Your Best Just Got Better

A dear friend of ours just moved away from Ojai, and on a run we took together along the river here in Ojai a week ago, I asked, "How do you achieve on important goals?" Over the next 5 miles, we circled around that topic. One of the comments that I remember from the conversation was, "Is the goal believable?" It got me thinking; I mean, what exactly does believable mean? You see, in this week's GET MOMENTUM Ojai Winter Leadership Retreat (getmomentum.co/retreat) we are talking about a very important aspect of human performance and professional productivity: Expanding the comfort zone. Are you going to watch any of the Olympics starting today? If so, you will see athlete after athlete who has spent a lifetime expanding their comfort zone. Fortunately for us, we can do this to a lesser degree than the physical effort they all put in; we can do it with our minds and step in to bigger visions of ourselves, achieving bigger and more important goals. In today's podcast, you'll learn THREE ways to achieve on your

You’ve got time to do this, ready? Breathe in…Extremely deeply, and then breathe out. Next, do it again. Now, on that second “out breath” ask yourself this question: “What are my priorities for the rest of today?” Careful now, don’t ask yourself what “are all the things” you have to get done; I’m talking the 2 (or maybe 3) things that you know absolutely need your attention. You see, the brain is an amazing computer, once it finds something out of place - in this case, something unfinished - it has to go to work seeking closure. People talk about setting goals all the time; they rarely talk about WHY setting goals is important. Over the past couple of decades that we’ve been in the lab, studying the human mind, biological genetics and pre-dispositions, and physical activity, we’ve uncovered some very important facts. Having studied psychology and the impact of the mind on human performance, it is apparent to me that there are six areas to focus on if we’re going to grow physically, mentally, emotionally an

You know it’s time to believe what you’ve heard before; in this podcast, I am going to make the case that if you’re going to do make your best better, you’ll actually have to do the OPPOSITE of what Nike says. Yes, you’re going to have to… Just Stop It What would happen to you if you spent 31 days studying just one leadership theme… Such as “Success”? Well, this month, GET MOMENTUM members from around the world are studying exactly what that word means to them. If you know that you’re on track to have a bigger, better and more successful year, but need to know the skills, tools and tactics how to get there, visit www. GET MOMENTUM .co today. You’ll be glad you did. Here is another one of my favorite quotes about success: This one is by Bruce Lee - "Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it." I’m recording this podcast for you here in Northern California. I’m actually looking to buy a new electric car while I’m workin

Do you know what success would look like? Do yourself a huge favor, and spend 15 minutes today (before you fall asleep tonight) writing down goals, ideas, milestones and outcomes for you, your life and your career. The time span on this doesn’t matter; it could be for this week, this month, this job, or this lifetime. After you spend 15 minutes thinking about this, listen to the podcast one more time. Be different, see different. There are two things you need to do, if you want to experience more “Success.” And, no, I’m not going to serve up the obvious one. You know what most people say, right? I can’t tell you HOW many beginning life coaches, mentors or even friends I’ve talked to who say, “Jason, I need to be more clear with my goals. Will you help with a goal-setting, strategy session?" Did you know that researchers at Harvard Business School have actually proven that simply identifying - no matter HOW clearly you do it - a goal is NOT the most important thing to do to achieve more. I found a couple of

This January, I’m talking about the theme of SUCCESS. Yes, all 5 weekly podcasts will give you insight and ideas on how you can work smarter, think bigger, and achieve more. Meanwhile, GET MOMENTUM members all over the world study one theme each month; I’d like to share a way that I end each day in a way that celebrates what got done, and helps me look forward to tomorrow. This just may lead you to greater success in life, and at work. As you listen to the podcast, take special note of the three quotes I left for you: J Paul Getty said, "Formula for success: rise early, work hard, strike oil." I love this one by Jonathan Winters, "I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it." And, how about this from Dr. Bill Cosby, "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” If you let yourself count things, the right things, you’ll know what kind of progress you’re making. Create some kind of an “end of the day” ritual where you do get to write down the kinds of

This month's theme - and therefore all 5 weekly podcasts - is SUCCESS. You see, GET MOMENTUM members around the world are studying this topic, and here I’ll share a few ideas I have about how to ask better questions that will lead you to greater success in life, and at work. In the beginning of the cast, I talk about reading a book by a friend of mine, Dan Waldschmidt. Asking the right questions is a mindset-based approach to improvement. It starts with a foundation - a belief, really - that improvement is possible, that making things better is not just a “pie-in-the-sky” dream, but something that you can do. Instead of staying in a reactive frame of mind (something that many podcast listeners and blog readers admitted to me at the end of last year) you’re now in a position to pro-act, thinking about the next few months one week at a time. When it’s your turn to achieve success, use the “better” questions that I talk about in this podcast. Oh, and if you listen until the very end so that you can take advan

With only a few days left in 2013, I share two ways that can help you to celebrate better. Throughout the year, we reflect and we dream…however, we especially do these things during this time of year. A favorite quote from a teacher of mine, Anne Lamott (in her book, Bird by Bird) is, “You get your confidence and intuition back by trusting yourself, by being militantly on your own side. You need to trust yourself, especially on a first draft, where amid the anxiety and self-doubt, there should be a real sense of your imagination and your memories walking and woolgathering, tramping the hills, romping all over the place. Trust them. Don't look at your feet to see if you are doing it right. Just dance.”

