How Not Starting Your Day This Way Costs You Greatly

I was watching a Red Sox game with my daughters the other night (I'm raising them right).

My oldest (9) asked me why 'that man' kept "touching his helmet and his shoulder between every pitch."

"It's his ritual sweetheart."

"What's a ritual daddy?"

This started a long conversation about routines, habits, and rituals that get and keep us in our peak performance states.

(It also led to exploring some of the funnier rituals for professional athletes on youtube).

What's your ritual?

When I woke up this morning I already knew what my most important tasks were for the day, who I needed to be in communicating with, and how I was going to value my time for the next 8 hours.

I didn't have to spend any energy figuring anything out. Straight into 'go' mode.

Water, gratitude, prayer, movement... all before 7:30.

I knew I would be writing this post this morning before I went to sleep last night.

I knew it was for the purpose of helping someone who doesn't have a morning ritual or routine get some leverage in their life.

I value helping others.

If your morning routine looks more like hitting the snooze button and wishing you had another hour to sleep, WE SHOULD TALK.

You can choose so much more.

Rituals and routines help the performance of professional athletes and it can help your performance in life.

Because life ISN'T a game.

 
“I think when you compete every week, when you play under pressure daily, you find your rituals to be 100 percent focused on what you’re doing.”
— Rafael Nadal - 15 Grand Slams Singles Championships

The One Thing People Don't Know and How it Hurts Them

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”
— Mark Twain

Have you ever said any of these statements to yourself or something similar?  

‘I never get the kind of breaks that those people get’.

‘I’m not as smart as her’.

‘She’s out of my league’.

‘I’m not a people person’.

‘Meditation never works for me’.

These are all examples of things we say to ourselves and believe to be true.  I’m still amazed at how many limiting beliefs I recognize that are still lying just under the surface of my fears.  Like two eyes of a crocodile just peaking over the surface of the water.  

Ask yourself this… ‘is what I know really true?’  You can use the power of questions to strip away the potential lies and get to the truth of who you are.  

‘I never get the kind of breaks those people get’

Have you really never had any kind of ‘break’ or ‘luck’?  Does that truly mean you never will?  Can you out-work your ‘lack’ of luck?

‘I’m not as smart as her’

Are you really not smart enough?  Do you have to be as smart as her to have a healthy amount of fulfillment in your life?  Are there people who are tremendously fulfilled who aren’t as smart as her?

‘She’s out of my league’

Who determines the status of a league?  Who determines your status?  Is she even the kind of person you would want to be with?

‘I’m not a people person’

Do you have zero people skills?  Are there people you do like?  Are there people that like you?  Are there things you do with people that you actually enjoy and get energy from?

‘Meditation never works for me’  

Has there ever been a time when you were able to clear your mind and just be?  Does going for a walk ever relax you?  Is your definition of meditation too ‘stuffy’ and based in spiritual elitism as opposed to something more along the lines of getting grounded or centered.

Question those limiting beliefs that you ’know’ to be true.  Use some direct questions to dismantle those things you ‘know’ about yourself that are holding you back.  You can easily swap out these lies for the ones that you may be telling yourself and ask revealing questions accordingly.  You’ll most likely find that they’re rubbish and it’s time to trade them out for better, more productive, thoughts.

 

Why You Need to Embrace Change and How to Do It

For the last several years I could tell that my eyesight was getting worse.   Road signs were getting closer before I could read them.  I knew the Department of Transportation wasn’t responsible for that.  Three years ago I renewed my driver’s license and I had to guess at the last two lines of the eye exam.  The DMV employee wasn’t paying attention to my answers and I slipped through the crack provided by a lazy employee of the state.  I knew my sight was getting worse but I didn’t want to have to start dealing with the hassle of wearing glasses or contacts.  I ignored my problem.

How to Attract the Right Person for You

I thought marriage would save me.  I believed all my problems would go away.  Not just the external ones, but the internal ones too.  Problems like insecurity, loneliness, and lack of love for myself. I couldn’t have been more wrong and I’m not the only one. People make this mistake all the time.  Problems don’t just ‘go away’.  You must deal with them.

How To Recover When You've Let Someone Down

Have you ever let someone down?  Have you ever made someone feel less valued?  It feels worse than locking your keys in your car, one of my monthly habits.  The good news is that there is a simple and clear way to move forward.  It does take some courage however.  Here are three things you can do to begin repairing that relationship with the potential to make it stronger.

