If you’re reading this, you already have an interest in self-improvement and success.  Much has been written about the power of goal-setting.  Furthermore, it has been shown that writing down your goals increases the likelihood that you will be successful in your pursuit of your goals.

Okay, so we’ve all heard of the S.M.A.R.T. goal format.  Here’s an easy exercise for writing down effective goals that fit into the S.M.A.R.T. format.

There are four basic steps in the process:

1. The first part starts off with an action-verb…”increase, develop, obtain, complete, etc.”
2. Follow this up with a statement of nouns – what it is you will impact.
3. Next, include a time-bounded statement of accountability
4. Finally, add a statement about what the outcome will achieve for you.

I have found it helpful to use the following format to make it easier to structure a goal statement:

• TO:________________ (Action Verb)
• WHAT: _________________ (Quantifiable & Measurable Statement)
• BY: ________________ (Time-Bounded “Deadline”)
• SO THAT: ________________ (What The Outcome Will Do For You)

Here is an example:

• To increase
• Profit Margins from 8% to 11%
• By the end of the 3rd fiscal quarter
• So that I may re-invest that money into the business and purchase the XYZ software package, which will lead to improved customer satisfaction.

The obvious follow-on to the goal statement is answering the question “How?”  Answer this question by crafting specific strategies and tactics to insure the achievement of the goal.  Be creative and consider different perspectives.  You have written a powerful goal statement and you know exactly what it is that you want.  That should fuel your success and provide the motivation for overcoming obstacles that will come up along the way.  Revisit your goal statement periodically if you get stuck and don’t lose sight of the outcome you’ve committed to.

It’s been 10 years since I originally wrote this poem for my mom.

3 things of which to be mindful when reading…

1. my mom’s name is Margaret
2. the meaning of the name Margaret is pearl
3. her first grandchild is named Miles

Margaret you are a pearl indeed,
Over the years you’ve always been
The comforter when I’m in need -
Healing hands for your next of kin.
Each moment I was feeling blue
Right was I to turn towards you.

Magical moments, thinking of
Our bond that’s evolved over time.
Totally unrequited love
Has helped me grow and to refine.
Every word you spoke so long ago
Resonates through me as I grow.

Mom do you sense your saintliness?
Outperforming most moms by Miles.
Today I cherish your caress;
Heartfelt, compassionate smiles.
Everything you did now makes sense…
Realize you made all the difference.

Nick Liberati © 2001

Notice that for each question, there are two choices?  There may be more that weren’t listed. The point is, you have a choice.  The motivation for writing this particular blog post is an all too familiar situation we’ve all likely encountered in some way or another. Yesterday I was flying home from Phoenix.  Long story short, my flight was delayed for 2.5 hours due to the weather in Chicago.

Like many, my initial feeling was that of frustration…until I reminded myself that I have a choice in how I respond.  First, I re-framed the situation – choosing not to label it as good or bad, but rather to accept it for what it was.  The fact is, the flight was delayed, and there’s nothing I could do about that – “It is what it is”. What I could do something about was my attitude towards the situation.

What a shift!  I now felt empowered, not like a victim.  I recognized that I can create an opportunity with this ‘gift of time’.  Hey, Sky Harbor Airport has free Wi-Fi, so I logged-on to my Mac and caught up on a bunch of the emails that I’ve had lingering longer than I’d care to admit – like the ones to my good friends – Ivan at Nutrolution and Vern at ThaiPulse to congratulate him on the impending launch of his new Thailand travel website.  Then there were some reports that I needed to complete for the end of the week – knocked them out too.

“Hey Nick, it’s been a while since you’ve spoken to …”  So, I called my buddy Pete in St. Louis and then Jack at Govig BioPharma. Finally, there are some great blogs where I’ve fallen behind on my reading, so I got caught up on reading/learning from Nate Riggs and downloading articles from Inc. Answers.

Holy crap!  I’ve gotten a lot done and my glass is beyond half-full.  I felt energized by the fact that I felt in control of a situation where I initially felt frustrated and victimized.  All because I reminded myself that I have a choice in how I respond – my attitude!

By the time I boarded the plane, I was thankful for the opportunity that the airlines presented to me.  On the flight home I was able to set-aside any work and reward myself, becoming immersed in leisure-reading of the book I just started.

