Challenge 3.0 Update

This has been a down week compared to last week, quite honestly. With kids only going to school half-days all week, and doc appts. Mon, Tue, Thur., leaving me here with two young kids for the other half of the days, my focus has been virtually non-existent.

This morning, Kristi took the two young kids with Braden for yet another doc appt., and has given me a chance to write, which is the only reason this blog post exists!

Since my personal focus has been off, I've been putting it more on the kids and Kristi this week. The e-book I was going to do with Kristi has switched to a real (albeit self-published) book that will be available mid-January. I have been sending her out by herself to sit and write, and molding the form of the book in my spare moments. We have built tremendous momentum on this project.

Yeah, I can sit back and wish I'd blogged more, or started my book, or any number of other things, but I'd rather focus on what's working. This book is something we dreamed up in August, but simply wasn't going anywhere until this week. By changing the choices we were making, shifting our focus, we have been able to light a fire under this project.

Success one step at a time - one Choice at a time.

The Choice of True Heroes

image credit: jcolman

I wear shorts a lot. If I don't have a business meeting, I'm in shorts, 12 months a year. One result of this habit is that I get a lot of comments on my super-deluxe, robot leg. Particularly from veterans. The assumption is that I lost it on the battlefield, of course. I did not, and I always tell them straight-away, and thank them for their service.

I chose to remove the lower half of my left leg. It was the best choice available to me to live a fuller life.

Veterans made a choice to serve their country. It may or may not have been the best choice available to them, but it was a choice they consciously made. The choice to serve in the military is bigger than enlisting, though, bigger than service.

Their choice isn't even just to sacrifice - it's a choice to be WILLING to sacrifice. They know they are sacrificing their time, sweat, and energy. What they can't be certain of, despite an awareness of it, is they may sacrifice their own leg in battle, or their ability to walk, or their mental health, or their very life. The choice to be willing to sacrifice, without so much as a moments notice, is what makes our Veterans True Heroes.

I never had the choice to make this choice - 4F all the way, physically. I thank God there are so many of YOU, so many of THEM, who have made these choices, so that I can make mine.

God Bless You.

How Many Do-Overs Do You Get?

When I was a young boy, Weebles were all the rage - they wobbled, but they didn't fall down. This chant was often used against me on the playground, as I limped with every step. Inherent in the insult though, was encouragement. No matter how much I fell, I would always get up. Even those who tortured me were forced to admit it.

I had the original Champion of Choice Challenge - and it didn't go the way I'd hoped. I learned a lot, but in terms of accomplishing my goals, it was an anemic effort.

Then, in mid-August (an amazing 86 days ago), I rebooted to the Champion of Choice Challenge 2.0. While I accomplished several things, my overall yield was light.

So - it's time to admit that it's impossible - the power of choice isn't what I thought. We can't decide to create our future. We are at the mercy of the world. I need to give up, delete this blog, forget about my dreams, and sink into the great masses of despair who inhabit so much of the world.

But I can't. Because if I choose to do that, it's still a choice, and I will create that reality. The negative proves the positive. And frankly, I'd rather be POSITIVE.

Who's up for the Champion of Choice Challenge 3.0?

Parameters:

It starts NOW. As soon as you've read this post. Not on the first of the month, or on a Monday, or after the football game, or once the project on your desk is done - NOW.

It goes till December 3Oth - 50 days all told.

Pick three things, three Foundational Footsteps, you want to have done by that time. Big, small, doesn't matter. Three things. Do them, and report back. If you get them done early, celebrate, and pick a few more - push yourself. If you're having trouble getting them done, let me know, and the Champion of Choice Challenge NING community. We need something to do over there anyway.

My three Foundational Footsteps are:

1. Write and release an ebook for my wife
2. Write and release Speak & Deliver: A Public Speaking Book for the Speaking Public
3. Create an amazing Christmas for my family

Yes, there's more things I want to do, that I need to do, that I have to do. But these three things will add to my life and lifestyle the most.

My Secret Weapons:

An accountability partner - everyday I'll be going back and forth with this person to help ensure I continue to move forward.

A profitable project - today I agreed to work on a special project which will help my bottom line, allowing me greater ability to focus.

The Experience of Failure. I know what's worked this year, I know what hasn't.

