FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

O-DLife Partners With Warrior Mind Coaching And Training to Provide Life Strategies Coaching Services For Its’ Members.

Campbell, California – February 18, 2010 – Warrior Mind Coaching and Training, specializing in the development of peak performance, has been selected by O-DLife to provide Life Strategies Coaching services for its’ members.

This was a natural partnership. Both organizations are committed to the betterment of NFL players by providing important services for players before and after retirement.

Warrior Mind Coaching believes that achieving peak performance starts with thought. By changing the way athletes thinks and what they think about, their performance on and off the field will significantly improve.

O-DLife is passionate about providing services that enhance and protect professional-caliber athletes in all walks of life.

“We’re certainly thrilled to announce our new partnership with Mr. Swanson,” said O-DLife owner and President Matt Whittier. “The successes he’s had with and his vast experience in the field of Life Coaching and Management make it pretty obvious to us that he will be an invaluable resource to both our organization and, more importantly, the athletes affiliated with us who most need his assistance.”

“I am excited and proud to be a part of such a great organization as O-DLife.  Their mission is of the utmost importance for NFL Players and I’m thrilled to be able to provide the Life Coaching services that will help the payers,” said Gregg Swanson owner of Warrior Mind Coaching and Training.

To learn more about the partnership and about entering the contest, visit www.warriormindcoach.com or www.O-DLife.com

About Warrior Mind Coaching and Training:

Warrior Mind Coaching and Training provides Life Coaching and Life Strategies services focusing on improving and enhancing the mindset and the mental strength of the individual.

About O-DLife.com

O-DLife is a an affiliate and sister organization of Offense-Defense Sports that aims to safeguard and protect the interests of professional-caliber athletes of all walks of life from the pitfalls and travails of the professional sports world. O-DLife not only champions the cause and well-being of the current player, but extends a helping hand to those no longer actively under contract by a professional sports organization by assisting with employment, asset management, counseling, appearances, speaking engagements, and many more avenues geared toward maintaining or improving a current or past athlete’s way of life.

Media Contact:

Gregg Swanson

408-871-8364

www.warriormindcoach.com

I’m a big fan and believer in the teaching of Napoleon Hill.  I just read a passage from one of his books I wanted to share.

For me, when I was reading and contemplating this message I realized just how much mental strength is required in this day and age to follow these words of wisdom.  Today we have so many distractions that we don’t allow ourselves to sit and contemplate ideas like the one below.

It takes mental strength to turn off the TV, the radio, the video games and think about what you’re going to do with the rest of your life….and by using great information, like the below writing, and just sit, ponder and journal…miraculous insights will begin to happen.

I’m here to help in developing the mental strength so that you CAN….

FAITH vs FEAR

by Dr. Napoleon Hill

“FEAR is faith in reverse gear. Fear is a negative belief in something, and belief is the very foundation of faith.

Faith is a positive mental attitude in action.

Your mental attitude is the sum total of your thoughts at any given time.

A positive mental attitude has its roots in the spiritual wells of one’s soul. And it is the medium by which adversities may be transmuted into benefits.

Your achievements are limited only by your mental attitude, for it is true that your only real limitations are those which you set up in your own mind.

Keep your mental attitude RIGHT and your future will always be BRIGHT. Success goes to the person whose mental attitude is such that he expects success. And health, wealth, happiness are products of a positive mental attitude.

Your mental attitude, whether it be positive or negative, weaves into your character every thread of your thoughts.

A positive mental attitude is the factor which makes prayer pay off. Keep your mental attitude positive and everything else will take care of itself in your favor.

People who work with a positive mental attitude are constantly doing the “impossible.”

The difference between mediocrity and genius is mainly a question of mental attitude. If you don’t like what life has given you, change your mental attitude and attract something else more to your liking! And remember that not all of the wisdom of the sages and the ages can help the person who quits trying to help himself.

Remember that the Creator has so made us that our strength grows out of our struggles, and we are no bigger than the circumstances which we permit to frighten or worry us.