Suffice it to say that I’m sure I felt much different than the fella that was sitting next to me in the airport.  He kept calling his wife to complain about the delay, looking at his watch, and lamenting how yet again the airlines foiled his plans.  Guess he made a different choice .

Now, I’m not saying that a good attitude guarantees success or happiness.  But, a bad attitude will surely guarantee otherwise.

What choices will you make?  How will you recognize that everything is an opportunity?  Willing to share a story of your own in this regard?  If so, leave a comment below, I’d love to hear about it and be inspired by you!

Thanks to Jon @ Chicago Flyfishing Outfitters for connecting us up with Sean

My neighbor Phil and I made the 5 hour drive from Chicago to Baldwin, MI on Tuesday night.  We pulled into Baldwin about 12:30am local time and got settled.  Sean, our guide, met us promptly at 6:30 in the morning to drive us to the Big Manistee River.  It was a brisk 30 degrees in the morning.  Sean has an 18ft. jet sled for on the river that was very stable and amply powered by an 88hp Mercury.

We put in at the public boat launch called High Bridge.  From there we headed upstream, stopping a few hundred yards down from Tippy Dam.  There were a handful of other boats on the river, and many fisherman wading the banks of the river the closer we got to the dam.  Even with polarized sunglasses, it was very difficult spotting any fish in the morning due to the glare on the water.

We fished hard and Phil hooked the first chromer of our trip just before noon. Water temperature by this point of the day was nearly 54 degrees and sight-fishing to steelhead became the name of the game.  We’d anchor the boat and cast the 30 or so feet to spawning fish laid up on gravel bars.

That fish succumbed to a #14 black stonefly nymph.  A beautiful hen, and Phil’s first steelhead on a flyrod.  As you can see, it was a crystal clear day with bluebird skies.  Soon after, I hooked into a my first fish of the trip, on a #12 hares ear.

Phil and I both landed one more fish each that afternoon, both on #12 hares ear nymphs.  That’s Sean in the pic with Phil.  I also had a real nice chrome hen that I battled for a few minutes before she dove down and wrapped around a submerged tree.  Phil also lost a real nice buck at the end of the day too.  We did see some spawning Sturgeon that were in the 200+ lb range.

We had a great meal that night at Na Tah Ka – neat little bar where we had walleye and perch.

Met up with Sean again at 6:30 and we followed him South towards the Muskegon River.  It’s a good hour’s drive, but it put us a bit closer to home too.  The morning started out at 28 degrees, but it remained calm most of the day and warmed into the upper 50’s.  Water temp held around 53 degrees, mighty warm for this stage of the game.  Similar to yesterday, the river was running low and gin-clear.  The Muskegon is primarily a gravel-bottom river with ‘bumps’ of gravel bars throughout – perfect spawning grounds for steelhead.  We launched the jet boat above Newaygo, MI and headed up river.  We found a nice pod of 5-6 fish holding in some skinny water near shore, laid up on gravel just downstream from a submerged tree.  We casted long and hard to these fish with various flies, but in the end, they won the battle of will…so we headed downstream to eat a shore lunch of sandwiches and regroup.

I ended up hooking into this bright chrome hen in some skinny fast water using a size 10 hex nymph.

and then landed this beautiful big buck all colored up in spawning colors.  This fish was part of a group of about six fish that were holding together back down near where we launched the boat.  We did hook a few of them, but never brought any to hand.  Phil had a beauty that got off right next to the boat.

note how crystal clear the water is in the background of this 2nd pic!

We did see another monster Sturgeon swim by the boat on this river as well.  There was also a pretty prolific hatch of size 12-14 tan stonefilies popping off in the afternoon.  There were a few trout rising to insects, but they seemed to be taking the midges rather than the stoneflies.  Then, there’s this little guy who was content gorging himself on steelhead eggs.  Hefty little guy that was pretty plump.

That same orange colored egg fly is what fooled the big buck in the above pics too.  That big buck was the only steelhead to fall to an egg pattern.

Phil and I had a great time, and can’t recommend Sean McDonald enough as a guide.  Great guy who knows the rivers, and the fish.  Phil and I are on the books for another steelhead trip the 1st week in November with Sean.

All fish were CPR’d – Catch, Photo, Release

Tight Lines,

Nick

1980 US Olympic Hockey Team

Do You Believe In Miracles?

