The Sunday Note from MGM (Montgomery, AL): Jue 28th, 2020

#selfreflection
#reflecting
#reflect
#journaling
#journal
#debrief
#process

The Chicks - March March

This video - posted by The Chicks - was posted yesterday.



Once again, I'll ask the man in the mirror, "Brother, what're you #makin that people can point at?"



#WhosWithMe ???

Race Report: Pelham, AL

Race Report... triathlon in Alabama

After a 2-year self-imposed break (one year of healing an arm injury, and one year of a life that was OBE: Overcome By Events), I entered a local sprint-distance race and started the training process. Since there were just four weeks between sign-up and race day, most of the training I did was mental rehearsal; though I did ride and run with a little more intention and intensity than my regular YMCA workouts from 0500 - 0600.

Race:
Swim: 400 yards
Bike: 12 miles
Run: 3.1 miles

BLUF: I placed 1/17 in my age group, and 15th overall (out of 215); felt great!

PREPARATION:

With less than a month to go, I knew that the physical training was going to “be what it was.” I didn’t have time to get on a routine, so I maintained the physical and added in a LOT more mental visualization.

How I Did It:

For the first three weeks, I spent about 2 minutes in the morning and at night visualizing the five events of a triathlon: Swim/Transition/Bike/Transition/Run

I did this by visualizing ANY past race I’d ever done; didn’t matter which one (though I did tend to choose ones I’d performed well at!). Then, the five days before the race, I changed it up. I got a map of the race in Pelham, AL that I was going to race in, and I saw THAT one in my mind. Speed and Time...I visualized as much as I could without worrying about the actual terrain; I’d see that soon enough.

PLANNING:

Initially, I’d thought I’d drive up the morning of, register, set up, and race all on Saturday morning.

Then, Jodi convinced me to go up the night before...so, we rented a hotel room, and planned to meet my colleague there. Since he and I were racing together, we shared our pre-event and day-of strategies to get on the same page together. It all worked! We ate dinner lakeside on Friday night, and got back to the hotel in time to be asleep by 9 PM!

Saturday morning I woke up at 4:30 and made the coffee room for my buddy and I and our best friends! Jodi was there to drive us to the race, and his wife watched the kids while we raced.

MORNING:

We arrived at the site and set up our transition area with about 45 minutes to spare before race time. As we left the bikes, a light rain started falling. Jodi had her umbrella, and after I looked around and saw absolutely NO ONE else wearing a wetsuit, I realized a wardrobe change was in order. So, after nearly 20 years of racing triathlon, I raced for the first time, “Topless!” Sure, it was a little cooler, but I’m not as in shape as I used to be!

Swim:

This was my first individual (aka: civilized!) race start. We lined up - literally - by number. I was number 86. For a couple of minutes, the sky opened up, and rain fell. I looked over toward the shore, and Jodi was there with her big umbrella.

The lake water was WARM (hence no wetsuits) and the line I followed (inside the buoy lane) gave me a straight shot. I’ll assume the course was a little long; prob closer to 450/500 yards.

Bike:

By the Time I got out of the water, it seemed like the rain has stopped and the temperature was race ready. The bike portion was 6 miles out and back, with a rolling Hill course and not a lot of turns involved. The roads were extremely wet, and as I had gained some ground on the 85 swimmers ahead of me, there were only a few folks out in front that I had to pass. Over the 12 miles, one guy caught and rolled by me, his age group was 50-59; rock on, I yelled!

Run:

T2 was ok; my running shoes were soaked from the morning rain; but then again, so were everyone else's! So, I pushed my mind toward the half-way mark of the run, and started. The out-and-back was along a nice rolling pathway along the lake. I tracked that the first 3/4 of a mile was a steady incline, which mean the LAST 3/4 of a mile was a steady DEcline. So, I knew I'd gain some time there.

I pulled every trick I knew of over the next 2.8 or so miles (the first .25 of a race is always a blur...). By about the halfway mark, I caught up with the only guy I knew at the race, and stayed on the pace I kept repeating in my head... "7 minutes, 7 minutes, 7 minutes."