Faith is a state of mind which has been called “the mainspring of the soul,” through which your aims, desires and plans may be translated into their physical equivalents.

Besides a positive mental attitude, free from negatives such as envy, hatred, jealousy and fear, applied faith has other fundamentals.

These include: A definiteness of purpose, supported by personal initiative or action . . . Recognition of the fact that every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent benefit; that temporary defeat is not failure until it has been accepted by you as such . . . The habit of expressing gratitude for one’s blessings daily, in the form of a prayer.

To create a mental attitude favorable for the expression of applied faith, follow these instructions:

1. Know what you want and determine what you will give in return for it.

2. When you affirm the object of your prayers, let your imagination see yourself already in possession of it.

3. Keep your mind open for guidance from within, and when you are inspired by “hunches”—take heed of them immediately, for they may bring you the answer you seek.

4. When you are overtaken by defeat, as you may be many times, remember that man’s faith is often tested in many ways, and defeat may be only your testing time; therefore, accept defeat only as an inspiration for greater effort.

There is no such reality as a “blanket” faith. You must have a definite objective, purpose, or desire before you can enjoy the benefits of applied faith. Faith is guidance from within which will not bring you that which you seek, but it will show you the path by which you may go after that which you desire.”

Source: Success Unlimited, May 1955, pp. 20-21.

There is a lot to be learned from sports and especially top athletes that can be applied elsewhere in life.  One of these aspects is periodization.

Before I get into how periodization can be applied to non-physical/non-athletic goals I need to establish what periodization is, just hang in there…I’ll tie all this together at the end.

Basically, periodization is an organized approach to training and competition that involves progressive cycling of various aspects of a training program during a specific period of time. It is a way of alternating training to have the athlete peak at competition.

Included in periodization are the 4 key training factors.  The training factors pyramid is:

• Layer 1 (bottom of the pyramid) – Physical Preparation (general)
• Layer 2 – Technical Preparation (specific)
• Layer 3 – Tactical Preparation (very specific)
• Layer 4 (top of the pyramid) – Psychological Preparation (mindset)

Layer 1 – Physical Preparation: This phase is used for general conditioning and getting the athlete ready for the next phase.   Depending on the physical condition of the athlete this phase can be short, or quite long.  The key here is the athlete moves on to Layer 2.

Layer 2 – Technical Preparation:  During this phase physical strength and conditioning drills and exercise are introduced that have direct transfer to the specific sport.   There is a strong crossover effect from the drills to the desired sport specific action.  An example would be footwork drills for a football player.  Think about this…would a swimmer need to footwork drills…no! So the technical preparation is strength and conditioning drills and exercises that will directly improve the athlete performance. Then on to Layer 3.

Layer 3 – Tactical Preparation:  These a sport specific drills for the unique to not only the sport, but the role of the athlete. Again back to football, a lineman doesn’t need to improve his 100 yard speed, so he wouldn’t do 100 yard sprints (at least not for position specific applications).  Another example, a marathon running would train by doing a 40 yard dash.

Layer 4 – Psychological Preparation – Although this is at the top of the pyramid mindset has to be integrated into every phase.  When mindset is addressed at the top is when visualization and relaxation techniques come into play, to name just two.

OK…so how does all this apply to you if you’re not an athlete?

Great question!

Most people stay way too long and often never got out of Layer 1 – general conditioning.

What does this mean?

Let’s say you’re a salesperson.  This Layer (1) might be positive mental attitude.  Hey, I’m all for PMA…the more the better.  But if a person stays with general PMA too long they’ll never “fine tune” themselves and reach their goal.

Layer 2 or the tactical preparation is where you begin to fine tune your skill.  Back to the salesperson, here they would take sales training course; read books that would help them improve their overall sales ability.

In Layer 3 (technical preparation) the salesperson would learn everything he/she could about their products, customers, competition etc.

And in Layer 4 they would practice “seeing” the sale call going smoothly and successfully.

OK, I can hear you saying, “Sure this makes sense but I’m not in sales, how does this work for me?”

