Big Idea Coach

You're Going the WRONG Way!

In the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles there's a scene in which John Candy and Steve Martin, accidentally start driving the wrong way down a divided, four-lane highway. A couple, going the same direction (but in the correct lane of traffic), tries to let the wrong-way travelers know of the danger they're in.

"You're going the wrong way," the husband shouts, having rolled his window down. His frantic wife echoes him in the background.

Confused, Martin rolls his window down and listens to the frantic cries of the couple. "YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!" Unfazed, he rolls the window up and turns to John Candy, "They say we're going the wrong way."

"They're crazy," Candy snorts. "Anyway, how do they know where we're going?" And he speeds on down the highway, going the wrong way.

"Yeah," Martin agrees, "How do they know where we're going?"

As funny as this scene is, it just ain't that funny in real life. I'm not talking about literally driving the wrong way down the highway (although that's really not funny, either), I'm talking about how we move towards our goals.

Thinking about the upcoming new year, my goals, and how I was progressing towards them, it struck me that I had been going the wrong way for quite some time. If I hadn't been exposed to some new ideas from some of my favorite mentors, I might still be cruising along in the wrong direction. So I stopped what I was doing, took stock of everything go- ing on, regrouped, replanned, and set off once again towards my most important goals.

Of course, it was not as simple as it sounds.

I had to get down and dirty and do some serious work on myself (and quickly, too), but not doing that work would mean moving even farther from my goals than I already had. Sometimes going astray is part of the process. Usually it's because we've missed a lesson somewhere along the line that westill need to learn.

(One of my coaching mentors, Thomas Leonard, used to say this all the time: "The universe will give you the same lesson, over and over, until you learn it.")

Sure, I could beat myself for having wasted my time, not giving enough effort, and becoming distracted. But rather than let this "wrong turn" set me back, I took it as the oportunity to learn what I needed to learn, so that when I got "back on track," I was on the BEST path I could take at the time.

Now is the time to figure out if YOU are on the best path for your personal journey...

Are YOU going in the wrong direction?

Are your goals getting closer? Or are they moving away from you?

Are you doing everything you need to be doing? Or do you need more support or resources?

Only you know where you're going, so get honest with yourself and adjust your efforts as necessary.

The 10 Biggest Misconceptions of Success

1. I'll never be successful because of my background, education, etc.

Anybody can be successful. It's a matter of wanting to, then doing what it takes to achieve it.

2. I make too many mistakes; successful people don't make mistakes.

Successful people make mistakes just like we all do. They just don't repeat them.

3. I'll have to work 60 (70, 80, 90...) hours a week to be successful.

It's not a matter of doing A LOT of something;  it's about doing the right thing at the right time, and being consistent and persistent in pursuing you're goals.

4. I'm too much of a renegade to be a success; I'll only be a success if I "play by the rules."

Who makes up the rules anyway? Each situation is different. Sometimes following the rules is needed, other times making up your own rules is what's required

5. If I have help along the way, it's not really success.

Success rarely occurs in a vacuum. Recognize the people who help you become successful, there are plenty of them.

6. I'm not lucky enough to be successful.

Okay, successful people were also "lucky", but it  takes a lot more hard work, diligence, knowledge,  application, and effort to be a success than it does luck.

7. It's only success if I make a lot of money... and I haven't made a lot of money.

Money is just one  way to measure success, but there are plenty of others: happiness, health, wisdom, friendship, etc.

8. It's only success if everybody knows it.

Look, there are plenty of successful people out there who you have never seen nor heard of. Does that make them any less successful?

9. Success is just another goal.

Success is more what you get when you achieve the goals you've set for yourself. Saying that you "want to be a success" begs the question: "At what?"

10. Once I'm successful, my troubles are over.

You may be successful, but you're not God. You'll still have the ups and downs that you did before. Enjoy what success you achieve and live each day as it comes.

-----

...For more ideas on success, subscribe to my internet newsletter, THE BIG IDEA.      

Shackleton's Enduring Example

Ninety years ago (December 7, 1914), Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 28 men aboard the ship Endurance entered the pack ice off the continent of Antarctica.

Their goal?

To be the first party to trek across the continent on foot. It was a goal they would never achieve.

Nearly a century later, the tale of Endurance remains one of the most fascinating examples of human triumph in the face of adversity.

The Endurance sailed uneventfully for just over a month. On January 18, 1915, the ship became trapped in the crushing ice of the Antarctic ice pack. Despite the efforts of the crew, Endurance would remain lodged in the ice for the next nine months.

The thick ice of the Antarctic pack pressed constantly, threatening to crush Endurance to splinters. Ultimately, the threat forced the crew to abandon ship in October 1915. From that point on the crew would live on the ice.

One month later, the ship sank, stranding the crew -- with minimal stores and three short-boats -- on the drifting pack ice. The men survived for the next six months by killing seals, penguins, and ultimately their own sled-dogs for food.

In April 1916, an island was seen on the distant horizon. It was their only hope.

The ice floe broke just enough, allowing them to put to sea in some of the roughest waters on Earth. Seven days later they landed on the uninhabited -- and inhospitable -- Elephant Island. Far from regular shipping lanes, Shackleton knew the chances of a rescue from their location were nonexistent.

They might be on land, but they were far from safe, farther from home.

On April 24th, Shackleton again put to sea, this time with a crew of five, headed for the populated island of South Georgia -- 800 miles away.

Navigating by sextant, fighting through storming high seas of freezing water, Shackleton and his small crew reached South Georgia Island in 17 days! The weather (and their own condition) forced them, however, to land on the uninhabited side of the island. Shackleton and two other men had to trek on foot across the island. In 36 hours they traversed 22 miles across the glacier-clad, thousand-feet high mountains to reach the whaling port of Stromness on May 20, 1916.

His attempts to rescue his crewmen left behind on Elephant Island would not be successful until August 30, 1916, a full 22 months after they'd initially set out. Remarkably, all 28 men survived the ordeal.

The next time you face an obstacle that seems impossible to overcome remember the story of Endurance... and press on.

Success is gained not by taking the easiest path (or even the one you planned on taking); it is achieved by taking consistent and persistent action until your goals have been achieved.

...For more ideas on success, subscribe to my internet newsletter, THE BIG IDEA.