Passion Plus Talent

Talent will get you noticed, passion will ensure you maximise your talents.

Have you got lots of talent and no passion?

Well there's a massive human talent pile, stacked higher than high with men and woman, boys and girls since the beginning of time who have no shortage of talent. Each and every talent they had was allowed to fade & fizzle away, because they had no passion to apply themselves and realise the talent they had been endowed with from birth. Give me a person with minimal talent, yet full of fired up passion - any day!

Talent will get you noticed and provide you with pride of place at the start line. It'll be passion though, that ensures you cross the finish line in 1st place. Not talent.

I don't think any of you will argue that passion supersedes talent. Over my many years as a Gym instructor and then a multiple gym owner I have seen many with what is called, natural born talent. Genetically, they have the total package, yet they lack the enduring drive to succeed that only passion can provide.

How's your level of passion for what you do? Take away passion and you'll have a job and not a life long conviction. Take away passion and you will be going through the motions longing for what you don't have. Time slows down, the body aches and you wish you were paid far more than you are to compensate for the day to day drudgery you endure.

When speaking with long term unemployed I would often use the statement - "Find a job you love and you will never spend another day going to work". It's likely you have heard the quote before, yet it describes the basis of a successful and fulfilling career.

Passion changes your perspective for what you do. It fuels the fire within you to endure hardships, unfair setbacks, and is found at the very core of all human resilience. Now, take that initial quote I said before and extend it even further:

"Find a job you are absolutely passionate about. One that you would do even if you were not paid to do it. Get really good at it and people will ultimately pay you handsomely for it"

Is it this that over arches all human success? Is it this that separates the "could-haves" from the "haves"? Is it this that determines the height of our success and the depths of our failings?

Show me a successful businessman, a world champion, a school graduate who passes with honors and you will find a level of personal passion in each one of them. The varying degrees of passion within them will determine their long term level of success, or not.

What are you passionate about? What turns your lights on? What fires you up or gets your wheels spinning? What? Does anything come to mind? If you had financial security and all your usual considerations and commitments have been taken care of. What would you want to do for a career? Think about it. What would you do?

Once you have answered that question. Apply yourself whole heartily to the pursuit and fulfillment of it. Let nothing hold you back. You will set all obstacles aside and nothing will stop you from succeeding. You will toil day in and day out. Others go to work and you are living your dream.

Life will ask of you to commit every fibre of your being to your passion, yet you will do so gladly. For that is what passion does, for those who find their true north in life and live out their passion. Whether it is in a career, sport, hobbie or study. Find your passion and live it. And your life will change before you.

"It's not what catches your eye as you journey through life, it is what touches your heart".

Picture: The logo at the top is of David Tua. He fights this saturday against Shane Cameron
- "Go the Tua-man!"

SMARTER Goals

You probably know the S.M.A.R.T. acronym for the specific criteria required for goal setting. Well I wasn't all that happy with it and I have made some changes to it for you to consider. Here they are:




You don't want just S.M.A.R.T. goals, NO what you need are S.M.A.R.T.E.R goals!


This is not the entire presentation I give on this "updated" model of SMART. I'll give you the basics and then can you add to each of them and make it your own.






SPECIFIC:
Be specific about what you want. If you are too vague or general in describing your goal you are diluting your ability to achieve it. Be very detailed about what you want and ask questions like: (some may be more relevant than others)

• What exactly do you want?
• When exactly do you want it?
• What does it look like, sound like & feel like?
• How much of it do you want?
• How will you know when you have achieved it?
• How will you fully describe this in see, hear observe language?

When being specific I recommend that you ensure that your description of what you want is not just in detail but also include sensory based wording i.e. what will you see? what will you hear? How will you know you have achieved your goal? - specifically using visual, auditory and observable wording to describe this.

MEANINGFUL:

When your goal is meaningful you most certainly will achieve it. You need to know "why?" you want it and be conscious of the meaning you have placed on it - daily. To put more passion in your pursuit you need to ask the question "...why do I want this?" You need to ask it 8-12 times and be generous with your answers. Take this seriously. What will you say if asked to speak for 7 minutes on the reason why you are committing yourself to achieveing this goal?

