“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” ~ Sven Goran Eriksson
The fear of failure is a sub-conscious courage eater. It will rob you of passion, paralyze your mind, and urge you to give the responsibility for success to someone, or something else.
Have you ever felt that thing in the back of your conscious mind that wants you to run away, the moment you see the possibility that you could fail? We all have it. I think it’s purpose is to keep us safe, which would be fine, if we still lived at our parent’s houses with everything we need supplied by someone else in a perfectly safe world that was free from disease, pain, and suffering of any kind.
Since that is not the world we live in, and since our world is not SAFE. We have to come to grips with the reality that there is no avenue of retreat, we must arm ourselves. We must prepare mentally to live in the absence of safety, to live in a dangerous world with the possibility of failure forever lurking at the back of our subconscious mind, telling us to retreat.
What happens when the fear of failure is nagging you, and your subconscious is telling you to retreat? Our first instinct is often to scream “Save me” to anyone willing to listen.
Business owners yell “save me” to marketing firms and coaches
Mom’s yell “save me” to school programs and babysitters
Personal finances yell “save me” to financial planners or bankruptcy attorneys
People in need yell “save me” to anyone willing to listen
Sometimes big businesses yell “save me” to government
Sometimes government yells “save me” to taxes
Don’t get me wrong I am all for asking for help, collaboration, gaining partners, and teams. The difference between asking for help and yelling “save me” is this; asking for help implies that I am emotionally and mentally keeping the responsibility for my success and I simply want to team up, or ask for your help as a part of the effort to succeed.
Whereas; Yelling “save me” implies that I am giving you the responsibility for MY SUCCESS. And this will allow the fear of failure to destroy you. We can never give the responsibility for our own success to anyone. We can delegate, we can collaborate, we can orchestrate, and we can simply get help. But, if we give the responsibility for success to someone else, we have lost the war. We have retreated, and we have lost all influence in our success, guaranteeing failure.
So next time you feel that fear of failure begin to creep up on you, stop and make a plan. Stop and think about how to attack. Become even that much more committed to owning the responsibility you have to your own success.
And only then, ask for help and collaborate towards your success with marketing firms, coaches, attorneys, school programs, friends, government, and anyone who can help.
Don’t be a victim to the fear of failure, be an OWNER of your own success.
Owning it daily,
Jon Bohm
Date posted: February 2, 2010 | Author: Jon Bohm | No Comments »
“There are 2 primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist or to accept the responsibility for changing them.”- DENIS WAITLEY
Did Tiger mess up? Yes. I think we would all agree, especially his wife, “yeah, he messed up.”
But, that is not really the question we have to wrestle with the question we have to wrestle with is “Now what?” What do we do as sponsors, what do we do as the public with an icon, forerunner, and elite hero like Tiger when they mess up?
We know better than to crucify someone for messing up, we know we don’t ever want to be the one to be casting any stones, because we know that we all mess up to one degree or another. We know that forgiveness is stronger than bitterness and we know that to love someone’s strengths and despise them for their mistakes isn’t love at all. And we love our heroes, don’t we?
So, how do we handle this? How does Tiger handle it? How do we avoid it? And how should we think about it?
As for “how does Tiger handle it?” The experts and press have beat this one to death. We all know, he needs to step out front and own the fact that he is a hero and continue to act like a hero by taking responsibility for it. But, that isn’t our call, is it? This whole things is actually none of my business. All we can really think about is how are we going to deal with it? How should the sponsors deal with it?
I have found, I deal with it in a very simple way. I hope and pray he finds the right help to get healthy and live a great life with or without golf. I hope he finds the people and the tools to reach deep and get healthy emotionally so he can enjoy this one chance at life we all get. And money isn’t the answer, we all know that. Happiness come from within, and clearly Tiger needs to reach within.
So, that leaves really only one question left to deal with. What do the sponsors do? What do you do? To support or not support those products? or Tiger in front of the kiddos?
As for me, as a consumer, I don’t buy products because of who sponsors them. So, I won’t NOT buy them based on who sponsors them either.
As for the sponsors, what a tough decision! They have one of the greatest athletes to ever live partnering with them to promote their livelihood. Incredible. But, I don’t see how they can still use him as a sponsor, it’s down right ironic how difficult it will be given the nature of Tiger’s bad decisions. Woods’ sponsors include Gillette, Gatorade, Accenture, Nike and AT&T. So here is why I don’t think they can keep him. Wood’s apparently had multiple sexual affairs with a wide range of women over a large portion of the country or maybe event the world and listen to the tag lines of each of his sponsors:
Gillette “The Best a man can get.”
Gatorade “Is it in you?”
