I started asking my daughter questions about her life, where she wanted her life to go, and why?

Where it Started

Makaela came into my life when she was just 2 years old, and at first the thought of “raising someones else’s kid” made me very nervous. You see, I was fairly young when I met Makaela’s mother, so the thought of having a young child as my responsibility at such a young age made me really start to question what I wanted out of life.

What did I decide? I decided to embrace Makaela as my own, and am I ever glad I did. Since Makaela’s biological father wasn’t really in the picture, she started calling me “Dad” at the age of 3 and still does to this day.

In January 2012, Makaela’s biological father past away suddenly, which affected Makaela in a profound way. Since that day, she has started analyzing things and asking questions in a very different way, almost as if she needs to see and understand the world from a different perspective.

Driven to Succeed

Having me as a father could be a great thing, but it could also be a pain in the butt… Here’s why.

I’m a born entrepreneur, I love to do what I want, when I want, and if you don’t like it, I move you aside and keep moving forward. My mindset is “never give up or throw in the towel.”

No matter how difficult things may seem, there is always an answer. It’s like Anthony Robbins says, “It’s never a lack of resources, only a lack of resourcefulness,” which I firmly believe. If you hit a barrier, and you will, it’s not a matter of stopping the journey, it’s only a matter of changing direction.

So why can this be a pain? Makaela is SO driven to succeed and she doesn’t let anything stand in her way. She doesn’t let anyone tell her she can’t do something, and sometimes teachers don’t like that lol.

Makaela’s Big Announcement

Makaela came to me last night and said “Daddy, I have to write a book report for school and I have to use a biography of someone as my reference. Can we go to Chapters book store so I can look at the biography section?” So of course my answer was yes (I take any chance I can to spend quality time with my daughter – especially at the book store!!!).

After looking at Princess Diana, Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs, she came across a book that wasn’t in the bio section, but seemed to have a bio feel to it. The book was called “Free the Children” by Craig Kielburger. After reading the back and a couple pages, she was sold.

Free The Children

To give you an idea of what Free the Children is, here is an excerpt from their about page.

“Free The Children’s mission is to create a world where all young people are free to achieve their fullest potential as agents of change. And we couldn’t have a better blueprint for success: the organization was founded by Craig Kielburger in 1995 when he gathered 11 school friends to begin fighting child labour. He was 12.”

Once we arrived home Makaela and I hit the computer to do a little more research into this organization, and let me tell you, she is SO excited for her next steps. Makaela is putting together a proposal to pitch to her principal to host a Free the Children event at her school.

She is also putting ideas together outlining how she can organize a city wide charity event to help create change. On top of all that, she recently completed her babysitting certificate course and has started creating her business plan, logo and creative brief for her website design.

Why am I telling you this story?

I want you to know that if an 11 year old can can set her mind to something and not give up, and initiate a movement, then so can you. If you haven’t read the post by Geoff Reiner on Passion Mantra’s, head over there now and start getting inspired, start focusing on something, and be sure to start taking action. That’s the key!

Who Inspires You?

I find a useful exercise is to take a look at some of the people that inspire you. Take a look at what they’re doing now and why and how they got there. You’d be very surprised at some of their journey’s.

To end off I would love to share some of the people that inspire me, and some of the people that inspire my daughter.

Troy- Anthony Robbins, Will Smith, Gene Baur,

Makaela- Ellen Degeneres (she adores Ellen), Mommy and Daddy, Craig Kielburger, Steve Jobs, and Taylor Swift.

Now it’s your turn, who inspires you? Comment below and lets share these amazing inspirations.

The post What Inspires Us? An 11 Year Old And The Power Of WE appeared first on .

The thought of being paid to do something you love is an absolute dream come true. Many people love the idea of answering to themselves, while other aimlessly search for an undefined vision of what success might be.

An Understanding of Structure

Most entrepreneurs would cringe at the word structure, but the truth of the matter is… we all need it. Let me step back for a second and provide context to my theory.

