Don’t be too upset that you didn’t make the “top 10 list for most searched on the Internet in 2011″. This might actually be a good thing; because it probably means you didn’t create a sex tape, murder anyone, embezzle a trillion dollars on fraud street, cause a celebrity breakup, have a natural disaster named after you and your not a dead terrorist. The only downside to not being on this top 10 list is that you likely didn’t win American Idol either.

It amazes me what addictive gluttons for  information and news on the latest and most popular celebrity, tragedy, death, or violent act we are. Bring on the carnage – just like the Romans did centuries before us. Have we really evolved from our primitive predecessors of the past? In some ways yes. But at the core of our being doubtful. As long we keep buying into what the media feeds us they’re going to keep providing it. And now with the Internet  being this massive media vehicle it’s even easier to spread the word or song – just ask Rebecca Black.

Besides the popular celebrity nonsense, and the devastating tragedy in Japan,  it seems that one piece of technology fought through our love for the negative and captured our attention long enough to let our fingers do the walking on the Internet.

According to Yahoo, the iPhone took top billing as the number search term in 2011. Yes it even beat out Kim Kardashian. I wonder how much of this was sparked by the passing Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

At any rate I’ll pause my cynical view for now and instead offer thanks to all those who intentionally or unintentionally put some drama in our lives. And at the same time be thankful that it wasn’t me.

Unfortunately, in order to have a heart-warming story somebody has to pay a price. Without the villain there is no hero. Without tragedy there is no triumph. And without all this adversity and uncertainty in the world we would live a boring Pleasantville existence and wouldn’t be able to differentiate one moment from the next.

As the year comes to a close most of us will look back at the past 12 months and reflect on a handful of memories that have stood out because they moved us or touched us in some ways.

Having spent a lot of time in air (141,623 miles to be exact) this past year, I was able to visit some great places around the globe and capture some remarkable moments. The cool thing about traveling  is getting that unique perspective on how people live in different parts of the world. It gives me a greater understanding of how diverse human beings actually are in their thoughts, beliefs and actions. It also helps give me a greater appreciation of what truly is important in life especially right now when I’m trying to finish this post and my 3-year old son is saying, “Daddy pease pay with me”. Gotta go.

If a picture is worth a thousand words then I’d be writing for a really long time. Enjoy!

2011 in Pictures

Happy New Year!

After spending a little more than a hour at Sydney’s Entertainment Centre with the flamboyant billionaire, otherwise known as “the Don”, it’s hard not to appreciate his candid in-your face intensity and dog-eat-dog business practices. At least with him, it’s not the usual blah blah blah tell them what they want to hear, politically correct BS.

Some may think his cynical and non-trusting attitude is a bit over-the-top but he pulls no punches on the realities of what it really takes to be successful in business and life. Besides the usual ‘work hard’, ‘never give up’, ‘take advantage of momentum’ and you have to ‘enjoy what you do’ words of wisdom and complimentary stories to reiterate those fundamental principles he had some less-than mainstream thoughts on what it takes to get what you want out of life and business.

Always Get Even

Trump is a firm believer in making things difficult for those who make things difficult for you. He said you must get even with those who screw you over so that others think twice about doing the same. He talked about  getting sued on a daily basis and referenced the Rosie O’Donnell incident and how not backing down and fighting back of has helped mitigate many potential losses.

Sign a Prenuptial Agreement

With divorce rates over 55% his thoughts are that many relationships and marriages are one of the main reason businesses fail. In fact, many banks won’t lend to businesses where husband and wife are owners or there’s no prenuptial agreement he says. He sarcastically chimed in  about the only time he made money from women was when he bought the Miss Universe pageant. Judging by his track record he’s probably right.

Being Lucky

Trump talked about his financial crisis in the 90′s and how one of his bankers, who was known for being tough on people who couldn’t pay, in fact his banker had bankrupted pretty much everyone who owed him money and couldn’t pay. If it wasn’t for a chance meeting at an event, which Trump didn’t want to go to, and didn’t know his banker, whom he owed over $197 million dollars to and had never met, was going to be there, Trump believes he may not have been able recover and grow to magnate he is today. The next morning they made a deal to restructure debt and the banker gave him a shot. He continued by saying some people are lucky and some people just aren’t. It’s a state of mind first and that you need to chose whether you believe your lucky or not.

