2014 GOALS

This year has absolutely flew by.  It's amazing how quick the end of the year creeps up on us.  Here is one thing I know, we all wished that we would have accomplished more, that is human nature.

Don't beat yourself up, or give yourself negative self-talk though.  That will not get you anywhere.  Take some time and think of the three biggest accomplishments that you made in 2013.  

It is now time to start thinking about what you are going to accomplish for 2014.  What is going to make this year, the best year of your life?  Think about that, you have the opportunity right now to write out what is going to make 2014 be your best year yet.

Go through the mental exercise for today as soon as you can, but make sure that it is done prior to 11AM on Friday January 3rd.  That way you can start attacking your goals over this weekend.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone and I'm excited to hear about your progress for 2014.

MVP Mindset Mental Exercise

1.  Find a quiet place and write out your three biggest accomplishments for 2013

2.  Take some time and congratulate yourself as well as thank anyone that helped you get there, take some time and reflect, we have all grown this last year so be proud

3.  Pretend it is Dec 31st, 2014 and ask yourself what do I want to look back on for 2014 and accomplish for the year

4.  Take this list and narrow it down to your top three goals for the year

5.  Take each of these goals and write out a plan why these have to happen

*****If there is not a strong enough why that they must happen, then take them off the list as they are only wishes*****

6.  Take your top 3 goals that pass the why test and write out what must happen in January for these goals to be on track for Dec. 31st, 2014

7.  GET TO WORK ON ACHIEVING YOUR JANUARY GOALS

MEDITATION NEEDS TO BE A PART OF YOUR DAILY ROUTINE IF YOU WANT TO PERFORM AT YOUR HIGHEST LEVEL

What do you do on a daily routine?  I'm assuming that you brush your teeth, take a shower, (I hope), and eat.  These are all things that we do daily because we see the value in them.  

Although it still has it's resistance, there is finally starting to be some chatter about the benefits of meditation for both health as well as performance.  Think about this for a moment, have you ever had a deadline of something that was important, and you ended up doing the entire project the night before?  

How is that possible, you had three months to do it, but you ended up doing it in one night?  The reason that you were able to do this so well is because you harnessed the power of focus.  By having the deadline right around the corner you had no option but to think about that project and that project alone.

Would you like to have that kind of focus so you could tackle that project on the first week?  Here is where meditation will come into play.  It is going to help you decrease stress, provide clarity, as well as help you feel good emotionally.  If that is still not enough feel free to check out articles by the Mayo Clinic, a Harvard Scientist, and a scholarly article if you still want more proof about the benefits of meditation:

http://transformationalchange.pbworks.com/f/Health%2BBenefits%2Bof%2BMeditation.pdf

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meditation/HQ01070

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-22/harvard-yoga-scientists-find-proof-of-meditation-benefit.html

Find a quiet place to perform this guided meditation.  It is about 15 minutes long and is lead by one of the world leaders in meditation Deepak Chopra M.D.. 

MVP Mindset Exercise

1.  Pick one day this week that you will set aside 20 minutes to relax and discover the benefits of meditation, just shoot for one so you know that you will get it done

2.  Follow the guided meditation listed below

3.  When you are finished be aware of how you feel

4.  Write down three ways feeling that way could benefit you and pick two days next week to meditate, try to hit two days for four weeks in a row

WHAT ARE YOUR BAD HABITS

It's pretty obvious that if we have a good habit of exercising and eating healthy that we will have a much easier time of maintaining our weight.  We may have the habit of working on flexibility three times per week which will decrease our risk of injury.

The only way to create change in our lives is through small consistent steps, which is what a habit is. This type of change is the same for good habits, as well as bad habits.  For example, if you have the goal of losing weight, the habit of eating two cookies per day may seem small but they will not lead you closer to your goal.  

These small habits are what slowly take us down the road we don't want to go and eventually we wonder how we got there.  Have you ever looked at what your bad habits are?

It is important to discover what they are because they are generally so small that you don't notice them, and with them being small, you should be able to change them today.

