On getting in our own way.....

"Life didn't get in the way, you got in the way. Stop saying yes to so many damn things." Kim Klaver

I heard this on a master mind call today. I don’t know about you, but it’s the kind of message I can’t hear too often.

Sometimes it’s just so darn hard to narrow our focus to the things that truly matter.

It’s just so dang easy to say yes. I mean, there are so many cool things to say yes to, right?

Every morning my inbox is flooded with interesting things. You click one link and zoom – down the rabbit hole you go… to end up an hour later goodness knows where.

It takes discipline to stay focused. It takes renunciation. Now that’s a concept – not a very popular one I bet. Renouncing the fascination with the new shiny things that tantalize us from the endlessly fascinating world we live in, where everything we could possibly want to know is a mere click away.

It takes choosing to stay true to our commitment,  staying faithful to our passion and our goals.

It’s a good reminder for the likes of me, perhaps you too, who like to wander in this every expanding universe of possibilities.

Want to eat an elephant? Try the Red X method.

We all know this saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. “

Seems simple enough. Trouble is, I’ve never eaten an elephant. Now I know I’m not literally sitting down to tuck away, but as a metaphor for accomplishing something really big in your life, it’s still rather intimidating, right?

Like any task, we need a system. Enter Jerry Seinfeld and his Red X system, otherwise known as “Don’t Break the Chain”. We’ve all received those well intentioned but annoying chain letters that promise you the world if only you forward it to 27 people. This is different.

My dear friend and marketing mentor, Ms. Kim Klaver, introduced me to this deceptively simple technique. It’s pretty straightforward, but apparently, amazingly effective. Here is how it works.

You print out a blank calendar for the month.

You buy yourself a nice fat juicy red marker.

You set your intention for one action you are committing to do – EVERY DAY – without fail. As we all know, practice makes perfect. And this is how we are going to eat our elephant. One bite at a time. One blog post at a time. One whatever it is we need to do to change the world, one step at a time.

Apparently, the thrill of crossing off that bright red X becomes so compelling you just can’t bear to go to bed until you have done it.

I just printed mine out, and I can’t wait to make a nice big red cross on my Day 1 of…. (to be revealed!)

Want to join me in eating an elephant and changing the world, one red X at a time?