Pump it Up for Success

My friend Bob lights up every room he walks in.  He has an aura about him - he’s passionate, he’s energetic, he’s engaging.  On a scale of 1-10, he performs at a 12 every day.  No matter where he goes, people are drawn to him like a magnet. He makes the most of every moment, and he lives life to the very fullest.  To top it off, he’s successful in business, he’s successful with his family, and he loves life.  Let’s take a look at some common characteristics of highly successful, happy people.

Passion

Motivational guru Anthony Robbins says it best, “Live with passion!” Do what you love, love what you do.  When you don’t love what you’re doing, find aspects that you do love, and focus on those aspects. Treat every personal encounter as an opportunity to positively impact someone's life. Treat every task as a challenge and an opportunity to shine. Be excited about the here and now, make it count, and let your passion be contagious.  Then watch how quickly people are drawn to you.

 

Rest

It’s hard to perform at a level 10 when you’re mentally and physically exhausted.  It’s been scientifically proven many times that the human body requires 7-8 hours of sleep.  That’s not a target, that’s a minimum.  It’s what it takes your body to go through the sleep cycle and recover from the daily stressors.  Not only do we need sleep, but we also need relaxation.  Some practice yoga, some meditate, some withdraw and read, some pray, and others sit in hot tubs.  Relaxation requires you to put down the phone, turn off the TV, and take some quiet time away from screaming kids, depressing news, and smart phone notifications.  Just relax...

Diet & Exercise

If you want to perform at a level 10, you need physical and mental energy. God created us to be continually energized by eating the food He created. Any good nutritionist, like my nutritionist Carly Secoy, will tell you that your energy will come from good, whole, natural food choices. A modestly portioned diet with 5-6 evenly spaced meals throughout the day will improve mood, energy, and metabolism. On top of diet, your body needs exercise to energize. There’s nothing like 5-6 days of 30-60 minutes of combined strength training, yoga, and cardiovascular exercise to reduce stress, improve health, and exponentially drive mood, energy, and metabolism.  Just remember, you can’t out-train a bad diet, so don’t think that exercise gives you a pass to eat junk.

Focus

Everything these days seems to be demanding your immediate attention.  At work it’s meetings, emails, ad hoc conversations, and instant messages. At home it’s smartphone notifications, emails, errands, and keeping up with the kids.  Make it a point to focus your 3-Ts on your 3-Ps.  That is, to the extent possible, focus your time, talent (energy), and treasure (money) on your purpose, passions, and priorities in life.  Chances are, the latest facebook notification isn’t relevant to your purpose, passions, or priorities.  Yet somehow it always grabs our attention.  Focus on what you’re doing, here and now, and make a difference.  As my father always taught me, “When you’re doing something focus on it 100%. When you’re not doing something, focus on it 0%.” There’s no value in dwelling on what happened yesterday or worrying about tomorrow. Be present, be focused. The rest is just noise.  

Make It Happen

Some days, we’re just exhausted.  We didn’t sleep well, we ate too much of the wrong foods, we feel sluggish, we’re pulled in too many directions, and we can’t seem to catch a break.  Now imagine the following day at work: you got 7-8 hours of sleep, you woke up and exercised for an hour, you ate modestly portioned, healthy meals, you’ve resisted the countless distractions, and you’re laser-focused on your work priorities.  Does that sound like a recipe for success?  What about your personal life - how would you feel if you were sleeping well, eating right, exercising, and passionately focusing your 3-Ts on your 3-Ps.  Do you think you’d be happier and more successful?  Try it.  I promise you won’t regret it. 

Welcome to the new you.  Enjoy the journey... 

Check out Enjoy the Journey on Amazon.com at  https://goo.gl/G9BM8O

Learn more about Dave VanEpps or request a speaking engagement at www.davevanepps.com

Strength in Weakness

I would rather get lost than ask for directions, and I’m not alone.  Truth is, many people hate to not only ask for directions, but we tend to avoid asking for help wherever possible. Since our earliest childhood attempts to walk, we’ve been conditioned to be self-sufficient. Many of us view asking for help as a sign of weakness, but nothing could be further from the truth.