MVP Mindset Mental Exercise

1.  For the next three days, carry around a small notepad and make note of any bad habit that you notice

2.  After the three days determine which bad habit affects you the most in regards to a goal that you are trying to accomplish

3.  Once you have identified the bad habit that affects you the most, focus on getting rid of that habit and that habit alone, try to make it 21 days without this as that will form a new habit

*****Do not try to change more than one habit at once, focus on one and then move to the next*****

WHAT ELSE COULD THIS MEAN

Don't overlook this question as it is very powerful.  When things do not go as planned, or when something terrifying happens, we immediately react negatively and focus on how this is not good for us.

We automatically respond in this negative way and now that are focus is on this being a negative situation, we start to find other reasons why this is negative.  This is how your mind works, it needs to have logical reasoning as to why this is negative, since you have suggested that this is not a good thing.  What happens is you start to find other supporting facts why this is not a good thing.

Has this ever happened to you?  Do you become paralyzed when this happens, and feel as is if there is no hope?

Don't worry, as that is just our human nature to do so.  The next time it happens I want you to change your reaction and it will completely change your attitude and put you in a state of action.  The next time that something happens that you did not expect I want you to ask yourself:

WHAT ELSE COULD THIS MEAN?

Now you have shifted your focus on finding other good meanings this situation can have.  Remember how your brain will search to find facts to support what you suggest to it?  This is no different, your brain will now begin to find new meanings for this particular event.

MVP Mindset Mental Exercise
1.  Think about something that you perceived as negative this week or two weeks
2.  How did you feel about that situation?
3.  What else could that situation mean?
4.  With a new meaning, go back and work on two action steps today that will help you turn that into a positive situation.

INTERESTED OR COMITTED

Are you interested or are you committed?  I love asking the athletes that I work with this question.  They always go HUH?

Have you ever asked yourself this question when you write a goal down?  Yeah it would be nice to play in college, it would be nice to lose that weight, it would be nice to have $5,000 saved.  Does any of this sound familiar?

If you go into the mindset of only being interested in achieving your goals, just stop right now.  The road is going to be long, boring, repetitive, and difficult.  

You have to say to yourself before you start working on your goals is that you are committed to getting there before you even begin.  This helps put you in a mindset to keep you moving forward towards your goals no matter what, and will help you reach your goals faster.

MVP Mindset Mental Exercise

1.  Write down the top 5 things that you want to accomplish for 2014

2.  Go through each goal and ask yourself:  Am I interested or am I committed?
****Really think through this and find out what obstacles you will have to overcome along the way and ask yourself if you have what it takes to overcome those****

3.  Once you have identified which ones you are committed to, choose to tell someone about this goal that will not let you off the hook for not achieving it, this will help keep you accountable for achieving them

DO YOU, OR YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER WANT TO BE RECRUITED TO PLAY COLLEGE SPORTS

I love today's topic as it deals with helping athletes get to the next level.  Have you ever sat down with your son or daughter and asked them this question?

Playing collegiate sports is a huge undertaking.  It is going to be filled with athletes that are better, the hours are longer, and it takes more commitment.

Does your son or daughter have what it takes to get to that next level?  There is one way to find out, and that is let the experts handle it.

There is a great company that handles the business side of collegiate recruiting and can help your son or daughter find the right match for their collegiate athletic career.

Check them out below.

http://www.ncsasports.org/

MVP Mindset Mental Exercise

1.  Decide today whether or not to look into playing sports at the collegiate level

2.  If you do decide to continuing playing, reach out to NCSA to investigate the process

3.  Pick two areas of your game that you are going to commit to getting better over the next 90 days

Email Tim here and let him know if you have made the decision to take your game to the next level.  

WORKOUTS THAT ALL ATHLETES SHOULD DO AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH

Today we are introducing a new segment to MVP Mindset and that will be a workout of the week.  In order to have an effective mindset, athletes have to train.  Although, sport specific training is going to be what athletes need to focus on most of the time, they need to add in these workouts that will test them at least once a month.

