hell yeah!!
This morning I stumbled on this fantastic blog post by Derek Sivers and was completely electric with the way that is resonated in me. Basically, it says that for plenty of things in our lives we need to have a 8,9, or 10 feeling about or just don’t do it. I can honestly think of so many times that I muddled through things completely unexcited by them (some bad dates come to mind!). Now granted, there are some things that we HAVE to do that we may not have that feeling about, but for the most part, when we do have the choice we should make sure that we have the passion for it. Otherwise, we will simply suffer through it and will probably end up doing a terrible job. So next time you have a choice before you that you know will take up your time, if you can’t give it a rousing “HELL YEAH!” then maybe you should just walk away.
clear vision
In looking back on my life, there are a lot things that just happened. What I mean is that I really didn’t plan where I was going, but was more or less making it up as I went along. Now in some cases this is good. I think everyone needs to be open to what life sends their way, and you can’t really plan for everything. But, on the other hand I think that I’ve probably wasted a lot of time on things that were not really important and simply did not move me forward in my life. I used to think that maybe it was lack of discipline, but for those of you that know me, once I set my mind to something, I have tremendous tenacity. While some I can attribute to lack of organization, I believe it really comes down to this:
I didn’t know where I was going.
Truly. I have really had no overriding goal in my life. I’ve had some minor ones that have certainly increased the quality of my life (getting back in shape, learning how to sing, etc.). But I think that I have been just like Alice and the Cheshire Cat:
 Alice speaks to Cheshire Cat |
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Because I no particular goal, one job was pretty much the same as the next – just something to do in order to pay the bills.
But not anymore. Once I got canned from the crappy soul sucking government job, I’ve found a new feeling of entrepreneurship and motivation. I’m still deciding where I want to go, although you’d think by this time in my life I’d know. But it’s interesting how once you change your outlook how you see opportunities all around. Now I’m finding it difficult to decide which direction to take because of lots of good options.
But once I do decide, you know I’ll be in it 100% – because I’ll know where I’m going.
rockstar vs leadership part 2
So I was watching the Tour yesterday, and it simply confirmed to me again that just because you’re the star it does not make you a leader. Contador, his teamate Andreas Kloden, and Andy and Frank Shleck were in a break-away group several minutes off the front. Lance was following behind in a second group keeping the tempo keeping Bradley Wiggins at bay since he was considered a big threat in the time trial the next day. Contador was playing it smart and allowing the Schleck brothers to set the pace and simply keeping up with them. This was the smart thing to do since he only needed to stay with them to keep his advantage and keep Lance in 2nd and Kloden in 3rd. Then, against the strategy decided by his coach, Contador tried to break away from the Schleck brothers, leaving Kloden in the dust. The Schleck brothers chased and caught him, but Kloden was not able to keep the pace, and fell behind. Contador then realized his mistake since he no longer had a teammate to help pull and protect him. He kept looking back hoping that Kloden would be able to catch up, but it didn’t happen. Lance heard on the radio what happened and at the right moment broke away from his group, caught up to Kloden and helped bring him to the finish line, putting them in 3th and 5th place respectively.
Just one more example of why Lance is a great team leader, and Contador is rockstar. If he wins this, it will be because of Lance.
dream big
High school wrestling is one of the toughest things I have ever done in my life. I remember coming from practice feeling like I had been run over by a freight train. For whatever reason, I loved it. The harder they would work us at practice, the harder I would run, push, dive, jump.
But then life got busy and keeping in shape was something that just fell by the wayside. I graduated from college, got married, and then the weight piled on. For a time I was over 210 lbs, and though I carried it well, I still felt tired, clumsy, and nothing like the agile grappler I had been in high school. I trimmed a little off and felt better at 198, but that was still not enough to make a big difference.
Then, about 7 years ago, I was channel surfing one Sunday and came across The Ironman Triathlon from Hawaii. I was so amazed at the fitness, power, and dedication of those athletes that it just lit me up. I knew then and there that I would have to do something because suddenly, I could not stand feeling like a bloated pig anymore. It gave me that proverbial kick in the shorts that I needed to get off my lazy ass and change my evil ways.
