Hope Is Not A Strategy

As many of you know, my blog postings are not always about cycling. The focus of Cycling CEO is about success in business and on the bike so, this week, I've tried to bridge both business and biking.

There is a saying that in life you are never given more than you can handle. Life has the tendency of giving you what you expect. If you expect failure, then failure will be all around you, but if you expect success then success will come knocking at your door. 

You Have to Believe to Achieve

Photo Courtesy of www.makingmountainsmove.com

Each of us encounters obstacles, big and little, nearly every day of our life. Little obstacles are little problems and usually, with a modest amount of time, thought and effort, we overcome them. Big obstacles typically are representative of bigger challenges. And, because of that, we often let them paralyze us or hold us back from moving forward.

However, big or small,whether professionally, personally or athletically, the process is the same.

You're Not....You're Too....(fill in the blank)

No doubt you've probably seen this commercial on TV numerous times, especially during March Madness. This time, as you listen, pay attention to the message. It really resonates and, after watching it again this morning, I thought about my past and how I refused to let someone else tell me I wasn't good enough or I wasn't capable enough.

Success and Failure

I intended this week to writing something specific to cycling. This morning, I received an email with a link to this video and I realized that I had to deliver a different message this week.

Throughout my life (and I'm guessing many of you), we've experienced success and failure. Success is great. It validates the fruits of our labor, it keeps us motivated to push forward for more. Failure, on the other hand, is a different beast.

You Can't Achieve What You Don't Believe

You can't achieve what you don't believe. It’s reality.

It’s the reason why quotas don’t work with your sales people, why you struggle to get your managers to hit deadlines, and why you find it difficult to improve inefficiencies throughout your company.

And since you can’t dream that it might actually happen, you don’t do what’s required to make it happen. You hope that somewhere along the way something lucky happens to change the circumstances.

Your Path to Achievement

Is success a part-time gig? It is a fact that we will consistently perform in the manner in which we see ourselves performing. If you don't like what you see, then change the way you see yourself and you will start to perform in that manner.

Pushing Past Your Limits

Ever have a moment at which time at which you just can’t go any further? Whether it's exhaustion or fatigue, in work or on the bike, you are exhausted and your body says "no more?" 

But does that mean you've hit your limit or is there more? Is our ability to achieve success limited?

Overcoming Defeat

Alberto Contador scored a gutsy stage win and rode into the red jersey on Wednesday. Photo: Graham Watson www.grahamwatson.com

This week's posting comes courtesy of Alberto Contador's never give up performance and Ash Cash. If you are one of the fortunate viewers to be able to watch the Vuelta on NBC Universal or via an online streaming site, then you cannot help but admire Alberto's efforts. On the toughest mountain days, he has constantly attacked Rodriguez, hoping to gain valuable seconds and move closer to the red leader's jersey.

For three epic mountain days, they battled with the opposite result - Rodriguez gained a few seconds on Contador. As a viewer, I was convinced that Rodriguez was the stronger rider and barring an accident, he was going to be wearing the red jersey on Sunday in Madrid. Alberto, however, refused to accept defeat and after every stage would tell Rodriguez he was coming after him tomorrow.

Tomorrow came on Wednesday, a day few, if any, expected to be very exciting. Contador snuck into a large break with over 50 km remaining. He used his teammates to perfection, won the stage and took a solid lead in the overall general classification. Rodriguez had no answer, riding across the line appearing shattered from the day's events.

So, you ask, what does this have to do with this guy Ash Cash? Ash publishes a daily email titled "Daily Word." On Tuesday, the day before Contador's epic ride, his daily word was titled Overcome Defeat. Ash was kind enough to allow me to share it with you.

"Happy Tuesday my soldiers and survivors! Welcome to the day that you finally say enough is enough! Today's Daily Word is dedicated to overcoming defeat! Defeat is defined as having been beaten in a battle or demoralized and overcome by adversity. Life is a challenge but in no way should you ever let it beat you or demoralize you! Every single thing you go or are going through is designed to simply make you stronger! No circumstance is ever permanent unless you give up! I know there may be a lot going on in your life by by all means ITS ALWAYS TOO EARLY TO QUIT!! In life, you will never be given more then you can handle! If your obstacles are seeming too much for you to bear then you have not fully recognized your power! OVERCOME DEFEAT!! Recognize your power and use it to make you situation better! When all else fails take a step back from the situation, relax, breathe and start over! Sometimes taking a step back can help you take a step forward! You are more powerful than you even realize! Don't let your power go to waste! Stay strong and Tell life you are not Having it! Nothing can stop you but you!!"

-Ash'Cash

We are never going to go through life without adversity. It is how we deal with that adversity that either makes us stronger or defeats us. When the chips are down and it looks like you've been dealt a bad hand, do you quit? Or do you decide that, as Ash said in his Daily Word, that it is too early to quit and that you refuse to lose?

"A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits."

-Richard M. Nixon

Ash'Cash is a Business Consultant, Motivational Speaker, Financial Expert and the author of Mind Right, Money Right: 10 Laws of Financial Freedom. For more information, please visit his website, www.IamAshCash.com.

