by ColoradoCoach.

Success can be defined as breaking through your personal barriers.

When you set a goal say it out loud. Say it with conviction–emotion. Stay focused.  Celebrate your achievements and appreciate your efforts. Smile to show yourself you are celebrating and truly appreciative of all your efforts.

Do you even know what your personal barriers are? I believe that your #1 personal barrier that is preventing you from success is that you are FINE! Stop being fine.  Choose to be honest with others and yourself and start being amazing!

Mel Robbins covers this exact topic of breaking through the F*@% barrier here at Tedx SF

Make today the day you stop being fine! What will you resolve to stop being fine with in 2012?
Post your comments below. Make a public declaration to STOP being FINE!

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by ColoradoCoach.

“Don’t limit yourself.  Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do.  You can go as far as your mind lets you.  What you believe, remember, you can achieve.“ —Mary Kay Ash

Do you know what thoughts limit you?  Are you aware of the beliefs you hold dear that hold you back?

Over time many people get too comfortable being comfortable.  They become afraid to challenge their own limits.

Elephants are extremely powerful creatures, yet if you have seen them in a circus, you have seen they stand quietly, leashed only to a small chain and metal stake. These powerful creatures could easily break free, yet they don’t.  Why?

When elephants are young (and not quite as powerful), they are tied to a heavy chain and immovable metal stake. They quickly  discover that no matter how hard they try, they can’t break free.  As elephants grow  and become strong, they still believe they can’t escape as long as they are wearing a chain connected to a stake in the ground.

Much like elephants, people learn to feel constrained and don’t stretch beyond their self-imposed limitations.  They rarely test the weak chains that hold them prisoner.

When was the last time you really pushed yourself to your own limit?  Do you know what you are capable of?

What area of your life would you like to live more fully?

Self-imposed limits are a result of our own beliefs based on past conditioning. They are boundaries we have agreed to in our minds about what we cannot be, do, have or achieve. These limits are not real, they have not been tested; they only exist in our minds.

If you’re frustrated with self-imposed boundaries and feel fully ready to expand your life, I encourage you to identify your self-imposed limits. Look deeply at the cage you keep yourself in.  The same cage that is designed to protect you, serves as your own prison that confines you. Once you know what they are, you can free yourself from restrictions. You will also experience something amazing – your hidden potential.

1. Become aware of limiting thoughts.  It is difficult to change something you are unaware of. Begin to write down and journal limiting thoughts and beliefs that hold you prisoner.

2.  Begin to think big and see the possibilities. It is easy to find the faults and negatives in any situation, but to expand your limits you need to open your eyes to the world of possibilities–big possibilities.  Allow yourself to  dream a bigger dream.  And then look around for the many possibilities.

3. Take action toward the big dreams that confront the limiting beliefs. Action is a mighty powerful force.  Action that challenges old beliefs can change those beliefs quickly.  And if you are feeling imprisoned, you want to make a fast break.

4. Surround yourself with other Big Dreamers. An amazing thing happens when you surround yourself with other possibility thinkers–Big Dreams begin to happen.  The positive ideas and positive actions create  positive outcomes.

5. Continue to Grow!  Conscious growth forces you to swell beyond your cage.  Read, attend seminars, teach others to dream big, share your message, push your limits, challenge yourself, –the list of ways to grow is unlimited.  Just keep growing.

What would you add to this list.  How have you overcame self imposed limitations in the past?  I look to learn from your comments.

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by ColoradoCoach.

The roots create the fruits.

That which you sow, you will grow.

A seed grows a complete root system before it ever breaks through the soil surface. Now if you planted bean seeds when you really wanted an apple tree and apples, then you will experience a very different result than what you expected. The results in your life and business are like harvests we just spoke of. Your results can be traced back to your seed thoughts.  These original seed thoughts grew deep roots long before you became who you are now. They formed your beliefs about life and business. Your beliefs are rooted to your thoughts, which shaped your feelings that branched into behaviors. Your behaviors formed habits. Your habits ultimately created results. Your results created your life. Any struggles you have in your life are just a result.  Any dissatisfaction you are encountering is just a reflection of your roots.

Too often when we try to change the fruits (results) in our life, we prune our tree and provide fresh fertilizer and water. And what happens? We get more of the same fruit that we didn’t want. Why? Because the roots(beliefs) produce the fruits. If you want to know what your roots(beliefs) are, observe your fruits—observe the results you are getting. In order to succeed you must reprogram your mind for success. If you are committed to getting new results, it is critical to begin with changing your beliefs.  In this world everything works from the inside out, the roots produce the fruits.

Posted in business, success, habits, Coaching, mindset | 2 Comments »

by ColoradoCoach.

By Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in you own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love; for in the face
of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be careful. Strive to be happy.

*side note* Max Ehrmann (1872-1945) was from Terre Haute, IN,  where my Alma Mater is located.  Go Sycamores!

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by ColoradoCoach.

Failure: Dealing with failure is a key leadership skill. A leader needs to develop a good sense of recognizing failure and turning it into a learning experience. Failure does not have to be a big deal, but most people’s natural tendencies are the opposite of what needs to happen in order to turn a failure into a learning experience and not a confidence breaker. Too often those in leadership make failure too personal and try to cover up those failings. The road to success is paved with stones of failure.  The two truly go hand in hand.In racquetball I often state that winning is great but it does very little to improving my game.  Losing on the other hand exposes many opportunities for improvement.  The overwhelming feedback that winning provides is that I am better than the other person.  My evaluation usually stops there. Losing causes me to examine so much more.  What did I do well?  What did I do horrible? What can I do next time to improve. What were the weaknesses in their game that I can better exploit next game. Losing creates a new passion inside me to succeed next game.The fear of failure is ingrained in us at an early age.  We become afraid of the potential negative instead of the reward of the potential gain.  On a walk yesterday with my 4 year old I observed this practice.  He was walking along a ledge that was beside the sidewalk. There was a step up in the ledge, about 4 inches. The ledge was now about 4 feet from the sidewalk (on the other side was rocks and they were about two feet down.  My son froze.  All he could see was the four feet he would fall. When I asked him about this, he said he was afraid of falling.  When I asked him why he wasn’t afraid of falling before the step up, he replied ” I just wasn’t thinking about falling then.”How often does this play a role in your life?  How often, after a little change or variation in your plan, do you only see the possible negative outcome?  How does this affect your results?This is why it is critical that you understand that only through failure, will you find success.  The faster you experience failure, the faster you will discover the lessons for success. Leadership expert Robin Sharma shares that “the more you go to your limits, the more your limits will expand…The fears you don’t face become your walls.” In his book the Leader Who Had No Title one of the main characters, a ski instructor, points out that “tough runs build better skiers.”Why does understanding this principle help to overcome the fear of failure? Basically, there is a shift in perception on the value of failure. Stop associating failure with no value or negative value. Create the paradigm shift that failure is a benefit, that it is the accelerant so that you can succeed faster. By changing this value the fear of failure is reduced.  The power is placed on the correct purpose.

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