Once you have all your answers written down, focus on the 3 most important ones on your list and visualise these 3 in detail. Absorb yourself in them and commit to being aware of them daily and especially when the going gets tough. Visualise yourself having difficulties in achieving your goal and remind yourself at that time of the 3 key resons why you want to achieve your goal. The 3 reasons will become a driving force that bolsters your determination to overcome any and all setbacks that you may face along the way.

When your goal is full of meaning - you will not be stopped!

ATTITUDE: Your attitude is a priority when it comes to ensuring your success when goal setting.

• How resilient will you need to be?
• How disciplined do you need to be?
• What is the specific attitude that you need to ensure you get what you want?
• What state of mind do you need to be successful?
  

These questions need to be answered and you need to consider both the best and worst case scenrio's and have the attitude that will get you through any and all difficulties that you may face. Having the ability for you to access the right attitude may be beyond you as this is a specialist field. What I suggest, if you do not know how to do this, then seek out a Neuro Semantic Meta-Coach or an NS Trainer. They'll get this sorted for you - easily. Remember, attitude is everything, when it comes to getting what you want.

RESOURCES: To succeed it is highly likely you'll need support. This may require financial, personal, intellectual support. It may be as complex as an extensive marketing and business plan or as simple as calling a friend. These resources may be either internal resources (attitude and mindset) or external resources (money, car, shoes etc...). Your list of resources needs to be well researched and tested, so that you will have all that you need, to achieve your goal.

What do you need so you can achieve your goal?

What assistance do you need?

Where will you go to get help?

What help do you need?

TIME: Your goal will need to be time bound. The goal needs to have both a start and stop dates.You'll need both short and longer sequenced time frames. This will let you know whether you are on target to achieve your goal.

• When will you start?


• What are shorter timeframes of achievement that you'll review your progress?


• When will you have achieved key milestones along the way?


• When will you achieve your end desired goal?


• How long will this take you?

Another thing to consider is whether it is timely now to begin or would be better to wait for a time in the very near future. This addresses seasonal demands, preparedness time constraints and the need to align with other time frames that may be out of your control. i.e. a goal of learning to ski may not be possible until the winter months.

ECOLOGY This is a step that is often overlooked. In all your zest to work towards your goal you miss considering what could go wrong and whether there is the possibility that achieveing your goal, could negatively impact you. Take time to think this through.

What could go wrong?

• What danger is there?
• 
  
  What is out of my control and how will address that?
• 
  
  Am I prepared for worse case scenarios?

Your answers here could reveal that you need to address with resources some additional points. If that is the case, revisit the other categories of SMART. In doing so, you will have a more robust plan to maximise your success.

RESET & REVIEW: Set specific times where you will review your progress.

• Is my plan working?
• What is and what is not working?
• What changes need to be made?
• What is relevant and what is not?
• Am I on time or am I ahead of time?

Reviews are valuable to ensure consistant progress takes place and also is a must for you once you have achieved your goal. At the end of a goal reset new goals. I have found as you may also, that it is the pursuit of a goal that makes life rewarding not the attainment of it.

The SMARTER formula is a simplistic yet valuable goal setting formula. It is not what I consider a well rounded and complete personal success model. But, it does have a number of the key points necessary for you to achieve what you want. Do read my earlier article on what they didn't tell you about goal setting.

I hope this helps in giving you a base from which to set your personal goals from. I will be offering challenging views of what is consdiered necessary criteria in goal setting found in NLP and Neuro Semantic goal setting known as a Well formed Outcome. Revist later this month for that info.

Goal Setting Success

Following my last Blog, I thought I'd write you some important stages in coaching a person to formulating a goal and ensure all the parts are present. I'm assuming that you will apply the tips I gave you in the previous blog. I find the popular S.M.A.R.T. formula of goal setting rather tedious and present in this and my previous blog another alternative.

I encourage you to take the 10 goal setting tips I wrote earlier and use this framework to attach those previous important points to and as a result further increase the possibility of you achieving what you want.