This first installment is going to be a 300 workout.  What is a 300 workout?

A 300 workout is where there are different movements that add up to 300 toal repetitions or reps.  In this specific workout, there will be 5 different movements and the objective is to get 60 repetitions of each done as quickly as possible.  These movement can be done all at once or they can be added in together throughout the workout.

For example:  You can do movement one for 60 reps and then move on to the next movement or you could do 15 reps of the first movement then move on to 15 reps of the second movement and then move on the the third movement and so on.

If you aren't an athlete this a great workout to try and get done 3 times this week.  Here are the movements and remember to try and complete this as quickly as possible.  Begin with a warmup movement such as jumping jacks or a slow jog for 3 minutes and finish with a cooldown that includes stretching your hamstrings.

Movements:
1.  60 bodyweight squats
2.  60 pull ups (if you can't perform pull ups then try inverted rows)
****Inverted rows are where you have your heels on the ground, chest towards the sky, hands grasp a barbell that is about abdomen height in the rack, keep the body in straight line from ears to shoulder to hips to knee to ankle, and then pull chest towards the bar.  Body will be at an angle)
3.  60 pushups
4.  60 burpees
5.  60 leg raises

MVP Mindset Mental Exercise
1.  Go back to your monthly goal that you have set for this week and write that down on a 3X5 notecard
2.  Once you are done with this workout you will be in  confident state, recite your goal aloud with tall posture 10 times

3 STEPS TO ACHIEVING YOUR BIGGEST 2014 GOAL

Here are three different scenarios that you could ask yourself:

1.  Am I going to MAKE it happen?

2.  Am I going to WAIT for it to happen?

3.  Am I going to WONDER what happened?

Depending on which question you live by, will determine where you will be at the end of this week, the end of this year, and in 10 years.

Think back over the last 5 years and ask yourself, what is something that I wish I would have made happen?

How would that affect the life that you have now?

If you are ready to change that around and start making things happen today, check out today's Mental Exercise.

MVP Mindset Mental Exercise

1.  Ask yourself :what is something that I want to accomplish in the next year?  Write that answer down on a sheet of paper.

2.  Now ask yourself:  what must I do this month to make sure I accomplish that goal?  Write that answer on the same sheet of paper?  

****Use this sheet of paper for #3 and then put the paper away to somewhere you know where it is at****

3.  Now ask yourself:  what must I do this week to make sure I accomplish my monthly goal?  Take that answer and write it on a 3X5 notecard and on the top of that notecard write the three questions listed at the beginning of the post.  Take that notecard and put it on your mirror so that you will see it everyday.  

ACT AS IF YOU KNOW

Wouldn't it be nice if there was an easy 1-2-3 plan to get you to where you wanted to be?  You could begin and know exactly where the finish line was, and what to do in between the start and the finish.

That's how college works.  You choose an end goal and then you work course by course until you finish and then you graduate.  It takes a lot of work in between for many years, but you know the route and you do the work.

If you are trying to achieve a goal of better performance of being a better athlete though, how do you go about that?  What do you do?

The answer is:

THERE IS NO GOLDEN BRICK ROAD TO TAKE YOU FROM A TO B

The only thing that you can focus on is getting better than you were yesterday.  As long as you focus on that, you will continue to grow.  But what about when you want to grow and you simply do not know what to do?

Sometimes you just have to act as if you know.  What I mean by that is, if you are in a place where you don't know what to do next, just take action as if you did know what to do and correct from there.

Taking the wrong action and learning from it, will always trump spinning your wheels trying to figure out the perfect combination.

MVP Mindset Mental Exercise
1.  Think of an area where you are trying to grow but you do not know how
2.  What is holding you back?  Determine what that is and write it down
3.  Come up with an action plan to overcome that specific thing
4.  If you don't know how to attack it ask yourself:   If I did know how to overcome this I would______
5.  Keep taking action and learn as you go

ARE YOU AROUND PEOPLE THAT MAKE YOU BETTER

If you want to grow and become more than you are now, you have to be around people who are better than you.  If they are at a level that you desire to be at, more than likely they have went through more and bigger obstacles than you, to get there.

