Yet each time my personal goal has come to fruition, I’ve felt a little empty.

There always seems to be something missing.

It’s hard to put a finger on

An invisible concern

Discontent

Yesterday something changed

I read something very profound

It brought things into a better focus

It finally answered that nagging question

How do I set goals that are truly meaningful and lasting?

I found the answer in a very unusual place. It wasn’t in a book, podcast, or lecture.

It was in a mysterious, almost ethereal place.

It was a tower!

A tower that you construct.

A tower that has amazing implications.

People live and work in this tower. They consume your ideas, your inventions, and your art.

Their lives are changed.

The tower continues to grow, year after year.

The tower you create exists, even after you die.

You see, the tower represents your LEGACY.

You add to this tower when your goals and actions include others.

Life is a series of purposeful choices that can produce great rewards from great
effort. Choose to craft your life around creative work that goes up like a tower and out to the world.

There is a sign on the side of the building with this admonition…

We must work on our lives the way we would work on any other project. Instead of knowledge, pleasure, or happiness, the purpose of life is to create something meaningful that will endure after we’re gone.

Every day, wake up and think about these two things:
•     What am I making today?
•     Whom am I helping today?

After reading the Tower Manifesto by Chris Guillebeau, I realized that the missing link in my goal setting plan was simple. Mine were strictly personal goals. They were inward focused. They didn’t include others.

With a simple focus change, I can change this.

My goals can now have IMPACT!

They can create enduring and lasting value.

The secret is the focus…

We’ll look at some examples in a future post…

Question: Are you building a legacy?

The real question is…

Do you give a DAM about your life?

Do you have DREAMS you are pursuing. Is there something bigger than yourself at stake?

Are you taking ACTION, or just sitting back, taking things as they come.

Are you MOTIVATED, realizing that life is short, and today is important.

If not, it’s about DAM time to make a change. Here are three things you can do…

1. Dream BIG Dreams. Start with a powerful dream, picture it in Technicolor, hear the sounds, feel the emotion. Then write it down and set a date. Now you have a GOAL.

2. Take Action. Take your goal, break it into smaller parts, then fill in the details. Picture your goal completed, then work backwards. Write down the action steps necessary to complete it. Take action on one step today.

3. Stay Motivated. Big dreams are exciting. They help you wake up with excitement in your heart. The best way to stay motivated is to share your dream with a coach or mentor. Someone who will share your vision. Give them permission to check in with you.

If you truly want to make a difference in your life and the lives of others, it starts with

Dreams, Action, & Motivation.

Here are three tools to get you started.

1. Top Goal Worksheet: This tool will help you quickly determine which goals to pursue.

2. Goal Setting Toolkit: Write your goals down here and take them along with you.

3. Daily Goal Sheet: Write your top priorities out for the day and put them on a to-do list

When you truly give a DAM about your life, things will change. When you have a powerful goal you are pursuing, life becomes interesting and exciting again. When you take action and see the goal take shape, you quickly realize that amazing things are possible if you make incremental changes over time.

There is one additional secret to make it all work. It’s the little n at the end of the word…

DAMn

This one is really important…

The only day you can take action is today, and the only time you can get started is NOW!

Isn’t it time to get started…

Question: What do you give a DAM about?

With the advent of low cost, high definition cameras, almost anyone can create a reasonable quality video in 2011. Gone are the days of video tape, VCR’s, and hours and hours of editing time. With the advent of digital video, quality remains high post edit, and editing can be frame accurate… things that did not exist in the analog tape era.

For our video experiments this week, we’ll stick with some basic tools that make the video process fast and easy.

Camera: While camcorders have become smaller, regular digital cameras have added the ability to record hi-def video in a very small hand held package. For our experiments, we’ll use a regular digital camera outputting H264 MPEG video onto a flash memory card. If you have purchased a digital camera in the past two years, you probably have a camera that will output high def video. (Many cell phones now have this option as well)

Editing: We’ll take our video clips and import via memory card into iMovie on a Mac. iMovie makes the editing process easy and with a few advanced tricks, we can do some pretty cool edits. iMovie has a lot of built in transitions and titling options to make our job easier. We’ll also experiment with iMovies’ built in trailer feature.

Presentation: To add text and graphics to our presentation, we’ll use Keynote on the Mac. This will give us the ability to add an educational flair to our video and also use the computer as a basic teleprompter. We’ll look at ways to present this information in our video, from shooting the presentation on a monitor, to overlaying the presentation directly into our video.

