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How to Motivate Yourself to Accomplish a Great Goal

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motivate

We’ve all had great ideas that we never acted upon. We get caught up. Life happens. What might have been? What could still be?

What if you decide you have to do this (not that you just want to) and you take action right away?

What if the next time you get a great idea you take action on it right away?

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What if you set a must complete by date for it? (I don’t like deadlines. Who wants to die?) Then, work out what you have to do each day in order to get it done by that date?

Instead of letting another week, month, or year go by dreaming about it, what if you created positive pressure on yourself to get it done?

If you wait, all that happens is that you get older–Mario Andretti

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Maybe you could create a situation that brings out the best in you. Kind of like what happened to my friend, Mike Montague.

Mike had an outline for a book about how to really make LinkedIn work for you – not just how to set up your profile and endorse people. He pitched the idea to his boss.

His boss was concerned LinkedIn might not want Mike to use its name in the title and on the cover of the book.

Good News: LinkedIn said it was looking for someone to write exactly what Mike was working on. The company gave permission for its name and logo to be used. The book was a go.

Bad News: Mike’s company and LinkedIn wanted the book done in six weeks. Mike hadn’t actually started writing the book. He had only written the outline.

More Bad News: If Mike didn’t get it done in six weeks, he would not look good. It would hurt his credibility and his career.

Good News: The must complete date was now set for him – six weeks. The fear of not getting it done was a huge motivation for Mike to get crack-a-lackin!

Of course, Mike got it written in time. It’s amazing what you can do when you are seriously motivated and you have a must complete date. (You can download LinkedIn The Sandler Way for free by clicking here.)

Why wait for life to create a must complete date for your next great idea?

Why not set up positive pressure on yourself by setting your own date? Why not focus on all the positives that will come with it and all the positive feelings and enjoyment you will get from the moment you start the process of achieving your goal? Why not announce it publicly and get friends to hold you accountable? Why not start now?

You will either step forward into growth or you will step back into safety–Abraham Maslow

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Action steps – The next time you get an idea:

1) Take action immediately to get it started.

2) Set a must complete by date.

3) Set up what you must do each day in order to meet that date.

4) Announce it publicly and get an accountability partner to check your progress each week.

5) When you win, pop open a Doritos bag, a cold one of your choice and celebrate! (Um, maybe the Doritos thing is just for me. Sorry.)

Questions for comments: What great idea have you failed to act upon? Why not do it now? When did you use positive pressure on yourself to meet a goal? How did it work?

Are you searching for your Passionate Purpose? Start with my free gift, 5 Steps to Finding Your Passionate Purpose.

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How to Overcome FEAR

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What do you have planned right now (this week, month, year, life) that scares you? If your answer is “nothing,” then maybe your dreams aren’t big enough.

What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?–Vincent van Gogh

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Going for something you really want can be scary. But, have you ever noticed that once you do that “scary” thing it loses its power over you?

Everything you’ve ever wanted is sitting on the other side of fear — George Addair

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When I was a little kid, the pool my mom took me to had a HUGE slide. (Well, it seemed like a huge slide to me. I was really little.) I desperately wanted to go down that slide. I had dreams of going down that slide. I was also petrified of going down that slide.

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I would climb up to the top only to get scared and climb the ladder back down again. It was embarrassing and I was so angry with myself for letting my fear stop me from what I knew would be the best ride of my life! (I hadn’t lived much, yet.)

One day I decided I was going down that slide. I got to the top, looked down and was terrified. But then something changed. I decided that climbing back down the ladder and admitting to myself, and all the other kids, that I was afraid was worse than facing my fear and riding down.

I sat down at the top and let go.

It

Was

AWESOME!

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It wasn’t scary anymore. It was exciting. Is that what I was afraid of? I was literally laughing out loud at the idea.

Going down the slide took away its power to scare me.

Once I had done it – and survived with no injuries – I couldn’t wait to do it again. I rode the slide all day until my mom said it was time to go.

Sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage – Benjamin Mee

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Every time I come up against something that scares me now, I think back on that glorious day when I conquered the slide.

What slide are you sitting at the top of wondering if you’re brave enough to take the plunge?

You are.

Once you do it, you’ll wonder why you waited so long. You’ll wonder what you were afraid of.

Do the thing we fear, and death of fear is certain —Emerson

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Let’s GO!

Are you searching for your Passionate Purpose? Start with my free gift, 5 Steps to Finding Your Passionate Purpose.