Think about this for a moment.  If you were a basketball player and you only practiced and played against competition that had less ability than you, would you get better?  You could, but there is a faster way to get better.  Go up a level and play against players that are bigger, faster, and stronger.

You should be aiming to be around people like this throughout your life.  When you seek out these people, however, you have to be able to bring something to the table.

You will become the average of the 5 people that you are around most.  Think about who you spend your time with, is it people that are encouraging you to grow, or do you find yourself around negative people all too often?  Does it scare you when  you think about who you spend your time with?

If you discover that you are around negative people a majority of the time, you do not need to shut them out of your life, but you do need to limit your interaction with them as they are not helping you to grow.

MVP Mindset Mental Exercise
1.  Write down the 5 people that you spend the most time with
2.  Ask yourself these questions about these people:
      a.  Do they support me and do I feel good about myself when I am around them?
      b.  Do they always make me feel bad and do they not support me?
3.  If they are not supportive with you, you should consider lessening the time spent with them
4.  Go and find one person that is better than you or who has what you want and ask them out to lunch to learn more about them and how they think

Hint:  By just associating with people who are better than you, you will begin to think and act like them, which will lead to change.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyhOmBPtGNM

WHAT IS YOUR WHY

Have you asked yourself that question?  If you have a goal that you really want to accomplish, don't even start it until you have figured your why for doing it.  I am going to repeat that again.

DON'T EVEN START WORKING TOWARDS YOUR GOAL, UNTIL YOU HAVE FIGURED OUT YOUR WHY.

If you start working towards your goal without knowing the reason you want to accomplish it, you will get half of the results and it will take twice as long.  When you know your why, you are ready to jump out of bed first thing in the morning and get right to work.

When you know your why, the work aspect is not work, it becomes enjoyable because it is part of the process of the reason that you are doing it.  I love the example of Michael Jordan right before he went on to win his first three-peat championships.

Michael and the Chicago Bulls just lost to the Detroit Pistons for the 3rd year in a row in the playoffs.  He was so devastated and felt so much pain that he never wanted to feel that pain again.  That pain was his why, and he determined that summer that he was not going to feel that way again.  And we all know what happened after that.

If you want the entire system on how to create your why, stayed tuned next week as my goal achievement system, 8 DAYS, will be released and will take you through step by step on how to get there. 

MVP Mindset Mental Exercise
1.  Pick two people that you admire
2.  Research their story and find out their why
3.  Research and discover the struggles that they went through prior to becoming the person they became
4.  Study these stories so that you know them by memory

*****This is going to reinforce belief in yourself by giving you examples that great people struggled too, they just kept going*****

DON'T WAIT FOR OPPORTUNITY TO COME YOUR WAY, YOU HAVE TO GO OUT AND TAKE WHAT YOU WANT

I want to be better....I want to have more.....Why is it so difficult....When will my time come

This is the internal dialogue that we sometimes have with ourselves.  Things that we would never say to someone else, but yet we always are quick to judge ourselves that we are not good enough and that we can't get the job done.

This is not the mindset that top athletes, sales people, great parents, or other key players have.  If you are waiting for your time to come where opportunity is going to come knocking I have some great news.......

YOU CAN STOP WAITING RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE IT'S NOT COMING

If there is something that you want in life, you have go out and take it.  There is not going to be a one size fits all plan, and the road will be filled with challenges and tests all along the way. 

Don't let this fool you or scare you though, as you can get to that next level.  All you have to do is decide today that you are going to get it done and you don't care what is going to be in your way.  Then formulate a rough game plan and start taking action today.  Don't get caught in analysis paralysis.  You do need to think it out but it is IMPOSSIBLE to plan for everything that could come up. 