Output: To finish our project up, we’ll need to output our finished video where others can see it. We’ll look at different options from Youtube, Vimeo and others. The process of uploading and embedding will also be covered.

Presentation style: While the technology is important, how we look, sound, and present to an audience is just as critical. We’ll take a look at different presentation styles to see what works best.

Overall: This week is a big experiment for me. I have wanted to produce good quality video presentations, but have been frustrated by the process. This week we’ll try some new techniques and see how things come out. It will be interesting to see what is possible with the current consumer technology. As always, your comments, ideas, and feedback are welcomed.

Theme: Motivational Speaking

Monday: How To Become a Motivational Speaker
An overview of motivational speaking and the P.A.R. method

Tuesday: Becoming a Motivational Speaker: Part 2
Have you accomplished great things or been through a major adversity? Why not speak…

Wednesday: Public Speaking: Going From Free to Fee
How to actually make money speaking…

Friday: Create Custom Resources for Your Speaking Business
Match your resources to your audience with these low cost items…

Links mentioned during the week:

Toastmasters World Championship of Speaking.

Darren LaCroix

Ed Tate

Simple P.A.R. worksheet

Nancy Duarte’s Powerful TED speech

Toastmasters

Weddel’s Online Association Directory

Sheryl Roush’s Well Organized One-Sheet

Additional References:

How To Bring Out The Best In People by Janet Calloway

Kim Garst: A Guide To The New Twitter Interface (Update Your Speaker’s Page!)

Neon Sunglasses For Your Audience

Thanks for joining us this week. Next week’s theme will be Marketing Resources, with creative free downloads, free graphic tools, and some interesting surprises. Make sure to sign up for our RSS feed, our FB Fan page, and join us on Twitter. We are also on Google+ now.

Congratulations to Dr. Jeanne Nelson for winning the Humorous Speaking Contest with our local Toastmasters Club and a very funny look at who should really be cooking in the kitchen. Her speech, To Cook or Not to Cook is a great example of including humor in your speech.

Have a Great Weekend

Mike helped me refine my ideas and zero in on a specific area for the book. He also suggested that I get an agent to help me interface with different publishers. Overall I left with some great knowledge to move further along in the process.

The next day we docked in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. My wife and I took an excursion to Dunn River Falls, where I attempted to climb to to the top of the cascading 600 foot water fall. As I stood on the beach looking up at the rushing water, the climb seemed almost impossible. The waterfall was about 30 feet wide at the base, and had a very steep initial climb.

Our adventure guide and photographer grouped us together on the beach and had us line up holding hands with the people next to us. The guide then started up the near side of the falls, rock by rock, holding the hand of the first person in line. We each took a step at a time, getting wet very quickly. At first it was hard to tell how slippery the moss covered rocks would be. A few times my feet slipped slightly causing me to pull hard on the people next to me.

We looked like an unruly snake slithering our way up the initial face of the waterfall. Step after step, we went with the water getting deeper and faster. Thankfully I had someone ahead of me telling me where the drop offs were and showing me the hand holds along the side. When we weren’t holding hands, we were pulling ourselves up and then helping the person behind us.

The first plateau was a welcome relief. We spread out and took a few minutes to catch our breath. The photographer was snapping pictures and taking video. After a few minutes we were on our way again climbing the second face. It was easier this time, but we still had to form a line and pull each other along.

The second plateau had a surprise as we filed out. The guide led us from one side to the other and then had us slide down a short water slide, where we were fully immersed from head to toe. Thankfully the day was hot and the warm water felt great. Now we headed out to level three where we had to crawl our way under a concrete bridge. The leader gave us specific instructions… “Keep your head down,” he yelled. As we moved through the rushing water there was only a couple of feet between the water and the bridge. He barked different orders guiding us across drop offs, deep pools, and sharp rocks.

As we exited level three we were climbing again, this time through a longer more modest section. It took a while but we finally made it to level four. Now we were in a wide pool, with a very steep waterfall ahead. As I looked across the pool, I saw an exit sign. I figured this was the end of the tour. Surely we wouldn’t be able to climb the next section.

However, I was wrong. Our guide started up the steep rocks and we followed along. This time the water was running very fast and deep, and each step was treacherous. And then it happened. I found myself on the side of a three foot rock. There were no hand holds and no way around.

I figured I would have to go back.

Just then, the guide appeared over the rock and grabbed my hand and pulled me up. Soon I was at the top in pool number 5. I had conquered the waterfall. The people that made it all gave each other high fives. What looked impossible, was now a reality.