 

Sometimes it’s Easy to Ask

When I started training for my first Ironman triathlon, I had no cycling experience, I couldn’t swim at all, and I had sustained a running injury that led medical professionals to tell me to never run again. Attempting such an endeavor was not only improbable, it seemed impossible.  I couldn’t possibly succeed without help.  I enlisted the help of a tri coach, a separate swim coach, and a nutrition coach. It was pretty obvious I couldn’t do this on my own.  I needed to stand on the shoulders of giants and seek help from those who had gone there before me.

Sometimes it’s Hard to Ask

Things aren’t always that clear.  Just five years earlier, I was overweight with high blood pressure, high triglycerides, high cholesterol, high sugar, and in the high-risk category for heart disease. Thankfully my doctor looked me in the eye and gave me life-transforming advice. He didn’t mince words. He very clearly told me that I was overweight, I was a high risk for heart attack, and I needed to take action, immediately. While still in his office, he told me he was stepping out for a few minutes and that I needed to “call Tony.” He meant that I needed to call Team Beachbody and buy Tony Horton’s P90X program.  I didn’t really want the advice, but he gave it to me in no uncertain terms. 

We’re All Equally Imperfect

We all have one thing in common - we’re imperfect.  How many times have you gone to church and looked at the perfect family?  How many times have you gone to the gym and seen the muscular guy or the toned girl with the seemingly perfect bodies?  How many times have you come across someone who just seemed to have it all together?  I assure you, in each case, that person has issues, flaws, struggles, and challenges that you don’t see.  We’re human, we’re broken, we’re flawed, and we’re all equally imperfect.  Furthermore, we all need help.

The Greatest Moment

My weakest moment came when I was struggling through a horrific project at work, a number of family struggles, financial challenges, and health issues. I was clearly failing, and I didn’t see a way out.  Until… one Sunday morning, I heard a message that said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” ~2 Cor 12:9.   It was a message that told me we were meant to live in community, to support each other, to lean on each other, to ask for help, and to help.  It was a humbling message that empowered me to drop on my knees and ask for help.

My Challenge to You
Indeed, my greatest moment of strength came when I was humbled and begging for help.  Maybe it's your turn.  Need help with your health or weight, seek a nutritionist.  Need help with exercise, seek a trainer.  Need help with the bigger questions in life, visit a reputable, Bible-based church. Whatever it is, set your ego aside, humble yourself, and ask for help. It might be your greatest moment of strength too.

Welcome to the new you.  Enjoy the journey... 

Check out Enjoy the Journey on Amazon.com at  https://goo.gl/G9BM8O

Learn more about Dave VanEpps or request a speaking engagement at www.davevanepps.com 

Boardroom Lessons From the Race Course

The eyes of the world are now upon some of the very best athletes our countries have to offer.  These Olympians have spent their lives diligently training to deliver a perfect performance.  Elite athletes have an inherent drive for success, which pushes them to the limits of human possibility as they prepare, train, and become the very best. The most successful athletes also know how to apply these athletic lessons to all aspects of their lives.  When I signed up to complete in iron-distance triathlons, I never thought I’d learn lessons on the race course that would pay off in the boardroom.  Here's a few:

Have the Courage to Try

At first, I didn’t want to be a triathlete. I didn’t want to learn how to swim, and more importantly, I was afraid of failure. After much soul searching and persuasion, I agreed to try. I’ve since completed three Ironman races, four marathons, numerous other multi-sport races, I’ve lost 50 pounds, I’ve gained many wonderful friends, and I’ve had more fun that imaginable.  In the office, we’re often scared.  We’re scared to learn a new skill, we’re scared to take a new job, we’re scared to switch departments, we’re scared to give a presentation.  Step out of your comfort zone, take a chance, and have the courage to try. You may be surprised by the results.

