What Scares You?

“If you want something that you have never had, you must be willing to do something that you have never done.”

Thomas Jefferson

In 1998 actress Helen Hunt had reached the very top of the acting profession. She won the highly coveted Oscar for her role in the movie As Good As It Gets. She was asked by a reporter, what she planned to do for her next role. While her answer surprised me, it also helped me realize why she reached the top. She said, “I will choose the role that scares me the most." 

You Validate What You Fail to Confront
Fear is at the root of procrastination. I have discovered that people are most afraid of the unknown territory. The problem is that your goals and dreams reside at the end of the unknown path. You must go down the unfamiliar road to get there! 

For example, everyone would be a millionaire if the requirement was doing what you have always done. What separates the self-made millionaire from everyone else is her willingness to do the uncomfortable. She may be afraid but she faces her fears. Once a fear is confronted, it is no longer unknown. 

What scares you? Is it the thought of speaking in public? Is it the idea of making cold calls to generate sales? Could be the prospect of starting your own business? As you continue to read, I will teach you a technique that will help you face your fear. 

Practice Under Pressure
If you are able to practice in an environment that simulates the risk, you can confront the unknown. For example, back when I was studying karate, I always questioned if what I was learning would apply in a real self-defense situation. Initially, I participated in safe sparring sessions with my friends at the school, but the thought of sparring in an unknown environment scared me. 

To overcome this fear, I entered tournaments against competitors that I did not know at locations with which I was unfamiliar. To my surprise, I won more matches than I lost, and gained an understanding of how I would respond under real pressure. By facing my fear, it was no longer and unknown. 

Anytime I feel anxiety about delivering a big speech, I reflect on my karate experience with the knowledge that I can respond under pressure. What are some ways that you can practice? Below are some scenarios based on the most common fears that I mentioned earlier:

Starting a Business
Before launching out on your own, get a job in the industry that interests you. For example, if you want to open your own restaurant, get a job working at a restaurant so you can understand how they operate, the challenges of owning one, and practice interacting with customers. This would give you valuable experience, and make entrepreneurship less of an unknown. 

Public Speaking
Join an organization such as Toastmasters International where you can practice your speeches in a safe environment. The average club has about 20 members, so you can gain experience speaking in front of a group. You will have more confidence when making a presentation at work because you have already confronted your fears at Toastmasters. 

Cold Calling
Set a minimum goal of how many calls you will make each day and stick to it. Start with an achievable number like three per day in the beginning. If you stay with your plan, your ability will improve and you will find the calls easier to do. The key is to place more focus in completing the three calls each day than on the result of the calls. In 30 days you will have made at least 60 calls. You will be more proficient at call 60 than on the first call.

So there you have it. Doing the thing you fear is a key step to achieving your goals and dreams. If you commit to confrontation, you will be like Helen Hunt and look the part! 

Sincerely,
Eric M Twiggs
Your Procrastination Prevention Partner

PS. To get additional information on how to achieve your goals and dreams, download my ebook. 

Get in the Fast Lane to Achieve Your Goals in Life

“If you can see it, you can be it. If you can view it, you can do it. Vision is the first step to victory”

The ultimate goal of every college basketball team is to win the NCAA championship. When a team accomplishes its goal, players celebrate by cutting down the basketball nets. This is a tradition that has become symbolic of success. In 1983, Coach Jim Valvano of North Carolina State put a different twist on this trend. 

At the beginning of his tenure, NC State was a struggling program that had never won the big prize. There was no reason for the players to believe that they could do it. During his very first practice, Valvano told his team that they would win the championship that year. This idea seemed so ridiculous that several of the players laughed to themselves. 

After practice was over, Valvano did something that seemed to take ridiculous to a new level. He had his players cut down the nets in there own gym, so that they could see and feel what it was like to celebrate a championship victory. They continued this habit throughout the ‘83 season, which ended with NC State shocking the world by winning the NCAA championship! 

During the post game interviews, the players admitted that the exercise of practicing their victory celebration made them believe that they could do it. In their minds, they saw themselves succeeding, so when it happened it was like deja vu! Now, what does this have to do with you? 

Is Your Glass Half Full?
Like the 83’ team, your present condition is a direct result of your past thoughts.  Studies show that with all things being equal, and optimist will out perform a pessimist in a job or business situation by as much as 50%. The reason for this is the fact that the thoughts that you dwell on become your reality. 

In other words, having habitual thoughts of fear and doubt is the equivalent of praying for what you don’t want! The question becomes, how can you use the power of visualization to put you in the fast lane to achieving your goals in life? 

Write Out Your Perfect Day
Writing out your perfect day in detail will help to create a strong visual picture in your mind. The following outline will assist you in putting your perfect day on paper:

1. Who is present?
2. What specific goal do you accomplish?
3. How Do You Feel?
4. What do you do to celebrate the accomplishment of this goal?

The goal should be achievable, but at the same time, cause you to stretch beyond your current grasp. If you commit to this exercise, you will wake up in your prefect day and put yourself in the fast lane to the achievement of your goals. I congratulate you in advance as you cut down the nets! 

Sincerely,
Eric M Twiggs
Your Procrastination Prevention Partner

PS. For additional information on how to achieve you goals in life, download my ebook, One Moment in Time. 

Your Failure is Not Fatal

“Failure is not fatal, but a failure to change might be.”

John Wooden

Years ago, there was a young man named Ron who graduated from College with the goal of becoming the manager of a major department store in his home town. He was a successful college athlete, so he figured that he would apply for the open Sporting Goods Department Manager position. He left the interview with a good feeling about his chances of getting hired. 