By looking at what you want to accomplish you need to select “training and conditioning” that moves you from one layer to the next.  Most people on a self-development journey will start with Layer 1 (PMA).  But to move to the Layer 2 and upward chooses MUST be made as to what supports and what does not support your specific development.

For every chose you make there will be hundreds of chooses you do not make, and this takes mental strength.

The Recap

Layer 1 – This is your general preparation phase.  This phase is used to get you ready for more specific training and work.

Layer 2 – This is where you start to hone in on teachings, trainings and education that that has a cross over effect and can be applied directly to your desired skill/role.

Layer 3 – This is laser focused training, this is where you become the expert…the best at what you do.

Layer 4 – This is where you use the power of the mind to control your thoughts and emotions to achieve your desired goal.

There is one more point to be made about periodization…you HAVE to know “who you are” and what you want. A swimmer knows they’re a swimmer and they stay focused on that role. Again…this will take mental strength.  But once you have determined “who you are” and what you want periodization will work to being out the peak performance in you.

Hypnosis for sports performance is a recognized field that is used to enhance the performance of athletes, both at the amateur and professional level.

More recently the incredible power of hypnosis for athletes had been becoming more widely accepted here in the U.S.  For years in the Eastern European nations have used hypnosis with their athletes and have experienced a tremendous difference in their athlete’s performance.

If you look at the top 10% of athletes what separates the elite 1-2% from the rest?

It’s not that they’ve practiced more or have more skill and talent, at this level of performance they’ve all put in the hard work and honed their skills to a fine science.

So what does make the difference?

Their mind…specifically their imagination and their use of imagery.

Imagery and Hypnosis

Mental imagery is the method used to recreate experiences in the mind using information from real events.  This information is stored in our memory. Dreaming is a scattered form of imagery and the imagery.  The imagery of interested here is structured imagery, where the athlete uses his or her imagination in a controlled fashion to recreate specific images for a precise goal.

There is a difference between visualization and imagery.  Imagery is full body sensation, i.e. see, feel, smell, and touch the experience.  Visualization is only “seeing” the experience.  It has been found that imagery is the more powerful of the two.

There a three main ways of imagery and visualization.  1st person, you see the event thorough your eyes as you are the competitor.  2nd person, you’re watching from the standpoint of a spectator, and 3rd person, it’s like you’re watching a movie.

Research has shown that the most effect perception to use is 1st person.  In addition, research also shows that the more able an athlete is to control his or her imagined movements, emotions, sounds etc,  the greater the potential performance enhancement.

As for hypnosis, there’s nothing mythical about it…all hypnosis is self-hypnosis.  The process of hypnosis is nothing more then getting the brain into the Alpha state.  This is a state where there is direct access to the sub/un-conscious mind.  Basically this is simply a method of inducing a state of heightened relaxation and awareness.  And when achieved, provides an ideal mental environment in which to practice imagery.

Indeed, the effects of imagery can be even more powerful when practiced in an Alpha state (hypnotic).

How Imagery Works

Research has shown that visualizing a specific muscle movement (in the mind) can create electrical activity in that same muscle even though there’s no actual movement in the muscle itself!  In addition, the specific pattern of muscle activity closely resembles that seen during actual movement.

So what does this mean?

•    Detailed and controlled imagery can stimulate electrical impulses in the desired muscles, and then those ‘primed’ muscles are ready for the physical activities that follow.
•    Physical skills can be maintained or even improved by proper imagery when practice isn’t possible, i.e. injury, off season, etc.  Evidence also suggests that using imagery can even accelerate rehabilitation and recovery after injury.

As for the best type of imagery to use, until recently evidence suggested it depends on what you’re trying to achieve. For the acquisition or improvement of sports skills, it was thought that using an external perspective (i.e. that of spectator) was best for learning or retaining those skills. For ‘psyching yourself up’ or priming yourself for an event, an internal perspective (i.e. imagining the feelings in the muscle) produced better results.