Anything is Possible

Not only did I not know how to swim, but I had sustained an injury five years earlier that left doctors telling me I’d never run again.  In the course of training for my first two Ironman races, my injury list included torn ligaments, torn achilles, a stress fracture, a torn rotator cuff, and a host of knee injuries. Quitting was considered by many to be my only option.  However, I choose to believe in the impossible, and I believe that each and every day, God imparts favor and delivers miracles. Take the word “can’t” out of your vocabulary - you get to define success in athletics, in the office, and in life. Only you get to define what’s possible, and you get to go after it. Dream big, aim high, execute, and believe.

Life’s A Team Sport

If any sport would qualify as an individual sport, I would think triathlon is a good bet.  One person swims, that same person cycles, and that same person runs.  I quickly learned that’s not the case.  To properly train, I needed a coach. To make it fun, I trained with a team. To fuel my body, I needed a nutritionist. To address my injuries, I needed physical therapists and doctors. To be able to put in the hours, I needed the support of loved ones. You’re no different.  In the office, you need a great leader, great people in your workgroup, and great people in your organization. You need to interoperate with other departments such as finance, HR, engineering, product. There’s no such thing as a company of one, so if you want to win in the office, become a phenomenal team player.

Turn Lemons Into Lemonade

In my last Ironman race, the temperature was 15-20 degrees than my hottest day in training.  Life’s not about what happens to you, it’s how you respond.  In this case, a course correction on the nutrition and hydration plan was in order.  The heat cost me some time, but it didn’t ruin my race.  Others weren’t so lucky. In the office, bad things will happen. You need to rise above. People will steal your ideas, promotions will be given to undeserving co-workers, and corporate politics will drive you crazy. The winners in life quickly learn how to adapt, adopt, and overcome.

Patiently Persevere

My last Ironman consisted of 2,496 swim strokes, 23,595 pedal strokes, and 47,850 steps to cover 140.6 miles in nearly 13 hours.  There were no shortcuts.  The only way to the finish line was to just keep putting one foot in front of the other.  It’s no different in the office.  Successful people know that you can’t achieve greatness overnight.  You need to put in time, and it needs to be time in which you consistently demonstrate excellence. There are no shortcuts.  If you have the right plan to achieve your goals, set your direction and just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Make it Fun

In the course of my most recent Ironman, I made a personal goal to have fun.  Despite the heat, despite the duration, despite the distance, and despite the pain, I had a fantastic time. Towards the end, a group of fans actually yelled to me that they noticed I was one of the few people on the course who was smiling every time I passed them.  Mission accomplished.  Most people spend nearly 50% of their waking hours at work, and you have a choice to make. You can choose your attitude.  You can be miserable, negative, and down on life. Or you can rise above, keep a positive attitude, and make your own fun. The choice is yours.

Welcome to the new you.  Enjoy the journey... 

Check out Enjoy the Journey on Amazon.com at  https://goo.gl/G9BM8O

Learn more about Dave VanEpps or request a speaking engagement at www.davevanepps.com

#enjoythejourney #motivation #inspiration #transformation #results #success #adapt

Dream for Tomorrow - Act for Today

Myles Monroe said, “The wealthiest place in the world is the cemetery… there is buried the greatest treasure of untapped potential.” While it’s tragic to watch people meander through life, just going through the motions, and living without purpose or vision, it’s far worse when someone has a vision but lacks the ability to execute on that vision.  Highly successful people are proficient at three skills: creating a compelling vision of the future, developing plans to achieve the vision, and executing on those plans

Dream Big

Think back to your childhood and your dreams of greatness.  We all had dreams of fame, fortune, and greatness. As adults, we’ve heard words like no, can’t, impossible, and failure too often, and they’ve tempered our dreams. It’s time to dream big again, starting now. Don’t process, don’t evaluate, don’t squelch your ideas, and don’t say the word “impossible.” Simply dream:

• What’s the legacy you wish to leave behind for generations to come?
• What’s your purpose in life?
• What’s your vision for your spiritual life?
• Where do you see your family in 5, 10, 20, 50 years?
• What’s the vision for your health and well-being for the future?
• What would you like to accomplish in your career and/or for your organization?
• What are some crazy bucket list items you’d like to achieve?