Thirty years ago today; February 22nd, 1980 was anything but another ordinary day.

The triumph of the US Olympic hockey team in Lake Placid NY, beating the Russians, and going on to win the Gold Medal against Finland; is regarded as one of the greatest moments in Olympic history…if not in all of sports. There’s real-life lessons to be learned from these ‘young kids’ (average age 22) about transcending doubt (self-doubt and that of others) and achieving goals (pun intended) – achievement where everyone in the world counted them out.

You see, a few weeks before the Olympics, the US Team decidedly got annihilated by the Russians…10-3. History could easily not have been made, had the US succumbed to what many would have, and that is believing an Assumption or Limiting Belief.

An Assumption is something to the effect “well, we got beat pretty bad a few weeks ago, it’s likely to happen again”. Basically, assuming that what has happened in the past is likely to be the same result in a similar situation in the future.

A Limiting Belief is a generally accepted truth imposed by the thoughts/comments of others that something is not possible, but has no real merit as being an absolute truth.  The announcers, hockey experts – everyone; felt that the Russians were the greatest hockey team in the world at that time, and that there wasn’t any way that the US Team could possibly prevail.

The goals you wish to achieve may or may not be as monumental as those achieved by the US Hockey Team, however whatever your goals, following these five tips will bring you closer to achieving them.

1. Write Down Your Goals

You probably heard this countless times but do you do this? Do you write your goals down and review them on a regular basis. All great goal achievers write their goals down. They write them down in detail and they write down a synopsis of their goals as well – perhaps on a 3×5 index card or a special card created specifically for this purpose that they can regularly review. Work backwards from your end goal, and set targets within those goals.  Maybe you’d want to post your written goals on the dashboard of your car, the bathroom mirror, or your refrigerator – somewhere that you’ll see them frequently to re-affirm them.

Something magical happens when you write down your goals.  Won’t you give it a try?

2. Share Your Goals, But Be Selective With Whom You Share Them:

Let’s be real, not everyone is going to be supportive of you achieving your goals.

There are people who will support you and there will be people who, if they had their way, would dash your hopes and dreams to pieces. And it may simply be a matter of their insecurities, jealousy,  or them wanting to see you experience disappointment should your goal not materialize as you plan.

So share your goals with those who you know will support you and those who you know can help you to achieve your goals.

In the case of a team, it helps to establish a common goal that is shared across all members.

3. Visualize Your Goals With A Positive Outcome

Visualisation is critical to the goal achievement process. You not only have to be able to visualize yourself completing your goal, you have to sense the feeling and exilaration – feeling the feeling of achievement.  Imagine others congratulating you on your achievement, what opportunities may open up for you down the road after you’ve achieved your goal.  How will your life be different afterwards?  On the flip-side, if you picture yourself failing in your pursuit, you’ve sealed your fate before you’ve started and are likely to live-out a self-fulfilling prophecy of falling short.

Can you imagine if the US Hockey team replayed in their mind, over and over again, each of the ten goals that the Russians scored just a few weeks earlier how the result on February 22nd, 1980 would have been different?

The beauty about positive visualization is that it’s something you can do almost anytime and anywhere, although first thing in the morning and last thing at night are two excellent times to visualize your goals.

4. Cultivate Your Mental Strength

Learning to “win” comes from the experience of “losing”. Do you view failure as a bump in the road and opportunity from which to learn, or does it shatter your confidence and cause you to second-guess yourself?  How you interpret the inevitable setbacks you experience tests the mettle of your mental fortitude.

The US Hockey team was trounced 10-3 just prior to the Winter Games.  Certainly a score to crush the spirit and border on the verge of embarrassment for an individual or a group. In fact, the US trailed the Russians twice during their monumental game, and were losing 3-2 in the third period. Obviously ‘the boys of Winter’ were able to pick themselves up by their bootstraps and rise to the challenge.

One way to develop your mental fortitude and ’sticktoittiveness’ is to have a big reason why – something that will help to keep you motivated.

5. Be Dedicated To The Pursuit Of Your Goals

The fast-paced world in which we live is filled with distractions.  Focus, sacrifice, and dedication can be challenged by what’s happening around you.  To achieve your goals, your internal compass must remain true to the path that you’ve set for yourself.  To differentiate yourself you must be prepared to do things that others are not.