When looking at the beauty that is Stonehenge, we see a structure that has stood the test of both environmental feats and time. But what makes this structure the solid entity that it is?

What Works?

Understand that without the exact placement of these stones, it would have only been a matter of limited time before they toppled over. Now let’s translate this into business.

Business Pillars of Success

There are many elements required to build a profitable and sustainable business. However, I feel that all these elements fall under 3 pillars.

1. Technical Proficiency – With an understanding of what you do, technical proficiency is all about knowing and perfecting your craft, and constantly looking to grow and develop your technical skill set.

2. Business Mechanics – With an understanding of your business core values, purpose and vision, all the way to the critical processes required for sustainable profit and growth, business mechanics involves anything and everything required to maintain an effective and efficient business.

3. Personal Performance - This is not only the most overlooked pillar, but the most critical to the short term and long term success of any business. Personal performance is all about understanding who you are and why you do what you do. Developing personal core values, purpose and vision is the best place to start.

Then any barriers that stand in your way (I’m talking about looking in the mirror), can be resolved with confidence based on this strong foundation you have created. We all have limiting beliefs and patterns of self-doubt.

For example, “I can’t do that,” “that’s unrealistic,” “I’m not smart enough,” “Money is the enemy,” etc.

Personal performance allows you to get in touch with who you are, why you do what you do, in addition to promoting self-reflection and scoring to measure your own personal growth and success.

Reframe

Start spending the time and energy creating and/or finding the resources to resolve the limiting beliefs you have around being successful, knowing you’re good enough, and knowing that “unrealistic” is the best way to live.

Stop spending time and energy creating reasons and excuses for why you can’t do something that you know deep down inside you are on the planet to accomplish.

Coming Soon…

Myself and others (that will remain nameless for now) will be launching a new venture very soon. This venture will provide a learning opportunity based on pillars #2 and #3 with a keen focus on implementation. Additionally, once you start developing these pillars, you will see your technical proficiency sky rocket.

I look forward to sharing more about this venture in the next few weeks.

Cheers,

Troy

If you’re looking for a program to teach you how to achieve sustainable profit and growth, and provide you with an implementation strategy… check this out!

The post Business Pillars of Success appeared first on .

You’re going about your day and out of nowhere an opportunity to join in and listen to an informative webinar catches your attention. So what do you do? You sign up of course!

Once the time comes for the webinar, you sit down ready to listen intently and take rigorous notes. You hear all sorts of “golden nuggets” that not only make perfect sense to you, but could really help you build your business.

A Homerun Conference

Conference ticket? Check. Water bottle? Check. Tablet (or pen and paper) for taking notes? Check. Business cards? Check. Ok, so you’re ready to head to the conference to learn how you can build a better business, identify what you’re potentially wasting time on, and possibly network your way into a new client opportunity.

The speakers are full of positivity and inspiring messages that pump you up to the point where you can’t wait until the conference is over so you can get back to building your business. You have pages of notes and a pocket full of business cards from prospective clients.

Wondering which conference to head to next? Which webinar to listen too? Which blog to subscribe too? … Shall I keep providing examples or do you get it?

Why Listening Is Overrated

Too many people spend buckets of time and money on all of these great sources of information, but few do anything about it. They leave these great sessions only to head right back to working IN their business. Most think about which event they can attend next before they leave the one they’re at, and most will have forgotten what they HEARD within a very short span of time.

My Advice To You

Spend the time to participate in webinars, conferences, reading books and blogs…etc. But before you commit to the next one, ask yourself a few questions:

1. Why am I doing this?
2. How will this affect my business?
3. What do I intend to get out of this?

Once you have answered all of these questions, completed the specific task, and have absorbed new and valuable information, ask yourself this very important question:

What can I take from this and implement into my business to help me take one step closer to my defined goal(s)?

And if the answer is nothing (and that can happen) then take note of the experience so that when another opportunity comes your way, you have developed a filter that allows you to pass on time wasters and focus on adding value.