NOTE: At the 2-mile mark, I noticed that my RFID chip (on my left ankle) was missing. So, that put my mind at a new place...I needed to get to the finish line further in front of whoever was behind me so I had more of the announcer's attention; I needed them to manually enter my time at the finish line!

As I came through the finish chute, I looked up and saw Jodi there smiling big, and so was I! I did my best that day; and, I re-found that love I discovered back in 2001...the sport of Triathlon.

Self-Confidence and Future You

“As I look to the future, sometimes I’m worried that I might not have all the skills I need, or that a challenge may stump me. How can I be more confident and prepared for what’s coming?”

What a great question!

“Future You” will be a new person, right? Over the next couple of years, you will take on new challenges and work with new people.

There are two ways you can more confidently step toward the unknown.

1.     Reflect on the past. 

 Review the past twenty-four months for a dose of self-confidence. Make a “month-by-month” list in your notebook. Next, write a POSITIVE thing you remember about each month; something you achieved or overcame. Take just 15 minutes to reflect on what you've done to see how far you’ve come.

 Realize that new opportunities - and challenges - are coming. You made it this far, you can handle what’s coming. With confidence!

2.     Meet with a mentor.

Find someone outside your immediate family, work-group, or chain of command who cares about you as a person and your professional success. Recently, I met with a Professor and successful researcher at Air University who helped me identify a path to publication. We've only spent a couple of hours (total!) together, and that is enough to get started researching and writing.

Meet someone who is able to help you. Using their advice could help you confidently achieve your goals, while saving you precious time and energy. That’s a win-win!

Future you might be thankful!

 

 

 

Questions to Ask Yourself (before each meeting...)

What do you do to maximize meetings?​

You've been invited to a meeting three days from now. You're not 100% sure WHY the leader or team wants you there, but you're willing to attend and put your best foot forward.

During the Course titled "Attend and Lead Effective Meetings," we help leaders, managers, entrepreneurs and employees get MORE from every conversation they have witxh others. Whether you're talking with a vendor, a client or a co-worker, you CAN be better at #meetings!

How many times have you sat through a meeting, a conference call, or even a hallway conversation only to walk away thinking, "That was a waste of time!"? No, I'm not going to upend or completely revolutionize your meetings in one blog post, but I will give you three questions to ask yourself.

The MOMENT I get invited to a meeting, I open my notebook and scratch out a 6-12 sentence response to these questions:

1. ​What do I need to learn that I don’t know yet?
2. Whom can I learn from? 
3. What do I anticipate changing within a  year that I'll need to adapt to and for?

Once you have answered those questions for the next 10 (yes, TEN!) meetings you're invited to, consider changing them up a little. I want you to "practice your swing" by using questions that I know serve me. And, if you get value from them, if you continue using them, if you share them with others, all the better!

Here are just a few benefits I gain when I answer the three questions:

What do I need to learn that I don’t know yet?

• ​I'll notice a magazine article or TED talk that helps me prepare.
• I overhear someone talking about that subject and join the conversation.​

Whom can I learn from? 

• ​I'll follow someone on Social Media for a few days/weeks.
• I'll subscribe to a magazine or listen to a book on audio.​

What do I anticipate changing within a year that I'll need to adapt to and for?

• ​I tune my "inner radio" to scan the content of the meeting looking for anything that connects to my thinking about upcoming changes.
• The BONUS: I'll ask question during OR after the meeting that gets us all (or just the leader if it's 1:1) thinking bigger.

 

Now, if it's time for you to SHARE this month's course with your colleagues, send them this link!​

3 People to Share Dreams With Today

Can you imagine your work/life a year from now?

Can you "image-in" experiences you hope are on the way and (perhaps) even plausible surprises that could show up? This is NOT "wishful" thinking. It's your chance to direct your thoughts and energy toward what will change your future.

There's a secret to getting (more of) what you want from your life and your work.

It's not a secret because it's hard to learn or because no one wants you to know it. It is a secret because you just haven't heard it put this way before. If you want your life to be different, there's just one thing you need to do:

Organize Your Contacts

In just a moment, I'll coach you to arrange the group of 10-25 people you talk with the most into three distinct categories.

