Doing your homework...

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

In the last few posts I've been spending a lot of time in the areas of habits and how we spend our time. I want to take a quick break from that, switch gears, and talk about a favorite topic of mine, homework!

Ok, ok, hold on... I'm not talking about Math homework. Yuck! I'm talking about doing our homework in life. Many of you have an idea in your head. Something you may want to learn, do, or achieve. Maybe it's a home business you've always wanted to try or maybe you want to lean a new instrument. Whatever the case may be, doing some focused homework and fact finding is an essential first step on the road to success. Here are some basics tactics.

1) Take your time!
Success is never in a hurry. True success stays over the long haul, it's not a sprint. Sometimes we all get so pumped up about an idea that we jump into the deep end only to realize shortly thereafter that opps, we can't swim! When doing research for anything from business opportunities to picking a college to go to, take your time.

2) Find the experts!
Every field has experts. Find them, email them, call them, and ask your questions. Don't get a second opinion. Get a third, fourth, fifth, and on. Go for multiple sources.

3) Ask Tough Questions!
I'm often amazed that people invest thousands of dollars in business opportunities without asking questions that they are curious about because the question may be too direct or fact finding. Before you invest your time, energy, or dollars into your new idea or dream ask the tough questions! The person being ask doesn't like it, they probably aren't the right people for your to be involved with anyway.

4) Take Action!
At some point research ends and action begins. Sure, we will always be learning, but without some action your dream will remain in your head an not in the reality of your world. In other words, at some point, you need to step out on faith and take a chance. You'll be glad you did!

So hit the search engines, make the call, and do some research today so you can put into action that great idea or dream you have!

See you next time.
Live Radically,
Gary

Staying in The Fight

I'm a reader. I absolutely love to feed my mind with new information and insight from folks who know more than I do about something or who just come from totally different takes on things than I do. One of my favorite authors is a man many of you have heard of. His name is Zig Ziglar. If you've spent any time in sales or ever browsed a bookstore or the Internet for motivational material you've probably crossed paths with some of Zig's teaching. Last night during my evening reading I came across a wonderful quote in Zig's book, "Better Than Good". It's actually a quote from Robert Strauss that Zig uses to emphasize the idea of staying the course even when the goal we're trying attain seems so far off.

"Success is a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired-you quit when the gorilla is tired."

While the visual of fighting the gorilla is a humorous one the message is serious for our lives. Have you been working towards something that just doesn't seem to be coming to fruition? Maybe it's a new business. Maybe it's losing a few or a lot of pounds. Maybe it's finding the right mate. Regardless of what it is, I'm absolutely certain that if it's a goal with any kind of significance in your life the setbacks have been plenty. I'm convinced that the difference between the status quo and true achievers is that the status quo give up before they reach the mark because life gets tough while achievers stay the course.

Let's face it we've all fallen prey to this temptation. "I don't feel like working out. It doesn't matter any way, I'm not that over weight and besides I'd rather die happy than tired and starving on a diet." Sound familiar? Within that statement and many others like it regardless of the issue are two leeches to your success. The first is rationalizing and the second is the age old tactic of quitting. Are those the two factors you want controlling your life?

So here's my challenge for you today.

1) What areas of your life right now are you rationalizing that are not serving you?
2) What project, goal, or new behavior have you quit on that you want to try again?

When you do these exercises think big and get the pen flying on the paper! We all take a whole new level of ownership when we start writing things down. I tell anyone that works with me the most important thing they can purchase to help with success is a pad or journal of some kind and something to write with. That's where success really begins. In the working out of what's in your head and moving ideas into action!

Live Radically,
Gary