So let’s hear from you! What are some questions you ask yourself when reading, listening or watching others? How do you filter out the opportunities that aren’t really opportunities?

The post Why Being A Good Listener Is Overrated appeared first on .

All of our habits hold to a basic pattern that can be summarized in four simple steps, as follows:

1. Choice
2. Performance (outcome)
3. Interpretation (of performance)
4. Beliefs (and values)

Make A Choice

Performance is determined by our Choices. We make Choices, based on our Beliefs and values, and based on our Interpretation of past patterns of success, or failure. Our interpretation of past performance, desired or undesired, greatly influences our beliefs and choices which directly drive current and future performance outcomes.

I encourage you to use the Performance Track, see above, to reverse engineer some of your current or historic performance outcomes so you get a sense of how it can help you.

Before And After 2008

A simple example would involve reflecting on your current Performance (financial or otherwise) as it relates to choices, beliefs and interpretations that you experienced before the global economic recession of 2008, compared to after 2008.

Prior to 2008, it was a commonly held belief that economic markets might be or could be disrupted in one or two economic regions simultaneously, but never had anyone had an experience with global disruption other than the great depression. It therefore stands to reason that most people did not correctly interpret the first signs of a global economic meltdown because the potential was entirely outside of their life experience.

They did not believe that it was possible, so, why would they make choices to accommodate this new reality?

But, the global economic meltdown of 2008 did happen, and the majority of economists and politicians, along with a fair share of business leaders, still have not been able to correctly “interpret: feel, think, see or hear” the new reality – because it is so vastly different than what they have come to expect to “interpret: feel, think, see and hear”.

What They Didn’t Teach You

It turns out that the skill and capacity to accurately interpret our personal/business life is not a skill that was thought to be important enough to include in our curriculum at school, even if we were getting a PhD in anything but neuroscience, cognition or psychotherapy.

But, fast forward past 2008 and the skill and capacity to accurately interpret your personal/business life has become mission critical, as has the capacity to unlearn.

Learn To Unlearn

Unlearning, relearning and learning are quickly becoming the mission critical skill set in business. To accurately interpret your current reality you first have to learn the patterns that convinced you to interpret the world the way you did in the first place. Having figured that out, you can learn how to unlearn those patterns.

By way of a simple stepped process, reflect on the following:

When you were a toddler, it was your parents responsibility to teach you what to pay attention to and what to ignore. Your parents, in their desire to protect you and keep you safe, taught you to pay attention to those things that they believed were important.

1. What were your parents/extended family’s beliefs and interpretations/experiences around business, and how did that influence you?
2. What were your parents/extended family’s beliefs around sales, money and wealth?
3. What were their beliefs about how to achieve the combination of wealth and health? What were the “obvious” trade-offs, pitfalls and beliefs?

Are You A Rebel?

Which way did you go? Did you follow your parents lead directly, or did you rebel and do the exact opposite?

To start the process of unlearning, you first need to understand the patterns that contributed to your most fundamental learning: your beliefs/interpretations and expectations about business and life when you were too young to know what might work for you later in life.

The post Habits Shape Your Performance appeared first on .

Sarah Robinson is a small business strategy coach. She can be found blogging at Escaping Mediocrity and is a Forbes & Dun & Bradstreet Top Entrepreneurship Tweeter.

Case Studies

I’m a big fan of case studies and Sarah uses them in such a way that you’re able to not only see the impact loyalty has on a business, but you can feel it too. What I mean specifically, is the way she walks you through the case studies. You feel as though this type of Loyalty and Community is within your grasp, even when she uses giants like Harley Davidson as an example.

Having A Performance Focus

Among many others, this was one of the pieces that really resonated with me. Sarah dives deep into understanding why you need focus, how to gain focus, what to do once you have focus, and what you can achieve by having a clear and defined focus.