It was then that I realized that the waterfall was like getting a book published. Starting at the beginning they both looked impossible. But with the help of mentors, you could start the daunting process step by step. When I started my first book, it was the help of a small writer’s group that got me through. Step by step, I was able to outline and start writing. My writing mentors were like those people at the waterfall. The more experienced pulled the rest of us along. Soon I had the plateau of an outline.

Level two in the publishing realm was where we all totally immersed ourselves in writing. We dove in and were soon baptized with amazing stories and characters. It was somewhat scary at first, but the words soon found a level of comfort.

Level three, was where our first drafts were done, and we now needed the guidance of an editor. Barking out directions, our writers group editor helped us refine and correct our mistakes. Like climbing under a bridge, we had to lower out heads, swallow our pride, and correct our errors. It was tough at first, but the results were amazing.

Now we were ready for level four. We put the finishing pieces together for our manuscripts, added title pages, bibliographies, and a table of contents. Some of us took an early exit to self publish, but those that remained faced the biggest challenge yet… getting picked up by a publisher.

The last publishing level is hard to achieve. Many turn back from the current of rejection. The vast majority of book proposals are rejected out of hand. It’s only when you have an agent or publicist working for you that you’ll find a hand to pull you up over insurmountable rocks. It’s tough and very few succeed, but if you make it to level five, you have accomplished something that few people ever see. A published book, printed by a major publisher.

As for me, I’m still in level four, but with Michael’s wisdom and guidance I may be able to find a guide to lead me to the top . I know it won’t be easy, and the swift current of rejection is daunting at best. But I know one thing… I climbed the real waterfall, and I know what it feels like to be in that top pool. Look out below, I’m going for it!

Question: Are you working on a book? If so, what part of the process are you in?

Luckily for me she sent me a link for her Fascination test. In just ten minutes I found out my fascination score and realized that I needed to share this fascinating test with the world. I passed a link on to some of my friends and co-workers. Soon I was finding out what made my friends fascinating.

To tell you the truth, what I found out was absolutely and truly FASCINATING!

I’m sure by now that you are wondering where you can take this test. But before I give you the keys to your own score, I want to list out the seven fascinations that you can be…

1. mystique
2. prestige
3. power
4. alarm
5. trust
6. vice
7. lust

While the titles themselves are fascinating, the video descriptions may intrigue you even more.

So take a few minutes

Clear your mind

And take the fascination test.

When you are done, please leave a comment with your results…

BTW… my top fascination is prestige

Question: What makes you fascinating?

Update: Listen to Sally as she finds out what fascinates Chris Brogan.

Really want to be fascinated… get the book!

But here is the rub, if you can’t see them on a regular basis you’ll soon forget them. The key is to put your written goals in a visible place where you will see them during your day. I have two ways that you can do this.

1. Written Goal Cards: The first is to download our Goal Setting Toolkit and print out the template on business card stock. You take the resulting cards and write down your goals. Once you have them on the cards, you can place the cards in easy view at your desk, in the car and anywhere you’ll see them during your day (on the refrigerator door works well for diet goals ).

Here is an example card for long term goals…

Here is a daily card that you can carry with you…

As you can see, their handy size will let you put them almost anywhere.

2. Goal Word Cards: While specific goal cards are great, you may not want the whole world knowing that you are hankering for the CEO position in 10 years. Chris Brogan, the social media guy, has a great solution. He usually sets three primary goals each year, and gives each goal a one word title. The word instantly brings up the goal in his mind, but the word only means something to him. His words for 2010 are ecosystems, owners, and kings.

I personally like this system as a word is much easier to remember than a detailed goal statement. This is where our motivator cards come in. The default template has motivational words on it that you can print out and keep in sight. All you need to do is take your goal words for the year and replace the words on these cards in MS Word.

Here is the cool part, you can take your three words and make a goal tower right at your desktop, with a clothespin, two micro clips and a pencil. All items that you probably have handy.

Once you have this setup you’ll see your words all day. Your co-workers may ask about them and you have the choice of telling them the whole story.. or not.

And there is one last caveat, the motivator cards have a remember me card that will remind you to bring home the milk. This is one goal that will get you brownie points in a hurry!!

Here are five simple action steps that you can take today to make your dreams come true. Goal setting should be fun, so find a comfortable quiet place and spend a few minutes and do at least one right now.

1. Set Time Aside: The first step in setting a goal is to design in some time in your coming year when you can actually take action to complete your goal. I suggest you find a block of time during your usual workday that you can set aside for just this purpose.