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Success is spelled L-O-V-E?

Yes, you have to hear this interview

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How many times have you seen the stereotype of the “successful” businessman being someone who is greedy, mean, cheating his customers, mistreating his employees portrayed in movies and TV shows? Countless, right? You’ve seen and heard it so much, that maybe a part of you starts to believe it. But what if the stereotype is totally wrong?

What if the way to success in your business, and every part of your life, is LOVE?

Ok, Greg, let’s not get all sappy here. Business requires hard work and hard deals and “LOVE” can really get in the way and hurt your bottom line.

If you think that way, or if you’re just not sure how to use LOVE to enjoy your work and life more AND make more money while doing it, then I urge you to listen to the interview I did with Steve Farber.

Steve has written the new book, Love is Just Damned Good Business. Here’s the interview:

Here are the show notes:

Episode 012: Greg interviews Steve Farber on his book, Love Is Just Damn Good Business

In this episode:

You CAN show love in business AND be successful
In fact, showing love the right way is GREAT for your business
If you love your customers, how would you show that?
Three categories of people and how they think about love and business
The radical LEAP for you business: L=love, E=energy, A=audacity, P=Proof
Do what you love in the service of people who love what you do
How LOVE gets your customer to stay with you no matter what
How to set up this culture if you own the business or are in charge
Real life examples of how this works in business
Changing the culture and using love to grow your business takes time, but it’s worth it
How to measure the ROI for love in your business
How to lead if you don’t own the business
You can’t fake the love for the results you want
Be authentic

Email me with questions you want me to cover on the podcast and any comments you have at greg@gregorybknapp.com

Call and leave a voicemail question or comment for me – I might put the audio right into the podcast.
904-373-6591

Book Greg to speak at your event, organization, or conference
http://gregorybknapp.com/my-speaking-page/

Get coached by Greg
http://gregorybknapp.com/coaching/

Steve Farber’s website
https://www.stevefarber.com/

Get Steve’s new book, Love Is Just Damn Good Business
https://www.stevefarber.com/books/love-is-just-damn-good-business/

Let’s GO!

Are you searching for your Passionate Purpose? Start with my free gift, 5 Steps to Finding Your Passionate Purpose.

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How to Love Your Job

AND improve the whole company

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Are you disengaged at your job or are your employees? Gallup says between 60-70% of employees are. Why? Because the old ways of controlling people with salary, benefits, and threats of being fired don’t work. They certainly don’t get you the kind of team member you want.

Who wants to work for carrots and fear of a stick?

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What if there was something you could do that leads to more engagement, creativity, productivity, and yes – even happiness – for everyone in your organization? Research has proven there is.

The new trend is the desire for “Purpose” and it will soon be THE most important driver of employee AND customer engagement.  Research already shows that when people believe in the purpose of their company and their job they are more engaged, more loyal and much more willing to give extra effort, but recently this idea of purpose has become paramount in a growing group of employees and consumers.

It all starts with purpose. What is your company’s reason for being? What does it stand for? What difference does it want to make in the world? How does it change the lives of its customers, clients, and team members?

Yes, people work for money, but they want purpose and meaning too.

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If this is sounding kind of touchy-feely to you, I get it. But, research from Gallup, Deloitte and others is proving that companies that have a strong sense of purpose have more engaged employees and evangelical customers. This is good for everyone, and your bottom line.

This requires a commitment from the CEO on down to the idea that purpose matters – that every job includes tasks, but every calling includes a passionate purpose.

The most important thing I learned  in grad school for my counseling psychology degree was from legendary family therapist, Virginia Satir. She said we need to look at every person we meet and imagine they have a sign around their neck that says, “I just want to count.” Every single human being on earth has that desire.

No one wants to go to work to be a cog in a machine, or just to punch a clock to get a paycheck, or just make widgets. Everyone wants to count, to make a difference, to live a life of purpose and meaning. If you can find that in your job and life and help other people find that as well, the sky is the limit.

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. ― William James

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When I started to see one of the purposes in my counseling job as letting people know they count, I knew I was making a difference in people’s lives.

When I was doing my daily radio show, I had signs up in the studio reminding me of my purpose. Talk to one person and make sure he knows he counts. Talk to him like the friend that he is. Entertain and inform him. Laugh with him. Lift him up. When I did that, everything else fell into place and I felt like I was doing what I was put on this earth to do. I did better radio. I was more creative, engaged, productive and happy!

When I use that philosophy in my coaching and podcasting it motivates and inspires people.