(If you just can't wait, and want to see the video, just click here.)

No one person is enough for you to build a future that's bigger and better than the present. Look around, there are people you spend time with today that you didn't know 5 years ago. Your life looks what it looks like today BECAUSE OF the people you spend more (or less) time with.

Your network (in person, online AND in print) is there to inform, influence and support you as you engage in the actions required to make progress on your goals big and small. The people you spend time with, the communities you're a part of on the Internet and the books you read and magazines you subscribe to will all come together for you if...

...IF you know where you're heading!

To get you started, open your notebook and do some visionary writing. Here are my favorite THREE prompts that I use in my coaching with executives, leaders and managers worldwide...

60 months from today...

Open to a blank page of your notebook, set a timer for 15 minutes (here), and respond to this prompt by writing 500-700 words:

"Over the next 5 years, in my roles as _______, ________, and _______ I want to be known for ..."

I challenge you to go year-by-year as you do this:

• 2019
• 2020
• 2021
• 2022
• 2023

Think about your work, your life, your community, your family and - of course - your age.

Write, and Write, and WRITE some more!

52 weeks from today...

For this next exercise, I suggest you use 12-24 note cards (the 3X5 ones you used in college!). One note card for every 2-4 weeks over the next year. (Oh, this one might take a. little longer. Set a timer for 30 minutes, and make sure you have your CALENDAR handy!)

When I do this, I line up the 24 cards in order of the next year. Then, I "challenge" myself to write down AT LEAST 3 bullet points (ideas, projects, goals, ideas, etc) on EVERY card.

Here's the prompt you can use:

What do I ALREADY know is on the way that I'd like to spend ENOUGH time thinking about, working toward or managing with grace and ease?

Over the next 48 hours...

No matter what day you're reading this (or watching the video at the bottom of this post), you're going to be doing something, somewhere, spending time with SOMEone within a couple of days.

Here's your challenge (in just 3 steps):

Open your calendar and review your time hour-by-hour over the next two days.
Make a list of EVERYONE you know you're going to talk or meet with.
Next to their name, write down ONE thing you could discuss.
As you're getting ready to take on your next project or step toward a promotion or begin making a work / life change, think about how you can think in those terms. Once you've done the thinking about TIME, now it's time to think about PEOPLE.

 

THREE kinds of people to share dreams with today

1. The Realist

As you'll see in the video below, my friends who are realists are there to find the holes in my theories and to test my resolve. I go to them when I need a project edited, or if I want to know what OTHER realists (who I haven't worked with or met yet) might think about my crazy idea.

The question they ask, “And...do you think you can really do that?”

2. The Visionary

I smile as I write this, "My visionaries are the people who can easily "add a zero" to my thinking. If I tell them I'd like to write a 1,500 word article, they ask me if it could be a 15,000 word booklet. If I share a goal to speak at a conference with 50 people, they challenge me to apply to speak at one with 500. If I plan to enroll another 100 members into the GET MOMENTUM Leadership Academy...you get it.

The question they ask, “And...Have you thought about...?”

3. The Accountability Buddy

Have you ever told someone you'd meet them at the gym? Have you ever asked someone to edit a paper or slide deck you are building? Have you invited someone to enroll in a course or program (like GET MOMENTUM!) with you? If so, you intuitively understand the value of having someone to hold you accountable.

The question they ask, “And... what are you going to do next about that?”

Think about it: The next 60 months are going to go by in a flash. Not convinced? Write down the year 2013 and ask yourself, "How fast have the past 5 years gone?" In order to get to where you're going, find the three kinds of people to share your dreams with and you'll go further. Ready?

 

 

 

 

A VIDEO

More than 100 College Seniors heard about the three kinds of people to share their goals with. If you know of someone who could benefit from thinking this way, please do share this with them!

As you watch that video, leave a comment with YOUR ah-ha or I'm gonna. I'll check those comments from time to time and add any coaching I can!

Three People to Share YOUR Goals With

Let's say you were 22/23 years old, and you wanted to make a LOT of progress FAST. Tell me, would the advice in this 3-minute video help?



https://youtu.be/sMIbhBwLEOM