“It’s not where you start it’s where you finish”?  so the song goes…meaning that you don’t necessarily have to START OUT as a winner, but provided you make the decision to be one – you can acquire the  necessary skills along the way. 

It’s Day 5 of my personal 30 Day Challenge, and this weekend I’ve been looking at my attitude.  Let’s face it we could all use something to give us a kick in the pants when we start feeling sorry for ourselves.  However, sometimes it’s worth stepping back to look at the big picture and reflect.  So yesterday I deliberately stepped off the roundabout for a day to rest and recharge the batteries.

I’ve started to read a book called “Winning” by Frank Dick, O.B.E. former director of Coaching for British Athletics.  He talks about the difference between Valley people and Mountain people.   Valley people seek the calm and comfortable ground of shelter, safety and security – their concept of achievement is ‘not losing’, and belong to the ’woulda, coulda, shouda’ brigade. 

Mountain people however, have decided that valley life is not for them and seek to test ambition on the toughest climbs.  They know that there is rich satisfaction in reaching the top and the fight that’s needed to get there.

Whilst reading I also learnt something very interesting from Miroslav Vanek, former President of the International Federation of Sport Psychologists.  He did a comparison studay between motivation and talent.  What was evident from his study that the most talented athletes did not have the same high level of motivation as the less gifted, who had to learn to deal with defeat.  Therefore, those athletes who had not had the chance to develop a resilience to defeat – “a resilience they would need in the senior arena where every athlete, no matter how able, sooner or late faces defeat, because their abilities had never been challenged. These athletes had never stretched themselves” .

He goes on to say that the less talented athletes had been obliged to learn, to adapt, to fight, to bounce back.  They had learnt to face change. 

In my particular line of work, there has been a lot of change, I’ve had to think of how I can adapt – whilst still applying all the knowledge and skill I have acquired over the years.  It became clear to  me whilst reading this book (and I haven’t finished it yet), that essentially we all have inherent talents and attributes, but that’s only half the equation. 

What I took from this is that in actuality – it’s my own personal attributes – which are applied in the field to overcome obstacles, regardless of what product or service I’ve produced.  Without these attributes I would be unable to handle myself in challenging times, deal with change or setbacks.  Without it - I would be blaming my circumstances, or feel a victim or powerless in the face of these external influences. 

I had to admit to myself – that yes as a kid I was talented - but as to whether or not I had it within myself to accept defeat was something else.  Then I recalled the time I was selected to trial for my County as a sprinter.  On the day I didn’t even get a chance to compete because I slipped and fell flat on my face at the start line.  Speechless disapointment followed.  Then there was the time I was unable to successfully defend my long jump title because I delivered 3 ‘no jumps’ in a row, and walked away in tears.  Then there was the really disappointment of being beaten into 3rd place by .5cm at an important long jump event, and therefore missing out on the All England Championships later that season. 

Sure I probably did allow those things to ‘hang around’ for a few days – before having a meaningful discussion with my Coach and looking for alternatives or ‘finding the positives’ in the situation – which I eventually did. 

So…whenyou translate that into business, think about this.  You’ve got a great product or an amazing service.  But that’s not enough.

In order to pass the winning post first requires a decision to work on yourself as well.  You may only be running a business part-time or have only just started, or you’re about to diversity, but consider yourself as a mountain person.

• Concentrate on what’s important.  Whatever discomfort or sacrifice or inconvenience you are experiencing NOW may be temporary – but the short term pain will be worth it in the long run
• Commit to being a professional and aim for excellence.  Ask yourself from now on “how can I add value – how can I be even better”. 
• Go the extra mile in all areas.  What would the best of the best be thinking and doing right now?
• Believe in yourself first  – work with a trusted adviser, mentor or coach.  Plaster your house with slogans that tell you you’re amazing.  Stay away from the dream stealers and their tiny minds.
• Be flexible to changing circumstances and be open to new opportunities.  Even difficulties have within them potential profitable opportunities
• Be organised - treat your business and yourself as a professional at all times – even if nobody can necessarily see everything going on in the background – remember you’ll know which is just as important

Have you ever faced a situation which required you to dig deep to find the courage, stamina and self belief in order to take on a new challenge, overcome a massive disappointment or grasp the biggest opportunity you’ve ever been given in your life?

If you had an aura of absolute certainty and conviction around you, what would that do for you?  Would it be useful to feel as steady as a rock, no matter what setbacks you faced?

I watched Jonathan Ross interview Barbara Streisand last year.  He asked her about the downside of being famous and how difficult it must be to get out and lead a normal life.  She said that it was always a problem which she couldn’t ever really find an answer to.