Accenture “High performance. Delivered.”
Nike “Just do it.”
AT&T “More bars in more places.”
It’s unbelievable isn’t it? Almost hilarious, and I’m probably missing a few good ones. When you build a brand, your company will rise and fall on how much positive attention the consumer is willing to give to you. So, of course attracting attention is half the battle and the other half is keeping it positive. If it’s not positive, then you can’t keep something in your brand.
So, in the balance of standing on the rock solid foundation of a great product and the thin ice of public opinion, where is your brand? You have a brand whether you know it or not. Personally you have one. When I google your name, what do I find? Your business definitely has one. So, how strong is your brand? Or better yet, how much positive attention does your brand get? How much negative attention needs to be dealt with? It may not seem like a big deal, but it is. It’s the unspoken piece to the puzzle every company needs to pay attention to. It is directly connected to your success personally and professionally.
Do you dress? Speak? Act? Walk? Type? Live? as the person you are becoming? As the person or company want to be? Does the world see the real you? Does it see your company in the right light? Is it a pretty picture, or could it use some polishing. Sometimes a little polish goes a long way.
Give us a call if it’s time to get some positive attention or do some polishing.
Live the dreams you have imagined! No nightmares allowed:)
Jon Bohm
Date posted: January 25, 2010 | Author: Jon Bohm | No Comments »
2 weeks into the New Year, are you rolling? Are you on your way to making 2010 truly better than ’09?
The start of a new year is always a great time to reflect back and plan forward. Here are some great questions to springboard that thinking. (Remember; you’re more likely to achieve something if you plan for it and write it down, so … get your pens ready! Here goes:
As you reflect on this past year, what were your two or three most significant accomplishments, breakthroughs, and/or achievements?
1.
2.
3.
Looking back over the year, what (if anything) blocked or held you back as you moved toward your goals/objectives?
Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently? (While we can’t change what was, we can use this input/learning as we move forward.)
As you look forward to next year, what are your three most significant goals that you wish to accomplish within the year? What will be different? How will YOU be different?
1.
2.
3.
What are the top two or three things about your business that you most want to be different next year?
1.
2.
3.
What two or three changes do you most want to see in your personal life?
1.
2.
3.
What do you want your practice/business to look like one year from now?
What actions are you prepared to take to reach your goals and objectives next year?
Having gotten clear on what you want to achieve next year, the next step is to develop the strategies and actions that will move you to reaching your desired outcomes. And if you don’t yet have a coach or an accountability partner to keep you on track … GET ONE! (… we happen to know a few good coaches!)
Let’s prepare to make 2010 our most exciting, rewarding, and personally fulfilling year!
Enjoy Life!
Jon Bohm
(Adapted from my friends at Resource Associates Corporation)
Date posted: January 15, 2010 | Author: Jon Bohm | No Comments »
“I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they do their lives. Perhaps that’s because escape is easier than change.” – Jim Rohn
2010 is here! I hope you are as excited as I am!
I don’t mean to be over excited, but as a cancer survivor I take every milestone as a chance to celebrate life and what it means to be here for 2010 is more than words can ever describe. So congratulations! You are here for 2010 as well.
If you are anything like me, you are expecting 2010 to be your best year yet. Not just because 2009 seemed to have so many challenges for so many people, but because you are continually BECOMING a better person who brings more value and good to those around you every year, and that is exciting!
For me I have a few things planned. I have a new plan to be an even better coach, father, and husband. I have financial, family, friends, fitness, and fun goals that I will be working towards. All of them requiring resources and mental shifts from where I am now to where I will be by the year end. What about for you? What do you have planned for 2010?
Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s a laundry list to some degree, similar to mine. Do you know the best way to insure hardly any of it happens? I do, DON’T focus on any ONE thing.
I have recently taken up bird hunting, great fun, and great food Sorry bird lovers. When I walk within 10 feet of the right bush I could see 20 doves fly out and go all over the place and I have about 2 seconds to take a shot. What I have found is that if 20 fly out, I hardly ever walk away with even ONE?! I see them, I hear them, I get crazy excited and then I don’t seem to have enough time to pick one out of the crowd and take a shot and nothing happens. But, if I walk into a bush area and only one flies out, I’m having dove for breakfast.
The New Year will be the same for me, and I bet for you, if you have 20 goals all flying out of your year at the same time, you will be lucky to walk away from 2010 with even one goal completed and in the bag. We have to FOCUS, focus, and I will say it again focus. We will have to pick one out of the crowd and take a shot, before we ever move on. So, here is a practical and easy guide I recommend for making 2010 be productive and successful in BECOMING a better YOU:
Make a list of the top 5 things you would like to change about you, or your circumstances. (For me, I’m starting with getting back in shape)
Answer this question; “If you could change one thing in your life that would have the greatest positive impact on your life in 2010, what would it be?” Do not move to step 3 until you have a confident answer for number 2. Many of my clients say something with the five “F’s” (Family, fitness, financial, fun, or friends) for number 2 in some way. What is yours? Got it?