Translate Your Vision Into Action Plans

"Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.” ~ Joel A. Barker.  You just created statements of vision, and now it’s time to set the stage for action:

• Compel - take the vision above and make it compelling.  Ask the question, why is this important? Let’s say your vision is to someday run a marathon.  The vision is far more inspiring and motivating if there’s a “why” behind it.  Maybe you want to be a role model for your children of health and longevity. Perhaps you have a vision to improve processes in your workgroup.  A compelling story like, “This will help us improve our productivity and quality, while also improving our work-life balance by reducing overtime” will go a long ways in rallying the troops.
• Communicate - engage everyone impacted by this vision.  If your vision is to someday climb Mt. Rainier, you’ll need support from loved ones when you’re gone doing training climbs. If your vision is to transform an organization at work, you’ll need not only the awareness, but the full engagement and support, of the team.  Communicate early and often
• Empower - allow all affected groups to take ownership in refining the vision and the compelling story behind it.  Make sure everyone is (or can be) equipped for success. For example, if your vision is for your an innovative idea at work, make sure the team has the right tools and training for success.
• Plan - this is where most dreams go to die. This happens every New Years Eve as dreams and visions become resolutions, but without proper planning, they fail. If this is new territory for you, look to others for help.  Ask people who’ve already been there to help you plan. If your dream is to run a marathon, research plans and adopt one that already works.  If your dream is to transform how your organization works, talk to other senior leaders who’ve already done this. Identify the necessary steps and timing that will move you towards your vision. You need some realistic actions and milestones that will bring the vision to life.

Execute

You now have a compelling, well-communicated vision that is inspiring and motivating.  You also have a step-by-step plan of attack, with actions, due dates, and milestones.  It’s time to get busy.

• Prioritize - make sure this action plan is properly prioritized to ensure it gets attention. You may need to sacrifice in other areas, and if so, identify those areas now.
• Schedule - does this require meetings, trips, or concrete blocks of time carved out to achieve the action plan? If so, get them on your calendar.  If you’re planning to run a marathon, put your daily running time on your calendar.  If this is a team vision, get their time blocked for meetings, working sessions, etc.. Whenever the action is delimited to a finite start and end time on a given day, put it on your calendar.
• Act - do you need to put action items on your to-do list? In the running example, maybe you need to buy running shoes, running clothes, or gym memberships.  Maybe you need to set milestones every month to evaluate progress against plan. 
• Fail and Course Correct - allow yourself to fail. You will encounter setbacks, you will have challenges, and you need to overcome those failure moments and use them to propel you forward.  The plan you start with will likely change considerably, and you need to be flexible while keeping the end in mind.

Putting It Together

As an overweight, unhealthy forty-something, the vision of me becoming a role model of health and fitness for my children seemed like a dream not worth dreaming. I shared my vision with a coach and a nutritionist, and they helped me marry-up the dream with the right action plan. Every workout was on my calendar, every action was in my to-do list, and those impacted by the vision have been with me every step of the way.  Fifty pounds of weight lost, six marathons completed, three Ironman triathlons completed, and the dream has become reality.  I did it, so can you.  Just imagine the possibilities...

Welcome to the new you.  Enjoy the journey... 

Check out Enjoy the Journey on Amazon.com at  https://goo.gl/G9BM8O

Learn more about Dave VanEpps or request a speaking engagement at www.davevanepps.com 

#enjoythejourney #motivation #inspiration #transformation #results #success #vision

Fail Forward to Success

Thomas Edison, who was considered as a kid to be stupid, once said, "I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”  Edison knew that there is no success without failure.  Failure is simply learning what will and won’t work.  Imagine if Edison quit after the 1st attempt, the 3rd attempt, the 999th attempt?  Albert Einstein couldn’t speak until he was 4 years old and was also considered to be of below average intelligence.  Henry Ford failed and went broke five different times before he became successful.  Walt Disney was fired once for his alleged lack of imagination.  Imagine the world if these people allowed failure to define them, not refine them?

