If you’ve read most of my posts thus far you’ve most certainly come across my referring to the whole carrot and the stick analogy. I feel it is very important that we all have things that we can place in the forefront of our minds to help us maintain the drive we need to meet our goals. But just having that carrot dangling in front of us is often times not enough. I have found that it is equally important that we let the World know about our carrots so we will feel THAT much more driven to pursue them.

Think about it. If you have a dream to do something that no one knows about and then one day you decide to just let it go, who’s going to question you? Will anybody even know that you HAD that dream? Will anybody care that you are letting it go? But if you had told others that this was something you were pursuing, you will inevitably get the occasional question about these pursuits. Depending on how many people know about it, you may be asked to give an update on these pursuits on a regular basis. I know that when I get excited about a new goal and make that known to those around me, I find that the next time I see them they are excited to find out how it’s going.

Here are some reasons why this is so important.

• The more people that know about your carrots, the harder it will be to stop pursuing them. Knowing that others will be asking about your progress will put extra pressure on you to make that progress. Without any outside force pushing you to move forward, it will be that much easier to just quit when things get tough.

• Talking about something is a great way to make it more real to you. The more you express, often times in detail, those things that you passionately seek, you will find that they become more clear in your mind and even more effective as a way to fuel your drive.

• The more you express these interests the better chance of finding others with the same or similar desires. Having like minded people to cheer you on is always more effective than getting encouragement from those that just don’t understand. These kinds of people are a great asset to helping you reach your goals and never give up.

• The more you talk about your passions and those things that drive you to better your life, the more you will encourage others and give them a reason to do the same. It’s a great thing to finally reach a goal, but to encourage others in the process makes it even better.

In light of this post I wanted to be the first to share one of those carrots that I pursue. It’s freedom. Freedom to live my life the way I feel is best for myself and my family. The freedom to work when I choose and the flexibility to have total control over my schedule. I want to be able to a take trip when we want to take a trip and not just when the rest of the World says it’s OK. My pursuit is for a lifestyle that encourages the imagination and the growth of a healthy spirit.

Over the last couple of years I have been making changes in my life to move closer to these goals. As I still have a ways to go, I am encouraged by my clear picture of what it is that I desire. So I’d like to encourage you to clarify those things for yourself and share them with the World. Make these dreams known and you will strengthen your resolve to acquire them.

But first, let’s take a look at the definition of Persisting:

According to dictionary.com Persisting means…

1: To be obstinately repetitious, insistent, or tenacious.

2: To hold firmly and steadfastly to a purpose, state, or undertaking despite obstacles, warnings, or setbacks.

I thought these two definitions were very interesting.  The first one is representative of persistence in it’s purest form.  Here we see plain and simple tenacity.  But if we were to leave it in that pure form without adding some key ingredients it may turn into a ‘bull in a china shop’ scenario.  All power with no control or direction.  In comes definition number 2. Here we see the idea of holing to a ‘purpose, state, or undertaking despite obstacles, warning, or setbacks.’  This one gives a little more direction.  It’s not just being insistent to be insistent.  Here we are talking about being insistent for a purpose.  And it is this that I want to expand on throughout this post.

How the Pros become Pros

In a previous post I introduced a book I was reading called “Life Is Not A Game Of Perfect”.  It is an inspiring motivational book written by Dr. Bob Rotella.  As a sports psychologist he talks a lot about the different traits he sees in the professional athletes he works/associates with.  One such individual is Tom Kite.  Tom is a professional golfer who has a quite an impressive career including a win, in 1992, at the U.S. Open.

In the book, Rotella talks about how, as a young boy, Tom used to dream about being a professional golfer and how he pursued that dream quite persistently.  But this dream didn’t come easily.  As Rotella puts it,

“Tom held on to his dream in the face of people who told him he was too small, too nearsighted, and not talented enough.”

He held onto that dream through more than twenty years of disappointments in the majors.  He held on to it after he hit a ball into the water to lose his lead in the fourth round of the 1989 U.S. Open.  He held on to it through hours and days and years of practicing under the hot Texas sun, rebuilding his swing so that he would not again hit such a shot under pressure.

And, finally, he won the U.S. Open in 1992.”

According to Rotella, it is this persistence that allows us to eventually reach our dreams.  He says, “A dream without a commitment is just a fantasy.”  But persistence alone is not enough.

The definition of insanity

You know what they say, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  All too often, people treat their persistence this way.  In pursuing their dreams, they try the same thing over and over again and expect the outcome to one day change from a negative to a positive.  But the fact of the matter is, if it’s not working for you, doing it ten more times won’t make a difference.  This point was made very effectively in a post I found over at dime-co.com called ‘The Truth About Persistence And Success’ by Royane Real.

The basic point of the article is the fact that motivational speakers/writers always talk about the importance of persistence in our success, but tend to leave out the need for constant adjustment and re-assessment.  As Real puts it,

“They forget to tell you that before they were persistent, they had a goal, and they had a plan on how to get there.

And all along the way, after every step they took, they stepped back to evaluate the results to see if the results they were getting were the results they wanted. And if they weren’t getting the results they wanted, then they would change the steps they took.

These successful people did have persistence, but they were only persistent about holding on to their vision.

They were never persistent about the method they took to get to their goal.

All along the way, they were prepared to be very flexible and experiment to see what techniques and strategies worked best to get where they wanted to go.”