Now, new research indicates that the best results are archived when using first person or internal perspective, although there are benefits from the second person perspective as well.

Combined with other techniques, such as the use of music, imagery can enhance performance or enter the Alpha state.  Combining both mental imagery practice and physical practice can be more effective than physical practice alone. Data from various studies have also shown that mental imagery conducted in a state of hypnosis (Alpha) results in far more vivid and realistic imagery than without.

The practical use of imagery while in hypnotic (Alpha) state is numerous.  It can be used for skill learning, preparation for an event, injury healing and what if scenarios.

Practical Use of Hypnosis

Aside from being extremely relaxing and enjoyable in its’ own right, hypnosis can enhance the efficacy of the imagery techniques outlined above and assist in developing mental strength. The heightened state of awareness that hypnosis produces will enable you to experience a more vivid mental rehearsal, and so benefit from more effective ‘muscular reprogramming’, whatever your sport. Remember, if you can imagine it, you can achieve it!

Failure – According to Wolves

I just read an excerpt from a new book “Wisdom of Wolves” by Twyman Towery and felt compelled to share this with you.

“While the wolf pack may be nature’s most effective hunting machine, it has a failure rate of approximately 90 percent. In other words, statistically, only one time out of 10 does the wolf have a successful hunt, which is so necessary to the survival of the pack. As a result, wolves are often hungry.

Many people view a single “unsuccessful hunt” as a symbol of their failure in life. From the wolf we learn that it is simply time to go hunting again. Failure is an attitude, not a reality. Failure is a perception; success, an illusion. As we humans increasingly turn to lotteries and casinos hoping for the “big hit,” we no longer honor the importance of long-range strategy. Instead, we spend our children’s lunch money for a path through quicksand. This is a predictable road to real failure.”

Now that’s what I call mental strength!  To find this great book please go to “Wisdom of Wolves”

Enjoy the messages!

Let’s take a short trip.  Close your eyes…well not now, first read the next paragraph. Close your eyes and remember a time in your life when you felt inspired and excited to make a significant change. What happened? Did you go for it or did your inner obstacles get in the way?

Your beliefs, thoughts and feelings are the foundation on which you build your mental strength, hence your success. A solid house can’t built on a foundation of shifting sand, or a compose pile.  The same applies to achieving success by using mental strength.

If your beliefs that lead to your thoughts are shaky, scattered and uncontrolled, they will creates internal obstacles that will hold you back unless you destroy them.

Many times it’s our “good indented” friends, colleagues and family members who foster the seed of doubts by trying to talk you out of changing your path. It is when you decide to make a better life for yourself that your decision will be met by all kinds of cautious warnings.

People will tell you “That sounds great, but do you have any idea how much that will cost you or how long it’ll take to get the kind of result you want?” Or, “What makes you think YOU can do that?” Or, “Why in the world do you want to change? Just put in your time and be happy.”  Or the big one…”What will happen if . . .?”

Regardless of who and where this “advice come from, they only serve to increase your level of anxiety and self doubts. The best way to handle such opinions is to say what my good friend T. Harv Eker says, “Thanks for sharing” and then immediately forget what they said.

Learning to handle obstacles is the best way to stand your ground and succeed. While listening or running away only serves to undermines your self esteem.

The Universe presents you with these challenges in order to learn to how to develop mental strength, grow stronger and more confident in yourself.

To succeed at overcoming obstacles you need to have the mental strength to stick through any adversity, if you truly believe in your goal.  You must see things through; to have the mental strength to believe more in yourself than in the obstacles and to have the willingness to do what it takes to turn the obstacles around.

This means, you need to stand up to your obstacles and not just believe you can overcome them, but take action AND overcome them! When you attack your obstacles head-on and do something, you’ll find that they will simply evaporate.  Heck, you might even have some fun at the same time.

Standing up to and conquering your obstacles develops the mental strength within you and creates sense of accomplishment that reinforces the sense of your inner power. By developing a habit mental strength, you instill into your psyche a strong message of endurance and success. This strengthens the belief in yourself and what you can accomplish.

