How a SMARTS Goal Helped Me Conquer My Greatest Weakness→

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How a SMARTS Goal Helped Me Conquer My Greatest Weakness

Filmmaking isn’t about the little details, it’s about the big picture!” – Johnny Depp, portraying Ed Wood. A.K.A the worst filmmaker of all time.

All my life I've been a big picture thinker.

I've tried to achieve a grand vision... Create a disruptive innovation... And, of course, change the world.

This perspective has helped me immensely in handling setbacks, pushing through struggles, and remembering to see the forest instead of the trees.

However, the devil is in the details. And I've had a lot of devils come up and bite me because of my focus on the big picture.

But, at the beginning of 2018, I set a 'SMARTS' goal to focus on both the forest and the trees.

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What I Learned From Pushing My Comfort Zone With TED

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What I Learned From Pushing My Comfort Zone With TED

You know the feeling. 

That feeling in your gut that makes you want to avoid pushing yourself.
        
Staying within your comfort zone feels good. Life outside of it is scary.

It's complicated, it's challenging, and it can result in hard, cold, embarrassing failure.

But it can also result in growth.

Thus, life asks you a tough question – comfort today? Or growth tomorrow?
 

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Rule #4 Simpler Is Better Than Better

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Rule #4 Simpler Is Better Than Better

When we look at the great entrepreneurial examples in history one name is sure to be on the list — Henry Ford.

Ford is synonymous with the invention of the automobile, but why?

  • Did he invent the first car? No. 
  • Did he invent the internal combustion engine? No.
  • Did he design the best car in the industry? No. 

There is little doubt that Ford was relentlessly driven to succeed, but he certainly was not a genius...

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[Webinar] 6 Ways to Use Willpower to Beat your Social Nerves, be Likeable, and Improve your Social Skills

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[Webinar] 6 Ways to Use Willpower to Beat your Social Nerves, be Likeable, and Improve your Social Skills

·      How to answer the question you ALWAYS get, "What do you do for a living?"

·      How to create social habits to make it easier to socialize NATURALLY

·      Word-for-word scripts to start conversations and be CHARISMATIC

·      The RIGHT way to set communication goals, so you can achieve them with flying colors!

·      The #1 way to be ENGAGING & INTERESTING in ANY conversation

·      How to re-energize during social events to build your "SOCIAL STAMINA"

·      Live Q&A session during the webinar, so you can ask me anything

·      My free mini-course: How to Shut Up that Inner Voice & Beat Awkward Conversations, just for registering! 

·      My free eBook: 5 Quick Hacks to Avoid Awkward Conversations, just for registering!

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The Incredible Power of the Intuitive Brain—And How to Master It

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The Incredible Power of the Intuitive Brain—And How to Master It

In 1846, the head doctor of Vienna General Hospital had a crisis on his hands—1 in 6 women were dying of childbed fever. [1]

The risk of death was so bad, in fact, that women were choosing to take the risk of giving birth at home rather than going to his hospital. Not since the middle-ages had women willfully chosen to give birth at home–especially in a large city like Vienna.

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The Frame of Reference—How Your Outlook Affects Your Willpower

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The Frame of Reference—How Your Outlook Affects Your Willpower

Three hundred and fifty miles of pain and suffering.

That’s what Joe De Sena and his three teammates were looking at as they approached the starting line of the 2001 International Raid Ukatak. The Raid Ukatak is an adventure race held in Quebec, Canada, in the middle of the winter. 

Joe’s team was ready and willing to endure torture. This was Joe’s first real test of his willpower. 

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How Fear Kills Your Willpower—And How to Fight Back

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How Fear Kills Your Willpower—And How to Fight Back

I couldn’t believe my eyes. The towers that stood as a symbol of the iconic New York City skyline were up in flames. 

People were jumping out of windows…

The streets were filled with emergency responders…

And almost 3,000 people died from the incident…

Even as a Canadian at the time, the images will forever be burned in my memory. And they justifiably instilled a sense of fear into millions of Americans. Americans who would soon lose their lives because of that fear.

Over the next few years alone, almost just as many Americans died due to the terror attacks of 9/11.

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How Jure Robic Proved That Willpower Has No Limits

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How Jure Robic Proved That Willpower Has No Limits

It has been called the hardest competition on the planet. 

The Insight Race Across America, also known as RAAM, is a 3,000-mile non-stop bike race from one end of the United States to the other – more than 36% longer than the Tour de France. 

But as the cyclists did their final preparations for the 2004 race, their fear was not the pain they would face over the full week of biking. Their fear was of the seemingly inhuman winner of last year’s race, Jure Robic. 

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How Temple Grandin Overcame Challenges With Autism to Achieve Greatness

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How Temple Grandin Overcame Challenges With Autism to Achieve Greatness

 

Her mother prayed for good news as she sent 3-year old Temple Grandin to a speech therapist. 

 

Diagnosed with autism, Temple was thought to be incapable of learning language. In the 1950s, that meant she would be institutionalized all of her life unless she could show she was capable of entering school. 

Her parents tried everything they could, and this speech therapist was their last resort. 

Thankfully, against all odds, young Temple made progress. It was slow, but Temple was able to speak well enough to be enrolled in a normal school.

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8 Willpower Tips You Must Know Before Your Next Social Event

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8 Willpower Tips You Must Know Before Your Next Social Event

Have you ever felt like an outsider?

Perhaps you were sitting alone at the cafeteria in high school looking over at the “cool kids’ table". Maybe your friends were laughing at an inside joke that you weren’t a part of and you sat there wondering what was so funny...

It can feel gut-wrenching, but we’ve all felt that way at some point.  

What does this have to do with willpower?

A lot, actually. 

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How To Be Comfortable With Failure

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How To Be Comfortable With Failure

My knee was scraped, my elbow was bruised and all I wanted to do was give up.

Most kids in my neighborhood didn’t know how to ride a bike anyway. My training wheels weren’t so bad. And some of the other kids weren’t even at that point!

So why keep trying to ride a bike?

I had spent a full hour with my dad riding around in this parking lot doing nothing but falling over and over again. I was crying and screaming bloody murder for him to let me stop.

But my dad demanded that I keep trying. If nothing else, I was going to learn to stay persistent. Besides, he knew that I was getting closer each time I gave it a try. 

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How To Deal With Judgment and Criticism

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How To Deal With Judgment and Criticism

“I quit my job and I’m going to start a blog where I write about and teach the science of willpower.” 

How would your friends and family react to that statement? 

Yeah, mine too.  

Blank stares, worried faces and ultimately a lot of judgment and criticism – especially because the last time I pursued a dream, I failed. Miserably.  

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The Ridiculous Advantages of Vulnerability - Proven by a Living Legend

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The Ridiculous Advantages of Vulnerability - Proven by a Living Legend

Our greatest fear isn't failure...it's failure in public.

That is why venturing outside of our comfort zones is so scary. We set ourselves up for critics, ridicule and embarrassment.

Unfortunately, one of the places that this happens the most is at the gym. Many newcomers simply do not know the proper exercises, the proper weights, or the proper form. The thought of looking stupid exercising in front of others is one of the reasons that many people aren't able to make exercising into a habit. 

This is a terrible feeling, and can be seen vividly through the eyes of Reddit user GnashBros.

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