What Are You Spending Your Time Thinking About?

It's April 26th, 2011. As we speak there are wars for freedom and democracy raging in several parts of the world, not to mention a war in Afghanistan where our troops have been dying for almost a decade now, a war in Iraq and in this part of the world, a federal election looming in little more than a week. What was the number one news story on the radio today? The wedding of two people half a world away with little or no connection to our part of the world. I have just one question;

What in the world is going on?

So what does this have to do with you and your success? Lots. What are you spending the greater part of your energy, time and resources on? What do you think about most often? Are you focused on your goals and dreams and how you plan to achieve them, or are you bogged down with the details of life, or worse, with frivolous things like the wedding of Will and Kate?

Now let me just state for the record, that I have nothing against the royal family or Will and Kate. I wish them all the best of life and happiness and hope their wedding is all they hope it will be. My point is not that there is anything wrong with being interested in the royal family per se, Where there IS something wrong, is when we let distractions to get in the way of what really matters.

The amount of time, energy and money that has gone into reporting, analyzing every details of this event is ridiculous. I have the tv on as I write this and in the time since I started writing this blog (about 20mins) there has been a commercial for: the Will and Kate movie, a special on Kate's dress and another one on the menu of the big day. In 20 MINUTES! Is this really what matters most to people right now?

The truth, of course, is no it isn't. There are dozens if not hundreds, of things more important to joe average right now, especially in light of all of the others issues our world is facing, and yet, many people will be taking time out of their lives on Friday to watch this ceremony. The important issue here isn't the wedding itself, but WHY so many people are being taken in by it?

Why do we care?

For some people, taking time out of life for things like the royal wedding is just a matter of curiosity, and there's nothing really wrong with that as long as you don't spend too much time on it. But for many, this is just one, in a line, of distractions used to avoid dealing with real life. And that is dangerous.

Why do you think most people fail to achieve what they want from their lives? It's not because they lack the talent, skill or desire. It's because they lose focus. Most of us start with great goals and plans for our lives, but then life gets in the way. We have to work, make meals, do laundry, pay bills, prepare meals, care for our family and then we get home at the end of the day and are too tired to focus on anything but watching some tv and going to bed. So where is the time to focus on our goals and work toward a better future? There isn't any... or is there?

If you aren't where you want to be in your life right now and think you have no time to get there, ask yourself the following questions:

• How many hours do I spend watching tv each day? (Keep track for a week. It might scare you)
• How many hours do I sleep? (You may not be getting enough, but you may also be getting more than you need. Most people only need 7hrs/night)

This week I challenge you to spend some time thinking about what you spend your time on. Is it constructive? Is it taking you closer to, or further from, your goals? A small investment of time each day, compounded over the years of a lifetime can make a huge difference. Good luck and stay focused.

I'm trying to have patience with this. I understand that people ar

The Power of a Mentor

Do you have a mentor? A coach? Who do you have helping guide you on the path to success?

For far too many people, the answers to those questions are "No", "No" and "Nobody". And that's too bad. Unfortunately, far too many people never get any help at all on their journey to success. They think they are supposed to have all of the answers. They assume that once we get to a certain age we're supposed to have life all figured out so there should be no need for guidance from someone else. What those who are most successful understand, is that nothing could be further from the truth.

What do Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and Tiger Woods all have in common? Firstly they are all arguably the greatest athletes to ever play their respective sports. Secondly, they all had trusted coaches. Many make the mistake of assuming that people like these would have no need for a coach. After all, if you are the best to ever play your sport, obviously a coach, no matter how good, can't be better at the sport than you are, so what can you possibly learn from him or her?

That's exactly the wrong approach. What a coach can do better than anyone, is see what you can't see. They can spot where you are falling down, where you are weak and what you can do to improve. Because they are removed from the situation and have a view that you don't, they can help you spot small issues and tell you how to make a change that can make a dramatic difference.

The other thing that a trusted coach or advisor can provide, is an accountability partner. Someone who will hold you to what you say you are going to do. That is critical because one of the biggest reasons people don't achieve their goals and dreams, is not because they don't know what to do or how to do it, it's that they just don't do it. The intend to, but they don't. If you have coach or advisor who can check in with you and say "hey did you do what you said you were going to do last week?" it forces you to be accountable and take action. When we take ACTION we can really start to improve our lives.

So find a coach. Get an advisor. Find an accountability partner. It can be someone you hire, but it doesn't have to be. Find someone who you respect and admire who has achieved some of the things you want to achieve and see if they would be willing to guide you. After a few months working with a mentor or coach, you will begin to see dramatic changes in your life.