If you own a company, what is your purpose for your business? How will you make a difference with it? If you’re a team member, what is your purpose in your job? How does what you do serve that purpose? How do you get meaning out of it? If you look for it, you can find it in any job. The same goes for every part of your life. What is your purpose? How do you serve that purpose? It always leads to serving others as well.

Steve Jobs’ mission statement for Apple in 1980 was, “To make a contribution to the world by making tools for the mind that advance humankind.” He didn’t talk about computers, or phones, or tablets. He talked about his purpose – his WHY.

Are you just working a job and completing a task – or are you following a calling to be part of an important purpose bigger than yourself?

Never work just for money or for power. They won’t save your soul or help you sleep at night. -M.W.Edelman

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My mom worked at Disney World for 15 years. Do you know what the purpose of each person’s job at Disney is? To “spread happiness.” Wow. From the street sweeper, to the ticket taker, to the Characters, to the Princess actresses to the CEO. They all have different tasks, but they all have the same purpose. To spread happiness.

That’s how you count.

Here’s a simple exercise for everyone in your company. Imagine you are the customer. What are you hiring the company, product or service to do? If you were the customer, what would make a difference in your life? What would the company need to do to serve its purpose in your life? What would make you a loyal, evangelical customer? What beyond price? We don’t want to get into a price war. We want to over serve the customer to the point that price isn’t the primary motivator.

What is the purpose of each person that works for you?

What do they see as the higher purpose of their job, not just the task?

Does your purpose for your business inspire, elevate, and drive those who work with you?

Do you tell great purpose success stories that resonate with your customers and team members?

Are you providing ways for your customers, clients, and team members to tell their purpose stories so they feel even more connected and able to see how they are making a difference?

If I worked for you would my daily experience align with how I’m told my work serves the purpose of the business?

Are you leading by living out your purpose story in your daily work and not just paying lip service to it?

Whose life are you going to make a difference in today? How many moments of purpose will you experience today? How many might you miss because you don’t know what your purpose in this moment is?

Let’s GO!

Are you searching for your Passionate Purpose? Start with my free gift, 5 Steps to Finding Your Passionate Purpose.

 

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One Habit You Must Have to Develop a Successful Mindset

and an interview with Tom Ziglar on my podcast

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mindset

I had Tom Ziglar (proud son of Zig Ziglar) on my podcast this week, and he quoted his dad about how to achieve the successful mindset. I can’t stop thinking about it.

Feed your mind with the good, the clean, the pure, the powerful, and the positive-Z. Ziglar

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It really stuck with me because of all the negativity in our society and how easy it is to feed on that every day. The news on the Internet, TV, and radio is almost all negative. The content of most movies and TV/streaming shows is negative. The conversation we hear at work – and even with our friends – is often negative. We are being fed a steady diet of mental poison. Is it any wonder most of us have a negative mindset? And how much harder is it to achieve your goals with a negative mindset?

The number one habit to achieving a successful mindset is to feed your mind with the good, the clean, the pure, the powerful, and the positive. Not just about the world, but about you. That helps motivate, encourage, and push you to keep doing the things you know you need to do to reach your goals.

Zig also said this:

“You are what you are and you are where you are because of what has gone into your mind. You change what you are and you change where you are by changing what goes into your mind.”

What you read, watch, listen to, and tell yourself can be toxic. It can suck the life-force right out of you if you let it. Are you seeing, hearing, and reading things like this?

“You can never be successful.”

“You don’t deserve that.”

“Rich people are greedy and exploit others.”

“The game is rigged against you.”

“Things are changing so fast, you can’t keep up.”

“You’re too old.”

“It’s too late for you to make money doing that.”

“Just keep your head down and do what they expect.”

“Other people can do that, but you can’t.”

“It’s just too hard.”

You can also choose to see, read, hear, and watch things that will create a positive loop in your brain. It will make it easier to think thoughts like these:

“You were created for a fantastic reason.”

“You are worthy of the extraordinary life of your dreams.”

“You can get everything you want in this life if you help enough other people get what they want.” (Zig Ziglar)

“Your hard work is paying off.”

“If someone else can do it, you can do it.”

The real question is: Are you eating mental food that builds you up, or tears you down?

Are you eating mental food that builds you up, or tears you down?

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Beware all types of mental poison. Avoid it the way you avoid drinking bleach. Feast on the most positive stuff you can find.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” — Philippians 4:8(NIV)

Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will–Zig Ziglar

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Let’s GO!