Hire Great People but Don’t Trust ‘em

Really? Hire great people and don’t trust them? That’s something you don’t hear everyday but not that surprising knowing where it’s coming from. Trump’s thoughts are that people will take advantage of anything they can if you let them. ‘It’s human nature’. I wonder if his employees and kids know that he doesn’t trust them? Even being the crude skeptic he is,  there must be a  line somewhere. He must trust in some people. I’m sure he believes that there’s at least one person in the world who’s not out to screw him?…On second thought maybe not.

On the Future, Politics and Economics

Trump advised Australia to “screw” China by raising its commodity prices. “You really screw them on the sale of raw materials. They need you badly. You have all the cards.” Part of his rant was a result of his criticism on America’s lack of tough negotiators in business dealings with China.

Then there was his well-known take on global warming and solar power, the latter in which he is not a fan. Citing a story where some ‘environmentally friendly’ people tried to convince him to put ‘those ugly things  on my buildings’ and tried to convince him that he’d see a return on his investment in less than 14 years. In reality, after he did some due diligence it would be over 30 years before he saw any benefit. In true fashion, he concluded his piece on global warming sarcastically by saying he was doubtful that he was damaging the ozone layer  using hair spray to keep he comb-over happy every morning.

Speaking of hair-spray Trump addressed his famous comb-over while spending some time at the Sydney Opera House earlier in the day. “The wind was blowing violently….I said to my (assistant); ‘Get me some hairspray’.”

“And let me tell you..I love this hairspray. Frickin Australian hairspray. It actually works.”

Trump also continued to pitch his prospects of running for US president as an independent after deciding not to contest the Republican candidacy.

“If the economy continues to be bad – and I think it will because we have incompetent people running the country – and if the Republicans pick the wrong candidate, I will very strongly consider running as an independent,” he said.

Whether you love him, hate him or couldn’t care less you have to admit there’s rarely a dull moment when ‘The Don’ is in the house.

Photo Courtesy of Adam Ward.

Pangaea  was the super-continent that presumably existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before it split into the current configuration. The name was coined in the scientific discussion of Alfred Wegener’s theory of the Continental drift.

Although the 6.8 people that inhabit planet earth do not live geographically on one super-continent I believe we have returned to Pangaea on a different level thanks to technological advances, human evolution and unfulfilled idealism.

In the video above Michael Drew takes us into the world of 40-year cycles in our society in his thought provoking presentation at TED. Have a look and share your comments below about the possibilities of where we are heading and if we’ve returned to a society of oneness…if we’ve returned to Pangaea…

Social Media Revolution video reproduced with the permission of Eric Qualman.

This video was adapted from Dan Pink’s talk at the RSA. It  illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace. Surprisingly enough, if we are able to think logically about what he’s saying, is Dan’s conclusions really that surprising? Please post comments below…

There is a theory that a great coach is one that has been there, done that and still doing it. On the surface it may seem that the best coaches are the ones whose credentials say that they eat their own cooking and drink their own cool aid or at least did at one time.

But if we dig a little deeper below the surface we see there’s more to being a great coach than just having great personal achievements and glorified accolades.

There is a distinct difference between achieving results for oneself and teaching others how to do the same. Doing and teaching are two different skills. Just because someone can do something doesn’t necessarily mean that they can teach others to do the same.

Many times a great coach isn’t/wasn’t always the best player on the team. In fact, many times the best coach is/was an average player at best. Don’t believe me?

Take Hank Haney for example. Hank who? Haney. You know the guy who coaches Tiger Woods?

Surely to be Tiger’s coach Hank must have won several major championships on the PGA Tour?

Nope.

Ok at least won several PGA tournaments?

Not once.

Finished in the top 10 on the PGA Tour?

Zero times.

Did he even play on the PGA Tour?

Never.

Are you serious?

When I speak at events for business events and colleges on the subject of leadership I ask the audience members, if they were attempting to become a professional golfer and make the PGA Tour who would they want to have coach them, Tiger Woods or Hank Haney?

With the rare exception of a couple of hard-core golfers in the room, the majority of hand raisers would vote unanimously for Tiger Woods. Now not to say that golfing with or learning from arguably the greatest golfer of all time wouldn’t be cool. And he does know a thing or two about golf.

But how much do you think you’d learn from someone who coaches the world’s greatest golfer?

Wouldn’t you want to learn from someone who dedicates his time to being a student of his discipline and has the ability to teach you how to be great – even if he isn’t?