You need to take some action within 24 hours.  This action does not need to be huge, it just needs to get you going down the right path to where you want to be. 

WE ARE GETTING CLOSE TO THE RELEASE OF MY NEW PROGRAM:  8 DAYS TO BECOME THE BEST YOU  Be on the lookout for it next week so you can go out and take what you want in 2014. 

MVP Mindset Mental Exercise
1.  Pick three people that inspire you and are at where you want to be
2.  Research their story and background and learn how they were able to go through obstacles
3.  Decide what it is that you have been waiting for the right time to come, devise a plan to get there and take action
4.  For 21 days continue to take action and reflect on what you have done and refine your plan, also ensure that you are very clear on what it is what you want

30 DAY JUMPSTART TO YOUR GOALS FOR 2014

With 2013 coming to end, it is time to reflect on what what you have accomplished, as well as begin to start thinking about how you are going to dominate 2014.

Getting to the next level in your athletic performance or personal performance is going to require more than just writing down a goal once and putting it in a drawer where you won't ever see it again.  You will have to put that goal in a place where you can view it everyday, and preferably, multiple times throughout the day.

Getting off to a fast start is HUGE when it comes to accomplishing your goals as you want momentum on your side.  In order to get off to a fast start you have to focus on the first 30 days, flip a switch, and just GET TO WORK.

Are you ready to get off to a fast start?  Take five minutes and go through today's mental exercise and it will get you there.


***** Be on the lookout for my brand new 8 DAY GOAL ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM, it will be released next week*****

MVP Mindset Mental Exercise
1.  Decide on a 6 month goal that you want to achieve for 2014
2.  Go out and buy a calendar that you can mark on
3.  Write that goal on a note card and put that note card on the calendar so that you can view it
4.  You will focus on this goal for 3 days at a time, that is where your focus is at, don't try to focus on more than three days at a time
5.  Everyday when the day begins ask yourself :"What can I do today that will get me closer to my goal"
6.  When you get 3 consecutive days of work in, then focus on getting 3 more days
7.  You want 10 groups of 3 consecutive days of work so that you get to your 30 days of consistency

LETS GET TO WORK

You do not want to miss today's video, it will make an impact in your life.

HOW TO BE ACCOUNTABLE TOWARDS YOUR GOALS

To get to a better version of ourselves than we currently are, will require a change in what we do on a daily basis.  You got to where you are today because of a compound of small choices that you have made.

When you are trying to reach new heights in your life of a better body, better athlete, or better parent, you will generally start off strong and do the necessary things to create change for the first few days.  But then it creeps up on you, it's your old self wanting to go back to it's old ways.

You can't get mad at yourself as you are just trying to be true to your current identity.  If you are tired of starting new goals of athletic performance and personal achievement and not finishing them, here is what you need to do.

YOU NEED TO GET AN ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER.

This person will help keep you on track to attain the goals that you want to become.  You have to be careful with who you pick as a partner because you want someone that will support you to help you get to that next level, but who will also give you the honest and objective feedback that you need to hear. Remember, we are the average of the five people that we spend the most time with.  Check out today's exercise to find your accountability partner.

Click here to have Tim become your accountability partner.

MVP Mindset Mental Exercise
1.  Find your journal and write down five people who would be a good accountability partner and use this criteria to filter them.  Who do I know who:
     a.  Inspires me?
     b.  Has been where I am and has what I want?
     c.  Makes me feel better when I am around them?
     d.  Structured and organized?
     e.  Would call me out when I am getting off track from my goals?  
2.  Reach out to them to ask if they would be your accountability partner and if you can be theres
3.  Pick the person who is the best fit and is ready to start immediately
4.  Pick some sort of weekly accountability system whether it's face to face, phone call, email, or text to go over goals

THE ULTIMATE SUCCESS FORMULA

Have you ever taken a trip in the car of over 6 hours?  How about built a shelf that came in a box or even mowed the lawn?  Chances are that you have.  Did you know that the formula that you used to get these things done, is the exact formula that will take your athletic performance or personal performance to the level that you want to be?