Thru failure comes learning, thru learning comes improvement, thru improvement comes excellence, thru excellence comes legacy

Fear of Failure

Think of a time when you didn’t try something because you were afraid to fail. It happens to all of us. Prior to becoming a triathlete, I was asked to join a team of triathletes and train with them for a full distance Ironman. I didn’t want to. I was afraid that if I joined, I would fail.  If I failed, it would mean that I’m not good enough, I’m a failure, and that I don’t have what it takes. Haven’t we all felt that way? Maybe your fear of failure is tied to a potential new job, a potential new relationship, a potential new class or skill, a potential new activity, a potential new social circle.  Realize your fear, and then give it a shot anyway.  Nobody is perfect - we’ve all failed!  If you fail, at least you’ll be in the company of 100% of the rest of the human population.

Refine, Not Define

My favorite analogy is that failure is more like a bruise than a tattoo.  Failure isn’t permanent.  Failure doesn’t define you. If used properly, failure will refine you.  That’s the concept of failing forward - learning the lessons from the experience, applying those learnings, and trying again.  Yet too many people are afraid that failure will forever define them, so they take the easy way out. Thru failure comes learning, thru learning comes improvement, thru improvement comes excellence, thru excellence comes legacy. Thomas Edison’s story best exemplifies this concept.  He failed 1,000 times, but instead of using that failure to define himself as a failure, he used it to refine himself as one of the greatest innovators of all time. Failure doesn’t define you, it refines you.

A Winning Perspective

“Fail fast, learn fast, win fast, and win big” ~ Scott Howe.  Failure is awesome! It’s your way of telling the world I haven’t yet figured this out. It’s your way of telling the world I am getting closer to the solution because I found another approach that won’t work. It’s a stepping-stone on the way to victory. Failure is a tool. It’s an opportunity to learn. It’s an opportunity to reassess your approach. It’s an opportunity to demonstrate patience, resilience, character, and fortitude. It’s an opportunity to set aside your ego, humble yourself, and accept that neither you nor I are perfect. We’re human. We’re broken. We make mistakes. We’re imperfect... and that’s okay. While we were in fact wonderfully made and designed for accomplishment, we were also made to fail. The failure, however, was never meant to define us— it was meant to be a stepping stone on the way to success.

Making Failure Actionable

Start by doing an honest introspection of how you currently handle failure.  Do you get angry, blame others, get defensive, or make excuses?  That’s okay if you said yes - most people do.  Starting this second, you have the power to change that response going forward. Make a commitment to yourself to demonstrate resilience when, not if, you fail. Accept failure as a part of life. Allow yourself and others to fail. Consider failure to be a learning opportunity.  Make it a point to ask yourself a few key questions: what went wrong, why did it go wrong, what could you have done differently, how can you apply these learnings in the future?  By using these techniques in both your personal and professional life, you can reduce your fear of failure and turn failure events into opportunities to become better than ever.

Welcome to the new you.  Enjoy the journey... 

Check out Enjoy the Journey on Amazon.com at  https://goo.gl/G9BM8O

Learn more about Dave VanEpps or request a speaking engagement at www.davevanepps.com

#enjoythejourney #motivation #inspiration #transformation #results #success #failforward

Tune for Performance

To create impeccably high-quality sound, audio engineers have a series of controls at their fingertips, which are carefully set to create the desired output.  The human body is no different. Unfortunately, we often define our own success by believing every control has to be set to maximum at all times, and when we don’t have enough time and energy, we feel overwhelmed and unsuccessful.  To create impeccably high-quality results, each of us has a series of controls at our fingertips, which we need to carefully adjust to create the desired results. “You can do anything, but not everything.” ~David Allen

Your Performance Dashboard

Picture a dashboard, like the one above, in which there is a series of controls. Think of each control as belonging to a particular dimension of your life.  Common dimensions include things like religion, marriage or relationship, kids, job, education, hobbies, exercise, community activities, relaxation, or anything else that consumes time and energy.  On your performance dashboard,  each dimension of your life has a corresponding control, and it can be adjusted on a scale ranging from 1 to 10.  A score of 1 represents a non-priority, on which you want to spend as little time and energy as possible.  A score of 10 represents a top priority, on which you want to spend every waking minute and every ounce of energy.