Are you searching for your Passionate Purpose? Start with my free gift, 5 Steps to Finding Your Passionate Purpose.

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How to use your self-talk to your advantage

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We ask ourselves questions every day, and our brain always answers. Sometimes it’s consciously and sometimes it’s unconsciously, but it always answers. Are you asking the right questions and getting the right answers?

Have you ever asked yourself questions like these?

“Why does this always happen to me?”

“Why am I so stupid?”

If you realize how your emotions are controlling you, and stop to think logically, you know that nothing always happens to you and you aren’t stupid. You’re smart. But, if you ask yourself these questions, your brain will make up an answer. Do you really want to hear it?

When you consistently ask yourself a question you will get an answer. Ask and answer wisely.

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So, you need to start with better questions like:

“What is my purpose?”

“What are my passions?”

“How can I start my own business?”

“What do people tell me I’m really good at?”

“What do I do when time seems to fly?”

“What can I do to serve people that will cause them to line up to give me their money?”

“What can I do to make a difference?”

“How can I have more freedom in my life?”

What are some questions you need to stop asking yourself? Write them down and then burn them.

What are some questions you need to start asking yourself? Write them down on post-it notes and put them on your mirror. Write them done on index cards and put them in your wallet. Read them every day and work on the answers.

Argue for your limitations and, sure enough, they’re yours-Richard Bach

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When you ask yourself a question that really matters to you, here are three answers you should never give yourself:

1) “I don’t know.” The correct answer is, “I don’t know…yet, but I know how to find out.” Think about all the things in your business and life you didn’t use to know how to do. Not too long ago I had no idea how to write and publish a book, or how to create a blog, or how to simultaneously post on 3 social media sites, or create an automated email campaign. But, I learned how and you can learn anything you need to know.

It’s never been easier to find out how to do something. Type in “how to _____” into Google or YouTube and you have incredible information at your fingertips. From blogs, books, online courses, videos, podcasts, ebooks, and more, there is a way to find your answers.

2) “I can’t.” The correct answer is “I can figure out how to do it,” or “I can get someone else to do that for me,” or “I can do something similar instead.”

I agree with your first-grade teacher, ‘I can’t’ is dead. Bury it. Never say it again.

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What good has “can’t” ever brought you?

3) “I don’t care.” You do care, or you wouldn’t consistently be asking yourself the same question. So why are you using that as your answer when you don’t mean it? Is it fear? Is it a belief that you can’t do it, so acting like you don’t care makes that easier to swallow? You need to figure that out so you can get to the answer you want.

Action Steps:

  1. Start asking yourself questions that will get you what you want. Write them down. Ask yourself these questions every day.
  2. When you get an answer that resonates with you, take action immediately.
  3. Don’t accept the answers: I don’t know. I can’t. I don’t care.
Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love-Brene Brown

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Let’s GO!

Are you searching for your Passionate Purpose? Start with my free gift, 5 Steps to Finding Your Passionate Purpose.

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How to Have the Successful Mindset

And Episode 6 of my podcast is now up!

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A large part of how successful you are, or will become, is determined by how you think about yourself.

Do you think you can be successful? Do you think you’re smart enough, talented enough, or connected enough? Do you think you deserve to be successful? Do you think as if you’re an employee or as if you’re the owner?

Um, Greg, I am an employee, I’m not the owner.

Maybe…

Think like an employee and get employee results. Think like the owner and get owner results.

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But, if you want owner salary, benefits, and results – think like the owner.

How?

Have you heard of Richard Montañez? He was a Mexican immigrant who didn’t speak English well. He had trouble figuring out his purpose and dropped out of school. He was a janitor at a Frito-Lay plant in California.

One day he saw a video where the Frito-Lay CEO told all the employees that they should be thinking like owners of the business. They should be looking for ways to improve the company and make it more competitive. Richard took that to heart.

He liked spicy foods. One day, thinking like the owner, inspiration hit.

“I see the corn man adding butter, cheese and chile to the corn and thought, what if I add chile to a Cheeto?”

He went home and experimented. His friends and family loved the spicy Cheetos. Richard could have stopped right there, but he didn’t.

He kept thinking like an owner. He called the CEO and got an appointment to pitch the executives on his new product. He bought his first tie, got a marketing strategy book from the library, and went for it.

The CEO loved his concoction and “Flaming Hot Cheetos” were born.