Listen in to hear two questions that I ask all the time that puts me in the position to achieve bigger and bigger things… work things, life things, financial or experiential things…anything. Pause and take a look at the top two or maybe three goals you have for next year. What is true for you? What is your most important thing? What is your goal that you want to make it towards and get to? What would happen if everyone listening to this podcast sat down and asked themselves, “Is the goal that I want, true?” and then everyone reached out to their community and asked “Who do you know who could help me achieve this goal?”

Pip Coburn wrote in his book, The Change Function, “The ultimate goal of Business Intelligence is to provide individuals with insight and visibility into operations and to empower users to make effective decisions that improve the performance of their business.” When you think about this idea, stop and ask yourself…Why would you write things down? Why would you set a goal? Why would you talk to someone about your vision of the future? Ultimately, we do all these things because there is an end goal in mind. When it comes to the idea of goal setting and goal achievement, listen in to hear four steps you can take to become a better goal setter… especially as we enter the new year!

Years back, I read the book Abundance, by one of my teachers, Peter Diamandis and one of my favorite ideas that he wrote about is that “you need a group of people who thrive on risk, are overflowing with crazy ideas, and don’t have a clue that there’s a wrong way to do things.” As you look into the future and 365 days from today, what is the risk that you need to take? What is the direction that you’re moving? You can start to use a directional attitude to plan, think, and study your way into success. Listen in to learn three big secrets. What is it that you can do over the next two, four, or six weeks as we head in for another year and another you, with big goals and big objectives?

What happens when you activate your imagination? Well, a few things that I know of right away. (1) You jump-start your creativity. (2) You begin imaging-in tasks and tactics. (3) You begin the process of building a new "normal." (Ok, in last month's Momentum Module for our elite membership group at www.TimeToGetMomentum.com, we talked at length in the town hall meeting and in that month's special report about Building Routines. Please let me know if you'd like to talk about that…) In this podcast, I'll share with you four of the principles of success. Good news: There are not hundreds or dozens of things you need to do to make your life and work better. There are a few things, however, you need to do consistently. Please, listen in and practice with one of these this week.

Step one in getting more - more of whatever it is you'd like to have - is to know what what that is. And, I'm not the only one who thinks so! Recently, I saw a campaign via Connect: Professional Women's Network, Powered by Citibank where they provided this prompt: "Finish This Statement...As a woman I'd like to_______ more." How many things came to your mind? As a man, as a friend, as a partner, as a colleague, as a teenager, as a retiree (we've you ALL listening in to this podcast each week!). Wanting more of something that brings you joy, challenges you, or makes the world a better place is not negative; in fact, wanting more is the first step you need to take if you're going to get more. Enjoy this podcast, and…give yourself the gift of your own attention by writing down what it is you'd like to make more of!

How clear is your vision - of what you want, of what you have, of where you are going? In this week's podcast, I am going to encourage you to do a little more work this week to CLEARLY identify where you are going. It's an important aspect to incorporate in to your planning, your development, your routines. By the way, if building new routines is something that you're looking to work on next year, let me know…I have some ideas on that. When it comes to the results you're experiencing, it's easies to think in terms of past performance. A mentor of mine - Marshall Goldsmith - continues to remind me how important habits are to our productivity AND our lack of success. I wrote in my journal years ago that "habits are things that used to work." By that I mean that what I used to do, that got me here to where I am today. If I'm going to get anywhere other than where I am…might be time for a new routine! If you know that next year is going to be a more productive one for you, here are some ideas you can use right a

If there was just one secret to effective project management, when would you want to know what it is? I believe there is one skill that you can improve on that will - no doubt - make it easier to manage any project you are involved in - in life, at home, or at work. As you move in to the next week, ask yourself, "Who do I need to follow up with?" and then, if possible, send out any notes/emails/phone calls you can to connect with those people. An easy way to move the mission forward is to identify where you are going, what resources you need to get there, and take actions - step by step - to make your way toward completion. If you'd like to read about three more ideas you can use right away, here's a blog post from a while back you'll enjoy: http://www.jasonwomackblog.com/working_outwhile_youre_ou/2009/11/project-manager-productivity-secrets-a-presentation-in-santa-barbara-ca.html

Good news, in order to get THAT MUCH better, there are not hundreds or even dozens of things you have to do. There's just one. Throughout this episode, I share with you ways you can think about answering that ONE most important question, "What do I want?" Until you decide what that is, on both a head AND a heart level…Well, you just may find yourself staying busy. Once you identify WHAT you want, then you can more clearly identify what to do and how to get there.

As a kid, I was told that "Practice Makes Perfect," but as you'll hear in this podcast I've since realized that it isn't true. Practice can make a lot of things, but I've yet to be PERFECT at any of the things that practice has made. Oh, and listen in this week as I make TWO big offers that you can take advantage of as you Make Things Better.

There are just a couple of reasons you're as busy as you are. In this podcast, I want to challenge you to think bigger so you can make more. More memories, more time with your family, more of the "more" you wish you had. (Of course, if money is on your list, I'll help you there as well.) Listen in, and find just one thing you can do to turn that busy-ness in to business.

When did you set a goal to be in debt? Or be in a disastrous relationship? Or spend more nights away from your family each year? Listen in to this episode to hear my thoughts on these kinds of questions.

Have you ever gone so fast that you went TOO fast? You know, you missed one of the details, or you forgot to do something you promised? Today, start practicing a new way of being more productive; pause for a moment or two right before you say, "I'm done." You just may get more done, sooner. And that makes it seem like you're working faster.

On July 1st, 1988, the Nike(r) Corporation started a movement. Their ad agency suggested the tag line, "Just Do It." And since then, that slogan has been synonymous with productivity, performance and engagement. My problem - and yours too - is that we need to decide what NOT to do.