Define Your Controls

The first step is to figure out where you spend your time and energy.  Take a look at the common dimensions listed above, and consider all aspects of your life that either do consume time and energy or should consume time and energy.  Keep in mind that you should have controls for all dimensions of your life that consume time and energy, even if you don’t want them to!  For example, I have a control for watching TV, and even though I don’t want to spend much time watching TV, having a control set to 1 helps remind me that if I don’t manage that time, it will subconsciously work it’s way into my life. I also created a control for relaxation, which forces me to make time to relax. What controls do you need in your life? Grab a piece of paper and write them down.

Tune for Performance

Now it gets real. For each dimension, set the control to something in the range of 1-10.  The tricky part here is not setting everything to 10.  Sure, we all want to have wildly successful careers, awesome relationships, and abundant quality time with loved ones.  However, when time and energy are limited, where will you put the extra effort?  For example, if you’re single, no kids, and climbing the corporate ladder, work may be a 9 or 10. However, if you get married, have a baby, and are no longer seeking career advancement, maybe that control is set to a 5 or 6.  It doesn’t mean you’re trying any less - it just means you’re not putting in the extra time and effort, which may now be going to your newborn. Once you’ve scored the major dimensions of your life, stack rank the scores to make sure they align with your priorities in life.  

Monitor

Now that you’ve tuned your human machine for superior performance, do a quick calibration.  Take a look at how you’re actually spending your time and exerting your energy.  Does it align with how you set the controls?  If not, make some course corrections, and find ways to get yourself back in alignment. This may require you to adjust your calendar - maybe you need to wake-up earlier to make time for exercise, or maybe you need to schedule 30 minutes in the evening to meditate.  It may also require you to adjust your to-do list.  Maybe you’re doing things you shouldn’t, in which case you can delete them, or maybe you’re not doing things you should. Once aligned, continue monitoring to stay aligned!

Recalibrate

The only constant in life is change. Recalibration should be done periodically to ensure the controls continue to reflect your priorities in life.  Furthermore, recalibration should be done whenever you undergo a major life event.  Items like birth of a child, death of a loved one, a new relationship, a new job or promotion, major illness, a new hobby or activity, etc. are events that cause us to recalibrate. Consider the example of a new exercise enthusiast, who quickly becomes so addicted to working out that it interferes with relationships, kid time, and even work.  In this case, recalibrating helps determine where the extra time for exercise is coming from. Make it a point to periodically recalibrate for success.

Fail Forward

You will make mistakes.  You’ll accidentally omit time-consuming dimensions of your life, you’ll misalign a few controls here and there, and you won’t always get it right.  That’s normal!  Learn from your mistakes, apply your learnings, and keep trying.  Before  long, you’ll find yourself better managing your time, becoming more productive, feeling less overwhelmed, and you’ll be happier because you’ll be spending your time the way you want to do it.

Welcome to the new you.  Enjoy the journey... 

Check out Enjoy the Journey on Amazon.com at  https://goo.gl/G9BM8O

Learn more about Dave VanEpps or request a speaking engagement at www.davevanepps.com
#enjoythejourney #motivation #inspiration #transformation #results #success

Overcome All Odds

Everyone loves an underdog. Everyone loves the story of a winner who had to overcome seemingly impossible odds.  The 1980 USA Men’s Hockey Team earned Olympic gold after defeating a Soviet team that had been unbeatable for years.  Buster Douglas was a 42-1 underdog when he knocked out the undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, Mike Tyson.  And, of course, many of us were glued to the big screen as we watched the underdog Rocky Balboa come back to defeat Apollo Creed.  We all love winning, but we all love winning more when the odds are stacked against us. There are three keys when it comes to overcoming all odds: belief, courage, and resilience.