Sometimes you may have to resort to some other measures to overcome obstacles. Here a few simple yet powerful techniques to assist you in developing mental strength

Contemplation:

Ask yourself if the obstacle can be ignored. Your fixation of the problem only renders it more cumbersome. If possible, stop paying attention to it. Remember, energy flows where attention goes and results show.

Use humor to neutralize obstacle. This helps to diffuse the tension around the issue.

Take the bull by the horn and address the challenge head-on. This might be challenging at first, particularly if you are not used to confrontation. Yet the more you do it, the easier it will become.

Action Steps:

1.See obstacles as a learning to move you forward, fail forward fast!

2. Repeat loudly as often as necessary to yourself: “I have overcome this”, or “This to shall pass.”

3. Confront obstacles as habits of success (and not of failure.)

4. Develop the ability to overcome, bypass, or eliminate obstacles.

5. When difficult circumstances arise, take massive and immediate action.

You can only allow other people to put obstacles in your path, you either accept them or not, it’s totally up to you. Learn how to develop mental strength by standing up to the challenges without complaining. Have the mental strength to change your thoughts and beliefs that you can succeed and you will.

When it comes to peak performance, it’s your thoughts that count

In the following article I’ll discuss mental strength as it relates to athletics.  However, this information can be applied to any event or performance that requires concentration, i.e. sales presentation, giving a speech, giving a recital, etc. Also, the foundation of mental strength and personal thought control applies to every aspect of your life!

When it comes to intense, endurance or extreme sports – or any life situation that involves concentration – your mind can be your biggest asset or your worst enemy. Physical conditioning is not the only training you need to achieve peak performances.

Your mental state and, particularly, your thoughts that infiltrate your mind absolutely affect the way you feel and perform during an event. It is normal for athletes to plan their physical strategy in minute detail, but how many systematically plan what they are going to think about during training or competition

Having worked with and questioned athletes and peak performers on their thoughts over a number of years, I can tell you that the number of performers who actually plan their thoughts is surprisingly small (notice that there are also a small percent of elite performers…hum…any connection?) I say surprising because, as a mental strength coach, I am aware of the scientific research and what it has been showing for a number of years, and that is…

Thoughts Matter!

In fact the nature and quality of your thoughts make the difference between winning and losing, enjoying or hating your training, and may even impact on your decision to stay with your performance program.

Much of the scientific evidence comes from studies of elite athletes and peak performers.  A great book on this subject is “The Body Has a Mind of Its Own.” Neuroscientists have shown that we have thousands of thoughts running through our minds each and every day. Athletes for example spend a large percentage of their time thinking sport-related thoughts, but most of these are unplanned and random. The first step towards becoming more organized and purposeful in your thinking is to become more aware of them.

So during your next training session become more aware of your thoughts.  Sure, this might distract you from your workout, but this will become second nature after a while.  The when you are journaling workout, jot down your thoughts.  After a while you’ll begin to see a correlation between your thoughts and the quality of your workout.

Association and Dissociation

So what should you be thinking about? Two very different mental strategies have emerged, both commonly used by élite athletes.

Association - Involves focusing on bodily sensations and monitoring any changes – usually internal – that occur.  Breathing rate and muscular sensations provide physiological cues that allow you to pace yourself with a view to avoiding or minimizing pain.

Dissociation – Is about directing attention away from bodily sensations by a form of distraction designed to reduce the athlete’s awareness of fatigue or effort. This can be achieved by many means, including music. However, more ‘active’ strategies like counting tasks or the alphabet game might be more effective.  Try to be creative and have fun with dissociation. It can help you relax and enjoy your performance even more.

I am often asked which of these strategies is best. There is no simple answer, but a recent review of scientific research in this area came to the following conclusions:

1. In general, association appears to be linked to faster running times;

2. Dissociation can reduce the sense of effort and awareness of physical sensations such as pain and fatigue – usually up to moderate-to-high intensity;

3. Athletes and performers of all levels appear to favor association in competition and dissociation in training;

4. Élite athletes tend to use both strategies during training and races, and are able to switch between the two, as required.