Ok, now number 3 is to separate that goal from the crowd, and make it specific and put a time frame on it. What will you do and when will you do it?
Now, put everything else on the shelf, and set your sights on only that one change.
Ask yourself; What do I have to know? What do I have to do? Who do I have to become? for that goal to be in the bag by the date I set?
Go get it! Protect it, focus on it, resource it, and don’t rest or look at another goal until you achieve it.
Although, for me goal achievement is an art and this rabbit hole goes pretty deep, the take away that I want you to get, (which is 90 % of the process) is to FOCUS on that one thing. I am convinced that one of the biggest reason so many people live in mediocrity with so much available to us, is because so much IS AVAILABLE that we lose focus.
A new year is hear, and the pages are blank for 2010, it’s time to write the first page. Pick one thing, only one thing, and focus on it until completion. Then move onto the next thing until completion, and so on. And write the greatest story of your life ONE page at a time in 2010.
Live a great story!
Jon Bohm
YOUR personal, business, and strategy coach
Date posted: January 3, 2010 | Author: Jon Bohm | No Comments »
Living your entire life always doing what you SHOULD can give you a safe predictable life that leaves you completely disappointed in the end because you never answered the honest and simple question of “What do I WANT?”- Jon Bohm
What do YOU want?
I mean really what do you want, not what you SHOULD want, but what do you really WANT?
Sometimes those things are the same. I should go to work today and I WANT to go to work today. Great! That is an important distinction. When you live your life the way you should instead of the way you want your heart, emotions, desires, and mind are sitting on the sideline as you live your dutiful existence moving through the motions without passion.
What are you doing in your life that you SHOULD be doing?
What are you NOT doing that you SHOULD be doing?
I should go to church. I did go to church because I SHOULD.
I should go home and hang with my family. I did go home and hang with the family because I SHOULD.
I should make that sales call. I made the call because I SHOULD.
I SHOULD take my spouse out. ETC. ETC.
What is it that you do without emotional passion and desire because you SHOULD?
Now, don’t take me wrong I’m not saying we all need to ignore whatever we SHOULD be doing. Instead of ignoring, we have to make the mental and attitudinal shift to quit saying I SHOULD and change it to I WANT to do this.
Most of the time it’s as simple as catching your self in the middle of a SHOULD and simply replacing the word SHOULD with WANT. It’s time to get YOUR passions and emotions off the bench and into the game of life.
The bottom line is you have an incredible life to live. Start living it because you WANT to and stop living it because you SHOULD. It’s time for YOU to get emotional involved in YOUR life. If you need help making the switch, please contact me anytime!
May we hit the ground living the life we WANT to live today!
Enjoy Life!
Jon Bohm
Date posted: November 2, 2009 | Author: Jon Bohm | No Comments »
“If you would attain what you are not yet, you must always be displeased by what you are. For where you were pleased with yourself there you have remained. But once you have said, “It is enough,” you are lost. Keep adding, keep walking, keep advancing; do not stop, do not turn back, do not turn from the straight road.” — St. Augustine
It’s about time I gave some advice on what to look for when hiring someone to help you move your life and business forward.
Some great questions:
Are they a good fit for you? Do you like them and trust them?
Are they results focused? A lot of people will charge you good money to listen to you. But, will they help you actually achieve the results you need in your life and business? Knowledge is NOT power- APPLIED Knowledge is power.
Do they have legitimate names and numbers of people you could call to see if they are truly good at what they do?
Are they focused on long termdevelopment of you and your life, or is it short-term training that you will have to try and remember?
Do they help you get past the obstacles in your life and business or are they just focused on your goals?
Do they help you in life and business? Or do they just focus on one or the other?
A couple pitfalls that are easy to fall into are:
Often people want to make sure the coach they are looking at has extensive knowledge in their industry, but a good coach can help you develop your skills and attitude in a field they may not even know much about. If you need training look for a good consultant or mentor. Although, some coaches do very well in both roles.
Often people will look for a coach with the most degrees.But, degrees do little in determining whether someone is good atmotivating, inspiring, developing, and applying the attitudes and action of others.
Sometimes people think they have it all figured out and don’t need help. We all need help, every good coach will hire coaches themselves and they are always focused on life long learning.
