Timing!

Timing is everything. The right place at the right time.... We say the same thing over and over again in various ways. Every day we make decisions that affect our next outcomes. In order to prepare for the future we must make investments of time for the desired outcome today. All that said sometimes you just have to be lucky. When you are prepared, right place, and right time something great can happen. The preparation that we invest today may also pay off today, I don't know. That is why it is so important to fill every minute with preparation or execution.

On track: I have for sure curbed my intake. Not quite far enough because I still think I am taking in more calories than I am burning but I am on the right track. Everyday will be an undertaking to achieve discipline in intake. I will overcome and learn not to over indulge. More water and coffee less doughnuts and butter/cheese. I think I may have to ban goldfish from my diet also. Lots of salt and calories for no reward. I have to lead by example if I want my family to be healthy.

I am going to add weekend thoughts to add to my discipline.

Progress and Setbacks

After a great start I dropped the ball this morning on my exercise. However, I will continue the discipline I am showing on consumption. I also have another opportunity to workout this afternoon. I must walk in the door and commit to doing it.
This morning my devotional was about the feeling of separation from God. Which is really ironic since I missed the men's small group this morning and have not been able to go on Sunday night for a while. I am struggling to get plugged back in after the craziness of summer and then the baby being born. The small group really kept me accountable and I felt like was growing. I feel stagnant and that is leading to me feeling distant. As I feel distant to God, I fell distant to those closest to me.
I have been using a growing percentage of my brain capacity to focus on work and that has taken away from Kelly and kidos! I feel drained by the time I get home because the mental and emotional resources consumed at work. As I make changes in my diet and exercise I must add some mental discipline to focusing on my family.
Challenge: Be present and do not be distracted by the allure of laziness.

Building for the future

It supposedly takes 20 days to create a habit, day 3 and I feel good. Today is going to be relatively easy to push through but as the weekend approaches discipline becomes more difficult. Thursday has become the hinge of success. If I can get to the 4th day working out and not making excuses I will be headed in the right track. Building my body for the future is equally as important as building my mind and heart.
Life has become hectic. Trying to fit everything into a schedule and still be present is increasing in difficulty. Seizing time when and where I can is the most important discipline to learn. I talked yesterday about procrastination stealing productivity and exchanging it for business. The fact that I am busy is not necessarily a positive. If I am productive then I have something to hang my hat on.

Today I have my first solo meeting. I am ready since it is simply a fact gathering mission. Lord give me the strength to go confidently and the wisdom to listen as they talk. Please allow me to build a relationship and be an asset to their enterprise. AMEN

Work in progress!

Yesterday was far from perfect but I made progress. I even got up this morning and worked out! I will get to day 20 in a row and new habits will have taken form. While I reshape my body I will also reshape my work. getting up earlier and getting my brain started has helped my anxiety at work. Unafraid to admit that the first couple of weeks picking up the phone and hearing no shook me a little. I have now come to grips with that and have the confidence I need to attack the issue full on. 

Procrastination: The idea that I will carve out time later in the day to call someone, to write that e-mail, or to work out...... It will not happen. As I currently sit with 2 little girls and a wife time is at a premium. I will not let things linger and I will not be afraid. Time will not allow it.

Busy Life!

Seeing the fruit of a busy life is sometimes hard. I feel and act busy most of the time but, fruit of the stress/toil is often lost in the the shuffle. Although mentally I feel better when I am moving from one thing to the next, I  neglect my physical well-being and in a short time I run down mentally. The challenge I now lay before myself is cranking up my body to handle the emotional and mental stress. I feel like I will be able to better achieve all my goals personally and professionally if I restart my physical strength. 

Being Healthy Objectives: Some simple choices have to be made and adhered to in order to regain control. 

1. NO French Fries

2. NO Soft Drinks- Including 0 cals

3. No doughnuts

4. No 2nds- simply put enough food the first time no overloading

5. Limit Cheese and Other Fried foods

6. No food after 7:30 p.m.

7. Eat Breakfast

8. Enough Sleep

9. Limit Fast food to no more than 2 times a week

10. *****Most important****** Exercise every day minimum 40 mins

I will have some type of accountability post every day!

Getting in the Zone!

In today's information age how do we use the the overabundance to sell? I try to balance my approach between too much research and just calling. The law of averages begins to take effect when you make a certain number of calls but the flip side of that is knowing the information that will increase that average. Making the right call at the right time is not the easiest thing to do but it is possible.

I have not hit my sweet spot of calls and research but I feel better with every call. The chase must become a reward in and of itself. It is odd the way the industry works but I will be persistent and continue to search for my sweet spot.

Distractions: Although most are not negative, removing the distractions is becoming a growing part of everyday. In order for me to get in the zone I must continue to compartmentalize the distractions of the outside world.

Lists

I have entered a profession of lists. Making lists, checking off lists, listing tasks and people everyday! This has become a very interesting life style. I find myself thinking in rows of information all the time now. The grind of organization balanced with the unpredictability of potential customer interaction is exhilarating.

With the invention of Facebook making lists is second nature to my generation. We pour over lists everyday to see what our network is doing. I rank friends not in importance to our shared history but in relation to content generated. This ranking has become more interesting as my generation becomes so interconnected globally. My friends that I would never be able to keep up with on the other side of the world have become fixed in my mind as we constantly appear on each others list.

The list of lists: How do I keep the list of most important things top of mind? As I create more list the completion of the current list becomes most important. Making Lists and Ranking lists is vast importance!