When trying to decide which strategy might be best for you, it is important to consider your personal situation, preferences and goals. A training goal for example might be to relieve boredom and monotony, in which case dissociation, with active mental processing, might be most beneficial.

Dissociation may also benefit athletes and performers who want to improve their endurance longer at moderate intensities. However, because dissociation works by distracting the mind, it might work against an athlete setting an ideal pace for optimum performance. The reason why association appears so important in competition is that, by monitoring bodily responses, an athlete can ride that thin line between pushing for maximum performance and overdoing it.

Association involves entering a more concentrated state when you can react to changes within your body. And focusing on internal states like rhythmical breathing can help you feel more relaxed during physical activity. The down side however is that there is some evidence between association and injury; some athletes, it appears, choose to associate with pain and fatigue-related symptoms and end up pushing themselves too hard.

Most successful élite athletes have been shown to combine associative and dissociative strategies when planning their thoughts. There are times, especially in an extreme event, i.e. long distance race, climbing a mountain, long distance swimming, when you need to be very aware of your own physical state and of events in the external environment.

There are also times when you can plan to ‘switch off’ and give yourself a break from the mental demands of competition or training. The best thing is to construct a plan with your coach. Try to decide what the best approach is for you, and plan what you will be thinking about during the competition and training sessions.

For example, during a 30-minute cardio session you might decide on cyclic phases of thinking – i.e. 10 minutes of body monitoring, 10 minutes of alphabet game, then more body monitoring to the end. It’s all perfectly logical once you get started: you wouldn’t leave your physical preparations to chance, so why allow your thoughts to crop up in random fashion.

Learn to Script Your Internal Dialogue

When exercising, competing or performing for long periods of time, the mind can wander freely, if you let it. When this happens, your natural internal dialogue – or self-talk – becomes important. If your concentration does stray or your body monitoring detects fatigue, it is vital that your self-talk remains positive. The best thing is to avoid over-emotional self-talk and focus on self-instructing, motivational content. To this end, you can plan and even rehearse what you are going to say to yourself beforehand, just like you might rehearse an important telephone call or speech.  This is where a coach comes in handy as well.

The key is to stay positive even when the situation is less than ideal. This is not an easy feat to pull off and will take some time to master.

The first step in this process is to become more aware of your thoughts before, during and after training and a competition. If you want to gain more control over your thoughts, try to formulate a simple plan and try it out over a number of weeks during training. If you notice any undesirable patterns in your thinking, such as negative self-talk or loss of focus, you can combat these by planning more positive alternative thoughts. You can, for example, frame positive statements that you repeat to yourself regularly. Ideally, write these statements down and place them in prominent positions where you can’t avoid seeing them.

Work on recalling these statements when you become aware of negative thoughts or feelings. This might seem a little strange at first, but you are actually programming your brain to notice more ‘positives’ and, over time, this will become a habit.

Athletes often recall that their very best performances are accompanied by few thoughts, a feeling of complete control, effortless movements and a sense of being ‘on automatic pilot’…this is the ‘state of flow’.

The aspects of positive thinking and focus discussed here have been shown to increase the likelihood of achieving flow, although environmental factors can also be important. Don’t leave your mental strength preparation to chance. Remember that you control your thoughts; your thoughts DO NOT control you. The way you think is strongly linked to the way you perform.

So if you want to perform better, gain greater control and enjoy your performance, sport or exercising  more, start planning your mental strength strategy today…because your  thoughts really do count.

I love sports…specially the Olympics!  I’m in awe of top performing athletes, no matter what the sport.

With the 2010 Winter Olympics almost here and a New Year still fresh with us; I thought we could take a look to these top performing athletes and see what we can learn…specially with goal setting.

Virtually every Olympic athlete shares the same goal: winning the gold medal. (Although a few seem to be there just for the parties – we’re talkin’ about you, Bode).