Much can happen to distract you and obstruct your progress, so you really do need single-mindedness of purpose.  In the pursuit of your goal, everything will likely not be ideal.  Situations are likely to come up that you hadn’t anticipated.  That is why it is important to have contingency plans in your preparation and consider some of the hurdles that may occur, and develop action plans for how you will deal with these.  Proper preparation will render these events to being minor hiccups, and not a major derailment in your pursuit.

After all, the ultimate goal of the US Hockey team was to win the Gold Medal.  There work was not done by beating the Russians, they still had to remain focused on the game two days later against Finland to achieve their crowning glory.  Can you imagine how insignificant the game against the Russians would be had the US not completed their quest for the Gold Medal?

In Summary

To quote Herb Brooks, the coach of that US Hockey Team, from his speech in the locker room just before the big game:

“Great moments… are born from great opportunity. And that’s what you have here, tonight, boys. That’s what you’ve earned here tonight. One game. If we played ‘em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game…not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can! Tonight, WE are the greatest hockey team in the world.”

Remind yourself that “Tonight, you are the greatest _________ in the world.” And that while you may have your struggles, and fail several times in the pursuit of your goals – “Not tonight!”.

Establish your goals and chart a course for achieving them, pay no mind to the Limiting Beliefs of others, and challenge any of the Assumptions that may come up along the way.

You have dreamed of great opportunities, and will create your own great moments – make ‘tonight’ be every night for you, and embody greatness – for that’s what you’ve earned!

~ Nick

The results showed the following % of respondents that experienced a positive change for each factor:

• 80% –> Self-Esteem/Self-Confidence
• 73% –> Relationships
• 72% –> Communication Skills
• 71% –> Interpersonal Skills
• 70% –> Work Performance
• 67% –> Work/Life Balance
• 61% –> Business Management

*Percentages represent the portion of respondents awarding a positive rating on a scale of “-3 (Much Worse)” to “+3 (Much Better).”  N= 2,130

Do one of the factors above resonate with you?  Could you benefit from becoming a “statistic” like those that benefitted from Coaching in the study? What’s holding you back from moving towards a life of Boundless Success?

~ Nick

This video contains one of the ’secrets’ to unlocking your success within.

Imagine what Jason probably encountered in his young life.  Countless doubters I’m sure. Folks whispering amongst themselves, unshared thoughts, or blatant comments. Comments like:  ”he’s different”, “he’ll never play basketball”, “he hasn’t got what it takes to do it”, “he’s handicapped”, on-and-on…

Everybody, with the exception of a few, had their preconceived notions about Jason’s limitations – the limiting beliefs that would hold him back.  Everybody except Jason!

If one is not careful it’s easy to slip into believing the limitations that others, or worse yet you, may impose on what you can truly achieve.  Being ‘typecast’ or ‘pigeon-holed’ is what happens when we listen to the limiting beliefs, negative assumptions, or interpretations of situations expressed by ourselves or others.

It doesn’t have to be that way.  You have the power to choose what you believe to be true. Jason’s video is here to teach you one thing:  There aren’t any opinions or preconceptions that are powerful enough to change who you really are and what you are completely capable of…without your permission.

If you have a steadfast belief – in yourself,  in your capability, in your dreams, in your talent, in your intelligence, or in your desire – you are miles ahead of most folks.  The idle commentary from others is rendered as meaningless as a compass without a needle.

They can’t change you or stop you. There is nothing that can hold you back; there is nothing that you can’t achieve if only you know you can achieve it.

I’d like to thank Jason McElwain; an enthusiastic, determined, simply amazing young man from upstate New York; for teaching an invaluable lesson.

It’s up to you.  It’s your choice.  What’s holding you back from becoming “hot as a pistol”?

~ Nick

I love Summer. With the sun-filled days I can
enjoy long training rides on my bike along
the Lakefront and cruising on my motorcycle
unencumbered.

There’s something about lightning, thunderstorms
and the aroma of fresh-cut grass
that is quintessentially Summer.
Suntan lotion, swimming pools and barbecues too.
Summer is tough to beat.

Yes, I love Summer.

But wait! What about Spring?
Tulips blooming and robins returning
signal the arrival of Spring.
The gentle rain showers are cleansing,
everything seems fresh and new.

