2011 - Every Year a New Challenge?

January First. No surprise that I would gather enough gumption to write a post, right? After all, today is the day so many of us insistently declare our new habits. How many of you are changing your eating habits, starting this very morning? Promising to exercise - even joining a health club? How about recommitting to following your passion and quitting your J.O.B.? Finding a new relationship, or improving the one you're in? Paying back debt?

The possibilities are endless.

Yesterday, as I started my soul-searching process by looking over 2010, and even a few years before, I discovered a few things that have changed - some that I liked, some that I didn't. I also saw that a lot hasn't changed at all.

- The last time I created a Top 100 Things to do in a Year List was 2008. I tried a short/medium/long term goal list in 2010, that wasn't very effective.
- 2010 saw me cross off many things from my Top 100 Things to do before I Die List - including speaking for a seminar company, going to Disneyworld, Paris, and rappelling down a cliff.
- I finally, as I've mentioned often, moved back to Colorado.
- While I successfully went off caffeine from 1/09 to 2/09 - I've been back on ever since. Two months did not a new habit create.
- The only goal I seriously set for 2011 that was accomplished in full was one I set with Kristi - finish her book - Thriving with Neurofibromatosis, and get it on the market.
- 2010 is the first year since 1999 I ended lighter than I started, though I haven't been at my lowest weight since August.
- 2010 was the first year since 2001 I did not compete in a Toastmasters contest - and I really miss it.

Beyond checklist type items, I still face the daily challenges and choices a husband, a father of six, and an entrepreneur face - balancing time, staying confident, staying committed (as anyone who reads this blog, or its companion blog, Speak & Deliver, cant attest to), staying focused, and, occasionally, staying sane.

In some ways, I've taken some amazing leaps forward in my life over the last two years. In others, I remain mired in the same mud I've been in for the last 20.

All results are still by choice, all results are ultimately my responsibility. Blaming the economy, the many naysayers in my life, the busy life of a big family, the way the healthcare system works (read my wife's blog, where she talks quite a bit about what challenges we have healthwise, and our efforts to Thrive through them), or any number of other easy excuses is unacceptable to me - it's an easy way out, and an easy way to accept less than what any of us are capable of accomplishing.

I'm not going to list a set of goals here to live up to today. I have a private list, and I'll record my process and progress this year as I go. That is, I guess the only goal I'll disclose - that I will write more, be more helpful and more open, and follow through on what I wanted this blog to be for all of you who have ever stopped by.

That, and I'm off caffeine again. So far, so good, on both counts.

Make 2011 your year to be a Champion of Choice!

Make 2010 the Start of a Decade of Directed, Determined Choice

10 years ago today, I woke up to a world that hadn't been destroyed by Y2K, a still-fledgling marriage (less than a month old), 2 young children, and a welcome day off from working as a retail ad salesman for the Salt Lake Tribune/Deseret News. I was in Toastmasters, but didn't have any designs at that point of becoming a speaker or coach - I hadn't even competed in a contest yet.

This morning, I woke up to a world that hasn't been destroyed by terrorism, despite our worst fears, a stronger-than-ever marriage (yes, to the same woman), 6 kids, and no days off from pursuing my passions of being a speaker and coach!

The 2000's
The last 10 years have been dominated by five activities: growing my family, growing myself, physical challenges, searching for focused career goals, and competing for the World Championship of Public Speaking - with mixed results.

My family has certainly grown, in size and maturity. I married not just a wife, but her two kids, and we've added 4 more. Watching them grow and mature, seeing how they take cues from me and Kristi, it's an amazing process to nurture an individual to model behavior and determine their own.

Growing myself had never been that big a priority. I'd been sent to a seminar that featured some professional speakers, including Zig Ziglar, Peter Lowe, Mary Lou Retton, General Schwartzkopf and a couple others in the 90's, and I was vaguely aware that for a few thousand dollars I could buy tapes from a guy with big teeth named Tony that would help me Awaken The Giant Within. But it wasn't until 2001 that I actually listened to Tom Hopkins sales training (loaned to me by someone who asked if I was related to Tom). I started reading Robbins, Tracy, Covey, getting deeper and deeper into discovering the world of self-development, and the role speaking played in it. This part of my life would have a significant aspect on my career choices the rest of the decade.