Richard is now Executive VP, Multicultural Sales and Community Activation, for PepsiCo North America. He serves on several boards, has spoken at the United Nations and has even met presidents.

He says it’s all the result of his Ph.D. (poor, hungry and determined) and thinking like the owner.

It doesn’t matter what your title is or where you work, you really are your own boss. You get to decide if you work, where you work, what type of work you do, how to increase the value you provide, how and if you continue to grow, and where you’re going to work next. You get to decide to be happy or miserable, or to do something about how you feel.

You get to choose your life. Don’t give that power away to anyone or anything.

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Of course there are consequences to choices, but you get to make these choices. Don’t give your power to decide to someone else, circumstances, or society. If it feels like someone else is making these decisions for you, reclaim your power. Do what it takes to make the choices you want to make. Use your power to pursue your Passionate Purpose.

No matter where you work, or what you do, no one can stop you from thinking like the owner except you.

I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul. – W.E.Henley

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You may need to keep working somewhere that isn’t your ideal choice in order to pay the bills. That’s ok. While you’re there, do your best, think like the owner, and keep working to make the right choices to create your extraordinary life.

I’ve had to do that multiple times in my life. I worked as a ditch digger and construction worker as I was pursuing my job as a mental health counselor. I worked overnights at a mental health facility while beginning my radio career. I kept working on the radio, and even sold insurance, while I worked on my speaking, coaching, and podcasting business.

Keep learning and developing your skills wherever you are right now. You will use them all as you make the choices to get where you want to be.

To achieve greatness, start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can-Arthur Ashe

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Questions for comment: What can you do to think like the owner? What new idea or way of doing things could make a big difference?

LET’S GO!

Are you searching for your Passionate Purpose? Start with my free gift, 5 Steps to Finding Your Passionate Purpose.

 

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How to Succeed? Find or Refocus on Your Why

It's how Eddie the Eagle Flew

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The reason I focus so much on your purpose is because I’ve found it to be the biggest predictor of your success. Yes, there are lots of factors that go into the equation, but from my research, coaching, counseling, interviews, and personal experience, nothing is more important than having a strong purpose.

I’ve seen smart, talented, connected people without purpose just muddle through life. They do “fine,” but they aren’t thriving and living to their full potential.

I’ve also seen people who are considered “average,” but have a strong, driving purpose achieve more than anyone thought they could and create the extraordinary life of their dreams.

Purpose beats so-called talent every day of the week!

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I thought about this when we had family movie night at the Knapp house. We watched Eddie the Eagle. It’s a feel-good comedy based on the true story of Michael Eddie Edwards.

What I loved about the film was the message on the importance of having a passionate purpose in your life.

Purpose + Passion = Joyful Success

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Eddie had knee problems as a child and had to wear a leg brace. The doctors told him he should give up on sports. His father told him he would never be an athlete.

But when Eddie was little, he read a book about great moments in Olympic history. From that point on he was determined to become an Olympian, have his moment, and prove everyone wrong.

He had a passionate purpose and he had a strong why that supported it.

You get to determine if other people’s opinion of you is true.

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He tried a lot of different sports and none seemed promising. He had spent years trying to get on the British Olympic team in downhill skiing, but couldn’t quite make it. Most people would have given up.

His passionate purpose continued to drive him.

Eddie figured out that no one had been a ski jumper for Britain since 1929 and there were no qualifying distances to make the team. (However, the Brits decided to rewrite the rules and set up a qualifying distance.)

He convinced an old, drunk ski jumper to coach him. Using his own money, and any he could borrow, Eddie trained for a year and made the Olympic team.

Not only had his passionate purpose turned him into a decent ski jumper it also gave his coach a purpose to get sober and do something with his life.

A strong purpose can change more than just your life.

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What strong purpose is motivating you to great things in your life? If you don’t have one right now, it’s time to find one.

A great way to start is with my free eBook — 5 Steps to Finding Your Passionate Purpose.

What is your purpose? What is the “why” driving that purpose? Are you passionate about it?

Let’s GO!

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Go Big or Go Home is Terrible Advice

(And a new episode of my podcast is up!)

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Sometimes we aim too high, too fast, and then should all over ourselves. You start saying to yourself, I should have gotten more done. I should have been smarter. I should have achieved my goal already. I shouldn’t have eaten that entire pizza and pint of ice cream by myself. (Wait, is that just me?)

A new episode of my podcast is up. Please subscribe, rate it, and share with friends. I have a free gift for everyone who does. Just email me for it. BIG THANKS!