Here is the breakdown.  Everyone wants to become the best that they can be, but the problem is that they cannot see themselves as the person they want to become.  When they can't see that person, they don't even try at all.

Instead of not trying at all, why not used the same formula for mowing the lawn.  Break it down into sections.  For instance if you want to become the top scorer in the region and right now your are the third highest scorer on your team, break that goal down to become the highest scorer on your team and FOCUS ON THAT AND THAT ALONE.

By rearranging your goals and bringing them closer like this, you will gain more belief that you can attain that goal.  When your belief goes up, so does your action.  When your action goes up, so does results.  When your results go up, so does your belief.

And so the cycle continues.  You will not become this person overnight, but consistent action will get you to be the person you want to be.  This is the only way, that achievement has ever been done over time, consistent and continual action.

MVP Mindset Exercise
1.  Pick two goals that you have been wanting to accomplish
2.  Write those goals down in a place that you will see them everyday
3.  Think realistically, and break that goal down to one action step that you know that you can take daily, you may think that it is small but you can always increase it later, the main point is that you need to start and you need to start today

******Just because it is Friday, that is no excuse to say, I'm going to start on Monday, if it is something that you really want, then start small and take action today******

Today's video is 15 minutes long and is a must listen to, if you can't listen to it today, block off some time this weekend to watch it.  You will be glad you did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy9aj-dr118

BECOME FEARLESS TO GET WHAT YOU WANT

What fear do you have that is holding you back?  Maybe it's the fear of failure, the fear of what others will think, the fear of trying this again.  Everyone fears something, but what is a fear that you have, that is of something that you truly want?

Take a moment and really think about that.  What is something that you really want, but you don't have it because of fear?

There is only one way to overcome that fear, and that is action.  It may be scary the first time that you do it, but then it gets easier over time, and soon enough, you will be laughing at yourself because of how you were previously scared of this.

Think back in your life to a time that you did something that you were scared of doing, and eventually you became quite comfortable in that.

Check out the video below as it reviews the book FEARLESS.  This book is a MUST READ if you are ready to finally overcome your fears.

MVP Mindset Mental Exercise
1.  Write down one thing that you really want but are being held back because of fear
2.  Decide and commit that you are going to achieve that goal, no matter how many obstacles or how long it takes
3.  Come up with a daily plan of action for the next 7 days on how you will take action to get closer to that goal and diminish that fear
4.  On the 8th day, review your last week and see what did and/or did not work and write a new plan for the next 7 days
5.  Repeat this process twice

Become FEARLESS  today by clicking here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo_c-IDpT6Y

HOW ONE WORD CAN CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE

Life is challenging, there is no way around it.  Whether it's temporary defeat, not knowing what to do, or being stressed out, there is always a daily challenge that we have to overcome.  Achieving our peak athletic performance and personal performance requires that we can handle these situations when they arise.

Can you think of a time in the last week, where all you could do was focus on the negative side of an issue you were dealing with?  More than likely there is at least one instance where you were. 

When this happened a few things occurred.  Your shoulders slouched, you were probably looking down, and your brain started finding supporting facts as to why this was negative, and how it would be difficult.  Sound familiar?

Would you like a quick exercise that can alleviate that negativity?  Check out today's mental exercise.

MVP Mindset Mental Exercise

1.  Think of a time in the last week when something had you overwhelmed or overly stressed

2.  While thinking of that time take note of:

        a:  Your posture

        b.  Where you are looking

        c.  The internal dialogue that you say to yourself

3.  Now think of a time that you felt very confident in your life and take note of the same three things

******Most likely your posture changed, your breathing changed, your focus changed, and you felt lighter

4.  Pick one word that inspires you and repeat that word while thinking of a time you felt confident, do this at least 21 times as we are trying to build an association of confidence directly to that word

5.  Remember that word and every time you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed, think of that word and be confident, then take 1 small action in the next 30 minutes that will have you back on track