My physical challenge put me into position to make a choice I never imagined having to make - trading the substandard manufacturer version of my lower left leg in for a Super Deluxe Robot Leg. Waking up in January of 2006 without being able to take a step on my long-deteriorating ankle led to a series of appointments which led to a voluntary amputation. I had other options, they just weren't good ones, in my eyes. Little did I know at the time this was the genesis of what would later become my quest to create the Champions of Choice.

My career goals of being a speaker and coach didn't become clear until 2005, but the vehicle by which I work to reach them would change often, and continues to remain in flux even now. The experiences I've had selling newspaper and magazine ads, working as a media buyer, coaching speakers, speaking to audiences on everything from competition to leadership to goal setting to speaking, and even co-writing three books have given me more experience than many would expect over a ten year period. Working for myself has been my choice the last few years, but there are opportunities for me to take my skills to the workplace, which 2010 may see me do.

I never did win the World Championship of Public Speaking, despite competing 9 out of 10 years, finishing in the Top 100 worldwide 6 out of 8 years, the Top 20 five times, and actually making it to the final competition in both 2006 and 2008, finishing 3rd in '06 (competing even while recovering from the amputation). I learned a tremendous amount from my experiences. I coached my first speaking client in 2004, helping a nervous father give a 15 minute toast at his daughter's wedding, which was taking place in a castle in Austria. I gained skill and confidence as a speaker, and realized how much I enjoyed it, eventually finding my way to paid speaking engagements in 2005, even before I made it to the finals.

The Genesis of the Champions of Choice
It took me another 3 years to realize that everything I wanted to tell people boiled down to their willingness  to choose to do them - and that if I didn't talk to people about reclaiming their power of choice, everything else could easily end up as so much blather. The Champion of Choice was born, and in its first 9 months suffered from all the pangs of babyhood as I realized I was not living up to my own standards. If you've been reading, you've witnessed the unevenness of it all!

It takes more than believing in the Power of Choice. It takes consistent Choices of Action as they relate to your Choice of Desired Results. It takes the Choice of Personal Responsibility combined with the Choice of Personal Forgiveness, followed quickly by the Choice of Persistence.

The Challenge of 2010
This year, I am choosing to take action every day to develop into a stronger Champion. I want to help as many people as possible this year Choose to take the Actions necessary to take their lives to a higher, more successful level than ever before. By the end of this year, I want 2010 success stories from 2010 different Champions of Choice. Even though I've heard from many of you over the last few months who've changed jobs, lost weight, and set new goals, 2010 sets the higher than ever.

No matter where my choices bring me (and I've got some surprise choices in the works this year), I will be leading this charge all year long. I will be blogging every day, even if its just a few lines. I will be adding features, contests, and content on a regular basis. My first choice is to continue to be open and honest about my victories and defeats, and encourage you to do the same. I've battled between the marketing angle of looking perfect vs. being real. I've been told by experts that people only want to follow those that have already reached the promised land, and I've been told by experts that people want to follow those they can identify with. In light of that, I'll simply choose to be the latter as I journey towards the former. And when I reach the promised land, you'll have taken the journey with me.

The last ten years, at least for me, have been a Decade of Education & Discovery - often by accident. The next ten will be the Decade of Directed, Determined Choice. Follow the blog, leave a comment, join the NING site - stake your Choice for all to see!

Climbing The Wall: 4 Week Challenge 2.0 Update

The climb over the wall can get crowded, and busy! Already 4 weeks into the the second challenge - the weeks have flown by.

Several of the habits and rituals I chose to form, reading, food log, push-up challenge (finally into week 3!), and family time, have survived the journey. Others, from journaling to listening to educational/motivational tapes have barely left the gate.