If you are a morning person, find time early in the day. If you like to stay up late at night, carve out some time in your evening. Aim for an hour of uninterrupted time. This may mean giving up some TV or getting up an hour early, but if you really want to be successful, time is a must. Do not go to step two until you have determined a time block you are willing to set aside.

2. Paint the Big Picture: Visualize in your mind completing your goal. Picture the book you are publishing or the marathon you are running in. See yourself on the scale twenty pounds lighter. Whatever your goal is you need to experience it with all five senses in your mind. You want to hear the roar of the crowd, taste the wine, feel the rush of excitement, smell the fresh air flowing in your face, all the while seeing the finish line coming at you.

It’s helpful to have printed pictures of others who have gone before you and been successful. If a marathon is your goal, cut or print out pictures of others crossing the finish line, if a book is your goal, create a mockup with your title, for weight loss, find pictures of actual people who have had success. Once you vividly experience yourself achieving the goal in your mind, you can move on to the next step.

3. Choose the Words and Write Them Down: Popular social-media expert, Chris Brogan, has a great technique for goal setting that is real helpful. He chooses one word that describes each goal. The word needs to be big enough to encompass the entire process, not just the action. I think this is a great way to keep your goals fresh in your mind.

Just take the vivid picture that you painted in step two and set aside a word or word combination that has meaning to you. Then take a card or sheet of paper and write it down in bold letters. You may have to do a little experimenting to find a word that is all encompassing. For example, “Run” might be a word that works for a marathon, but “Finish-Line” is stronger and more encompassing. The word “Chapter” might work for writing a book, but “Blockbuster” would be more motivating.

Underneath your main word you can write down two or three action words that describe the steps to complete your goal. But the main thing is to come up with ONE word that works for you and WRITE IT DOWN. The act of writing it down will cement it in your mind and you’ll have a quick point of reference. Don’t go on to the next step until you have your word where you can see it in bold letters, written down on a card or sheet of paper.

4. Give Yourself a Deadline: Goals without deadlines are just dreams. The secret to successfully achieving your goals is to set deadlines and milestones, but allowing yourself to be flexible enough that the unavoidable time conflict doesn’t ruin your effort.

Some goals naturally come with a deadline, such as a marathon. You sign up for a marathon and it is run on a certain day. End of story. Writing a book is a different event altogether. With creative endeavors you may not have a true idea how long something will take.

This is the power of setting time blocks. Your “goal” is to write for a certain time period a day. As you progress, it will become apparent for example that you are completing a chapter a week. This will give you an idea of the completion date. You need to be very diligent about your time block, but flexible on the end date.

Here is a common New Year goal that many people will have trouble with…

I want to read through the bible in a year.

The accompanying literature has the daily chapters that you need to read every day to accomplish the goal. The problem here is the end date is fixed and you have no buffer days. If you miss a day of reading you have to read twice as long the next day to catch up. Instead of 15 minutes you now have to spend 30. If you miss three days it’s 45 minutes etc.

The one thing I can guarantee is that there will be days during the year that you will be sick, or some type of emergency will come up. Goals like this are so inflexible that people soon have to miss a few days and then give up because they do not have the larger time block to catch up.

Setting a goal that has a time block will be much more successful.

I will set aside 15 minutes a day to read my bible during the next year.

In this case if you miss a few days, you can just start back up and continue from where you left off.

Common deadline time periods that work well are one year, twelve weeks, and weekly. A common technique is to schedule an end date earlier than the true end date. For example, if I am doing a presentation on the 10th, I’ll set my deadline a week earlier on the 3rd. If something comes up I have a 7 day buffer. This reduces stress and allows for the inevitable conflict or delay.

On your goal card, write down a realistic deadline for your goal underneath the word(s) that you chose above. Allow buffer time. Underneath the deadline, write down the time block you will use to accomplish this.

5. Bring In a Mentor: The real success I’ve found in goal setting is to develop a mentor. Someone who has accomplished the goal you are striving for. They have been there and done that.

While it is best that this is a real person, it can also be a book or program. For example, let’s say you want to lose 20 pounds. You can join a gym and hire a personal trainer. While this may be somewhat expensive, your chance of success has really increased because you have someone training you and holding you accountable.

You can do a similar thing by buying the book, Body for Life, and following the 12 week program. You can sign up online and connect with others in the same program to hold you accountable.

If you are writing a book, a personal editor will be very helpful, but for less money you can join a writers group, where everyone critiques each others work.

To complete your card, write down the name of a mentor that can help you achieve your goal underneath the time block you wrote above. Someone that is willing to hold you accountable. If it is a program or organization, write that name down.

