The final installment

This post marks the final installment of the "7 Roadblocks to Success" series. If you have enjoyed this series, I'd like to hear from you. I can be reached at steve@firestormfitness.com.
Thanks,
Steve

No game plan? Good luck!

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Abraham Lincoln

So we come to the final hurdle, the last obstacle to success. Is it any surprise that so many fall by the wayside because they don’t have a specific, detailed game plan? Football teams work the entire off-season to develop a game plan. Military forces plan for weeks for a plan of attack. Most people plan their vacation for days or weeks before they leave. Why don’t people plan for success in their lives with the same resolve?

In order to reach the mark of completion in an endeavor, one must first have an idea how to get there. Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) systems have become very popular items lately because of their ability to tell us where we relative to our path to get us where we want to be. A game plan for the attainment of a desire may not be as clear cut, but a game plan is necessary nonetheless.

People who have a desire to lose body fat and to attempt to do so by simply cutting back on certain foods may experience a small level of success, but will probably never reach their destination. The body is very adaptive and will soon adjust to this regimen and then where will they be? If there was no definitive plan of action, laid out beforehand, that accounted for the various “twists and turns” along the way, how will they know where to go?

Imagine a plane that leaves for New York from Dallas. It may start out in the right direction, but being off-course by just one degree can leave them in Quebec or the Atlantic Ocean. Small adjustments must be made along the way to correct for any deviation in tracking so that the outcome, the reward, is the desired result. This is done by:

1. Keeping the reward in sight. By taking your mind off your goal you are more likely to get sidetracked and wind up miles from where you want to be, which results in wasted time, effort and energy to get back on track. Keep the reward in mind!
2. Focusing on your path. A mule walking a mountainside trail doesn’t look 5, 10 or twenty yards ahead. He looks down at the path in front of him so he knows where to place the next step. Failure to do so could mean a fall. Likewise, notice your own progress. Is it going in the right direction or away from your intended desire? Make the proper minute adjustments early in order to stay the course.
3. Focusing your energy. Don’t waste time trying extraneous or frivolous tasks designed to boost your ego, make you feel good or anything else foolish. Keep your efforts aimed at the achievement of your goal and you will not tire in striving for them.

The simplest method for doing this is by “modeling” or mirroring another’s previous success. Find someone who has achieved what you desire and do what they did to get there. This plan of success has been used countless times by people to reach their goals. And the beauty of modeling is that you can often do in less time what others did before you because they had the “trial and error” to overcome.

Remember, you don’t have to re-invent the wheel. Someone out there has achieved the success, goal, or desire you are after as well. Find out what they did, follow their path and you too will reap the reward of their success. And, I’ll wager, faster than they did to boot!

Conclusion
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Bible, Matthew 6:33

I pray that piece assists you in honestly evaluating your desires and helps you to avoid the pitfalls contained within. I dread, however, that I may have given you in this message what is akin to an intellectual drink from a fire hose. Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower is quoted as saying, “An intellectual is a man who takes more words than necessary to tell more than he knows.” Contrary to the former Presidents statement, I believe I know wherefrom I speak as I have been a willing participant to all of these aforementioned maladies. They can be overcome, but acknowledgement of an issue and a willingness to apply the knowledge gained is the first step in doing so.

I’m a huge fan of quotes from famous, not so famous and/or intelligent people. With that in mind, I will close this piece with a few of my favorite quotes that I hope will encourage you to be an over-comer of the mundane, a victor in the face of mediocrity and valiant on the path to your desires.
God Bless you,
Steve Payne
www.firestormfitness.com

“Don't be a spectator; don't let life pass you by.” Lou Holtz

“If you're bored with life - you don't get up every morning with a burning desire to do things - you don't have enough goals.” Lou Holtz

“I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.” Vince Lombardi

Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing. Thomas Jefferson

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt

“For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” Bible, Deuteronomy 20:4

“And in the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.” Abraham Lincoln

“Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be.” Abraham Lincoln

“Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.” Mark Twain

“Kindness is the language the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Mark Twain