Tiger Woods has three coaches and he is the best in the world. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you have arrived.
Cheers to always moving forward with some collaborative help!
-Jon Bohm
Date posted: September 15, 2009 | Author: Jon Bohm | No Comments »
You get the best results from others not by lighting a fire beneath them, but by building a fire within.” – Bob Nelson
I want to ask you a simple question today. What drives you?
What really gets you going? What makes you so excited you can’t sleep? What makes you so angry you would run through walls to stop it? What do you care enough about that you would sacrifice for it? Where is your fire?
Don’t say money. Money can be a score card. Money can be tool to be used to stoke your fire. Money can be something that opens opportunities, provides influence, or invests in a cause you care deeply about. But, what is that “cause?”
What is your “Cause?” What is your “purpose?” Everyone has a purpose just like everyone has a heart. What’s yours?
This may surprise you, but I hire a personal coach every year to help me grow personally and professionally just like all my clients hire me, and my coach turned me on to a powerful story of a man named Ralph Metcalf (bottom on Right). Read about him on Wikipedia or in the history books, but something you won’t read is that Ralph Metcalf had a stated purpose statement for his life. For Ralph it was “to honor and serve his country.” That is why he ran in the 1936 Olympics against Hitler’s German squad, this is why he volunteered to fight in World War 2, and this is why he ran for congress at a time in our country when it was obviously difficult for a black man to gain a seat in politics. Bottom line… his purpose statement was his “Fire within.”
What’s yours? Find it. Breathe it. Live it. Or, call someone who will help you dig it up and get to really living on “purpose.” After all, if you want a fire you have to fuel it and you have to light it, before you ever feel the heat.
Make the next stage of your life a magnificent obsession, rather than a meaningless odyssey.
Enjoy Life and LIVE today!
Jon Bohm
Date posted: September 8, 2009 | Author: Jon Bohm | No Comments »
Have you ever noticed that how much luck someone has is directly proportionate to how much risk they are willing to take?
Why do some people have the midas touch?
While the touch of so many others seems to turn things into ashes? Have you ever noticed that some people just seem to be luckier than others?
Take scenario one: you become a “dare devil” and jump out of a perfectly good airplane with no plan, without the knowledge, and without the hard work in preparing for your jump. If you survive, well than, you are lucky, maybe even miraculous to some degree.
However, take scenario 2: if you plan and bring a parachute, than you learn how to use your parachute, and you work hard to prepare for your jump on the ground or in a wind tunnel than your odds of being lucky and surviving are dramatically better than the first scenario.
In both situations you jump from the same plane. In both situations your risk is the same. But in scenario number 2, your chances of getting lucky are very high. Because, you planned your risk with meticulous work like a stuntman who strategically thinks his stunt through, not a daredevil who just jumps.
So, what about business and getting lucky?
The entrepreneur that takes a gamble and opens a widely successful business in the worst recession our country has seen since the great depression, lucky?
The investor who fires his financial planner and takes matters into his own hands, and turns a profit of 40 k a week instead of losing it when everyone around him told him to “Buy and hold.” What do you think, lucky?
The stay at home mom who opens her own on-line store, only to get so many orders she can’t keep up. Lucky?
My answer is….Yes, very lucky.
However, my definition of luck has an equation. Luck doesn’t happen to everyone. Why do some people seem to be luckier than others?
Over the years of working with many people, in many industries, I have found what I believe to be the equation to how lucky an organization or person may become. I trust it so much, that I consider it to be a fortune telling equation on how lucky someone will be.
Stop and think. What is a new adventure or thing you may want to try? Ok, got one in mind?
Using a scale of 1-10. 1 being poor and 10 being excellent. Rate your future idea in each of the following categories:
1-10 – How much risk is involved?
1-10 – How strategic have I been? And how many resources have I put into my plan for success?
1-10 – How hard have I worked toward my success?
After honestly rating your new venture in each of the above categories, you have a possible 30 points available. Simply add up your total score and divide it by 30 and that is the percentage I give you on getting “lucky” and succeeding.
It is a law of the universe. The more you risk, the better you plan, and the harder you work… the “luckier” you will be. Is it possible to get “lucky” with a 10% chance? You bet. But, you can increase your adds of getting lucky in every situation with some hard work, high tolerance for risk, and a great strategic mind.
So, how lucky are you? I guess it depends on how bad you want to be lucky. And how much effort you put into increasing your odds.
It seems to me… that the harder I work, the better I plan, and the more risk involved, the luckier I am.
May you become one of the “luckiest” people around, and when all the unlucky people watch your life, they just won’t be able to understand why YOU are sooo lucky.
Enjoy Life!