That spring I began running and cycling. I wasn’t very fast and didn’t go very far, but I was doing it. Once fall came around, I joined the gym and added swimming to my training, and started going to spinning classes, which kicked my training into high gear. Soon I was losing 5-6 lbs a month, and was feeling amazing. The next spring I bought my first bike, and a year later did my first sprint triathlon. Due to some knee issues I decided to focus only on cycling, but I still plan on doing a full triathlon one day.
If you’ve never seen the Ironman, I would recommend that you watch it sometime. These people push themselves to the edge, and find out what they’re really made of. Some are professionals, others just want to do it for bragging rights, some are just plain crazy. But regardless of why they choose to push their limits, they are utterly inspiring.
Now even if I never do a full Ironman, just having the goal of something so big was what I needed to jump-start my goal of getting back in shape. If I had simply had the nebulous goal of “getting back in shape” rather than something awesome and inspiring, I may never have trimmed of that 55 lbs. Dreaming big kept that spark I needed to keep me on that path that has forever changed my life. What’s your big dream?
cops vs clowns
While most of my posts deal with success and leadership, I found this awesome video that I simply had to share. Cops vs. Clowns:
being a superstar does not make you a leader
It was interesting watching the Tour de France this morning as Alberto Contador surged up the mountain at the crucial moment to not only take the stage win, but to cinch the yellow jersey. But while the commentators were singing Contador’s praises there was one comment that really struck me wrong. I’m not sure who it was, but as Contador was taking the stage, one of them said, “Contador is now the leader of Team Astana”.
I couldn’t disagree more.
Contador is a great rider, probably one the best to come along in years. The way the he can excelerate up a hill, then do again and again is almost magical. In the years to come, Contador will most certainly find himself in the yellow jersey many more times. He is a superstar for sure. But the true leader of Astana is Lance Armstrong. Not because he deserves it, although 7 wins of the Tour should make him the clear leader, but because he’s earned the respect of his fellow riders and he knows how to lead. If Contador wins, it will be because of the tactical ability of Lance. As the different teams jockeyed for position today, hoping to set things up for their prospective finishers, Lance was right up front with the other Astana riders helping keep tempo and attack when the time was right. Even at the last 10 km it was still not clear whether Lance or Contador was going to attack to take the win. When Contador surged up the, Lance did not chase, but held the tempo that kept others in the peleton from chasing Contador. Knowing how good Lance is on the hills, it looked as though Lance was holding back to help Contador the win. Lance has been contentious and brash in the past, but certainly had the talent to back it up. The older Lance has learned the art of discretion and is a little wiser before shooting his mouth off – all signs of a good leader – but he also knows that sometimes you have to think of the team first. That is true leadership.
seizing opportunities
Sometimes opportunities fall at our feet. Sometimes we have to work until they appear. Either way, when they show themselves, strike decisively to maximize your chance of success.
In this years Tour de France, we have seen some pretty amazing examples of seizing opportunities when they show themselves. On Friday the Australian born German Heinrich Haussler pulled off an amazing stage win that shows a great example of how to act descisively when an opportunity presents itself. Known mainly as an up and coming sprinter, Haussler latched on to a breakaway group in a grueling climb in near freezing temperatures. By the time they reached the summit, the group had fractured and he found himself with one other rider, Sylvain Chavanel. But it was on the way down that Haussler seized the opportunity to win the day. Descending like a man possesed, by the time he reached the bottom of the longest climb of the day, Haussler’s bike handling skills and sheer verve helped him put such a distance between himself and all the other riders that, barring a crash, he was virtually guaranteed a spot on the podium. Chavanel on the other hand, was extremely cautious, was afraid to descend at the speed it would take to keep up with Haussler, and seemed to lose his form and barely hung onto fourth place. Overcome with emotion, Haussler crossed the finish line with a stage win that will go down as one of the best in the history of the tour.
Now don’t get me wrong, Chavanel is a great rider and I would love to be as good as he is. There had been talk that he might be the first French hopeful for winning the tour in almost 30 years. But after that stage, I’d put my money on the German. Ja wohl!