I feel liberated to be outside so much
and my spirit is reborn.

For all that I feel,
Spring is my most favorite season, hands down.

Yes, I love Spring.

However, I certainly would be remiss
if I didn’t consider Autumn.

The color spectacular as leaves change,
that earthy smell, and harvest time,
pull me closer to mother nature.

Steelhead fishing picks up and
football season kicks into full-swing.
The days cool off, and it’s comfortable
to don a hoodie. And Halloween…
my favorite non-Hallmark holiday.

Aaaaah, I so enjoy Autumn.
Autumn is my favorite season of the year.

Yes, I love Autumn.

And then there’s Winter…
Cold—–Dark—–Winter
Sunlight is scarce on these gray days.
Temperatures hover near freezing and
the windchill makes it less than
desirable to venture outside.

The playgrounds are devoid of activity
and I rarely see my neighbors.
It’s dark when I wake up
and then again
before the work day is complete.

Everything is dormant and lifeless.
The air is stale and I feel like hibernating.

Cold—–Dark—–Winter

That settles it! My preference of season
has never been more clear.

Short, frigid days…gray and listless.
A general malaise surfaces.
At no other time of year do I feel so
lethargic.

YES! It is Winter that helps me to appreciate
the beauty of Spring…
the energy of Summer…
the excitement that stirs in me for Autumn.

Indeed, because of this,
it is truly Winter that I love most.

~~ Nick ~~

My previous blog post focused on change, and looked at different responses that people may have to change.  At the end of it, I asked you to consider the question posed in the title of this post, without any context.  This post is an extension of that discussion. Let me bring you further ‘into the light’ on the monkey and the kitten.

The reason I ask the question is tied to two basic attitudes, related to how each animal deals with stress and change.  Think about how a kitten responds when in danger or is confused.  It will nearly be paralyzed with fright and meow until its mother arrives to carry it off to safety.  Kind of a victim mentality.  By contrast, consider a baby monkey faced with a similar situation.  At the first sign of trouble the baby monkey seeks out its mother, jumps on her back and rides off safety…all the while holding on.

Two similar themes here, but different approaches.  Both animals recognize that they need help to manage the situation. However, the monkey plays an active role in it’s flight to safety, while that of the kitten is rather passive.

Coaching a ‘kitten’ can be very challenging, and unless one can breakthrough the ‘victim’ mentality of a kitten, it often yields unsustainable results.  Coaching is ideally suited for ‘monkeys’ – those willing to actively work on themselves, and enjoy the fruit which that work can bring.  Not to fret if you’re a ‘kitten’, there is hope.  Coaching can help eliminate the attitude of being helpless, by dismantling that victim mentality, it’s just a little more work than coaching a ‘monkey’.  The results after the breakthrough, however, can be no less than spectacular.

And so, I ask the question again: “Are You A Baby Monkey Or A Kitten?”

Change is inevitable. From change typically comes growth, and it has been said that if you are not growing you are dying. Generally speaking, change can be categorized into two types: Planned, and Unplanned. If the change is planned by you, it can be rather seamless, and even exciting. You have ‘your ducks in a row’ and anticipate much of what is to come.

How about unplanned change? Something that you hadn’t anticipated and weren’t fully prepared. Do you embrace it as an opportunity? Maybe it ‘forces your hand’ to do something that you’ve longed to do, but wouldn’t/couldn’t commit to change on your own. Perhaps you contract into a safety zone, as you try to make sense of the change. For some, change is related to loss…loss of something that is familiar.

It’s quite natural to go through the grieving process…
Denial (This isn’t happening),
Anger (I can’t believe that this has happened, this isn’t fair),
Bargaining (Maybe if I do x, the situation will revert back to the status quo),
Depression (completely bummed out that this has happened),
Acceptance (This is for real, it’s clearly not going to change back to the original situation, I’ll deal with it moving forward).

How do you respond to change? Something to think about every now and again, because inevitably, change is right around the corner for you. I’d encourage you to try and find the opportunity that change presents. How can you maximize the opportunity presented to you?

Next blog will pose another question…are you a baby monkey or a kitten? Those are your only choices, and you are either one or the other. Think about it carefully, and I’ll pose an interesting perspective for you to consider.