Triple-S

I often wondered what made the difference between those who are successful and those who are not. By "successful" I mean those who seem to be able to achieve most anything they set their mind to in order to bring about quantifiable outcomes—results. As I took a deeper look I began to understand that outcomes are driven by forces, not all of which are readily apparent. So I began looking at things from the inside-out, which was more of an intuitive move on my part than anything else. Turns out, there was more to my instincts than I first realized.

Results, I discovered, are typically materialized by the law of cause and effect. The effect, in this case, is tied directly to the achievement of success in whatever form we can imagine or readily define. The cause is the culmination of everything we must do in order to achieve the effect.

I learned that one compelling reason we do anything is tied directly to why we do it. The why is driven by emotions and is closely connected to the level of effort we're willing to put forth to attain pleasure or avoid pain.

Whether we achieve success to any great degree depends largely upon three basic principles I call the Triple-S: our Strategy; our Story, and our State. Each deserves some elaboration, so I've decided to dedicate the next couple of posts to focus on each one, beginning with strategy.

Strategy

I've written extensively on the importance of having a plan for success. Our plan is driven by the strategy we employ to achieve our objectives. Without a strategy to support our vision, dream, goal, destination, or objective, there is no point in taking any action whatsoever, else we find ourselves running off in random directions essentially achieving little more than frustration.

Unfortunately, most people stop just after the vision part and, all too often, fail to enact any kind of strategy to put their vision on a map and get started with the process of achievement and the pursuit of success. Without a strategy, all that essentially exists is a dream or a vision, which is a vital part of the process. But a dream or vision by itself does little more than create a fleeting fantasy that reinforces the notion that dreams can never really be achieved. Don't buy it for one second!

As an air traffic controller I would meticulously examine the flight plan of each and every aircraft that was under my control. The flight plan defines the pilot's intended course of action—the strategy—designed to reach an objective, in this case, the intended destination. Success in aviation is defined as the safe and uneventful journey of an aircraft from takeoff to touchdown. In life, success is defined by an achievement of some kind. We set a course by clearly defining our destination and by following a strategy to reach that objective.

The strength and reliability of our strategy rests upon our convictions. (There's that "why" again.) It goes without saying that if we are driven to achieve something and if we want it bad enough, we'll find the right strategy. There is no better illustration of this than the dichotomy of the two opposing groups (those who are successful and those who are not).

The success of our strategy rests upon our daily rituals or behaviors. If our rituals don't support our strategy we'll never make it to our objective. Our rituals include all of the obligations, distractions, habits and routines we use to define the construct of our lives.

My curiosity to discover the differences between the two groups led to my own transformation as I began to make changes in my rituals. The differences were subtle at first but significant nonetheless. The significance eventually turned into what my wife likes to call "critical mass" or what I call "terminal velocity." Each of these terms relate to how small changes in behavior or strategy eventually reaches a tipping point of profound momentum, the likes of which produce amazing life-changing results!

Do your rituals support your strategy? If not, are you ready to do whatever it takes to get off the path you're on and start seeing real results? Start by taking a serious look at how you define your life and whether or not your rituals are really helping you to reach your objectives.

Where can you make small changes that will result in life-changing momentum in your strategy? Should you read more? Should you watch less television or get up earlier? If you look close enough you'll see the areas you can change to affect a significant transformation in reaching success. Your only job at that point will be to react to the changes you need to make.

So what's stopping you? Uncertainty? Fear? Great news—those are merely illusionary gates you must walk through. They're in place to separate you from the unaware and uninformed (people). How's that for a bit of encouragement? You can be different. You can be great. You can achieve it all if you'll take a good honest look at your strategy.

To recap...

1. Determine your why
2. Plug into the emotional power of your why
3. Create a strategy
4. Change your rituals to ensure the execution of your strategy

Until next time when we'll take a look at Your Story...

-G-


"Greatness is not where we stand but what direction we are moving." 
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes


We're proud to announce Gary's next book, set to be released this year. FEAR is a Thief is the first in a self-empowerment series that is written to help people get past fear using five fundamental truths as a basis for understanding and taking action for a better life.