I have found that with very few exceptions there are certain characteristics that all great coaches embody. Here are the top 5:

A great coach:

1. Is constantly learning and working on mastering the rules and rudiments of the discipline.
2. Has the ability to teach (intuitively or learned) and lead by example.
3. Has great listening and communication skills.
4. Loves teaching/coaching and genuinely cares about the person being taught/coached
5. Is attuned to the individual differences in people’s personalities and styles.

So how do you find a coach with the above characteristics?

Before you set out to find the best coach for you, you must clearly define why you want a coach and what results you’re hoping to achieve with your coach.

After you’ve answered those two questions the best thing to do is perform an interview with possible candidates to see if they’re a potential fit.

Five of my favorite questions to ask potential coaches are the following:

1. If I were to become a coaching client of yours, could you take me through the process from A to Z?
2. What is your coaching experience?
3. Have you coached others in similar situations to mine?
4. What are some of your other client successes?
5. Who are you and what do you do outside of coaching?

In question 1 the coach should answer according to how much time, energy, action and money is required from both sides.

Questions 2-4 validate the coach’s past experience and successes with other clients. Although there’s no guarantee that past performance is indicative of future results it’s the best measure we have for potential.

The last question,  is usually what determines whether the coaches personality, belief system and core values match yours.

In the end a coach is there for you. And it’s your results that matter.

Feel free to comment on your experiences with a coach by posting in comments below.

(Photo: thegordons)

“I was totally stunned,” Pitzel said. “It was just a highlight reel — a video of him dunking — and Nike had done that over and over again. I was thinking, ‘I came over here to do this and this is what we did?’”

Pitzel had three days, with no guarantees, to come up with something different then what was seemly approved already. After a day of writer’s block, an evening showing of the Disney classic The Jungle Book with his son triggered the inspiration. The “Ah ha” moment came after hearing the Monkey Song “I Wan’na Be Like You,” in the film.

When Pitzel came up with the following  jingle he knew, as he puts it, “a million people wanted to be like Mike.” And he was right.

“Sometimes I dream, That he is me

You’ve got to see that’s how I dream to be

I dream I move, I dream I groove

Like Mike, If I could Be Like Mike

Again I try, Just need to fly

For just one day if I could be that way

I dream I move, I dream I groove

Like Mike, If I could Be Like Mike”

-Bernie Pitzel

Written for Gatorade commercial featuring Michael Jordan[1]

From sports heroes to movie stars, world leaders to precedent setters we all want to emulate and be like Mike, Beyonce or George (Clooney or course). A chance to be like those who seemingly took matters into their own hands and rewrote the history books is something many of us play out in our minds.

How many times have you gone to bed dreaming you could be like your hero?

But have you thought about what your role models went through to get where they are? Have you considered all the sacrifices they’ve had to make on the journey? Usually tucked away beneath all the success, financial gain or notoriety is the forgotten back-story along the road to perceived greatness.

Have you also considered where you are in your life? What level of expertise or experience you have in your discipline? What your goals are? What you’re willing to exchange or give for whatever it is you seek?

It’s one thing to try and model somebody’s behavior, systems or processes for achievement and apply it to you.  It’s  a completely different thing t0 try and be somebody else. Most people get caught up trying to be  the latter – someone else.  Doing so puts unrealistic expectations on the results.  That’s why so many who take a How-To course or read a How-To book fail to succeed with the information they’re given. They try to be someone else instead of modeling the skills of others and applying them in their own way.

We need to bridge this gap.

Understanding the models of success from Mike, Beyonce or George is only the first part. The second and most important is you must learn to create your own implementation strategy to become  the next great basketball player,  singer, actor or whatever you want to be. Only you can do it because there will truly never be another.

Did you have a favorite number growing up as a kid?

Mine was 11. I can still remember my first encounter with the number 11. When I was 6 years old my dad bought me a Gilbert Perrault jersey. Gilbert was an NHL hockey player who wore the number 11 on the back of his jersey for most of his career. From that day forward he became my hockey idol and the number 11 served as my number for many sporting teams I played on.

But the real symbolism of the number 11 for me wasn’t evident until I began weight training.

One summer at the age of 18 my good friend Denis and I decided we needed to start weight training to get in better physical shape for sports. Well that was partially true. I think trying look good and impress the girls was the real reason. But nonetheless  we started on this crazy training program of intense workouts 7 days a week. They were so intense that I can still recall the insane lower leg calf exercises we did and not being able to touch my heals on the ground. I had to walk around on my tip toes for days after. Thankfully we trained a different body part every day.