Having a map of your business goals is critical to success, especially if you want that success to be sustainable. Sarah shares a brilliant model called “The Fierce Loyalty DNA” which is both holistic and strategic. The model is then broken down into 5 detailed building blocks that allow you to start implementing into your business.

We’re Only Human

I’m a big fan of Anthony Robbins, and one of the topics Tony constantly refers to is the concept of 6 human needs. Why did I bring that up? Because Sarah speaks to 3 very specific human needs. These needs must be met and they are also needs that we crave.

She also speaks to the importance of not only understanding other peoples needs, but more importantly, understanding the needs of yourself. There is no way you’re going to be able to listen and help other people if you’re not listening and helping yourself. And just to sweeten the deal, Sarah adds in a lot of extra takeaways and action steps.

We Is Better Than Me

In Sarah’s “Eleven Fierce Loyalty Accelerators” section, she gives away a ton of value for those looking to build a community. One of my favorites is called “Create a Culture of “We.”

This Accelerator is about eliminating “us and them” and focuses on learning how to build and say “we”. For those of you out there who understand the power of WE, keep going. For those who don’t, this section alone is worth buying the book.

It’s time we give people a voice. It’s time to stop speaking AT people and start listening to what they have to say.

Stop Convincing

Selling a product can be an easy task, but having that person wanting to tell everyone about you, your company, and their experience is a whole other ball game. Sarah talks about “Right Fit” people. That translates to clients, community members, employees, suppliers, etc.

The only way to build a sustainable community, which will leads to sustainable sales, is to align yourself with the right people. People who share the same values as you will want to help you grow. The beautiful thing about this is that you will want to help them too!

That’s one of the many powerful things that comes with having a strong community of likeminded people.

Final Thoughts

Since Sarah finished her book with some final thoughts, I thought I would do the same here. I really wish I could  have made this post 3 times longer, it just doesn’t seem to capture all this book has to offer (maybe I will need to do one more lol).

If you’re building a business and you’ve hit a wall, this book is for you. If you’re building a business and things are going great but you’re ready for the next level, this book is for you. If you’re just staring out and you want to take the right steps in the right direction, this book is for you.

To Sarah Robinson:

I am happy to be a part of your amazing community and to call you a friend!

Cheers,

Troy Claus

The post Book Review – Fierce Loyalty by Sarah Robinson appeared first on .

I’m back and I’m super excited. New Year, new performance focus and a brand new website (thanks Lisa “the creative genius” Kalandjian).

So, let’s get back on track with the blog series and my next word.

Welcome to the fifth of eight blog posts where I take a word suggested by you, and turn it into a blog about how that one word correlates to business, and what we can learn from it.

Today’s word is Rodent, and was submitted by the savvy web strategist,  Andy Crestodina of Orbit Media.

To Be Or Not To Be

When we set out to build a business, we rarely think of all the barriers that will eventually come our way (or maybe it’s just me lol). Barriers come in all shapes, colours, and sizes, but it can be safe to say that barriers are a lot like rodents.

Rodents

Rodents have a special tooth system that makes them experts at gnawing, which brings me to the subject of wrong fit clients. When building a business, we tend to take any opportunity that comes our way, because if we don’t, we risk no revenue come through the door.

The problem with taking on anything for the sake of a dollar is you run a higher risk of failing because wrong fit clients have that special tooth system too

4 Ways To Avoid Being Chewed Up

• Plan to cycle through client relationships- Understand that over time you will outgrow clients. Also understand there may be times when you will be outgrown by them.
• Listen to your gut- If the thought of dealing with these people doesn’t feel right, listen to that.
• Own your emotional response. Learn to work with your emotions before dealing with the client. Never walk into a situation without understanding where you want things to go.
• Take time to plan- If you’re going to fire a client, consider the following: How are you going to fire this wrong fit client? Will this be done in person? Will you raise your prices to a level you know they can’t afford? Will you send them a letter?

You must always plan your exit strategy. It will allow for a smoother transition and will also help you maintain a solid reputation.