I See You

I see you there.  You try to hide, but I can see you.   It’s not easy, but with a little bit of intention I can see through the countless facades that you’ve nurtured.  I like what I see in there.  I wonder how much more you would shine if you would let go of the false self you cower behind, hoping not to be discovered.  If you let the real you come out for air and a bit of sun.  If you find the courage to poke your head out you'll find yourself amazed at what’s returned to you. 

How to Get more Clarity Now

Alice’s greatest adventure began when she woke up from Wonderland.  That’s when her real journey started.  You don’t get a true vision of what your life can be until you start living the kind of life you want.  Once you begin moving in the direction that you desire, you can begin to see further and more clearly than ever before.  It’s like waking up from a dream and climbing out of the rabbit hole.

How to Get the Best Answer for You

Has this ever happened to you?  You find yourself in an uncomfortable situation and you are desperate for a solution.  You begin talking to the people you trust in hopes of finding the answer that will solve your problem.  Over the next couple of days you share your story often.  But you never quite get to a solution you’re comfortable with.  Then, after you’ve tied a knot at the end of your rope and deployed the death grip, the simplest answer presents itself.  It’s the smallest of whispers but it packs an Ali sized right hook.  It’s clear as day and it fits you perfect.

Why You Already Know What to Do but Don't do it

How many books have you read?  Go ahead and take a guess.  How many ‘How To’ videos have you watched?  How many seminars have you been to?  How many blogs have you subscribed to?  How many podcasts have you listened to? Information that can be consumed for the sake of increased knowledge has never been more available.  And yet you still have problems don’t you?  Why is that?

What you can do today to turn it around

Bill Gates won life.  He became the richest man in the world doing what he loved–building a company that makes software.  Yet today, he spends his time directing research and giving billions to charities that address human suffering.  Bono fronts one of the most popular and enduring rock bands in the world, but uses his fame as a currency for helping the needy in developing worlds.  Our world is full of stories like these, stories of people who achieved their dreams, but then started over with work that serves others.

How to Make the Life you Want in 10 Minutes

I’m not sure which can wreck my house faster: my kids or a troop of monkeys. Keeping my living space tidy is essential for me because my thoughts can only be as clear as my surroundings. During the week, I have a routine of cleaning and tidying that keeps my space under control. But once my girls come home, all bets are off. My house can turn into the set of Sanford & Son, even if we make a concerted effort to put things away after we use them.

3 Questions to Help You Harness the Power of Your Fears

Think about what you are afraid of right now.  List your top 3 fears.  Now ask this question of each… What is behind this fear?  For example, if you listed that you were afraid to write a published piece, what would be the driving force behind that fear?  Maybe you’re afraid people won’t like it.  What’s behind that?  Maybe if people don’t like you’re writing they won’t like you.   And what’s the fear behind that?  If people don’t like you it could lead to you being alone.  In my work I call this ‘drilling down’.

When you Want to become More

I once thought it would be impossible to become who I wanted to be. I wanted to be honest and have a true heart. I wanted to have a great character and great compassion. I wanted to do the right things, even if it meant sacrifice on my part. But I didn't believe that was possible. I thought I was a terrible person and I owned that narrative. Living that kind of life was for other people better than me.

Answer the Call

What if Neo took the blue pill?  What if he never decided to follow the White Rabbit in the first place?  The Matrix would have been a movie about a guy who is discontent and knows there’s something more. But all you’d see is 73 more minutes of a guy sitting in his cubicle, glued to a computer. What if Luke had ignored the partial clip of Princess Leia, chalking it up to a robotic malfunction?  What if he declined Obiwan's invitation to join him on his mission to deliver the Death Star plans to the Rebel Alliance, taking over his aunt and uncle's farm instead?  We would watch a young brat farm for 84 minutes.

Forget what you Think you Know about Fear

The four years before I launched my business, I created a plan that would get it all rolling within three months.  I also had a plan that would take me through the following nine months and generate enough income that would sustain my business.  I even had investors lined up to help with that initial launch.  I would dream about what it would be like to do the things I loved the most while having the freedom to create my own schedule and generate an income that could support me and my family.  I created this plan within a matter of one month.  I then spent the next four years coming up with any excuse to NOT launch that plan.  I was terrified.

Please! Not another Article on Change in the New Year!

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.  For years you’ve known that there are some specific changes that you’ve wanted to make.  You told yourself repeatedly that you were definitely going to take action once the new year rolled around.  For good reason.  There is something undeniably powerful about new starts.  That’s why every morning

Turning Knowledge into Power

I'd like to share with you one of the biggest secrets for moving forward and turning knowledge into power. You see, it's one thing to know information. But it's a completely different animal all together to use that knowledge to affect change. Using knowledge is power. And that's done by taking consistent action. Action. Action. Action. What good is an endless amount