10 Ways To Guarantee Better Results

Do you want better results in business and/or on your bike? Sure, who wouldn't Mark! If you are like a lot of others around you, you might not be sure what to do in order to get better results.

Maybe you’re confused and frustrated by things happening to you, some of which may be out of your control. Maybe everything you are trying doesn't seem to work, making you even more frustrated.

Well, don't give up. We all have days and weeks like that. Here are 10 things you can do that will help bring you better results.

1. You'll get better results when you try harder. My cycling results are proof of this!
2. You'll get better results when you stop making excuses. Just do it!
3. You'll get better results when you ask for help. Nobody achieved success without the help of others.
4. You'll get better results when you create a better plan.
5. You'll get better results when you fight through the pain (as long as it is good pain, not the kind that is actually causing damage or harm).
6. You'll get better results when you aren't afraid of failure. Thomas Edison failed something like 10,000 times in his quest to create the light bulb.
7. You'll get better results when you can control what is going on in your head. Negative thoughts bring negative results.
8. You'll get better results when you try one more time (see #6 above).
9. You'll get better results when you say "thank you" more. Show gratitude and appreciate what you have.
10. You'll get better results when you believe what you are doing is worth it.

Try one or a few. You'll be amazed at the positive impact on your business and cycling efforts.
The secret to getting better results is simply to do whatever it takes to improve. Adapt, learn, grow and try a little bit harder each day.

And while that doesn’t come easily, the results you’ll get are worth the struggle. What’s stopping you from getting better results?

5 Steps To Success

As I write this article, I am watching today's stage as Brad Wiggins closes in on his goal of winning the Tour. Wiggins' single-minded focus to winning the Tour and how he has prepared himself can be boiled down into five simple steps, steps that are core to success, whether on the bike or in your business.

1. Set Intention. Wiggins decided he was going to win the 2012 Tour de France. One he declared what he wanted, his plans started falling into place. It all begins when you declare your intent and put a plan in place to achieve the goal.
2. Hire coaches. In addition to his Team Sky coaching staff, Wiggins went out and hired an Australian swim coach. Only he knows but but it obviously has worked! To excel in any area, you virtually always need a guide. Who is your team of mentors and coaches who can help you achieve success?
3. Clear Fears. Self-doubt, lack of faith, negativity. Negative thoughts such as these have a way of creeping into our heads. You've got coaches/mentors to help you prepare so rely on them to instill confidence and erase all the fears as they arose.
4. Take action. So you've set your intent, hired a coach/mentor and are feeling confident that you can do whatever you put your mind to doing. Now what? Take action! Nike's slogan says it well: "Just do it." If you don't do it, how are you going to succeed?
5. Persist. Expect that you will have setbacks along the way. But don't look at those setbacks as failures but as an opportunity to learn and grow. Rely on your coach/mentor to help you learn from your setback and to provide the encouragement to keep pushing you to success. Don't think that Wiggins just rode off the track, onto the road and into the yellow jersey. He had his setbacks along the way but persisted and kept his sites set on his goal.

Final Words

I hope you enjoyed this article. Please let me know how it’s working out for you on Twitter or by sending me an email. I love hearing about people implementing and getting results. And, if I can help you in any way, please let me know!

Commitment To Focus, Dedication and Discipline

"No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined."  - Harry Emerson Fosdick

I have been listening Bob Proctor's Freedom Series on my training rides (not necessarily a great idea!) when Bob read Fosdick's quote. I stopped, scrolled back and listened to it a couple of times. To me, this is one of the best success formulas I've heard. To me, this is what it means:

Focus - the ability to stay on task and not let yourself get distracted and off-track. In business, sometimes it is easier to do emails as opposed to picking up the phone to call a prospect or a challenging customer. On the bike, it is the ability to stay focused on doing what it takes to achieve your goal. You have to commit to the goal and stay focused on doing what it takes to achieve that goal.

Dedication - commit yourself to putting in that extra phone call, to making the extra effort that your colleagues may not be willing to do. When riding, it is dedicating time required to achieve the goal, whether it is a personal one or even a team goal. If you choose to do, then commit the time to doing it right.

Discipline - in business and in sport, I see as the one of the most difficult tasks. It takes a serious commitment to get and stay disciplined. On New Years, many people set goals to lose weight or go to the gym. However, what they lack is the commitment to stay disciplined to those "resolutions" and, after a month or so, fall back into the ways of old. If you want to success ,you must dedicate yourself to achieving that goal and doing what it takes, day in and day out, to achieve that goal. In business, this is even more true if you work in a home or remote office. You have nobody but yourself to hold you accountable.

In 1988, I had multiple short, medium, long term and dream goals. Three of those goals were to be a National Champion, make the US National Team and the Olympic team (my dream goal), there were days when my wife thought I was crazy. I would go out on training rides all types of weather, one day even trying to ride when there was over four inches of freshly fallen snow on the ground! I committed myself to staying focused on my goals, dedicated myself to doing the work necessary to achieve those goals and was disciplined to doing my work every day to get better. All of this commitment resulted in me nearly achieving ALL of the goals that I had set at the beginning of the season!

When you commit, you focus. You focus your energy, your effort, your actions on the very thing to which you have committed. You are willing to take action without any distractions, action that delivers the results you want.