Get Out. Get Moving. Start.

Action always beats intention.

A dream you don’t have to fight for isn’t a dream—it’s a nap. One changes your afternoon. The other changes your world. Keep fighting.

3 magic words that help your spouse support your dream.

Quitter February 29, 2012 • Comments

One of my favorite parts of the Quitter Conference is when my wife Jenny joins me on stage for a special Q&A.

I love it because, at that point, the idea of chasing a dream as a couple is no longer just a theory. It’s a reality. Jenny doesn’t pull punches and tells everyone the things we did well and the things we totally bombed. (And by we, most of the time it was me!)

So, in the middle of the last conference, someone raised their hand and asked a great question. Here is what they said,

“How do I get my wife to support me in my dream?”

Jenny, without missing a beat, said three words:

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1 thing none of us get enough of these days.

Creativity/ FinishYear/ Quitter February 27, 2012 • Comments

For years, I’ve been carrying around a secret list in my head.

For decades, this list has been banging around in my heart causing all manner of chaos and shenanigans.

For, centuries … well I haven’t been alive for centuries but if I had that would have been a pretty dramatic third sentence.

What list am I talking about?

The “Doesn’t Count List” or DCL.

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Sunday Summary – FinishYear Week 8

FinishYear February 26, 2012 • Comments

Week 8 of FinishYear is done! (It’s not too late to join FinishYear with us! Here’s what we’re doing.)

Every Sunday during February, let’s share a quick summary of how we did that week on our Finish List.

Here’s my list of goals, and the summary of the progress I made:

1. Make the Quitter Conference awesome for people who attend.
This one is finished … for now. Big announcement coming in the next week or two.

2. I am going to finish reading 12 non-fiction books this year. One per month.
Right now I’m reading Henri Nouwen’s The Return of the Prodigal Son. I read maybe 20 pages this week, but since this is actually the book I had scheduled for March, I’m still on track to finish it.

3. I am going to finish running the Nashville half marathon Saturday, April 28th in under 2 hours and 10 minutes.
I ran Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday morning. I’m in Arkansas right now and had to get up insanely early to get the one treadmill in the hotel gym. I got to the fitness room at 6:45 on Saturday morning and someone was already on it. So on Sunday I was bound and determined to get up early!

4. I am going to finish writing a new book in 2012.
Didn’t make a ton of progress on this one this week. I’d mark it up to fear and focus. I’ve got a bit of the “blank page” fear going on right now. I also needed to focus on my speech for Blissdom and the three speeches I gave in Arkansas over the weekend. It looks like March might be “book writing month.”

5. I am going to finish a box of thank you cards this year as a sign of my gratefulness.
I wrote three cards this week, which I feel pretty good about.

6. I am going to finish handwriting out the entire book of Proverbs in a moleskine notebook.
I wrote 4 times this week, and am currently in chapter 17 of Proverbs.

That’s my week.

How was yours?

What on your Finish List went well? What on your Finish List needs more attention next week?

Stay dangerous.

Quitter February 24, 2012 • Comments

CBS recently reported that 84% of workers want to leave their jobs in 2012. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that record numbers of people quit their jobs last summer. And as the author of a book called Quitter, you might think I was all for that. But, if you’re thinking about quitting your job right now, I have to warn you about something.

There is a land mine looming that you’ve probably not considered: remaining dangerous.

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VIDEO: Kurt Vonnegut on the Shape of Stories.

Blogging/ Creativity/ Writing February 22, 2012 • Comments

Kurt Vonnegut is one of my favorite writers. He’s written a ridiculous amount of brilliant books and in this short video explains the shape of stories. If you’ve got 5 minutes today, watch this. Whether you ever want to write or not, this is a perfect example of how to communicate an idea. (Heads up, there’s one profanity.)

 

How to talk to a million people on TV.

FinishYear/ Quitter February 21, 2012 • Comments

The first time I was on national television, there were two things that terrified me:

1. Putting on my own makeup.

2. Making a mistake in front of a million people.

The first fear is pretty obvious: I have no idea how to put on makeup. I bought some MAC at the counter at a department store. I then stared in complete confusion in the blush aisle at Target trying to imagine if my cheekbones would best be described as “Desert Sunset,” until someone helped me.

The night before I went on Fox & Friends in New York City, I envisioned me showing up with a David Bowie Ziggy Stardust-type sheen on my face. My friends would all see the clip and ask me, “Did someone punch you in the face repeatedly right before you went on the air?”

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Sunday Summary – FinishYear Week 7

FinishYear February 19, 2012 • Comments

Week 7 of FinishYear is over and it was easily the worst week I’ve had thus far concerning progress. (It’s not too late to join FinishYear with us! Here’s what we’re doing.)

Every Sunday during February, let’s share a quick summary of how we did that week on our Finish List.

Here’s my list of goals, and the summary of the progress I made:

1. Make the Quitter Conference awesome for people who attend.
This one is done and from the early reports we’re getting, people had a great time. I might have a fun announcement about the Quitter Conference in the next few weeks.

2. I am going to finish reading 12 non-fiction books this year. One per month.
Right now I’m reading Henri Nouwen’s The Return of the Prodigal Son. It’s a great book, but it is thick! The page count is low but there’s so much wisdom packed into each page that I’m being forced to move along pretty slowly. (Which I don’t think is a bad thing, but after sprinting through the first two books slowing down is a little frustrating.)

3. I am going to finish running the Nashville half marathon Saturday, April 28th in under 2 hours and 10 minutes.
Missed my long run this week. We’re in Blowing Rock, North Carolina and I didn’t plan very well to accomplish my long run on Saturday.

4. I am going to finish writing a new book in 2012.
This one is fun to talk about, but hard to do. I keep trying to write the perfect first sentence to the book and that’s become a bit of a mental roadblock. This week I finally jumped in and just started to throw down some words, regardless of the quality.

5. I am going to finish a box of thank you cards this year as a sign of my gratefulness.
I actually destroyed this goal this week. I sent 6 thank you cards out, which might be a new weekly record.

6. I am going to finish handwriting out the entire book of Proverbs in a moleskine notebook.
I wrote 3 times this week.

That’s my week.

How was yours?

What on your Finish List went well? What on your Finish List needs more attention next week?

Why do friends attack your dream?

Leadership/ Quitter February 17, 2012 • Comments

One of the strangest things that happens when you start hustling on your dream is the reaction you often get from friends.

People who you’ve known for years.

People who love you.

People who you were certain would support you, suddenly do just the opposite.

They criticize you, they attack you, they chip away at the progress you’ve made and discourage you at every step. This is not surprising to some of you.

For years, we’ve all heard the cliché, “the greatest insult a crab can commit against the other crabs in the bucket is to try to climb out.” Every crab immediately pulls their hopeful compatriot back into the bucket. But that’s “what” happens. Let’s talk about “why” it happens.

Why do friends attack your dreams?

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3 types of goals you need to murder today.

FinishYear February 15, 2012 • Comments

If January is the month of setting resolutions, than February is the month where they go to die.

Gyms get empty in February. Classes get dropped in February. Unused hiking equipment gets returned to the store in February.

And the strange thing is, I’m OK with that. I don’t care if you drop a resolution, as long as it’s on purpose. Actually, I’d encourage you to murder a few of your resolutions this month.

Why?

Because goals you don’t really intend to meet become anchors.

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