Avoid Judgement

If you can set judgement aside, you’re going to be in a much better place in the long run. Let me explain how this can work. If you’re working with a client that is wrong fit and they’re sucking your time, resources, energy, etc., it will cascade across the board.

What happens from there is your other clients (the right fit ones) will start to experience your lack of energy, your short temper, etc. and they may decide you’re a wrong fit supplier. And then what are you left with?

It’s time to let go of the gnawing wrong fit clients and focus on the right fit ones. And always remember this: your wrong fit is always someone else’s right fit.

Your Friend,

Troy Claus

The post Blog Challenge #5- What Does The Word Rodent Have To Do With Business? appeared first on .

Today’s word is Integrity, and was submitted by the smart and savvy Mark Harai.

Integrity

My favourite definition of integrity is “Integrity stems from the Latin adjective integer (whole, complete). In this context, integrity is the inner sense of “wholeness” deriving from qualities such as honesty and consistency of character.” Now that’s deep.

After reading the definition, it seems as though business and it’s entire foundation needs to be built upon Integrity and all it represents. As business owners we don’t look for part of the business to thrive, but rather the entire unit (Wholeness)

Cementing The Foundation

Having a business that is whole allows you to step outside the walls of the day to day (working IN the business) and spend the necessary time building the framework that will support a business for the longterm (working ON the business).

The foundation of a business is made up of Core Values. Those Core Values are used by the person(s) on a daily basis, and provide a filter to identifying right fit from wrong.

Outside Your Integrity

In life, and especially in business, it can be quite easy to end up outside your integrity. This happens when you deviate from your Core Values, Purpose and/or Vision for where you want your business to go long term (BHAG- Big Hairy Audacious Goal).

See, this is why we stress the importance of developing a BHAG, a visionary plan, an incremental plan to support that visionary plan, and a strong set of core values. If you don’t build yourself a map, guide, plan… etc, you will A. Never know when you’re outside your integrity, and B. Have no idea where to go if you get lost.

Having a behavioural foundation in place keeps you grounded and on track, so it may be time to start developing one.

Become Whole

Take some quality time to think about  yourself and who you really are. Think about what you value and why? Is it trust? Loyalty? Communication? Whatever your answer, define why those words are your core values and start using them as strategic filters to help get you and your business get to the next level.

Once you’ve identified your core values, take some time to think about what your journey looks like, ask yourself Why? Why is this important to me? Why this journey?

This process of asking yourself questions will seem odd, uncomfortable, and potentially even silly. Believe me, I’ve been there, and after going through the process and using the tools mentioned above, I can share with you two key learnings.

1. The feelings of “silly” “discomfort”…etc are your body’s way of keeping you safe and in your comfort zone. Understand that, and start moving outside where your used to operating
2. I understand what it takes to stay in my integrity, and when I do, I feel like a million dollars

 -image-

The post Blog Challenge #4-What Does The Word Integrity Have To Do With Business? appeared first on .

Today’s word is defenestrate (the act of throwing someone or something out of a window) and was submitted by the very talented Joshua Wilner. This word posed a rather interesting challenge for me, as on more than one occasion, I have wanted to defenestrate (obviously something, not some one lol).

The urge to defenestrate is not always bad, hear me out.

Defenestrate Clients?

Now clearly we would never physically throw a client out of a window…right? But the metaphor holds strong and holds true. Have you ever been in a situation with a client where you felt an overwhelming sense of frustration? So much so that you wanted to throw them flailing out of a window? If yes, what do you do when that feeling arises? Here is some great advice that was passed to me, and now it’s my turn to pass it to you.

Close your eyes (if possible), take a deep breath, and listen to that feeling of anger and/or frustration. This is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong, and in the case of a client, that potentially they are a wrong fit for you and your business. I understand we all encounter frustration with clients, but if you feel defenestration is your only option, that’s a clear indicator that your client is a wrong fit. So go ahead and defenestrate the client relationship, not the client themselves.