I call myself the Champion of Choice, and encourage you to become one as well. For my Devoted Minority - remember that that doesn't mean always make champion-level choices, though that is the goal, champion-level results following quickly after. It means I champion the world acceptance of their Power of Choice. My mission is to help you take back your Power of Choice - and use it to improve your life.

For better or worse - we are who we've chosen to be. The Champion of Choice Challenge 3.0 - It's time to choose better. We can wobble, but we won't fall down.

The Devoted Minority

Do you take criticism to heart? Was your last book poorly received? Yesterday's blogpost not read and commented on enough? Worse yet, did you get NEGATIVE comments? Does your YouTube video sit with only 12 views, 10 of them your friends and family? Does it make you want to quit? Do you want to hide your ideas, your talents, yourSELF because your competitor has more Twitter followers, has a bigger Facebook Fan Page, and constantly brags about the 30,000 dollars they made in 24 hours with their latest product release? Then you need to discover The Devoted Minority!

The most popular, most famous, and/or the most successful people in the world are hated by more people than they are loved. And even more people in the world don't even know who they are. Guess what? You won't be hated as much as most, and most likely, the vast majority of the world won't even know who you are. And that's OK.

President Obama. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Michael Jackson and Bob Dylan. Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, and Alex Rodriguez. We often hear more negative things (some true, some not, and most often somewhere in between) about all of them more than we hear the positive. Someone's always willing to take a potshot at them – yet they continue to survive and succeed (even in death, for MJ) despite drawing the ire of so many.

The key is The Devoted Minority. In a world of nearly 7 billion people, no one will have The Devoted Majority. In the U.S. Presidential election, President Barack Obama won with 69,456,897 (source: Wikipedia) votes, in a country whose population is over 307 million. The entire number of votes cast for both Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain was roughly 141 million – not even a majority of the country, despite the highest voter turnout in 40 years.

Your Devoted Minority is a group of supporters that keeps your success afloat. It may be 100 people, it may be 1000, it may be 10 million. The Devoted Minority loves you, spreads your ideas and ideals, and buoys you from day to day. The Devoted Minority may be your emotional or financial lifeline, and is often both. They give you approval, and they spend their money when you give them the chance.

Feed your Devoted Minority. Stay in touch, by newsletter, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, books, media – stay in front of them and give them what they want from you. Only the biggest movie stars can afford to put out a movie every three years – most are filming a movie every 8 months or so, and only the rarified writer can go more than 2 years without releasing a book. For the average businessperson, you need to be in front of your audience at least once a week. With the advent of social media, putting something out there (even if its just a few tweets or a daily status update) every day may be the only way to keep from being forgotten.

Your Devoted Minority can be a very fluid group. Don't fall into the trap of thinking “Oh, I wrote about this 6 months ago, and I'll bore my audience”. Not only do you have new people in your Devoted Minority, you have no idea how many of the read your post or book in the first place, or how many of them need to be reminded of it again! In Make It Stick, by Chip and Dan Heath, they mention the Burden of Knowledge – the idea that because WE know something, we assume everyone must know it. Your Devoted Minority either doesn't, or they want to know it again, differently. How else could Sleepless in Seattle AND You've Got Mail be hit movies, almost a decade apart? The Devoted Minority wanted to see Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan together again, or, for those that were new, they got to enjoy it for the first time, and then likely went and rented Sleepless in Seattle!

Embrace your Devoted Minority. Build it, nurture it, love it. Don't worry about the fact that someone else has a bigger Devoted Minority – your own will grow faster when you focus on what you have instead of what you don't. Don't disrespect or abuse your Devoted Minority by being someone they don't want you to be, unless you're willing to part with them. For me, this means not barraging my speech coaching Devoted Minority with MLM opportunities. What does it mean for you? How can you stay in alignment with your Devoted Minority?

Choose to identify and accept your Devoted Minority. They are why you can continue to do what you do, successfully. They appreciate your services, your expertise, they appreciate YOU. On the days when you wonder if anyone is reading your blog, or going to your website, or cares if you ever do anything ever again, remember your Devoted Minority. They will keep you going, and in turn, they will add to their own number. Frustrated because you're starting with only 100 fans? Guess what? They're still a Devoted Minority. And that's OK.