I'm blogging consistently, and have added the Stumpy & Bumpy Laugh Off The Pounds blog to the mix, which compartmentalizes my weight loss challenge. I'm down to 239, and I'm not looking back. I'm about to add another blog to the mix, focusing on speaking and speakers. If you're looking to write a book, create articles, or simply get noticed - blogging is a great way to create and hone content.

I've been focusing on building income on the internet, and partnered with several folks to sell Go Ahead and Laugh to their fans. Affiliate marketing has potential to be a great choice for me. There are several other opportunities I'm looking at, and if you have a product you'd like me to help you promote, let me know.

Twitter continues to be a growing fan base, as I close in on 19,000 followers. I'd originally set 25,000 as an August goal, but there's only so many I can follow per day, So I've ramped it down, expectation-wise. If I have 21,000 by end of September, I'll be doing well. My Facebook experience has been similarly favorable. You can Facebook me at http://facebook.com/richhopkins.

The kids are back in school, reducing my distractions. I'm back in Toastmasters, which has really given me back some joy.

As I look back at my original list, there are many things I have not done. Going forward, there are new things I see myself doing. Ritual works. The white board method, so far, does not. Working with my wife works better every day. Working when the kids get home from school does not. Saying that I'm going to do something, like write a book, or start a blog, doesn't work. Doing them, and then talking about it, works (yes, I know I talked about starting a blog earlier in this post...). I know that I am happier now than I was 4 weeks into the original challenge. The foundational changes I have made in my daily life are key.

My judgment, this morning at least, is that The Challenge, at this stage, is succeeding. I can improve its results, and I am feeling more empowered to do so than I have in weeks.

How is your Challenge going? Have you joined our community at NING? If you are there, have you posted? The community will be worth what we make it worth. I'm looking at some new activities for the community to liven it up - but the best way to do that is for its members to be alive!

Your Challenge (and mine) is meant to create growth. It is not meant to be an easy checklist. Instead, it is a gauntlet of activities designed to test our skills, and create growth, occasionally through pain. Don't judge your Challenge by whether or not it is completely met, but by the growth you have experienced learning to master it.

Make the choice to keep moving forward, to keep climbing the wall. To observe and take credit for the steps you've taken, even if its only been one. Its still one more than you had taken before.

Choices on the Fly

Tonight was my weekly Toastmasters meeting. 6 o'clock, downtown Spokane, 2nd floor at Auntie's Bookstore. For the second week in a row, my lovely wife attended. As we approached the building, we realized we were in big trouble.

Parking in Downtown Spokane is always tricky. Plenty of paylots, limited street parking. With events at the convention center, it can get frustrating finding a spot within reasonable parking distance. For me, thats about 50 feet...

Tonight, as we heard the music and smelled roasted pork in the air, we remembered "Labor Day Weekend in Spokane means Pig Out in the Park"! Not just a big event, the second biggest outdoor event of the year. No parking available whatsoever. The Parking Lots wanted 10 bucks. NO WAY!

Determined to get my wife to her 2nd meeting of Toastmasters, I dropped her off as I continued to circle around. With every turn I faced a new choice. Do I A. Spend $ to park, B. Continue to drive around and pray with fervor for an open spot, or C. leave my wife there and go sit around for an hour somewhere else.

Three pretty clear choices, and choices that had to be made over and over again with each passing moment. Round and round I went...Are THEY leaving? Nope. There's an open...oh, no, motorcycles only. How far away is the closest spot - how long would it take me to walk? 20 minutes later I was still circling. I was determined to get a close spot. Gas and Time are expensive investments, but so is my health, and my ability to not sweat in a suitcoat and have my wits and wind intact when I speak.

After each turn, I inched closer to simply leaving and coming back for my fair spouse. Just as I was about to give up, the clouds parted, the angels sang, and a spot just across the street from the bookstore opened up. I was in the exact right spot at the exact right time. Had I chosen to walk, I would have lost the same amount of time, and I would have been hot and sweaty. Had I ended up leaving, my wife would have stressed, they'd be out an evaluator, and I very well may have ended up in the doghouse for awhile...

These and dozens of other thoughts went through my mind tonight as I looked for a spot. In the end, I'm glad I stuck it out. I fulfilled my role as evaluator, though I came in the room right at 6:25. I got a close spot. And my wife was happy to see me.