Finishing Up: Now you should have a goal card with a meaningful word at the top, a realistic deadline underneath, the time block you will use to achieve it, and a mentor to hold you accountable.

Put this card where you can see it. You now have completed one written goal for the new year. Be sure to touch base with your mentor and keep the word picture in your mind.

Realistically you can have up to three of these cards at one time. Just be sure that the time blocks are doable and do not overlap.

Insuring Success: To help you with your goal, try using the Power of 48 Minutes technique. This is a simple single tasking exercise.

Here is how you do it…

Set a timer for 48 minutes. Close out all distractions (e-mail, web etc) and work continuously for 48 minutes. When the timer goes off, get up and stretch, get coffee, use the restroom etc, in the following 12 minutes. Repeat as necessary.

We also have the following downloadable tools that may help…

Goal Setting Toolkit

Five Minute Diet Planner

Daily Goal Sheet

Good luck with your goal setting activities!

I can only imagine how many great works of art, best selling novels, and immensely successful websites that won’t be created because of fear.

Yet there is one simple way to overcome this fear. There is one simple way to write your book, create your website, or start your business.

Just get started…

It may sound crazy, but that is really the secret to success. Will you fail along the way… of course you will. Will people tell you you can’t possibly do it… they most certainly will. In fact some people will give you multiple reasons why anything you try will fail.

But just get started…

Don’t you need a complete business plan, fully stocked inventory, and multiple helpers to get started? No. In fact if you do have those things you may not get started at all…

The secret is just taking that first scary step.

Just pick up that pen, or guitar, or hammer and nail and go.

It won’t be pretty… but you will have done something that thousands of other people have been to afraid to do…

Get started.

*******************

Here is some inspiration from someone who did just that.

I work in a K-12 educational environment in Southern California. The state budget crunch has made things difficult for many people in education. Programs are slashed and continuing education programs have mostly been eliminated. It’s easy to hunker down and put dreams and aspirations on hold.

Yet in reality, this may actually be the best time to improve your skills, revise your resume, and set a path to the future. After all, if your competition for that job promotion or business start is now in a holding pattern, it opens many doors of opportunity for those with a positive vision.

As an inspiration, I would like to tell you a story of two people who have made it through a track full of hurdles and finished strong. Their stories have helped me see that problems are just opportunities in disguise.

********************

The first person is my long time friend and mentor, Jeanne Nelson. Jeanne has worked as our library and media coordinator in our school district for many years. Providing text books to over 22,000 kids a year and opening and maintaining numerous school libraries, Jeanne always finds herself in a whirlwind of projects.

The letters and numbers on her computer keyboard are worn off from frequent use, and her constantly ringing phone are a reminder of her overwhelming workload. Yet over the last three years, Jeanne has done something incredible. She pursued her doctorate in education and through thick and thin made it through with a dissertation on the viability of technology in education.

This spring she made it successfully through the program, defended her dissertation, and received her diploma and is now known to us all as Doctor Nelson. In the last three years, Jeanne gave up many of her weekends and spent a lot of time and money on research and project materials.

Through it all, there was one thing that I noticed and many other people commented on. Through thick or thin, Jeanne was determined to complete the program. There was no doubt in any of our minds that she would do it.

It was this determination that saw her through. And it was her determination that makes her such a role model for others. Even in the midst of opening a new High School and Middle School, Jeanne never gave up!

Determination will see you through!

**********************

My other role model for success is someone that I met a few years back through Toastmasters International. The gentleman’s name is Dilip Abayasekara, and his dream was to go the full distance in this incredible organization. Dilip is such an inspiration to many of us in Toastmasters. He completed the entire speaking and leadership program and went on to become the International President.

Along the way Dilip helped many people, including myself, to see that big dreams can come true. Like Jeanne above, Dilip pursued his education and received his doctorate. He is also the author of a popular book, entitled The Path of the Genie.

Dr. Dilip showed me that setting goals, working hard, and having an undying determination to see a project through can take you to places that you never imagined.

He showed me how to finish strong!

With the inspiration and guidance of Dr. Dilip and many people in my local Toastmasters club, I was able to make it through the complete Toastmasters Leadership and Communication program back in 2005 and received the Distinguished Toastmasters designation. When I started in my local club in 1999, I would never have imagined that it would be possible.

********************

We all need role models and Dr. Jeanne and Dr. Dilip are two of the best. With determination, hard work, and a focused vision you can go incredible places. Just be sure to develop great mentors like Jeanne and Dilip!