- Being promoted 8 times and multiplying my salary by 10
- Achieving Financial Independence at 46
- Or do an Iron Man without knowing how to swim the crawl for more than 100 meters…
- And many other projects…
They were all made using some principles I’ll reveal in this blog.
For those who missed the first part, check here.
6/Fall in love with the practice and do projects that thrill me.
Photo de Caleb Woods sur Unsplash
Aiming for financial independence has helped me feel freer, which has allowed me to develop creativity.
Reinventing my career at 46 gives me the opportunity to help others achieve their dreams through coaching.
Doing challenging sports events (Marathon/Iron Man) is part of my plan to live as long as possible in the best shape possible. I wish I could rollerblade with my grandkids 🙂
But also, a lot of other projects (including the ones I missed) contributed to my ideal of
“becoming the best version of myself and helping others achieve what they want.”
For too long, I was obsessed with the result. The secret here is not the result, but the practice. It is what makes you progress and move toward the person you want to become.
Everything in life worth achieving requires practice. In fact, life itself is nothing more than one long practice session, an endless effort of refining our motions.
– The Practicing Mind by Thomas M. Sterner (this book helped me live my aha moment on the subject.)
Having fun while practicing is the secret to success. It’s a never-ending learning circle. Even if you don’t achieve what you want, you’re always moving forward from where you started.
This brings us to the next point…
7/Choose the right measure, and review frequently
There is a principle that says, “Measure twice, cut once.”
Photo by Dan Edwards on Unsplash
I’ve never taken the time to learn how to DIY until now, but since I have plenty of time (100 quarters-principle #4), maybe it will be part of a period in my life 🙂
But for the practice of living aligned with your dreams, I would say:
“Choose the right measure, and review frequently.”
Even when you’ve decided to change, even when you’re super clear, you’ll run into many distractions that try to divert you.
This is where “Choose the right measure, and review frequently” comes in:
- How I measure: I have two options. Either I measure myself against the results. Either against my progress. The first one creates frustration. The second is motivation.
- When I review. As with principle #4, rhythm is essential. Less than 5 minutes a day, 15 minutes a week, and 90 minutes a quarter are more than enough to stay focused on your dreams. With this principle, you’re on the right track, but for those fond of tactics, I’ll reveal my way of doing it in a detailed post.
8/Personal reflection. How to manage my emotions and difficulties?
Yes, yes I assure you…
You’ll meet plenty of them 🙂
I can even tell you what will happen.
- Thanks to the ideal and the projects, you have gained clarity.
- Through action, you exercise your courage (never nice before, but so good after) and develop your confidence.
- And then, the first pitfalls will come, and your clarity, courage, and confidence will go out the window. So quickly that you’ll wonder if they had been there at all 🙂
This is where coaching can be (also) beneficial. And when I say coaching, you can go through a professional to accompany you in this step and all the ones before and after, or you can self-coach or do a mix of both.
How?
Taking quality time to reflect on what just happened using the power of questions.
- What do I really want?
- What makes it a problem/opportunity now?
- What are the dangers I need to eliminate?
- What are the opportunities I need to capture?
- And lots of other interesting questions that you can customize to the situation you’re in.
Your journal, a coach, both are your best allies…
9/ It always starts with the other.
Photo by Afif Ramdhasuma on Unsplash
Seek first to understand, then to be understood (Stephen Covey – Habit #5).
Our most interesting projects include the others.
Our ideal, in one form or another, is correlated to the people we love.
Whether in a personal or professional relationship, understanding this principle makes everything else easier.
But in reality, it’s not about understanding, it’s about applying.
And here, we enter the difficulty of changing behavior in adulthood.
Easy-to-understand steps that are difficult to apply in an exchange:
- Try to understand first. (listen)
- Make sure you understand. (rephrase)
- If you have a different perspective, ask if you can share it. (permission)
- Be creative and courageous. Look together for a new way to satisfy both sides.
“Did I do my best today to understand before I was understood?” is a question you can review every day in Step 7 with the active questions.
But that’s just your point of view…The next step requires courage, discipline and humility, but drastically increases your chances of becoming the person you want to be…
10/Your change and the perception of others.
I involve others in my desire to reach my ideal.
“Give me two suggestions on how to be a better dad/husband?’ (warning, you may be surprised at the answers 🙂 )
“I’m looking to achieve X. What would be your two suggestions?”
I discovered and learned this concept late in my executive coaching training with Marshall Goldsmith and his teams.
But seeing that over 11,000 leaders have achieved an average of 95% success in the behaviors they wanted to change by engaging stakeholders convinced me to adopt it for my clients and myself.
Changing is hard, but changing the perception of the people around you is even harder.
This simple process increases your chances of success.
I wish you much success in your projects.
In the same series :
- 10 principles that helped me achieve my dreams…(And that could help you achieve yours). Part 1
- Part Two
- Take 100% responsibility: the first principle to succeed in your wildest projects
- Clarity: focus on the horizon, not on our shoes. The second principle to succeed in your wildest projects
- Courage: dare to commit to your dreams without knowing how to achieve them.
- We have all the time we need to make our dreams come true
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PS: Whenever you’re ready, here are 2 more ways I can help you accelerate your growth through coaching:
- You are an individual: you have a penchant for action. You’ve achieved a lot. And yet you want more. Curious? Let’s connect for a free call and see if we can work together
- You want to be coached in the workplace: I help successful leaders become even better. And you only pay me if you succeed (yes, I am serious). Curious? Let’s connect for a free call and see if we can work together
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