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Preparing for Excellence – Issue 3

10 months to go until the 2008 Olympics! Two days ago I returned home from speaking to business groups in China, and a buzz of expectation is certainly in the air there. Do you have a buzz about what will be happening in your business in 10 months?

Last month we looked at making time to identify our goals and to begin planning for their achievement. This month we’ll talk about some more specific practicalities to move us forward.

We have no control over what our competition does.

Truly understanding this is vital for both athletes and business people, if they want to effectively progress toward their ultimate aims. By concerning ourselves less with what others are or are not doing, we can concentrate more energy and focus on our own priorities, which will most efficiently get us to our desired outcomes.

When setting priorities, there are three key steps we need to take to ensure we give ourselves the greatest chance for success.

1. Align your priorities with your desired outcomes.

As obvious as that sounds, I’ve spoken to and coached people who are looking to attain great results, but behave in ways that are not commensurate with their stated desired outcomes.When I was preparing for the Olympics and in grueling physical training six hours a day, rest was a priority: my body and mind simply needed time to recover. I would have been fooling myself to talk about wanting to win an Olympic medal while staying out late night after night.

Are your priorities in line with what you want to achieve? Does how you spend your time point directly toward where you say you want to go?

2. Write down your priorities.

This simple step so often gets overlooked or simply reasoned away (“I know what they are, so I don’t really need to actually write them down.”)

However, when we write down our priorities it makes them more real and makes us more accountable. Also, when we have written priorities to guide our actions, it is much easier to identify and avoid distractions – the number one saboteur of successful action!

3. Priorities need to be done.

“Of course!” you’re saying. Yet because the obvious often doesn’t get stated, it doesn’t get crystallized and, therefore, often doesn’t get done.

Most people I work with know what they need to do to successfully reach their objectives and some have written out the necessary priorities. Yet, many of us get stuck on the follow through. Individual reasons for this vary from being so afraid of failure that people mentally sabotage themselves to simply getting lazy.

The main difference between those who achieve their goals and those who don’t is not talent but constructive, directed perseverance – perseverance focused on doing the necessary priorities.

Successful Olympic athletes know what their top priorities are and commit to following them daily, just as we can do.

Today, take just 6 minutes to:

• Review your priorities and make sure you’re on track (2 minutes)
• Write down your key 5 priorities and keep them in a place where you will see them daily (I guarantee it will make a difference!) (2 minutes)
• Honestly review and recognize what distracts you from following your priorities and plan how to overcome these distractions (2 minutes)

Have a great and productive month!

– Paul

Copyright Paul Kingsman 2007
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Paul Kingsman is an Olympic medalist, professional speaker and executive coach. He draws upon his Olympic experiences to equip his audience members and his coaching clients with the tools needed to avoid distractions and stay focused, so they can make the best split second decisions for outstanding long-term results. To contact Paul visit www.PaulKingsman.com.

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