The Champion’s Brew is a weekly assembly of material I am reading, listening to, watching, or thinking about that is designed to equip and call you to uncommon leadership. I often add my own little spin based on my takeaways and would love your input as well. Any of the points especially impact you? Drop me a note at [email protected], or comment on the blog to keep the conversation going! I believe you will discover that the format is not only useful, but also that you can consume it within the time it takes you to enjoy your daily ‘brew’! Become a member of the Champions Brew Nation by subscribing here!!
Here is your weekly drink of what I have been reading and experimenting with to help me to:
- Exceed goals: So, we are at the end of January, 1/12th of the way through the year already. How are you doing with those New Year’s resolutions? According to this Inc article, 80% of people who made resolutions have dropped them by the second week of February. Disciplines required to implement new resolutions are simple, but not easy. To help you to stay on track, you may need to look at the goal itself to see if you are “doing it right”. What makes a good goal/metric? Here are four attributes of a good metric/goal that make it easier to stay on track:
- Is it ‘simple’ to measure? – Many times we choose goals that are not measurable. If I set a goal to “read more” this year, what does that really mean? How do I measure it? Something a bit more simple might be “I want to read 12 books this year.” – That is a simple (not easy) metric to measure.
- Can I see it easily? Some people looking to improve their fitness might set a goal to “reduce their BM( (Body Mass Index) to below 25”. Well, unless you have a scale that measures something like this, it may be a good goal, but because I can’t see it easily, or I have to have special equipment to measure, I may lose interest or motivation.
- Is it a driver or habit based goal rather than an outcome metric? Back to the “read more” goal. Read more is too vague. Reading 12 books a year is measurable and ‘simple’ to measure, but even this goal can permit you to procrastinate. You go through the first month with zero books done… No worries, right? “I still have 11 months to get it done.” An even better metric might be “I want to read 10 minutes per day.” Note that reading 10 minutes a day is 300 minutes a month and THAT will get you beyond 12 books per year. Put the habit in your calendar and make it happen!
- Is it a habit/metric that can be maintained? One of the ways to lose weight is to go on a crash diet. If you only eat 1,000 calories per day, you are likely to lose weight, but can you maintain that? Try to make it a lifestyle! Rather than something that drastic, start small. Try replacing your French fries with a fresh vegetable once per week. That change along can save you almost 21,000 calories (6 pounds of body fat at 3,500 calories per 1 pound) per year!! Make it a metric that you can incorporate into your lifestyle – #stopeatingfrenchfries
- Eat Healthy – Want some healthy sides that you can use to replace those French fries? Check out this article from Wonder How To Food Hacks for 5 healthy(and tasty) French Fry replacements.
- Live Forever – A recent piece I read from John Maxwell’s Daily reader hit me really hard. He spoke of the “Value of Time”:
Time is valuable. Psychiatrist and author M. Scott Peck said, “Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.” In What to Do Between Birth and Death, Charles Spezzano says that people don’t pay for things with money; they pay for them with TIME. If you say to yourself, ‘In five years, I’ll have enough money put away to buy that vacation house’, then what you are really saying is that the house will cost you five years – one-twelfth of your adult life. “The phrase spending your time is not a metaphor,” said Spezzano. “It’s how life works.” Instead of thinking what you do and what you buy in terms of money, think about them in terms of TIME. (Taken from The Maxwell Daily Reader for January 21)
What you need to do:
Call to Action: Think about it. What is worth spending your life on? Seeing your work in that light just may change the way you manage your time.
Let’s continue the conversation. Email me at [email protected] or comment on the blog.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of Champions Brew. If you enjoyed it, I would appreciate it if you would share it with a friend who might enjoy it as well and ask them to subscribe! I will make sure they automatically get this email every week.
Until next time, go and Grow Champions!
One Response
Great stuff again this week John. I have finished my first book of the year. (500 some pages of it.) My eating habits have gotten better, but not totally ready to give up french fries. I still have a treat now and then, but that is no longer a big part of what I eat. My diet has become mostly meat, vegetables, fruit, and iced tea.
Thanks for the reminders.