Yes…there are actually some substantial benefits to failing.

“In Great attempts it is glorious even to fail”
                             ~Bruce Lee

Let’s look at the specific benefits of failure. I have also included hand picked videos that help to drive home the point even further. POWERFUL insights!

Failure Can Show You A Better Way To Do It.
Look at it like this: Failing may not feel good but it’s actually worse to succeed doing something the wrong way. This is not to say that there’s only one route to success, but the techniques that are most successful are those that can be applied over a broad range of activities and or reproduced again and again.

To be specific, let’s say that Runner #1 comes in first by cheating or manipulating the system. He won! So cheating is a technique he’s going to try to replicate from then on. How does that work over the long haul? Not very well, it turns out.

So maybe that example is at the extreme end of the spectrum and something most of us would NOT resort to. That example not withstanding, failure can still help you refine your goals and methods to achieve a broader success than would otherwise be possible.

Failure Can Teach You Humility.
Humility is one of the most underrated attributes of most great leaders. A humble person is teachable; he or she has the ability and openness to learn new things. A humble person is likable; other people gravitate to someone who won’t make them feel inferior. This means that a humble person is better equipped to get things done and bring people together. Humble people have nothing to prove; they’ve got no overshadowing ego to cloud their judgment when making important decisions.

Failure Can Provide You A Sense Of Humor.
If it doesn’t, you’ll never survive. Being able to laugh at yourself is the only way to enjoy the roller coaster ride of life. It’s also a great encourager to others to hear you laugh at this otherwise mortifying failure you’ve experienced. A sense of humor drains that failure of any power it has except as a lesson in perseverance. Having a sense of humor is a sign of great inner strength and the ability to move beyond failure so completely that it’s nothing more than a joke and a valuable learning opportunity.

No one who has ever succeeded BIG has gotten there without first failing BIG.

Sometimes it’s the numbers on the scale, other times it’s a single unforgiving glance in the mirror or just a lack in energy that motivates us to work towards being healthier and making healthier choices.  Occasionally we all get the “healthy mindset”  that we are going to change our unhealthy habits and “evil ways”. And so we begin to work towards maintaining a cleaner lifestyle.  It may include fitting exercise into our busy schedule or changing our diet habits,

In the beginning, it is easy to be vigilant towards being healthy, but over time the motivation starts to diminish and the old habits and conditioned behaviors start creeping back in.  We’ve all been there.

Maintaining the motivation is a challenge, but here are some ways to keep that positive mindset that will help you stay the course and achieve optimum health and wellness.

Set Realistic Goals
If your goal is to lose weight, be realistic in your expectations and goals. It is easy to get frustrated if you do not see the unrealistic results you were expecting. Tell your loved ones your health goals so you get automatic support team that will cheer you on through each success. Warring: Don’t share you goal with everyone…#1 no one other than your closes friends and loved one car and #2 sharing you goal will the world will actually diminish the internal motivation to achieve it.

Do It For You
Your health goals should be for you, and not to please someone else. You are your biggest supporter and to make a complete lifestyle change for someone else will quickly dampen your motivation.

Make It Easy For Yourself
Do not set yourself up for failure, do things to make it easier for yourself to achieve your goals. If hunger at work has you running to the vending machine, then pack healthy non-processed snacks to ease the hunger and avoid choosing unhealthy packaged food. If you have a sweet tooth at night, then research recipes for healthy snacks that will deliver a healthy dose of sweetness to leave you satisfied. Making a lifestyle change can be easier if you find healthy alternatives to ease constant cravings.

Set A Prize
To give yourself an extra boost of motivation for achieving your health goals, plan a prize for yourself once reaching your goal. Achieving health and wellness is the ultimate prize, but it is always a motivator to include another a special reward for a job well done. Depending on your available time and budget, plan a gift that is fun and does not involve an unhealthy habit. A reward should not be that you get to have a hot fudge sundae; rather you take a vacation or get tickets for your favorite sports team.

Be positive and keep your motivated mindset, while achieving your health and fitness goals. If there is a slip up, set back or transgression ( and there will be) continue where you left off. No big deal, we all slip and fall now and then, just pick yourself up, brush off the dirt, spray a little antiseptic on your knee and get moving again.

Stacking Effect
Before you fully achieve your goal set another goal! Many times upon the completion of a goal there’s the “Now what?” after effect accompanied by a drop in attitude and energy and quite often a slip back into old habits.  The last thing you want is to lose momentum. You are not someone who just lost weight or got healthier… you are someone who is healthy, fit and energized.  If you want to maintain it make it a lifestyle by stacking your goals for continued success.

