Commit To Your Important Projects: 4 Steps To Success

Commit to your important projects. It’s easier to express what we no longer want than to answer the question:

“What do I really want?”

I’m lucky enough to ask this question as a coach often.

When I dig into what’s difficult, I hear

• I don’t want to get stuck on one option
• And if I feel like doing something else
• What will the people around me think if I commit and then change?

So we prefer to let things happen.

The problem is, we know what we don’t want anymore.

• For some, just going to the office. For others, too long a journey to get there.
• Traveling from plane to plane and feeling like you’re missing out on family life at home
• Office politics, where some try to win only for their own personal interests

What if committing accelerated our current plans while allowing us to pivot whenever we wanted?

Total commitment

At 16, I was committed to becoming world karate champion. I have dedicated all my energy to this goal.

Despite this, I didn’t succeed.

But what’s interesting is what I’ve gained and how it’s opened up other opportunities for me.

To dedicate myself to my dream, I looked for ways to earn a living.

• Discovered sales, which was then my gateway to the corporate world
• Learn basic business principles
• Graduate to teach and open two dojos

Sales, entrepreneurship, and teaching served my main purpose.

The pivot

At 23, I decided to take a completely different path. A corporate career.

My main goal: to become Managing Director.

What I’ve done to achieve this goal :

• Resuming my studies
• Management
• Marketing
• International business
• Leadership
• Develop my financial independence. To cushion the risks associated with having a high-stakes job and to prepare for my childhood dream. Not having to work after 40…

Find out what I’ve learned by doing it…8 Habits To Grow Your Career. What I’ve Learned In 20 Years And After Reading Over 300 Books.

Commitment to your important projects and multiple lives go hand in hand

At 46, even though I loved what I did, I needed to test my childhood dream of no longer working to earn money.

My main goal: to become the best version of myself and help others along the way.

What I put at the service of this objective…

• Writing and coaching: these tools enable me to help ambitious people accelerate their important projects.

Today, I feel this slice of my career will stay with me for the rest of my life.

But I also know that this process could lead me to pivot again. And in both cases, it will be an enriching experience.

When I analyze my 3 different professional careers (Sport/Corporate/Executive coach), I find 4 stages that helped me accelerate my projects. 👇

4 steps to commit to your important projects and succeed

1/ Start with the end in mind.

I learned this principle at a young age from Stephen Covey. I’ve been using it personally for years. It has transformed my life.

The more I get involved in coaching, the more I study different approaches, the more I realize that it’s an integral part of the process.

Coaching engages the client in clarifying what they really want, and aligning their intentions with their actions.

Not just for the big picture, but also in everyday life.

• Before a meeting :
  • What do I expect from this meeting? If nothing, decline the invitation (guest), cancel the meeting (organizer)

• Before a presentation :
  • What action do I want my audience to take at the end? I like Tim Pollard’s message in his book The Compelling Communicator.

• Before going on vacation:
  • Imagine the end of your next vacation. They were ideal. What happened?
    We wait so long for this moment; we prepare everything, but we rarely ask ourselves what we really want? If getting closer to your children is one of your wishes, scrolling on your phone instead of playing a game of rackets on the beach doesn’t make sense.

2/Commit to your important projects

It’s scary. We don’t dare say it to the outside world and often not to ourselves.

Let’s change our beliefs.

“Commit myself traps me in a single path.”

To

“Commit speeds up my important projects and widens my range of options.”

Discover 4 other Dan’s ideas that made an impact on me

3/Opportunity treasure & Focus & Meaning to support my commitment

You have the end in mind. This helps you to prioritize constantly. To say “no” more often. To gain clarity.
But also to find meaning in certain aspects, you don’t think you naturally like.

• “I don’t like X” is limiting.
• “X is at the service of my dream.

As you dig deeper into X, you discover sub-modalities (James Altucher’s idea of micro-skills). I don’t have any particular connivance with sales, but I do like influencing, communication, project management, leadership…(meaning)

By deepening your sub-modalities, you can accelerate your project, fine-tune, or discover a new one…(treasure of opportunity)

4/Pleasure in action…

Getting to where you want to be won’t make you any happier.

What will, is the adventure to get there.

It means making progress (whatever the result) on the technical side of your project, but also (and perhaps above all) on the soft side. Your relationships, your health, your hobbies are all part of the adventure. Cultivate and enjoy them…

A book for learning to focus on the moment and enjoy yourself.
The Practising Mind, Sterner, Thomas M.

Conclusion

Commitment is not a prison. It’s a dream gas pedal that contributes to our happiness. And it starts with this question for our big and small projects.

What do I want to achieve at the end of my meeting/vacation/career/life?

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PS: Whenever you’re ready, here are 2 more ways I can help you accelerate your growth through coaching:

• You’re ambitious: you’ve already achieved a lot. And you intend to continue. But this time, you want to do it while enjoying the important things in your life. Curious? Click here.
• You lead a team: you know that a slight improvement in your leadership can significantly impact the team’s results and, therefore, your career. I was trained and certified by the world’s first executive coach, Marshall Goldsmith. I accompany you in your project and guarantee the result. You only pay me if you succeed. Curious? Let’s connect for a free call and see if we can work together

Join a community of ambitious readers who want to succeed in their careers.👇