GOAL SETTING

Stage 1): KNOW WHAT YOU WANT

I'm going to break this 1st stage down to it's smaller components so you can be more specific in getting this 1st important step right.

You need to KNOW what you want. That is, you are to have the "know-ledge" of what you want. If you do not know what you want, then allow yourself to dream, imagine or consider what it is that you want for your life. There is a real need (in my humble opinion) to know that life without a goal to pursue is a life that is not being self-actualised. I'm not going to fully justify why I am saying that. I will say in brief, that I'm wanting you to know that the pursuit of a goal, whatever it is, brings a greater level of meaning and satisfaction to your life, rather than for you to vegetate and surrender to doing nothing with your life on a regular, long term basis (for some this is a full time occupation).

A personal goal will give you a sense of direction and purpose. A goal-less life, is a life that has less meaning and less purpose. I hope that is enough for you to consider setting yourself a goal. And doing it quickly. Be it a short-term or long-term goal, but a goal all the same. You may want to start with something small and build up to setting larger and more bodacious goals as you grow in confidence in goal achieving.

You need to know what you want. It's important that YOU want it. The first stage that's needed for you, is that what you want, MUST be something that YOU and YOU alone - want! It is not to be something that you want, because he or she (Mum or Dad) wants you to have it as a goal. The focus that I am wanting you to have at this stage is that you are pursuing your goal because YOU want it.

Lastly - Whatever it is that you know you want. You must WANT it. You will achieve it if you want it enough. It's the want that will drive you forward and break through any and all setbacks. When you want it and want it with every cell of your mind and body you will have it.

Too often we say we want something and it is not a WANT it's only a WISH! Do you want it? Does it fill your being with desire to posses it? When you want at this level you will achieve it you will get what you want. The main thing that stops you from having what you want is not the knowing of what you want -it is the lack of wanting. To want it more and more ask yourself the question why? Why do you want it? Why else do you want it and ask this question some 7-12 times and make a list and quickly become embroiled in the 3-5 main reasons why you want it and be conscious of it throughout your day. Increase your initial desire for what you want by being mindful of the WHY that drives you to want to achieve your goal.

Stage 2): TAKE ACTION

Once you know what you want it's time to do something about it. Not just anything but a planned and strategic approach to specific, practical steps that lead you towards what you want. (read that sentence again and again till you get it).

Here are some questions that you will need to answer, so that you take calculated and practical steps in actioning your goal. Some may be more relevant than others.

• Do you know what you need to be doing to get what you want?


• Who do you need to speak to?


• When will you start taking action?


• When will you achieve it exactly?


• What do you need so you can achieve your goal?


• What resources do you need, both internal and external resources?


• Who needs to support you in your goal achieving journey?


• What is you 1st, 2nd and 3rd steps?


• What are you going to do in the short-term?

Apply the answers that you have and put them into an action plan. Be detailed in the writing of your plan. Leaving nothing out. Make it clear and precise. The more precise you are in the action steps that you write into your plan, the higher the likelyhood of you achieving what you want. Spare no detail when making an action plan. This stage will give you confidence and formulate a more complete understanding of the effort required of you.

Stage 3): RISK MANAGEMENT

I want you to now address the possible risks, setbacks or self-sabotage that may occur in taking action while in the pursuit of your goal. Use the following questions to assist you in minimising the likelihood of you failing.

• What could possibly go wrong for you?


• What may sabotage your efforts?


• What will you do to overcome any setbacks?


• What are the possible negative impacts that may happen, when you achieve your goal?


• What solutions do you have to successfully address all your setbacks?

Stage 4): MONITORING PROGRESS

Taking action without monitoring your progress is fool hardy. Working hard, without realising whether you are actually moving in the right direction, the goal and supporting actions, soon becomes meaningless. To avoid wasting your efforts you must regularly monitor your progress. I've listed a few questions to prompt you to accurately monitor your progress or not.

• Are your actions taking you towards or away from your goal?


• When will you check you progress?


• What are the specific times or dates that you will check your progress?