Jon Bohm
Date posted: July 12, 2009 | Author: Jon Bohm | No Comments »
“Leadership is doing what everyone else says they will do.”
What have you said you “will do?” Climb a peak, sky dive, forgive, love, settle down, build a company, chase a dream, travel the world, or something else?
Let me ask you, what are you waiting for? More money? More time? More courage?
Whatever it is, it’s probably just an excuse to put your real living off for another day, another year, or another lifetime.
Every year I take a group, of anyone who wants to go, Skydiving. My trip was this past Saturday (National Cancer Survivor’s Day). We had a great group and a great jump. It can be a life changing experience and everyone who goes loves it. Especially once they get to the ground.
But, if I went Skydiving with everyone who told me “I would love to do that!” “I’ve always wanted to go!” A thousand people would have jumped by now. My question to them is “what are you waiting for?”
What is your I’ve always wanted to ____________.?
Take my dream vacation?
Start my own business?
Forgive that family member?
Write a book?
Get engaged?
Learn to play the guitar, ride a motorcycle, etc?
Go Skydiving?
What are you waiting for? Whatever it is, it’s very likely a poor reason to put your dreams on hold. It doesn’t matter if you are 23 or 73, you really don’t know how long you have to drink up every drop of life you can. Waiting is rarely a good idea. Waiting is the same thing as making the decision not to do it. Either way, you’re not doing it.
As a cancer survivor I’ve realized life is too short to be waiting for a better time. Your life…my life is now. Take that dream vacation every year. Put a plan in place to start that business, write that book, go skydiving. We only get one time around – one shot at this life- What are you doing with yours?
Enjoy Life now,
Jon Bohm
Date posted: June 8, 2009 | Author: Jon Bohm | No Comments »
Tom Landry, the coach of the Dallas Cowboys, once said something that may be true of nearly any motivator: “I have a job to do that is not very complicated, but it is difficult: to get a group of men to do what they don’t want to do so they can achieve the one thing they have wanted all of their lives.”
Did you know that more points are scored in the last 2 minutes of the 4th quarter of a football game then in the other 3 quarters put together? This is often used to prove the point that all of us work better with a deadline. Which is a fact.
However, I think it is more than that. Have you ever felt like you had the time to accomplish something, but you didn’t have the energy? You lacked the physical energy, emotional energy, spiritual energy, mental energy, the motivation?
Energy in life is a resource that is often more valuable than time itself. You see, time is made of not only hours and minutes, but energy. So, whether you are playing football or working in your office you know you have to last a certain period of time mentally, physically, and emotionally.
A runner knows that if they only have to run 100 meters they can run 10 times faster than if they have to run 10 miles. The final 2 minutes of a game represent the last 100 meters. The time when you leave it all on the field. When you quit saving energy and let it all go. When results are all that matters and conserving energy doesn’t.
I have found it easier to be more productive, and turn out better quality work from a team by giving them short deadlines followed by a break. For example, if you are an author, try to write fast and focused for 5 minutes, then stop and break, before coming back for another 5 minute session.
I know a lady friend of mine who consistently runs under a 4 hour marathon by running for 5 minutes and walking for 2 minutes. I have seen this applied to concrete companies and insurance agents alike. If you pay people by the hour, it encourages them to work slower and longer. If you pay people based off productivity, it encourages them to work smarter and faster. Which is an asset to any team or organization.
I am convinced that hourly employees can work half the time and accomplish the same amount of work. Often higher quality work, if they are given a shorter deadline with twice the pay.
Still not convinced? Try this, tell your team one day that they can go home at lunch time and get paid for a full day if they complete the full day’s work by noon. See what happens. I would love to hear how it works out.
Of course, if you are a retail shop, a fast food restaurant, or any place where you have store hours, then sending them home at noon is not an option. But, what if they were rewarded with a break after taking so many orders, ringing up a certain number of customers, folding so many boxes or clothing, then would productivity increase? You bet it would.
It is time for our world to quit thinking hours and start thinking productivity. After all:
“You don’t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.”– Jim Rohn (American Business Philosopher, Author, and Speaker)
Article by Jon Bohm
Date posted: March 30, 2009 | Author: Jon Bohm | No Comments »
Sorry bird lovers. When I walk within 10 feet of the right bush I could see 20 doves fly out and go all over the place and I have about 2 seconds to take a shot. What I have found is that if 20 fly out, I hardly ever walk away with even ONE?! I see them, I hear them, I get crazy excited and then I don’t seem to have enough time to pick one out of the crowd and take a shot and nothing happens. But, if I walk into a bush area and only one flies out, I’m having dove for breakfast.
“Leadership is doing what everyone else says they will do.”