning from them, and using them to help you attain your desires.

Success is knowing what you know, applying well, and yet also knowing what you DON'T know.

Success is being true to you, your goals, aspirations, and dreams, and enjoying the journey along the way.

I'll let Mihaly explain Happiness in his own words… just remember one thing: in order to succeed you need to be happy, in whatever circumstance and place you are.

Flow: the secret to Happiness

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a HAPPY Holiday season and 2014!

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Know Thyself, and to Thyself be true

It's that time of year again: 
The time that the Polar Bear Clubs hit the local frozen waters, that Road Cyclists start to actually THINK about next Road season, that Starbucks begins to wean us off of the famous "PSL", That Runners start ramping up for Boston, and that we all begin to look to that new date 1-1-20?? with reflection of the year past, and thoughts of how we can improve ourselves and our lives.

So let me ask you, What the hell happened to you since last year?!?!?!

I mean, you had resolutions, didn't you? So did you accomplish them? Excel past them? Set the bar too high and/or set a long term goal with no little goals to help you know you're on the way?

I offer you this: For 2014, instead of "Resolving" to do "X" or be "Y", why don't you take the first 30 days, to get to know yourself better?

Seriously, don't you agree that rather than make a statement that you'll feel the gusto to get behind for the first 30 days, and then falter after, just making you feel worse and worse, until come July 4th you forget all about it, why not take the first month to get to know yourself?

Here's the challenge, and what you'll need:
1 pen
1 "Hello Kitty" or "Batman" locking diary/notebook
15 minutes a day 

Make these 15 minutes the SAME every day. So if you have 15 minutes of bliss in the morning with your cup of coffee, use that, if not, 15 minutes before bed (after you shower), so that it's an EASY routine to fall into!

in those 15 minutes, you need to write the following:
-3 DIFFERENT things that you are grateful/ happy for (NOT 1 thing can be repeated in these 30 days!)
-3 things about you, your dreams, and your desires. Don't hold back, BUT, start SMALL!

Feel free to share some of those things in the comments below.

Isn't it time to know yourself?


Photo from Makeameme.org