Belief

When I first started running marathons, I was an underdog. I wasn’t a runner. In fact, I hated running, and the prospect of running 26.2 miles terrified me… until my mentor said, “I believe in you.”  Those words transformed the impossible to the possible.  They drove me to positive action: eating right, researching the sport, working with him to create a plan, and diligently following the plan. They programmed me to believe that success was a foregone conclusion, and I started acting that way. Believing in yourself programs your mind and body for unlimited success.  It sends a powerful, positive message to your subconscious mind that drives action. It enables you to overcome seemingly impossible odds. The words “I believe in you” can change a destiny. 

Courage

You can’t win it if you’re not in it. There’s a Bible story about an epic battle between David and Goliath several thousand years ago. David wasn’t even invited to the battle. However, he had the courage to show up, and when nobody stepped up to take on the mighty Goliath, David rose to the occasion. David was the underdog, the kid, the shepherd, the guy with no armor, and his only weapon was a slingshot. Goliath was a killing machine - a one-man wrecking crew with armor, the best weaponry, and a history of destroying everything in his path. Everyone knew who was going to win this battle. However, when the battle started, David grabbed a rock, pulled back his slingshot, and fired, lodging the rock deep in the skull of the giant warrior, sending him to an early grave. 

Resilience

Resilience is a learned skill, demonstrated by the most successful people in life, in which one is able to accurately assess their current situation and face the cold, hard facts.  Based on those facts, they create a plan of action, and they create a sense of purpose.  Ultimately, they relentlessly attack barriers - going over, under, around, or through anything that stands in the way.  In a nutshell, resilience is the ability to bounce back from adversity and forge a path to success.  It’s a process by which one never gives up, and when life hands them lemons, as it often does, they figure out how to make lemonade.  Dean Becker says, “More than education, more than experience, more than training, a person’s level of resilience will determine who succeeds and who fails. That’s true in the cancer ward, it’s true in the Olympics, and it’s true in the boardroom.”

My Challenge to You

Consider the Goliaths in your life. Maybe your Goliath is an addiction. Maybe it’s pornography, alcohol, or tobacco.  Maybe it’s a difficult boss, a failing relationship, or a challenging teenager. Whatever it may be, think of this as an epic battle in which you’re the underdog.

• Believe: start programming your mind and body for success.  Start believing in yourself.  Let that belief drive transformative positive action. You were born of the seeds of greatness; you were carefully architected with perfection and designed for accomplishment. You have what it takes!

• Be Courageous: nobody every won by sitting on the sidelines. The word fear has prevented more people from reaching their potential than any other word in the English language - fear of success, fear of failure.  Think of fear as an acronym - false expectations appearing real.  As you evaluate the Goliaths in your life, ask yourself if fear is limiting you.  Then, without missing a beat, just go for it - jump in and win.

• Be Resilient: objectively assess your current situation by looking at the cold, hard facts.  Create a plan of action based on those facts, and create an overarching sense of purpose that will motivate and guide you along the way.  Then seek out any barriers to success, and utterly destroy them. Go over them, go around them, or go through them.  Whatever it takes. Expect to be handed lemons along the way, and figure out how to turn them into lemonade.

In the words of the great Dr. Fred Hatfield, “If you believe these things, then for you winning is neither everything nor the only thing.  It's a foregone conclusion! But, if along the way, you should somehow stumble, profit from the experience!  And vow, by the power of Almighty God, it'll NEVER happen again!"

Welcome to the new you.  Enjoy the journey... 

Check out Enjoy the Journey on Amazon.com at https://goo.gl/G9BM8O

Learn more about Dave VanEpps or request a speaking engagement at www.davevanepps.com