It can be tough and quite often frustrating to be out there on your own trying to achieve something challenging.

I want to share a secret with you today.  Actually it’s a secret component in the fitness success formula.   And if you learn this secret, embrace it and maximize its potential you will never have to worry about motivation again.

Before I share the secret with you I should tell you that not everyone has the wherewithal to employ it… in fact the vast majority of fitness participants shy away from it for one reason or another and as a result feel alone, isolated and unsupported in the efforts.

Most of the people who do have this element working for them – put it into place inadvertently – that is without consciously knowing they are even doing so.

Watch the Video O Muscle & Fitness.com

I call it…

Immersion has everything to do with embracing the culture of what you want to be successful at.

When I first started Body Building several years ago I almost immediately knew I wanted to be a champion… but it didn’t happen simply as a result of going to the gym and eating a little better.

It wasn’t until I immersed myself in the culture of sport and became part of a Tribe you might say that the energy began to shift and the real results began to emerge.

The reason Cross Fit has caught on like a wild fire has a lot less to do with the actual workouts and more to do with the tribal influence of the Cross Fit culture.

Yoga is a phenom because its loyal practitioners feel like they are part of and contribute to a global culture.

Body builders, Figure and Physique athletes, Power lifters, Cyclers, Runners, Snow Boarders, MMA practitioners like Cross Fitters all have their own individual culture complete with a specific facilities, look, language and mindset.

If you want to stop searching for how to stay freaking motivated and start maximizing your results – pick an activity that aligns with those desired results and embrace the freaking culture not just the workout.

Be part of something bigger than you!

3 Tips for Total Immersion:

1. Read everything you can get your hands and watch as many videos as you can about the related activity.  When I first started BB I read every issue of Muscle & Fitness, and Iron Man I could find in addition to tons of books and other magazines

2. Gear up: If you ever start MMA training you’ll hear it again and again “it’s all about the gear man”  - If it’s Yoga… for crying out loud pick up your own mat, if its cross fit don’t forget your special knee-high shin protecting black socks. You get the idea.

3. Become part of a TRIBE. Go to the same class or group training a few times and get to know your fellow suffers, introduce yourself, bring value, offer support, share your experience and become part of a group.

Ok the secret’s out… let’s see if you can put it to work for you.  Find a culture you can embrace and immerse yourself in success.

Determining and writing down your goals and objectives are two of the most important actions you can take towards improving both your physique and your life.

Yes, I am repeating the most basic, elemental strategy for success because it is overlooked time and time again!

If you want to maximize your time, your effort and your results you had better focus your energy on very specific objectives.

If you were to walk into the gym with no real set objectives other than working up a sweat you’re not going to be as productive as you could be– period.

The best athletes in the world either have coaches who set the training agenda for them or they lay out for themselves a periodized training protocol that entails knowing exactly what they’re going to do every single workout… every single session.

It Goes Beyond That…

They’re not just going in to the gym to do battle with an unknown opponent and no predetermined outcome– they know exactly what the objective is and how to obtain it.

Knowing what type of workout you’re going to do today is good but knowing what the objectives are during the workout and why they must be achieved is critical to your progress.

Determining what you want to achieve, how you want to look, how you want to feel and what kind of body and life you ultimately want then writing it down so you can see it every day is the only way you’re going to make it happen.

Success doesn’t happen by chance.  Success is strategic process that starts with clear and concise goals and objectives.

 

Start with the BIG picture first…

• The mission goal – the over-arching long term objective – this could be 6 months to as long as 10 years down the road.For me is was to win the National Body Building Championship and creating an extraordinary life (which I clearly defined).
• The sub-or short term goals – These might be between one and three months apart – but clearly and incrementally get you closer and closer to your long term mission goal.  This could show up as a specific workout routine or incremental strength or weight gains.
• The daily tasks – What do you have to do today, tomorrow and the next day to meet the short term sub-goal deadlines?

So instead of floundering around everyday hoping to make some progress and more likely squandering your time – you’re task and goal oriented…

…you’re on a freaking mission

And pretty soon you’ll find that nothing and I mean nothing can stand in your way.

It’s a New Year. Let’s go already!

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Stop Waiting For Your Giant Leap Forward to Just Happen… Make it Happen!

Check Out How This Process Can Change Everything

>> Experience THE LEAP Mastermind Coaching <<

Despite never having won a Super Bowl Marino is recognized as one of the greatest quarterbacks in American football history. But it was his clean cut all American reputation that made him a respects and love superstar.

