Set Yourself Up for Success

In the process of cleaning my office I found these pictures from a firewalk I did in 2000. 

The top picture is of me breaking a slab of wood in two. I don’t consider myself particularly strong, nor have I had a single minute of martial arts training and yet… I closed my eyes, lifted my hand and brought it down with a "Thwap!" I remembered to exhale, and when I opened my eyes and looked down. Two pieces of wood lay on the table instead of one!  I had done it!

There is a picture missing; it’s one of me actually breaking an arrow against my throat.  It’s an exercise called arrow breaking. 

The picture on the bottom is of me walking a 20 foot stretch of 1200 degree coals.  That was supposed to be the "big event" of the evening.  But none of these events was as big as three lessons I learned about getting what you want.

1. Be clear about what it is that you want.  It’s impossible to focus on getting more customers if you aren’t sure exactly what those customers look like.  It’s a lot like stepping into a crowded room and trying to find your "blind date" if you don’t know anything about them.  The more clearly you define your ideal customer; how they look, how they behave, what they want, where they hang out, and what they had for breakfast, the more likely you will be to find them.
2. Physically set your environment up for your success.  Breaking the arrow with my neck was not a miracle.  At the base of your neck, there is a very strong muscle when you tighten that muscle and place that arrow so that it is perfectly perpendicular to the wall and walk straight toward the wall – the arrow will break.  It’s all about arrow placement, muscle control and physics does the rest.
3. You must start and not stop until you’re done.  Once you start that 20 foot trek along 1200 degree hot coals, the last thing you want to do 10 feet in is take a moment to question your decision. I remember it took me a while to decide to start walking.  The facilitator told us it was important to focus on the goal, to walk at a slow steady pace and to look directly ahead envisioning your goal at the end of the path.  Starting a new marketing strategy or program is a lot like that.  You have to focus on the goal, walk a slow steady pace and just keep working it until you come to the end of the track.

You don’t have to walk over hot coals to figure any of this out, just think back to an experience you had that taught you about how to control your own success.  Write back and let me know what it is.