Two things happened to me this week to remind me how destructive all that is. (Except for the don’t eat a whole pizza thing. I should really stop doing that.)

First, I heard an interview where a world class, female athlete was asked how she accomplished so much. Her reply was awesome.

“I didn’t really have lofty goals when I started. I just wanted to get good enough and make enough money to feed my dog. Once I did that, I set higher goals. Now I set goals I couldn’t have dreamed of before.”

Yes! She created a goal, achieved it, and then created momentum. She has so much confidence now that her goals are enormous.

Go Big or Go Home can be wrong and discouraging. Start, build, then GO BIG!

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She didn’t live by the t-shirt slogan, “Go Big or Go Home.” She went small, won, went bigger, won, and now she goes LARGE!

One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.
–Michael Korda

Don’t get me wrong. Setting big goals is an awesome thing to do. Just don’t let the size of them paralyze you from taking action. Don’t become discouraged because you didn’t change the world in a day.

Instead, take your big goal and break it down. Create smaller goals to get there and action plans for the next day, week, month, six months, year, and five years. Take action every day and watch your small steps turn into something BIG. But get started today!

You may delay, but time will not —Benjamin Franklin

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The second thing that happened to me was a new friend of mine spoke eloquently to me about Grace. He reminded me that we are all flawed. No matter how much we try, we make mistakes. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

It’s ok.

Give yourself some Grace.

Give your friends and family some Grace.

Take a breath.

If you’ve had a tough time or two, budget some time for a pity party if necessary (not for long, though).

Regroup.

Then, GO!

Question for comments: What small goal led to something you didn’t think you could accomplish?

Are you searching for your Passionate Purpose? Start with my free gift, 5 Steps to Finding Your Passionate Purpose.

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The Way To Get More Clients Is To Be LESS Popular

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We all want to be popular. We want as many people as possible to like us and to love our work. But what if that desire stops us from attracting our best clients? What if we allow it to change how we act and what we do? What if that desire stops us from getting the most out of our talents and turning our ordinary work into spectacular art?

Planning our work so it pleases the largest number of people possible often has us censor ourselves, and usually stops us from doing something amazing. –Greg Knapp

But, Greg, I need people to buy my work. I need to make money.

Hey, I feel you, bro. You’re in business to make money. Absolutely. And you do need to make sure there’s a market for what you’re producing. But, here’s the irony. When we try to make our work popular with everybody we usually end up earning less than when we follow our passion, be authentic, allow our personality to shine through, and do inspired work.

Sure, we’ll be less popular with everyone. But the people who love us, will really love us. They will keep coming back and buying what we have to offer. They will tell all their friends about us.

Because we connected with them. Because they know, like, and trust us.

I’d rather be nine people’s favorite thing than a hundred people’s ninth favorite thing–Jeff Bowen

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When you do what moves you, you move others and the money will follow. Plus, it’s a lot more fun than trying to do what you think people want!

It’s why I put my stupid jokes and GIFs in my blog. If you think that’s unprofessional and so you don’t want to work with me, that’s ok. We probably wouldn’t work well together anyway.

If you like my blog posts, we’ll probably get along great! Let’s talk!

Why try to make everyone a client and deal with the hassles of the people you don’t really jibe with? That’s how you end up with 20% of your clients taking up 80% of your time and driving you crazy in the process.

Best marketing: Be authentic. Do your best work. Care.

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Pablo Picasso was an excellent artist from a young age. But did you know he was classically trained and painted landscapes early in his career? He could have stuck with that and made a good living. But he was inspired to experiment and helped create the Cubism movement.

picasso

Not everyone liked his abstract paintings. You could say they were “less popular.” But he was doing the work he really cared about and the people who did like them really liked them. In fact, at the time of his death, Picasso’s net worth was estimated to be $50 million. (He was an artist who didn’t have to wait until he died to make money!)

Not bad for being less popular, eh?

Do work you really care about. Stop trying to chase what’s popular. Grow raving fans.

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When you keep doing your best work your way you will start attracting clients who love you.

When you’re authentic in your interactions with others (real and virutal) you will start attracting clients who love you.

Questions for comment: Where have you been pulling back on the type of work you really want to do because you’re worried you will lose customers? Could it be that’s what’s holding you back from bigger success?

I want to give as many people as possible my free eBook, 5 Steps to Finding Your Purpose. Please forward this to a friend who needs it. If they click here, they can get the free eBook.