Feeling let down by his idol, “R” expressed feeling frustrated about what seems like just another example of the lack of integrity and unethical behavior regularly exercised by the people we admire and respect most in the world.

We talked about how challenging it must be for a superstar athlete, actor, politician or celebrity to constantly exercise the will power needed to resist what to the rest of us would appear to be a constant barrage of irresistible temptation.

If you have read any of my stuff on Strength of Will you know that there isn’t (in any of us) an inexhaustible and endless supply of the stuff. After making countless decisions about what to eat, who to call or not to call, overcoming a desire to go out for beers instead of heading to the gym and resisting the urge to inappropriately flirt with the attractive new receptionist our will begins to run low. This is why, after ordering the salad for lunch and saying no to cocktails after work so many “dieters” break down at midnight with a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

This concept gave “R” pause for a moment as he tried to build a mental picture for exercising the level of will needed to overcome such an overwhelming level of temptation.

“Seriously…I found it extremely challenging just to stay on a 3 day a week training program without finding an excuse here and there for missing a few on a regular basis.”

I wasn’t suggesting that everyone in the public eye who gives into temptation or has moment of transgression should automatically be atoned for his or her sins or that this strength of will exhaustion point is an excuse for acting immorally. What I was suggesting to “R” is that we should be cautious about rushing to judgment one way or the other.

“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” That isn’t me and likely it isn’t you either.  We’re just fortunate that our sins aren’t publicly aired for all to judge.

But it does also seem like the “Blunders of the Rich and Famous” (there’s a TV show idea for you) are a good deal more monumental than that of the rest of us. Of course they are! Or at least they appear to be.  They’re playing a bigger game than most of us and as a result everything in that game is amplified.  When they play… they play BIG. When they screw up…they screw up BIG.

As our discussion began to wind down I proposed an interesting challenge to “R” –  a challenge few of us could meet. For one month see if you are able to completely clean your slate of indiscretions, sins, wrongdoings and “colossal blunders.” For just 30 days become aware of every time you tell a white lie, make up an excuse, have an immoral, hateful or unkind thought, cheat, steal, curse, over indulge in food, alcohol or drugs…etc.

In other words, using only the strength of your will along with any divine support you can find live as absolutely sin free as humanly possible for 30 days while listing and keeping track of any and all big or small transgressions.

Then at the end of the 30 days (here’s where it gets interesting) find a popular public place like a town square and confess your transgressions publicly.

Wow… did I really suggest that last part? You may want make sure there are no police listening.

OK, so the full 30 day commitment as well as the public humiliation parts of the process may be a bit too big for most of us. However if we want to gain some insights into our own daily habits, behaviors and motivations as well as the level of WILL it takes to resist a habit or something we may desire even though it is not in our best interests a modified version of this exercise could be very useful.

So here is my challenge to you: Commit to the “clean slate” process for just 48 hours.  Then see if it changes your perspective on Dan and yourself.

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If you have ever said to yourself or someone else, “that’s impossible?” Then this will help you create a new model of possibility.

Having been part of several powerful team building and leadership trainings, I have had many opportunities to participate in some very challenging ropes course activities and have witnessed countless breakthroughs as a result.

On this particular occasion the course included what is known as the “leap of faith” which involves climbing 50 feet up a narrow telephone pole, having to pull yourself up and stand on the 12 inch top than leap between 5 and 8 feet to a free floating trapeze bar. It is an achievement that would be difficult for even a seasoned circus performer.

Many members of our team including myself were able to scale the daunting pole and successfully fly through the air and grab the trapeze bar which appeared to be more like 20 feet away and some were not as successful.

The last person to go was a woman who while watching the challenge being successfully accomplished by many of her team mates kept repeating to herself, “this is impossible, I can’t do it.”

We all felt fear but she had massive anxiety about the task and with good reason. On top of the fact that she had not exercised for years and had allowed herself to gain a massive amount of unhealthy weight (she was well over 300 lbs) she has also lived with a terrifying fear of heights all her life.

With the encouragement of her team mates she ultimately made the decision to give it a try. It was amazing. She struggled for almost 20 minutes to get to the top, all the while her team members shouting and encouraging her to not give up. I had been to the top and I knew how difficult it was to reach and how scary it was to jump. Watching her struggle with tears in her eyes I wanted to tell her that it was OK and that she could just come on back down. I knew however what she would lose if she did. So instead I joined my teammates in yelling, “You can do it! Just one more step– four more inches.”

I know she thought about quitting… giving up.