Unlearning Bad Habits

Understanding the power of habits can enable you to start thinking and acting differently towards your business. As business owners we’re always looking for ways to implement formulas, templates, and tools that create the opportunity for sustainable profit and growth.

If you’re a heavy smoker and you have a goal to run a marathon, chances are you’re going to fail miserably. If you recognize that you have a habit that is preventing you from not only reaching a destination, but is preventing you from even embarking on the journey towards it… it’s time to defenestrate that habit.

Develop a Filter

So now comes the fun of actually learning how to develop a filter to identify right fit from wrong fit and to keep us motivated as we learn new habits.

• Core Values- Who you are, why you make the decisions you do, and how you make those decisions.
• Purpose- Understanding why you’re on the planet and why you do what you do.
• Vision- Your BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal). Your long term goal.
• Visionary Plan- The 3 or 5 year plan for your business. 
• Incremental Plan- The process that allows you to think about all of the steps you must accomplish in the next 12 months in order to achieve your visionary plan.

Performance Results

Understand that the performance results we experience are driven by the choices we make, which are driven by the beliefs we hold, which are determined by our interpretation of our past results and experiences. Therefore, if you decide to work with wrong fit clients, you’re constantly going to get sub par performance results, which can lead to one of 2 things.

1. You own your poor results and make a personal commitment to make positive change… OR
2. You end up defenestrating

Cheers and thanks for stopping by!

Troy

The post Blog Challenge #3-What Does The Word Defenestrate Have To Do With Business? appeared first on .

When I put this crazy idea out there, I knew I’d get some good words but I had no idea I would get such great words! First footsteps and now silence! What a great way to start. Thanks for your contribution Erin Feldman

Buzz, Bing, Brrring

We live in a world that’s full of noise – literally and figuratively. Everything is fast paced and EVERYTHING has a sound attached to it. My phone is constantly making a variety of different sounds to let me know about the variety of different messages that are coming. These sounds are helpful and familiar and for many, comforting. The paradox is the noisier our world becomes, the more important silence becomes.

Gen Flux

In November’s “Fast Company” magazine, the editor wrote a special report on how to lead in a time of chaos. He profiled a number of business leaders who are highly successful and seem to be perfectly suited to the chaotic environment we now live in. One of the things these “Generation Flux” leaders all share is a commitment to finding time for silence.

Some meditate. Some walk in nature. All talk about the leadership imperative to make time to clear their brains as Cisco’s Chief Strategy and Technology Officer calls it. The path to success isn’t straight. Tried and true isn’t working. The mentality of “either – or” is too simple for our complex world. Now more than ever, silence is critical to business success because now more than ever, we must rely on our intuitive, creative selves to help us navigate the paradox of the new economy and function in the “and”.

Busy Bee

Solitude can be your best friend. In the past year, I have become more self-reflective than I have ever been in my life. In fact, making time for solitude has become essential for me. Trust me when I say, I am the very last person on earth who would have taken time to self-reflect and journal. Obviously, journaling is for girls.

I have a busy family and a busy job. The paradox is this; when I make time for solitude so I can listen to that quiet voice within, I have more to offer my family, colleagues, clients and community. When I take for silence, I am revitalised, more creative, more on my A game.

Move Over

Making room for silence has helped in those moments when things aren’t going as well as you’d hoped. You know, those times when, despite your best efforts, the person you’re trying to work with just isn’t getting you. Because I now cultivate silence, I find I’m able to think before I speak.

Or maybe I should say, ‘blurt’ and say something inflammatory and just plain stupid. I’m more attuned to my emotions so I’m aware I’m becoming frustrated much earlier in the process. This give me the chance to listen inside and find productive ways through whatever the barrier to communication is.