The yin and yang of persistence

If you read the entire chapter by Rotella and the entire post by Real you will see that they are both talking about the same things but from different perspectives.  But I think to pull out these excerpts we are able to see two very important aspects of this valuable trait.  In it’s pure form you have something that just won’t quit.  A focus and drive that is not going to let obstacles keep it from reaching it’s destination.  And yet on the other hand you have a key ingredient that allows for this tenacity to actually HAVE it’s positive out come.

So to reach your goals and realize your dreams you need persistence to keeps your wheels spinning, but it’s flexibility and constant analysis that will take you where you want to go.

“Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence.  The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning.” ~Denis Waitley

“Never let your persistence and passion turn into stubbornness and ignorance.” ~Anthony J. D’Angelo

Where do you see yourself in all of this?

Do you struggle to keep your wheels spinning?  Or do you keep pushing forward, but find yourself too rigid to make the necessary adjustments on the fly?  Or have you found the perfect balance of drive and adjustment that have led to great success in life?  And if so, what have you found that works for you?

I’ve mentioned this a few times and now it’s here.  I call it Motivate2ACTION! and it represents my desire to create a place where people come, not only to become inspired, but to actually do something with that inspiration.  My goal is to build a community of doers and not just dreamers.  Don’t get me wrong, the dreaming is essential, but without the action to back it up we will only experience these dreams in our heads.

To get detailed information about Motivate2ACTION! you can go here.

As I state in the ‘About M2A!’ page:

What am I trying to accomplish?

My main goal with this idea is to help you, as well as myself, get off this roller coaster ride of progress.  Let’s take a look at the whole ‘new years resolution’ thing for a moment.  It’s basically a time where people set a goal to accomplish the things that they couldn’t accomplish the previous year.  And after they fail to really follow through, they just make it the NEXT years resolution and so continues the cycle.  I want us to always be looking for ways to improve our lives.  I want January 1st to be just another day.  Another day of making the most of what we have and striving for a better life.

What can YOU do to help?

It’s quite simple:  Participate!

I can only create the structure but YOU have to help create the content.  I know that I am responsible for the posting content, but the real meat of this particular area of the site is in the comments.  The more you participate by posting your goals and thoughts and helping each other along the way, the more we will see new visitors do the same.  So it’s up to you guys to really make this work.

So the theme for this month is Comfort Zone.  I will be putting up the first post (week1 The Question) tomorrow morning, so keep your eyes on your feed reader/email so you can come back and make your comments.  In the mean time, chew on the question, “What are my comfort zones and how may they prevent me from meeting my goals?”

I will still be posting my normal, misc, motivational/tips, etc…, but try to keep this theme in mind as you read, comment and participate.  I’m VERY EXCITED to be a part of such a great group of people and I look forward to growing with you.  If we work together we will not only meet our own goals, but have the opportunity to help thousands of others do the same.  So the ball is in your court.  Help me build this community and let’s start moving forward!

If you’ve read most of my posts thus far you’ve most certainly come across my referring to the whole carrot and the stick analogy.  I feel it is very important that we all have things that we can place in the forefront of our minds to help us maintain the drive we need to meet our goals.  But just having that carrot dangling in front of us is often times not enough.  I have found that it is equally important that we let the World know about our carrots so we will feel THAT much more driven to pursue them.

Think about it.  If you have a dream to do something that no one knows about and then one day you decide to just let it go, who’s going to question you?  Will anybody even know that you HAD that dream?  Will anybody care that you are letting it go?  But if you had told others that this was something you were pursuing, you will inevitably get the occasional question about these pursuits.  Depending on how many people know about it, you may be asked to give an update on these pursuits on a regular basis.  I know that when I get excited about a new goal and make that known to those around me, I find that the next time I see them they are excited to find out how it’s going.

Here are some reasons why this is so important.

• The more people that know about your carrots, the harder it will be to stop pursuing them.  Knowing that others will be asking about your progress will put extra pressure on you to make that progress.  Without any outside force pushing you to move forward, it will be that much easier to just quit when things get tough.

• Talking about something is a great way to make it more real to you.  The more you express, often times in detail, those things that you passionately seek, you will find that they become more clear in your mind and even more effective as a way to fuel your drive.

• The more you express these interests the better chance of finding others with the same or similar desires.  Having like minded people to cheer you on is always more effective than getting encouragement from those that just don’t understand.  These kinds of people are a great asset to helping you reach your goals and never give up.

• The  more you talk about your passions and those things that drive you to better your life, the more you will encourage others and give them a reason to do the same.  It’s a great thing to finally reach a goal, but to encourage others in the process makes it even better.

In light of this post I wanted to be the first to share one of those carrots that I pursue.  It’s freedom.  Freedom to live my life the way I feel is best for myself and my family.  The freedom to work when I choose and the flexibility to have total control over my schedule.  I want to be able to a take trip when we want to take a trip and not just when the rest of the World says it’s OK.  My pursuit is for a lifestyle that encourages the imagination and the growth of a healthy spirit.

Over the last couple of years I have been making changes in my life to move closer to these goals.  As I still have a ways to go, I am encouraged by my clear picture of what it is that I desire.  So I’d like to encourage you to clarify those things for yourself and share them with the World.  Make these dreams known and you will strengthen your resolve to acquire them.