However, that there was one occasion where she wanted to go shopping, but was worried about the unwanted attention of fans.  But she went out with a friend, and for half an hour she pretended that she was just plain ‘Barbara’who’d never done anything remarkable in her life and couldn’t even sing.

She was able to carry this on for about half an hour; AND NOBODY NOTICED HER.  Until she switched back to superstar Barbara and all of a sudden people started to point and look and notice her. 

So when we’re talking about self belief, could it be as simple as changing your thoughts?  Is it as simple as that?? 

Marilyn Monroe used the same trick when she went out walking.  If she didn’t want anyone to notice her, she’d revert back to Norma Jean Baker; but the minute she became Marilyn that changed and she’d have people swarming around her.

What thoughts do you regularly hold in your mind about WHO you are?  Stop for a minute. Please.

What have you been thinking about today.  What have you been saying to yourself?  Who do YOU imagine you are when you walk into a room?  What posture do you adopt – are you thinking and feeling like the head of your organisation, even if it is just you running your business from your spare bedroom?  Do you treat yourself like a professional, an expert.  Or are you thinking that you’re not good enough, and that everyone else must be much more successful or accomplished than you?  Do you put yourself down and constantly compare yourself to others in a scratched record kind of way?  Or are your thoughts filled with fretting about last month’s sales figures or that disappointing meeting you’ve just had?

What if you decided today that you were going to BE who you wanted to BECOME, and chose to be that person from now on.  We all have dreams of our ultimate lifestyle, but change starts from within the quality of your thoughts on a daily basis.  OK if you’re a little skeptical about this, just humour me and be that person just for today.

Just for today try that notion on for size and see what changes.  Because I know that when you do – people will pick this up at such a quantum level and like a ripple effect, your energy will spread through the room and the dynamics of your conversations change. 

AND if you made a decision to reprogramme your thoughts, do you really need other people to keep telling you how amazing you are – when you already know?  On an energetic level just reflect on how much stronger your ego will be, and how the energy of your ego will be expanding and connecting with other postive energies and drawing them to you – leading to new connections, meetings, opportunities and new ideas which will all serve to grow your business in an entirely new and exciting way. 

So, just for today.  Do it as an experiment.  Let me know what happens.

As Andrew Lloyd Webber begins his search for Dorothy in his new production of The Wizard of Oz, I’m featuring a series of blogs which explore the key challenges faced by the principle characters in this story.

I begin with the Lion’s search for COURAGE and why this could desert us in times of trouble. 

Let’s take Louisa Lyons – the contemporary character who appears in my book.  She’s being bulled by her boss, but feels powerless to do anything about this.  Despite being a fearless sportswoman in her spare time – she’s a completely sissy at work and lets her boss walk all over her.

But what is courage and where do you find it when you need it, when you’re under fire…?

For instance what do you need to carry on when you’ve been made redundant, after a relationship  breakdown or death, trying something you’ve never tried before, launching a new concept or idea, dealing with difficult or aggressive people, overcoming and handling debt?

I’ve come up with 9 ideas…if you have another to add, I’d like to hear from you

Courage is…

1. Quiet dignity.  Its remaining calm and poised, when all around you are running around like headless chickens
2. Acting decisively.  Sometimes the only way to solve a persistent problem is to refuse to tolerate any situation that compromises your values.  But this will require the courage to stand up for what you believe in, which may require you to stick your head above the parapet to court controversy.  But isn’t it more exciting to be known for being a bit daring…rather than a sheep?
3. Taking responsibility for your own actions, and resisting the temptation to take the easy way out.  Pointing the finger or blaming external circumstances for your own  misfortune only wastes time doesn’t it – time you could be spending on solving the problem.
4. Accepting and adapting to change.  Sometimes it can be hard to accept that if something isn’t working you may need to consider changing directions, letting go and starting again
5. Standing up for yourself.  Why run with the pack or allow others to make decisions on your behalf?  I’ve learnt that to my cost.  If you accept that your job is to work at becoming better at being YOU, nobody can do that job better than you can. 
6. Acceptance.  To achieve our objectives may mean leaving behind people who don’t validate, support or encourage you.  If others don’t believe in you or are working on their own agenda to compensate for their own shortcomings, does that really serve you?
7. Moving out of your comfort zone and trying something new, sometimes without really knowing or having the comfort or certainty in the outcome. 
8. Pressing on despite fear, pain, disappointment and loss.  Because in the end, quitting isn’t always the best solution.  As they say, pain is temporary – quitting lasts forever…
9. Listening to your inner voice (no matter how quiet that may be), paying attention to it, trusting it and having the guts to go with your gut
10. Fill in the blank…what do you think courage is…?

I welcome your comments and observations