Seriously, though, the interesting finding from research by sports psychologists is that successful athletes set goals in a very specific way that is far more precise and detailed than just setting one big goal.

The best news: we can all use the goal-setting strategies of elite athletes to achieve more in our everyday lives.

Here’s the most crucial principle: supplement the big, long-term goal with specific, challenging, near-term goals. Then focus more of your effort and attention on those near-term goals.

An athlete who wakes up each day to focus only the gold medal (or the Super Bowl, or the World Series, etc.) will quickly become overwhelmed. He or she will start to wonder:

How can I get from here to there?

As two experts on sports psychology, May and Veach, put it: “Repeated daily focusing on long-term goals is often counter-productive. The focus is too far into the future and prevents the athlete from completing the intermediate steps essential to ultimate success.”

What happens when you focus on near-term goals?

According to the scientific research, lots of good stuff, including…

• Heightened performance and success
• Greater likelihood of accomplishing goals and making life changes
• A stronger sense of confidence and self-efficacy
• More determination and persistence, particularly after setbacks
• More enjoyment and intrinsic interest in the topic

What happens when you don’t set near-term goals, or focus too heavily on long-term goals? I call it “the goal gap,” and it’s a perfect recipe for procrastination and rumination – thinking about goals, but not taking action toward goals. It’s also a recipe for general unhappiness.

People who focus too much on their long-term goals view those goals as more difficult, more pressure-filled, and less enjoyable.  And at the same time their near-term goals seem less relevant and satisfying.

Who avoids the goal gap, and successfully leverages the power of near-term goals? The scientific research points to many examples, including…

• Successful athletes, as we described above
• Successful students. Research conducted at Stanford University found that students struggling in math significantly improved their grades, and their psychological well-being, by focusing on near-term goals
• Successful business and military leaders. Effective leaders often “segment” or “compartmentalize” complex tasks or missions into smaller, “bite-sized” sub-missions.
• Resolution-keepers. Less than 20% of New Year’s resolution-makers become resolution-keepers. One of their key success strategies: focusing on near-term goals.
• Happy people. Those who are most satisfied with life are those working toward enjoyable, moderately challenging goals of high short-term importance.

It’s easy to use the power of near-term goals to achieve more success in your everyday life. Just don’t go overboard by making goals “too near-term.” For example, students asked to make general monthly plans and goals perform better than those asked to make highly specific daily plans.

They spend more time studying, study more effectively, procrastinate less, and get better grades. Monthly planners experience more flexibility in crafting strategies for accomplishing their goals. They more easily adjust “on the fly” and are less easily “derailed” by changes in circumstance.

A daily planner who gets a mild case of the flu quickly finds his daily goals unattainable, resulting in disappointment and a loss of momentum. General planners enjoy the process of planning more, gaining a sense of designing their lives, while highly specific planners get the sense of their lives being controlled by their appointment books and PDAs.

The bottom line: Set weekly or monthly goals, and work aggressively toward them while giving yourself some flexibility about how to achieve them. Do this, and you’ll not only get the maximum performance boost, but you’ll also be setting goals like an Olympic champion.

Mental strength coaching and training will help you develop the strong mind-set need to set and stick with your goals. And presuming you have your strategy and tactics in place, with the development of the mind-set you WILL be able to accomplish your desired goals.

If you need assistance in determining your top 5 goals, developing a plan to achieve your goals, or sticking with plan…I’m here to help you.

Let me know how I can assist you OK?

I just read some interesting and disturbing data.

Only 9% of people keep their New Years resolutions for the entire year.  While almost 65% don’t even make resolutions!

No wonder we’re in the shape we are.

Incase you have forgotten, here’s some compelling info in support of setting goals:

“Mark McCormick in his book What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School tells of a Harvard study conducted between 1979 and 1989.

Ten years later, in 1989, the researchers again interviewed the members of that same graduating class. They found that the 13 percent who had goals that were not in writing were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84 percent of students who had no goals at all. Most surprisingly, they found that the 3 percent of graduates who had clear, written goals were earning, on average, 10 times more than 97 percent of their graduating class. The only difference between the groups was the clarity of goals they had set (and spelled out) for themselves when they graduated.”