• How will you know that you are making progress?


• What will you do if you are not on track?


• Will you use a 3rd party to monitor your progress?


• When things go wrong and your efforts wasted what will you do to get back on track?


• Are you willing to accept your efforts have been wasted and are you able to make the appropriate changes to realign yourself with your goal?

Write your answers into your action plan to ensure you have, specific monitoring milestones, to check that your progress is taking place and you are on track.

Goal Setting Summary

Once you have worked through the 4 stages and also integrated the 10 important tips that I have listed in my earlier blog, you are now well prepared to pursue your goal. Pursue it with absolute gusto. Let nothing distract you from possessing what you want. Enjoy every moment and every step along the way.

Wishing you well as you strive towards your goals.

Colin: www.ignition.org.nz

What You Didn't Learn About Goal Setting

Have a look through your NLP Practitioner training manual or your Neuro Semantic manual and look up the Well Formed Outcome Model. This is a typical goal setting pattern with specific criteria that needs to be present for you to achieve your goals, or to coach others in achieving there's.

What I've found is there are many techniques that ensure your success in goal setting that aren't specifically addressed in the Well formed outcome model so I thought you'd like to have some additional proven tips, to maximise you resultsBefore I do that we need to have brief look at the Well formed outcome pattern.



Here are the 8 basic steps (not including sub-headings) of the Well Formed Outcome Model:



1) State the outcome in positive terms

2) State the outcome in sensory based terms

3) Specify the outcome so it is compelling

4) Run an ecology check on the outcome

5) Is it self initiated and maintained?

6) State the specific context of the outcome

7) State the resources needed for you to achieve it

8) What evidence will you have to know you have achieved your goal?



What's missing?


Quite a lot actually! And really important stuff too!



Here are 10 critical points for you to ensure the likelyhood of you achieving your goal and will greatly enhance the Well Formed Outcome Model. They are in no particular order and supported by research. (email me if you want the details)



Accountability:
Who will you ask to hold you accountable for you to achieve the goal? Who will the person be that will keep you on track throughout the process? Who will you tell what it is that you are wanting to achieve?



Planning:
What are the specific steps you will take and the specific time frames for each of these steps? Include all the necessary resources and align them with the timeline of the outcome you are wanting to achieve.

Support:
Who will support you through the stages of the goal?
Who will offer you emotional support through the steps along the way?
What specific support do you require from others?



Rewards:
What rewards will you recieve at specific stages of the journey to achieving your goal? Ensure that the reward does not conflict with your long term goal i.e. spending money when your goal is to save money or eating forbidden food when you are wanting to shed weight!


Problem & Solutions:
What will stop you from achieveing your goal and what 2 solutions do you have to overcome each of them? Be fully prepared for worse case scenario. Know what will slow you down or attempt to make you fail and have a clear strategy to overcome each of them.



Visualisation:
Visualise the effort, commitment and dedication required of you at each step of the plan you have formulated. Visualise yourself overcoming each difficulty artehr than you achieving the end result. 80% of the visualisation process is to be on effort and overcoming and 20% on the end result.



WHY Power:
Make and extensive list of WHY you want to achieve this goal. Ask the yoruself why - a dozen or more times and bullet point the 3 main reasons why you want the goal. Remember: when you know WHY you are doing it you WILL do it!



Mindfulness:
Be mindful, on a regular basis, of WHY you want to make the effort required of you. Take a brief moment through your day to refelect on why you are doing what you are doing.



Journal:
Write a progress record or a blog of how you are doing. Write in it encouraging comments to keep you focused when the going gets tough. Remember to record your successes and how you have overcome all your setbacks.



Pict-o-Gram:
Make a mindmap, poster or pict-o-gram of your goal. Cut out pictures make it colourful and have it in a plce that you will see regularly.



There you go, 10 points that will greatly enhance your chances of achieveing your goal. Weave each of them into your usual Well Formed Outcome Model and you will maximise your own chances and those you coach, in achieving their goals!



Simple, aye?



I know this list is not complete and there are other key points that can be integrated. Use these ones for now and see how it goes...