Less Is More

So how is silence like business? Business is noisy and rarely stops. So turning your business on silent mode for a short period of time acts as a mechanism to help you grow. Think about it like this. We talk about 20% of your time being needed to work ON your business. So when your day to day tasks of working IN your business hit the 80% mark, turn it to silent mode and spend 20% of your time working ON your business.

Often less is more. Sitting or walking in silence opens me up to hearing what is beyond the noise of daily life. In silence I’ve found inspiration, energy and solutions. It’s an old saying but it’s true; silence really is golden.

The post Blog Challenge #2-Why Silence Is Like Business appeared first on .

The first word was submitted by the very creative and business savvy Kaarina Dillabough. Kaarina chose a word that (for me) posed a rather interesting challenge. The challenge wasn’t finding something to write about, but rather which of the many ideas to choose from, so here it goes.

Footsteps

Whether it’s forward or backward, a journey always starts with a step. So as business owners, a big part of our day-to-day lives are concerned with the details around steps:

• Which way do I step?
• When do I take that step?
• What step should I take?
• How do I take that step?
• And most importantly…Why am I taking this step?

While taking a step is important, taking a step without a clear destination is not a journey.

A journey is a journey when we combine steps with a desired destination.

Steps AND Destination = Journey

To combine Steps with Destination, we must consider the Who and the Why.

• Who will be on this journey with me?
• Who can I rely on, when the going gets tough?
• Why am I taking this journey?
• Why I am I choosing this specific step?

Whose journey is this?

If you are not clear on your destination, any step will get you there.

If you are not clear on Who you are and Why you are on this journey, how do you find your own rhythm?

Too often we find ourselves walking in the footsteps of people before us. Not because we are so similar to those we imitate, but, because most of us never stop to reflect on the Who and the Why.

Why do we fear the untravelled path? Is it because we fear uncertainty? We fear the unknown? Or deep down on an unconscious level, we fear what we are really capable of?

What Size Do You Wear?

If I asked you to look down at your feet and describe them to me, what would you say? Are they wide? Size 8 or 10 or 12? Do you have a big arch, or no arch at all?

Why is this relevant? Because if I (being a size 13) was to borrow Kaarina’s shoes, I’m pretty sure every step I take would be quite uncomfortable. Being uncomfortable is not such an inconvenience if I understand Why I’m uncomfortable. If wearing Kaarina’s shoes for a time will help me achieve my Who and Why, then I’m going to suffer the discomfort with the knowledge that each step is moving me towards my goals and objectives.

Learn what is right fit for you and your business. Just because someone did it/is doing it doesn’t mean you should too.

Walking The Tight Rope

Nik Wallenda  successfully walked on a high wire across Niagara Falls from the U.S to the Canadian side in mid June of this year (2012). Nik was clear on his destination. Nik was clear that he had to embark on this journey his own way. Nik was clear that he needed to wear his own shoes, rather than borrow somebody else’s.

Although this huge accomplishment brought with it many rewards, required preparation, strategy… etc, the one thing that mattered the most while walking across the falls was to focus on each step as it happened.

Having established his Why motivation, his Why destination, his Who support team, and his Who shoe size in advance, he was able to stay acutely present every step of his journey. There was no time to think about the previous step or the next step, it was about being present at that moment in time and focusing on what is needed to accomplish that step.

He began with the end in mind (the Canadian side of the falls) and knew that was the goal, but his focus during the event wasn’t the end, it was every step as it happened.

Your Next Steps

If you haven’t established a desired end destination for yourself, any step will do.

So many people that I work with are busy being busy. Busy work tends to result from a singular focus on the steps: what step, when, how… and the various best practice tools, apps, processes, structures and approaches that helped others with their steps. While there is definitely a time and place to be concerned with the steps in isolation, try working the AND.

Your Steps AND Your Destination.

A big thanks to Kaarina for her contribution of Footsteps, it was a lot of fun. Stay tuned for the next post on Thursday where I use the word “Silence” courtesy of Erin Feldman

The post Blog Challenge #1-Why Footsteps Are Like Business appeared first on .