Later that week he received a call from the hiring manager letting him know that he did not get the job. Ron was devastated. He told his mother what happened and she said, “Well son, maybe there is another plan for your life.” 

As it turns out, the plan was bigger than either of them could have imagined. The young man in the story is Ronald Reagan and many historians believe that, had he gotten the position he was seeking, he many have never become President. His failure was not fatal. 

“The faster you let it go, the faster you grow.”
Are you still holding on to a failure from your past? As your Procrastination Prevention Partner, I have discovered that an incorrect perspective on failure is one of the main causes of procrastination. Selling professionals with a goal of making six figures delay making their sales calls because a previous transaction did not go as planned. 

Business owners, who complain about not having any free time, refuse to hire their replacement because they remember the bad hiring decision they made in the past. The selling professional and business owner have one thing in common: their actions do not align with their aspirations because of how they view their failures. So how do you move forward and achieve your goals in spite of your painful past? 

Lessons Learned List
I have developed a habit of making a “lessons learned list” whenever I experience a setback. I use the memo app on my phone to list everything that I learned from the experience. The list of positive benefits is always longer than I expect. I can attribute many of my current successes to this process. 

For example, after some of my keynote speeches, people come up to me and say, “Eric, I am terrified at the thought of public speaking, but you are a natural.” The only reason I appear to be a natural is because of what I have learned from my many failures. The engagements that did not go as planned gave me the necessary experience for future achievement. Failure is the secret to my success! 

Just like Ronald Regan, you can use failure as a stepping stone to greatness. If you commit to making a lessons learned list, you will have the right perspective on your pain. You may not get an airport named after you, but you can still fly to the next level! 

Sincerely, 
Eric M. Twiggs
Your Procrastination Prevention Partner

PS. For additional information on how to overcome procrastination, download my ebook.

How to Move From Long Shot to Legend

“I thought that I was waiting on the right opportunity, but really the right opportunity was waiting on me.”

When I was growing up, I wanted to play in the NBA like Michael Jordan. One day, a “friend” of mine told me that there are 17,500 Division 1 college basketball players. He then told me that out of that number, only 48 actually get drafted to the NBA. That is a staggering statistic. 

Not believing that I had a chance, I practiced procrastination instead of basketball. I thought of myself as a long shot. The basketball world would not be what it is today if Jordan had procrastinated the way I did. Young players from around the world would have to find another source of inspiration. 

Have you ever had a lofty goal, but let someone talk you out of it because of the long odds? Is the fact that 90% of small businesses fail keeping you from pursuing your dream of entrepreneurship? Only a small percentage of books become best sellers. Is this keeping you from becoming an author? Like Mike, you were born with a greatness to contribute. The question becomes, why should you pursue a goal even though the numbers are not on your side? 

Purpose
To answer this question I will share a personal experience. One morning, I arrived at the airport with the goal of catching an early flight. When I got to the security terminal, I discovered that the line was wrapped around the corner with other people that had the same goal. I would surely miss my flight. Then I saw my friend Paul near the front of the line. He motioned for me to come up where he was. We embraced and he let me in front of him. 

Your purpose is like my friend Paul - when you know and embrace it, you can move to the front of the line ahead of others that have the same goal! It would be a tragic shame to let someone talk you out of what you were born to do. Being clear on your purpose and moving forward with passion will allow you to become a legend instead of a long shot. 

Sincerely, 
Eric M. Twiggs
Your Procrastination Prevention Partner

PS. The key to achieving your big dream is accomplishing small daily goals. For additional information on the goal-setting process, download my ebook One Moment in Time. 

The Timesaving “Key” To Your Success

“What got you here won’t get you there.”

- Marshall Goldsmith

I have a habit that drives my wife crazy. When traveling, I accidentally keep the room keys to the hotels. Being the creature of habit that I am, I tend to stay at the Hampton Inn whenever possible. On a recent trip I decided to conduct an experiment. 

I attempted to use the Hampton Inn key from my previous stay in the door of my current hotel. I slid the key and was disappointed that it did not work. The problem was that I was trying to go through a new door with an old key! If you have ever tried to get to the next level by doing what got you to where you are, you can relate to this experience. What then is the key to your success that will save time? 

Who, Why, What
Whenever I get to a new level, I ask myself three questions:

1. Who is currently on that level that has the results that I want?
2. Why are they successful?
3. What do they do that I can duplicate to get the same results?

For example, early in my career I received a promotion to District Manager of a national automotive chain with responsibility over 16 stores. The district assigned had a history of poor customer satisfaction and always ranked at the bottom of the organization in this category. 

Initially, I attempted to solve the problem by doing what made me successful as single unit manager. This resulted in several weeks of frustration and embarrassment as our customer service scores ranked last in the company! I was so frustrated that I scheduled a meeting with my boss to ask him what he thought I could do to improve. 

Instead of answering my questions, my boss asked me the following: “Who has the best customer service results in the company? Why is he successful? What does he do that you could duplicate in your District?" 

After this conversation, I contacted the top performing district manager and discovered that we were doing many of the same things to improve customer service. However, there was one method of communication that he was using with his team that I had been neglecting. Although it seemed minor, I decided to give it a try. Once I implemented his strategy, my district went from dead last, to well above the national average in customer service results within three weeks! 

Asking the Who-Why-What questions were the keys that took me to the next level. Remember, what got you here won’t get you there! If you know of someone that needs the “key”, please forward this post using the share buttons at the bottom of this post. 

Sincerely,
Eric M. Twiggs
Your Procrastination Prevention Partner

PS. For more information that will help you to save time, download my ebook.