Focus

Monday's are all about focus. How do you regain your focus from the weekend where all you tried to do is turn it off. Sometimes I feel like my switch is busted! I get so dialed in on one thing or the other and cannot transition.
Today my resolve is to begin the hard stuff. Look some of my fears in the face a not let them win. The very purpose I started this blog is to allow myself an outlet to put thoughts and feelings down in order for me to understand the reality of them.
I must simply stop with the things I allow to use my time that are unproductive and bear down. Long term I do feel that the blog and other messages I send out will pay dividends but today is about today! The reality of a new mouth to feed is here and I cannot wait!

Lord, help me to focus and not waste time! AMEN!

Creativity

How do you get someone to call you back? How do you get someone to reply to an e-mail? Well, I tried something yesterday and it clicked. Don't give away the magic! Ok sounds simple right? I will say it another way be ambiguous. Still another way, Everything you have learned about looking for business turn it upside down.

Sometimes the creative thing to do is not put something on social media but to try an approach that you know won't work. Creativity is taking your current resources and building a different output. There are strategies that work, so do not reinvent the wheel. Simply take the wheel and deploy it in a fresh new way!

Take a list of companies that you are not comfortable with. Call them energy. Ask for the information you need in a creative way. If you don't get the person you need to talk to tell the VM who you are, your number, and that you have something they would be interested in. When they call you back, MAKE THEM INTERESTED!

Life comes at you fast!

I feel like I am in a whirlwind of change. Today is my first day back at work since the new baby arrived. We are so blessed to have the family and work support we have. I cannot imagine Kelly and I working anywhere else that would support us like this. Our families have been incredible also. they have done so much for us.

The principle in business that rings true in both situations is: Be Selective and Pick a Team not an individual. When Kelly and I were dating each other and interviewing our current employers we took into account all of the people involved. Now I am not saying that everyone has to be a perfect match for the situation but in order for the relationship to be successful you have to be able to work with everyone on the team. We often get so involved with "marrying" an individual that we do not invest in the relationships around the individual that make up the support group. It is very difficult to rework the infrastructure being the new guy so why not spend a little time on the front end looking at it before you join.

Go forth and be apart of a successful team!

Brief

Keep your explanations brief and listen to what the other person has to say.

Timing... It is not yours!

Yesterday was a great day! I had a great ride-with and learned a ton about how to prospect. Today is all about follow through and getting a plan together. I have mixed emotions about being in the office though because I really wanted to be delivering a baby. If it was my time table we would have delivered the baby today and started fresh on Monday. Instead Monday we deliver and I have to plan accordingly. Life happens and not always according to your time table and what is convenient for you.
Time and I have a love/hate relationship only because of my perspective. The appearance of increased or decreased speed in relation to time is the myth that we convince ourselves of. When something is fun and exciting time appears to pass quickly. When life is boring or uneventful it passes slowly. When reality time passes at the same pace continuously. Making the most effective use of this pace is the key to unlocking an alternate perspective, Unemotional Relationship (in regards to time). If we simply understand the environment  and not let our emotions rule our perception we can effectively use the time we are given.
The fine line to be drawn is between the relationship to time and everyone else. My suggestion is not ridding all emotion from the situation, just simply the emotional connection it holds over our perception of time. No speed or positive/negative it is just time. Allow yourself to remember but not dwell on current/past situations. be present in the seconds that are passing! 

Ride-with

Today is the 2nd ride-with I will have as a member of Fox/Everett. This will equal the total number of ride-with's I had at my previous employer. I am supremely excited because I am an osmosis kind of learner, I need to be submersed in it. A great example was yesterday when my boss said that he writes brief notes to the person that he talks to that actually gives him information. A light just went off in my head, I had probably heard him say that before but it never registered. I love to write brief thank you notes so this is a perfect technique for me. Had I not just been with him for a few minutes I would have never picked that up.

The ride-with is also valuable for the interpersonal side of working with/for people. Nobody understands this better than the military. I talk all the time with friends or acquaintances that have military backgrounds about the connection they have to their superior. It will absolutely blow you away the words that they use to revere the "boss." I find it so ironic that military bosses are revered and in the private sector all the humor (based in reality) degrades bosses. I am the lucky one it seems. I have a boss that I revere and a company that I believe in. Although things change, I am truly happy right now.

It's the HUNT!

As we enter the season of male testosterone, football and hunting, I have to examine my own motivations and lack of attention to family matters. I woke up Saturday morning and my heart was beating like I had just injected caffeine directly into it! College football started on Saturday morning in earnest and I could not be more excited. Kelly had different plans as it was her birthday. Admittedly it was the perfect storm of bad situations. Kelly's not being a fan of watching football, Our house did not have cable since the beginning of the year, and Addison was not in a great mood. needless to say watching college football did not happen very much on Saturday and I overwhelmingly had the feeling of dread.
My personality is that I can be fascinated with most anything and live in the moment. I will allow myself be occupied with anything except sitting around. Kelly was not feeling well so we attempted to just lay around one problem no college football at my house. (We had dish installed on Sunday.) So I could not think of anything to do except find a way to watch college football. We had a tough day!

The Hunt: I can only recap the way I feel because I do not understand it. When football season comes around my whole motivation and mindset changes. I become a strategist, a health nut, a physically driven person. I walk around and feel the need to do more fist pounding and chest bumps. Although, I do not participate in the hunting I love to go and hang out. It is something in the air that just makes the male species go nuts! Again, I can empathize but I cannot explain.