Instead she fought for every inch; pole wobbling, arms and legs trembling she took that painfully difficult final step and stood upright on the very top of the pole now some 50 plus feet in the sky.

We had just witnessed the impossible and as a result spontaneously erupted into a mass cheer that must have been heard for miles. Then there was silence. As she stood arms stretched out looking out at the trapeze bar some five feet away my throat tightened and tears came rolling down my face. My climbing to the top and finally jumping was indeed powerful and gutsy but this woman was no Mr. America– she was not an athlete and she was deathly afraid.

Somehow she not only found the super human physical strength but also the will, determination, and COURAGE to climb to the top. When she finally jumped (supported by a bolle wire) it was like time stood still and we all stopped breathing for that moment.

When she was finally lowered to the ground she was greeted by of some 25 cheering, screaming, and crying, friends and teammates I had to give her a big hug and thank her for what she did for me and the rest of us and for having the courage to reach well beyond her perceived limitations.

She told me that she could not have done it without the encouragement of her team and our belief that she could do it. Although she was ultimately not able to hold on to the trapeze bar, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that she was able to overcome her fears and limiting beliefs about what she could and couldn’t do and that she touched what was at one time believed to be impossible to reach.

I have no doubt that she, like you, will be successful at achieving her ultimate goal no matter what it may be.

I’m proud to be on your team… who else is on your team? Who else have you enlisted? Let other people you trust and who care about you share in your success… let them be inspired at knowing you did it and that they, in some small or large way helped you achieve it.

In this addition I share my top mindset strategies for starting and sticking with a new habit including an exercise program.

Click Video Image To Watch

For the entire Max Mind Set series and other great training, nutrition and Mindset tools and strategies go to Muscle and Fitness.com

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Sounds a little bleak doesn’t it?    

Sorry… but there is substantial evidence suggesting that declaring a resolution on New Year’s Eve can actually reduce the likelihood of achieving it.  If this news comes a little late…no worries you can still fix it.

Most people (you may have been one of them) knew going in that setting a New Year’s resolutions equates to about 50% joke and 50% hope. What they don’t know is that setting a half ass resolution and stating it out loud can have a profound negative psycho-emotional impact on their ability to set and achieve more serious goals in the future.

Out of 52% of the participants in a recent resolution research study who were absolutely confident of their ability to achieve success only 12% ever actually achieved their goals.

When done incorrectly goal setting can seriously undermine a goal setter’s confidence, motivation, and ability to achieve what they want.

I’m not suggesting that we stop setting “New Year’s resolutions” altogether –  what I am suggesting,  if you’re serious about achieving them is that you think about what you resolve to achieve in advance and then form them as real, specific and obtainable goals long before stating them out laud over a bottle of Dom.

You’d increase your chances of success if you waited until New Years day or later to work on your resolutions (providing you aren’t to hung over) and follow some form of goal setting strategy before declaring your resolutions for the New Year.

For years the more serious of the resolution setters have been using what is called the S.M.A.R.T. goals criteria to guide the process of taking it from desire to goal and giving it some legs. But in many cases the S.M.A.R.T. criteria falls short in providing the needed psychological/emotional  map for reaching the final destination.

In Why Smart Goals Maybe Dumb I share what I call the A.C.T.I.O.N. goals criteria for creating a truly compelling and achievable outcome statement and mental map of the process.

The A.C.T.I.O.N. goals criteria directs you in checking in with your own ecology before deciding to go after what you think you want just to make sure it’s in-line with your values and substantially increasing your likelihood of achieving it.

By getting crystal clear on exactly WHAT you want, WHY you want it and putting the A.C.T.I.O.N. goals criteria to work for you, you can turn the odds in your favor the next time you resolve to achieve of change something worth achieving.

Here are 7 tips for an achievable resolution outcome.

1. Set a date for your “resolution” setting session between one day and two weeks from New Years Eve.
2. Focus on what you won’t not what you don’t want..
3. Have a strong commitment to making the change you want…or don’t bother.
4. Formulate a clear emotionally charged picture of WHY you want it.
5. Create a simple plan IMMEDIATELY and refine it later.
6. Come up with several coping strategies or better still “victory strategies” for the challenges that you anticipate showing up.
7. Find an accountability partner and share your goal with that one special person not with the entire world.

The Why Smart Goals Maybe Dumb is available on Amazon for a very limited time for only 99cents and has the complete A.C.T.I.O.N. goals criteria outline.

Make sure you register for my upcoming FREE “Unleash Your Ambition Machine” webinar

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