Also be sure to check out: KEY HORIZON, the second novel in the G. Weston spy series. This thriller is receiving rave reviews across the spectrum and has captivated a new following of "spy-fi" readers. 

Get your copy of Westfal's first novel Dream Operative.

Order your copy of these exciting novels today at Amazon.com.

For a comprehensive perspective on the diversity of Gary Westfal, please visit his website (www.gwestfal.com).
 
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Where Will You be in Five Years!

Where will you be in five years?

Boy, talk about your open-ended questions. When we don’t have any idea where we’ll be next week, much less in five years, most of us feel we’re doing great just to get through today. So where do I get off posing such a thought-provoking question?

If you’re one of the fortunate few who happen to be right where you want to be in life, then this article is less about you and perhaps more about someone you can help. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t remind you that even the most content among us have desires to be someplace other than  we currently are or someone we have not yet become. So let’s assume for a moment that we all have a desire to be something more, even if it’s merely as a higher income earner. OK, point established. Now what?

Well, now we need a clearly defined objective or destination. But before we can realistically expect to establish that, we must first make an honest assessment of where we currently are. Like any good roadmap, it’s only good if you know where you are and know where you’re headed.

First thing’s first–Where am I?

Here’s the great news–wherever you are in life, whatever status or station you occupy...isn’t permanent. For the majority of us, that’s a very good thing. Equally as relevant–for the majority of us, we’ll be in a better place assuming we continue to gain skills and experience

that’ll position us for higher rewards down the line. But it is imperative that we take stock of where we are–good, bad, or indifferent, in order to establish a starting point for our journey.  

So, take a good hard look at your life and be brutally honest about where you are. Take note of all that you like about it inasmuch as what you dislike about it. Each fundamental element contains the nuances of your current stage of life. Now don’t get too comfortable with it because we’re getting ready to leave the station and begin the journey.

Where am I headed?

Now, begin to create a mental picture of what your ideal life looks like and focus on that picture as it develops over time. Use the images as a catalyst that drives you away from where you no longer wish to be, but focus instead on that place you desire to be. Use both positive and negative elements to drive you to take action to do something each day to put one foot ahead of the other.

A great deal of us continually educate ourselves either formally or informally, and in doing so, we continue to enjoy the rewards of that higher education in the form of personal growth, increased responsibility and influence, and higher income. Education is a cornerstone in our quest to get to where we desire to be. Life is a learning process. And it’s fair to mention here that street smarts as sometimes just as important as formal education…just keep looking for ways to learn and grow.

How do I get there?

Once you have a clear picture of where you desire to be, you should continue to develop the images that support it. Place images on your bathroom mirror or refrigerator that personifies the lifestyle you know you can achieve! Look for ways to invigorate your journey and savor the milestones you achieve along the way. Break your timeline into achievable segments and celebrate short-term victories along the way. There are few things sweeter than knowing you’ve taken a significant step closer to your goals and aspirations. The peace of mind and confidence that accompanies it is indescribable.

Break five years down to five months, five weeks, or even five days…or five minutes. The value of your life is worth even the five minutes you take to consider the intent of this article. Look, if you can decide in five minutes do something positive for five days that takes you closer to realizing your dream in five months and then five years out, then I suggest you operate in manageable "bite-sized" increments until you can handle a timeline that works for you. Every incremental effort of progress takes you that much closer to realizing your potential to become that which you desire.

In order to make a significant change in your life down the road it only takes a small effort today. But that effort needs to have consistency and commitment behind it. A one-degree course change in your life today will put you on a different, life-changing path for the future. Make the commitment today to take control of your life and get it done! You have ONE life…no one will magically come along and change it for you!

Five years…five months…five weeks…five days…five minutes…what’ll it be? Don’t be stranded by your own misconceptions. You have what it takes to control the very destiny of your life.

 

Until next time!

 

- G -

"Time has a way of reminding us of its perishable nature in the retrospect of our reflections."

Gary Westfal -

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Receive a notification anytime I publish a new blog (currently about every two weeks), visit my Facebook page: G. Gary Westfal, Writer, Artist Educator

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Enjoy the Journey

Enjoy the Journey!