The Art of Choice is flexible. The presence of Choices is a constant state of being. The more you pay attention to them, the more you understand how to make them fit your value system. The quicker you become able to make confident decisions even in continually changing conditions.

I can't promise the heavens will always open up at precisely the right moment based on the choices you make, at least you know wherever you end up is where you've chosen to go. And when you've got a choice around every corner, those Choices on the Fly will become easier as you make exercising your Power of Choice a constant and continual choice in and of itself.

Using Murphy's Law

"Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." - some guy named Murphy.

You've read many posts about preparing for Murphy's Law, I bet. Bring extra batteries. Call ahead. Bring a map. Carry a cel phone and cash. Wear clean underwear.

I like to use Murphy's law in my favor. Today I had a dentist appointment. I hate waiting in the waiting room, especially there. So I activated Murphy's Law by bringing a book I've been dying to read (Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads) with me. Got through 2 whole pages before they called me up.



Works for all sorts of things.

If I want to get a speaking slot at my Toastmasters meeting, I make sure I'm totally unprepared. Works every time.

Need one of the kids to do an errand? Don't yell down the hall. Instead, put on headphones and listen to that Every Day is Saturday Motivational MP3 you downloaded.

If I want my wife to make my favorite dish, I make sure to go through Burger King on the way home to dinner. I'm a bit stuffed by bedtime, but hey, we all have to sacrifice.

It takes conscious, creative effort to make Murphy's Law work in your favor - but all great choices do.

When You've Made the Wrong Choice

We don't always make the right choices. Sometimes, we make one that we think is for the best, only to find out later it is not. Undoing bad choices is usually possible, but not always comfortable.

Back in June, I made a big deal about choosing to take a sabbatical from Toastmasters. I felt that it was distracting me from accomplishing my goals, and taking me down the wrong road. I needed a change.

Two months later, my wife spoke with me about a change she'd seen in me - my enthusiasm was down, my drive was muted, and I didn't seem to be having as much fun as I'd had before. After much discussion, we decided the difference was Toastmasters.

For 10 years it had been a place for me to go and get unconditional support, practice my skills, and serve other people along the way. Kristi saw the difference, and encouraged me to go back.

Upon my return, I was asked to take over a Division Governor post. This was a choice that meant I would be ineligible to do the one thing I was most known for - compete annually for the World Championship of Public Speaking.

The more I considered my choice and choices, the more the thought occurred that it wasn't Toastmasters that was interfering with my focus on being a professional speaker and coach, but competing. For the last five years my competition cycle has gone from February to June, twice stretching into August. The ensuing anticlimax at the end of each cycle (not winning the World Championship) would send me into a funk for weeks afterward. The same thing happened this year, but was intensified by my leaving the organization altogether.

By accepting the Division Governor position, my choice yielded two new results. First, I would no longer be focusing on winning contests. Second, I WOULD be focused on serving others. It is the season for me to be doing both. In return, I get to go back to Toastmasters.

I walked back into my club tonight, this time with my wife, who has intentions to join for the first time. I hadn't been back since before the Region Contest in June, and I was a bit worried about the reception I'd get. Overall, it was positive. I understand that my wrong choice affected each of them, especially since I had been elected President of the club at my last attended meeting. But, as good Toastmasters usually do, they welcomed me back, and put me to work. (filled in as evaluator, and volunteered to be the Toastmaster for their contest in three weeks.)

My wife had a good time, and will be joining, as she begins her quest to speak on behalf of Neurofibromatosis, and her choices to Thrive.

I've done what I can do to correct my wrong choice - and will continue to follow through to make my new choice work.

When you make a wrong choice, do you live with it? Sit and kvetch over it? Whine, gripe and complain? Let yourself fall into depression? That's your choice.

Choose a different choice. Put yourself in reverse and own up to your error. Make the phone call, send the email, walk up to someone and say "I'm Back!" And consider this: more often than not, you can improve the exact choice you've made in the past, by changing the focus of the choice from consumption to SERVICE.