Your best just got better

Look around

Spring has sprung...well, ok, it's still raining in California (so I've heard - I'm in Cleveland, OH this week). This means that soon we'll see the hills awash in colors not seen for many months. Last Saturday Jodi and I (and her mom, sister and niece) all went for a walk through the Los Padres National Forest.

Along the way, I had to stop occasionally and "just look around." As I slowed down to notice nature, I realized that all to rarely did I do this in my "real life." I mean, going from one city to the next, flying on 3-6 airplanes a week, visiting 5-10 client offices a month makes it easy to get into a rhythm. ("Head down, keep walking, get to the next hotel...repeat.")

I snapped a picture along the way...if I could encourage any readers to take a small action today, it would be:

Look around

Approach

According to airplane pilots, the last 30 minutes of each flight represent the most work. They only have a little bit of time, have to manage a lot of energy, and really do focus on only one thing: landing the plane, crew and passengers.

Passengers look out the windows while on the flight deck, pilots are managing hundreds of data points. Two in particular: Altitude (the height above ground they fly) and attitude (the direction the plane leans).

It is important to know your altitude and attitude. When you are engaged in your life, it is important to know from what perspective you are working. Are you talking at a higher altitude, above the experience or education of the person you are ministering to? Also, during the conversation itself, it is important to continually monitor whether you are getting closer to (leaning toward) or further away from (leaning away) the issue you are discussing.

Acknowledgment

A pat on the back, a kind word, recognizing effort...all these go a long way in gaining and maintaining momentum on your goals. Recognize that we live in a world of more, now, faster; often, we forget to reflect.

You may not have a "vice president of completion" on your staff (although I think it might be a good idea). But, you do have your own inner committee. For the next week, consider identifying places you made progress - it could be an effective meeting you attended, it might be a report you completed. Whatever it is, take time to acknowledge what you have done.

Success begets success; win, and you will win again. I remember one golf professional telling me that he has one room in his house dedicated to his past wins. Now, as a course pro and club manager, he says he frequently goes into that room to "remember."

"When I'm in there," he told me, "I'm reminded that I was successful at least a few times before. And, if I did it then, I can do it again."

Acknowledge your past wins and bring the energy of that momentum to a current project.

Be - just be

Don't do you; be you.

Let your personality surface. Take time and daydream or journal about the times when you've been happy, inspired or nervous. Chances are high that when you were in that space (yesterday or months/years ago?) you were not thinking about what you were doing...you were just being yourself.

I remember a time I put a collage together of anything I thought was "me." I spent days going through magazines, surfing the net, and drawing small pictures that I could incorporate into "Jason - explained."

Of course, each individual picture or quote had an action embedded in it; but, what I walked away with at the end was a visual represention of what I was, what I am, and what I hope to be. As a kinesthetic-visual-auditory learner, it's a great way to experience what I want to experience mentally, preparing for it to happen physically.

Lunchtime on the road - made easy

I'm staying in Cleveland a lot these days...and, as I'll eat out in restaurants every day 9 days in a row, I look for easy to win ways to keep my nutrition balanced and interesting.

The Next 3-month WOWYOW program

I'm putting together the next 3-month training program for anyone interested in moving toward a health and fitness goal. I am going to compile and present some practical information - the same processes I'll use to reach, or even surpass, a new wellness standard.

If you'd like to participate, just let me know. You can e-mail me: jason[at]jasonwomack[dot]com.

The format will take us through 12 weeks, May through July. Some of the highlights will include:

• Short and long articles e-mailed to your in-box
• Regular blog entries at www.FitAndEffective.com
• PodCasts
• At least two tele-conference calls
• Handouts, worksheets and forms to track progress
• and more...

Of course, the program will be built by someone who's too busy to exercise, who travels too much to stick to a program, and who isn't in a hotel long enough to find the gym. So, whether you travel for work, or commute to the office, for anyone out there "too busy," I promise you'll get some good tips and tricks out of this.

If you have a summer event you're training for, or if you simply want 3 months of good ideas and some structure to support you in enhancing your physique, join in! The only thing I'm requesting is that you stick with me for the full 3 months...Click here for a short invitation to the program.

I'm putting together the next 3-month training program for anyone interested in moving toward a health and fitness goal. I am going to compile and present some practical information - the same processes I'll use to reach, or even surpass, a new wellness standard.

If you'd like to participate, just let me know. You can e-mail me: jason[at]jasonwomack[dot]com.

The format will take us through 12 weeks, May through July. Some of the highlights will include:

• Short and long articles e-mailed to your in-box
• Regular blog entries at www.FitAndEffective.com
• PodCasts
• At least two tele-conference calls
• Handouts, worksheets and forms to track progress
• and more...

Of course, the program will be built by someone who's too busy to exercise, who travels too much to stick to a program, and who isn't in a hotel long enough to find the gym. So, whether you travel for work, or commute to the office, for anyone out there "too busy," I promise you'll get some good tips and tricks out of this.

If you have a summer event you're training for, or if you simply want 3 months of good ideas and some structure to support you in enhancing your physique, join in! The only thing I'm requesting is that you stick with me for the full 3 months...Click here for a short invitation to the program.

Go identify

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.

George S. Patton

While coaching with an managing director in London last month, I noticed a small placard on his end table. Later, I asked him about it. He said that Patton was one of his mentors, and that quote reminds him how to manage most effectively. As I read it, several times that day, I realized that is exactly how I like to lead seminars, workshops and coaching programs.

There are ideas out there, and there are people who can use them. The trick - the challenge, really - is to connect the right idea to the right person at the right time. How do I do that? Simply sharing from that place of peace and honesty is my way of getting going.

Each day, I know that I'm going to see something, meet someone, or hear something new. The opportunity there? Recognize the opportunity! It's not how I do that nearly as much as that I do something about it!

Making noticeable progress with...

...meaningful ways to build self-esteem.

I wrote about this over on the other blog, and while re-reading it, wanted to put it over here, and expand on it a little bit.

Ever since teaching (first 5th, then 7th, and then high school - for a total of 6 years), I've been fascinated by tools and techniques to "build people up." Now I realize that these same tools, while benefiting us in inter-personal relationships, also impact our intra-personal relationships - our camaraderie, trust, and belief in our selves.

What reasons can we come up with to enhance self esteem? Perhaps this one works: well-prepared, experienced, educated, strong-willed, success-driven people all around us are taking on new challenges and solving old problems.

Here are two ways I've experienced my own esteem going up; and, I have seen these work on other people as well!

A lesson in visualization

I've heard about people who write and refer to detailed race reports - every time they race, they take time to write down what happened, what they did, and what they'd do differently next time.

When I started racing in 2001, my friend-mentor-coach Quanah had already been racing for over a decade. At his top, he won most races he entered...so, when it came to my races (or racing with him) we'd talk after each race and he'd ask - informally - those questions.

From my last race in Oxnard (26 March 2006) I've got two "lessons learned."