What does this say?

Goals a.k.a. resolutions are important.

I suspect that those that don’t make resolutions or set goals don’t have the mental strength to examine their life and to set important resolutions and goals.  It’s easier to float through life like a cork on the ocean. They’re afraid of ____ (fill in the blank)

It’s time to THINK BIG!

Here’s a quote from “The Magic of Thinking Big”

“Fear of all kinds and sizes is a form of psychological infection. We can cure a mental infection the same way we cure a body infection—with specific, proved treatments… condition yourself with this fact: all confidence is acquired, developed. No one is born with confidence. Those people around you who radiate confidence, who have conquered worry, who are at ease everywhere and all the time, acquired their confidence, every bit of it.” ~ David Schwartz from The Magic of Thinking Big

ACTION. As Schwartz says: “action cures fear. Indecision, postponement, on the other hand, fertilize fear… Jot that down in your success rule book right now. Action cures fear.”

I’d make this a screen saver – ACTION CURES FEAR!

Action stems from a burning desire, an important, mission critical goal.

A friend of mine Darren Hardy (publisher of SUCCESS magazine) is giving away a fantastic gift – “Designing the Best 10 Years of Your Life”.  This is an 8 week program to help you establish and stick with your goals.

In order to receive the information you’re going to have to take action and request it.  You can find out more and signup for it here:

http://darrenhardy.success.com/2009/12/db10-intro/

This will take mental strength to see this process through and then to stick with it.  I can and want to help you make 2010 and the next decade YOUR best ever!

I’m offering a complimentary consultation to find more about mental strength coaching and see if you’re ready for it.  If you’d like to schedule a friend conversation please download and the form here – DOC – PDF -  and then e-mail it back to me.

I’m committed to helping you develop and increase your mental strength so that you will become unstoppable and have the best decade EVER!

The world is undergoing a big shift.  It may SEEM like there is a tremendous amount of turmoil and insecurity in our society.  It may appear that it’s more difficult to succeed.  It may feel like it’s easier to tell yourself that people aren’t spending money on services like yours.

The belief that it’s harder to be “healthy, wealthy and wise” seems to be spreading like wildfire.

But the reality is…

Everything You Need to Thrive Is Here Now

In fact, there has never been a better time to prosper and create abundance than right here right now.

And it’s not about the economy recovering so that people begin spending money.  It’s not about hope and wishes.  It begins with you knowing that a new way of enhancing and developing yourself is emerging out of the rubble of what no longer works, and really never did…at least in the long run.

And frankly, I am excited and inspired by it.

What’s This New Way?

The shift to a new way of living strong starts with the knowing WHY you will succeed.

Here are some powerful affirmations I’ve created to help you have an amazing 2010.  You might want to ‘copy & paste’ them on a separate document.  Then print them out and read them everyday and see what happens!

• I will succeed because I have defined success on my own terms.  I get to decide what MY success is!
• I will succeed because I know that when I have aligned who I am with what I love, success is the ONLY option.
• I will succeed because I get to do what you love everyday.
• I will succeed because I’ve learned to attract and serve others from a caring, loving and secure place.
• I will succeed because I know that creating mental strength and taking action is the key to ALL success.
• I will succeed because I’ve learned to FOCUS (follow One Course Until Successful) and tune out everything else.
• I will succeed because the world is a better place when I do.

I’m Here to Help

Yes, I want all of that and more for you in 2010!

Here are some of the shifts I am personally committed to helping you achieve for yourself and your life in 2010:

• A tri-strength program (mental, physical and spiritual) that allows you to expand your energy and live life on YOUR terms with joy and ease.
• Learning to master your energy for maximum fulfillment and results.
• Becoming masterful at engaging people into what you do.
• Inspiring you to move from GREAT to ELITE

To Your Inner Strength!

“See” you next year…

Gregg