You’ve no doubt heard it many times, but having goals and aspirations is essential to the forward progression of life.  It’s true, because, without knowing where we’re headed, how would we ever know once we’ve arrived?  Or worse yet, how the heck would we even know the path it takes to get there?  Well, today’s blog is not so much about the destination as it is the journey.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard things like, “I hate this job” or “college sucks” from some of the very same people who later attest to how much that job or class meant, in retrospect, in building or shaping the outcome of their present, and most often, improved situation.  Ask most young military recruits who are caught up in the middle of initial basic training and they too will tell you just how "terrible" their situation is.  But ask them to look upon their training after they’ve successfully graduated and they’ll have story after story on how the experience left an indelible change on their lives, and oftentimes, literally transformed them into mature adulthood. 

All too often, we get so caught up in anticipating what’s next that we lose sight of what’s now.  If you think about it, the very things going on around us right now is the result of the actions we put in place to bring us to this moment.  Ignoring it is not only tragic; it robs us of the subtleties that are designed to keep us moving forward in a meaningful way.  In other words, don’t forget to stop and enjoy the journey! 

This blog is a reminder to enjoy the journey, or the now.  There’s so much happening in the journey that we can experience and truly savor.  Our experiences and reactions to the journey literally shape who we are as individuals.  If you have children, you have more than your share of examples right in front of you that serve to drive the point home to its core.  Our children change every single day.  Yet, it’s so easy to get used to the subtle changes taking place right before our very eyes that makes it all too easy to look past…until they do something so funny or spectacular that it gives us pause and reminds us just how perishable the journey is…just how delicate and important the moment is.

If you don’t have children, try something else that’ll serve as a reminder.  Sit and watch a sunset one evening.  As you watch the beauty of the changing colors cast upon the horizon as the sun sets, take note of the amount of time passing before your very eyes.  Here’s a wake-up call – it’s the last sunset you’ll ever see…today!  Tomorrow’s sunset isn’t a guarantee.  If you’re able to grasp that concept, the sun will seem to set so much faster than it normally would if you were to simply allow it to happen without savoring the experience. 

There are so many other things that can serve as a reminder to enjoy the journey.  Don't allow these important things to escape you without an attempt to enjoy them for everything they offer.  Look around on your drive to work instead of thinking about what's on the agenda once you get there.  The agenda and all the expectations of work will be there when you arrive.  Why waste your journey on thoughts that won't change a thing anyway?

Another important part of the journey is to pay attention to what it’s telling you about the direction of your life.  It’s in the journey where we make conscious adjustments to our future.  We base those decisions on the experiences provided to us inside the journey.  If we experience joy and satisfaction, we tend to view that positively and seek to perpetuate more by repeating the decisions it took to bring us to this point.  Conversely, if we tend not to really care too much for our circumstances, we choose to change them so we can enjoy a different journey in the future.  Every journey, however, good or not-so-good, provides insight we can use to make these adjustments.  So, my humble advice is to experience the journey for everything it provides. 

Our journey brings us to places and circumstances for a reason.  The reasons are as wide and varied as each of us are unique.  Suffice it to say, however, that each of our journeys are designed to shape us to become wiser, more aware individuals with the potential to make decisions that continually change the path of our journey.  The direction that journey takes is ultimately up to you alone to control.  I only hope you stop occasionally to enjoy the scenery that surrounds you along the way!

Until next time!

- G -

"Don't get so caught up in what tomorrow will bring that you fail to experience the joys of today."  - G. Westfal - 

If you'd like to receive a notification anytime I publish a new blog (currently about every two weeks), visit my Facebook page: G. Gary Westfal, Author

Once there, click on "Get Update via RSS" on the bottom of the left column.  You'll be subscribed and will receive notification whenever I publish a new blog or provide updates to my novel Dream State.  And help me by recommending this blog to others and "liking" my FB page.

Please visit my All American Warriors! bog at: http://allamericanwarriors.blogspot.com/ 

Please visit my website: www.gwestfal.com

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