But what was truly unique about this weight training program is that you had to take every set to failure – which basically meant we had to do as many repetitions of a certain exercise as possible until our body couldn’t do anymore. As painful as these workouts were the results were incredible and we ended the summer in the best shape of our lives – just in time for hockey season.

So how does this relate to the power of 11?

Well as I continued my weight training I realized that most routines I followed from weight training books and magazines used 10 as the golden number of repetitions to do  for most exercises. What I discovered  however is that my mind would say stop when I got to 10  whether I was tired or not. I became complacent and 10 became ‘good enough’.

I’m not trying to say that doing sets of 10 repetitions of various weight training exercises doesn’t help you get into shape. I’m merely suggesting that the number 10 has a lot of psychological implications to it – namely being a comfort number.  The study of numerology, depending on which source you use,  suggests that the number 10 carries psychological significance that indicates  the end of an important cycle. What this does however, like all paradigms,  is limit the potential for change and growth.

I remember reading this quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger one of the greatest achievers of our time ,

“The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That’s what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they’ll go through the pain no matter what happens.”

I’ve found that not only in weight training but in everything you do in life, pushing yourself to do that one extra thing is what determines whether your successful or not.  It shows that you’re willing to  sacrifice short term pain for the long term gain and do what others won’t. It  as Arnold says, “divides a champion from someone else who is not a champion.”

It’s ok to plan for 10. But always use the power of 11 and do 1 more.

(Photo: fr1zz).

The last post centered around a great video on YouTube where Tony Robbins talks about how Sylvester Stallone relentlessly pursued his dreams to write and star in the Academy Award winning movie Rocky. The question I posed to subscribers and readers was:

“What can we take away from this inspirational story to help get past major obstacles?“

I had promised I would write 11 things that I learned. So here they are in no particular order:

1. He knew what he wanted. He didn’t just want to be an actor, he had a burning desire to be an actor who inspired people through great stories. Most people unfortunately get stuck here because they don’t know what they want. They are not clear. If you can relate and don’t know what you want in life the simple solution is to just decide on something and create it. It doesn’t have to be perfect. But at least start the process. (See my Plan for Potential Blog here – for a clear description on how to do this)  If it turns out you don’t like it after all at least you know. Move on and create again.

2. He wasn’t willing to settle. Even in his darkest hour, having to sell his dog to eat, he never compromised what he truly wanted. How many times in your life have you settled for comfort? Would you sell your dog or wife’s jewelry to chase after a dream?

3. He didn’t care what other people thought of him. Most of us want to be liked by everyone. The reality is that not everyone will like you. Seek out those who are a positive influence on your life but who can also give you the best objective feedback. Because a true friend is one who will tell you what she thinks no matter the circumstance not just what she thinks you want to hear.

4. He didn’t accept NO as an answer. How many NO’s does it take before you give up? Would you keep trying after over 1500 rejections?

5. He changed his approach when he didn’t get the result he was looking for. Most people spend their time doing the same things over and over and expect different results. I believe there is a fine line between trying something once, then changing approach because it didn’t work the first time and completely giving up in search of new direction. I believe slight adjustments not drastic changes  in your approach can most often make a world of difference.

6. He sacrificed everything, including his marriage and his dog. Most often we neglect the other side of achievement or success which is sacrifice. Nobody has ever achieved something great without sacrificing something else. While it’s nice to dream of easy and effortless Hollywood endings first time around the truth is that there will be some failures, rocky roads and disappointments along the way. That’s why it’s so important define “whatever it takes” before you go after something. (Click here to see blog on The Myth of Whatever it Takes).

7.He focused on others and got out of himself. Sometimes we get stuck in our head trying to make things about us instead of focusing on our heart – which in Stallone’s case was making great movies to inspire others. Once his focused shifted he started attracting the things he needed to help him.

8. He took action. Stallone didn’t sit around waiting for something to happen – he made it happen. One of my favorite quotes from Michael Jordan is, “Some people wish it would happen, some want it to happen, others make it happen”. If you really want it, make it happen.

9. Keep negative things people say about you and use them to motivate it you. I love this technique.  It’s a great motivational tool to help you be at your best.

10. Greatest revenge for those who doubt you is massive success. Instead of getting wrapped up trying to explain yourself and convince others to support you in what you’re doing let your results speak for themselves. Lead by your actions.

11. Never sell your wife’s jewelry. This should need no explanation:)

(Photo: Radiospike)