| Destination Success Newsletter - July 2004
Have you noticed that time seems to pass by faster and faster as you get older? I remember when I was young. We got out of school in late June and it seemed like forever before we returned to start the next year in September. Not so these days! The weeks and months are flying by.
One year ago, the idea of creating my own ProCoach Success System had not seriously occurred to me. Six months ago we did not have a business. No database of contacts, no computer network or office equipment, no website, no staff, no program materials, no members and no revenues. Four months ago ProCoach had never held a live seminar. Today, after our second series of live seminars, we feel like veterans. The ProCoach Success System has over 180 members, a solid infrastructure, a fabulous team of staff, and a program that is already proving itself to get better results than its predecessor. Best of all, we are having fun and will soon reach the point of becoming profitable.
I am continually amazed at how much momentum you can create by taking one small step at a time. Most people so underestimate the value of small steps. Whether it be a goal-setting book, an inspirational speaker, a coach or a friend, everyone asks you what your next giant step is. We end up believing that taking small steps is not important. This is completely untrue.
I am living proof of the benefit of the step-by-step approach. For years I kept taking the next step, never sure where it would lead me. I kept going anyway - attending seminars, hiring coaches and being disciplined in my work. In recent times my success has accelerated dramatically, however it is clear to me that if I had not build a strong foundation in the past I would never have been ready to handle the opportunities that have come my way. You can never know when things will come together for you. The only thing you have control over is whether or not you take the next step. No matter how frustrating or futile the journey may seem, you can reach the success you are seeking if you just keep working at it.
I encourage you, challenge you and support you to keep going. Use the ProCoach Success System as a tool to help you keep your focus and stay the course.
Andrew Barber-Starkey
Newsletter Contents
Success Tips
Long Term Vision and 3-Year Intentions workbooks
When you signed up for the ProCoach Success System, we gave you Long Term Vision and 3-Year Intentions workbooks. Filling out these workbooks is very useful because it increases your clarity about where you are going. However, it also takes several hours and I have talked to a number of members who are beating themselves up because they have not completed the exercise yet.
Listen closely. You do NOT need to complete these workbooks in order to benefit fully from the ProCoach Success System!
You have probably heard me say, "You do not need to know where you are going in order to get there." This is true because of the "Take the next step" principle mentioned at the start of this newsletter. Knowing where you are going does create a sense of relief and also can help you choose the most appropriate next step. But even if you do not know exactly where you are going, you intuitively know whether a particular step will advance you or not. So don't criticize yourself for not completing these workbooks. Focus your attention and energy on taking your next step. The time to complete the workbooks is when it feels right to you, not when you think you "should".
Using your Weekly Success Planner
There are many coaching and success programs on the market, but only one ProCoach Success System. One thing that makes our program more effective than other programs is the heavy emphasis we place on taking action. The Weekly Success Planner is the primary tool that keeps you focused on moving forward in a step-by-step manner. It plays the role of a coach, asking you hard questions that force you to get clear, make commitments and follow through with action.
Think about other people you know. Do they create a plan each week based on their long-term goals? Probably not. Think about yourself in the past. Did you start each week with a clear sense of your priorities and intentions for the week? Not likely. The Weekly Success Planner supports you to enter each week with a narrow focus and clear objectives. As one ProCoach member recently said to me: "I can't believe what a difference it makes to start each week with intentions instead of just doing whatever comes up."
More benefits to using the Weekly Success Planner
1) It keeps you moving forward on multiple fronts that are important to you, not just those that are urgent.
2) It helps you stay on track by giving you a written plan to follow for the week.
3) The intentions you write each week create a tension that increases the odds that you will take action and holds you accountable to do what you said you would.
4) Completing items in your Planner energizes you and provides a sense of achievement.
5) The Week In Review section builds your confidence by forcing you to identify and acknowledge your successes each week.
6) You get an opportunity to start fresh each week. Regardless of what happened the previous week, completing your Weekly Success Planner allows you to turn the page and focus on the week ahead.
Tips for using the Weekly Success Planner:
1) Complete your Weekly Success Planner every week. If life gets busy and you don't find time to complete it early in the week, that is okay. Do it later in the week when you get a chance. If you do your Planner mid-week, keep in mind that you have less time to work on your intentions so you need to make them smaller and more achievable.
2) When filling out your Planner, I recommend that you always identify three items in the Top 3 Priorities section. Beyond that there is no need to fill in all the other boxes on the page every week. I often put just one or two items in the "Actions towards Quarterly Intentions" box and on busy weeks I sometimes leave this box completely blank. Other areas I occasionally leave blank are the "Success Factor" and "Cleanups & Completions" boxes. If I am not going to have time to complete these things, what is the point of writing them down?
3) When setting your "Cleanups & Completions" actions for the week, keep in mind that they do not need to be related to the "Cleanups & Completion" intentions you set in your Quarterly Intentions Folder. Any act of cleanup or completion is valid as long as it addresses something that is sucking your energy.
4) Remember that your "Celebrate Yourself" action is not a reward. You do not have to earn the right to do this - you are entitled to it simply because you are you!
5) I'm sure you know my philosophy that success breeds success while setting an intention and failing to achieve it pours water on the fire of your success. Keep this in mind as you choose your weekly intentions. Set intentions that are absolutely achievable. It does not matter how small they are. What matters is that you do not write intentions and then fail to achieve them.
6) Some members put brackets around intentions they would like to complete but are not committed to completing. This can be useful as it keeps these items front of mind while reducing the self-criticism that occurs if you do not follow through. However, do not fall into the trap of re-writing the same uncompleted intention over and over again. If you fail to complete something two weeks in a row - whether in brackets or not - you must make your intention either different or smaller.
7) Be sure to write your intentions such that an outside third party could tell whether or not you have achieved them. Intentions like "eat less sugar" or "clean up my office" are vague and your ego mind is unlikely to allow you to experience a win. Setting intentions that are specific and measurable makes it easier for you to win.
8) Make a clear distinction between "Results Intentions" (the goal or end result you want to achieve) and "Action Intentions" (steps you can take that will advance you towards your desired result.) When planning your week it is often more effective to set action-based intentions.
9) When I have a large project to be completed, I find it helpful to commit to small pieces on a weekly basis. For example, I may set an intention to complete a certain, clearly definable part of the project. Or, I may commit to spend a certain amount of time working on it. That way I can keep the project moving forward and experience a series of successes as I go.
10) Having a call each week with your Success Partner is an excellent way to ensure you fill out your Weekly Success Planner. If your Success Partner comes to your call without filling out their Planner, challenge them to complete it while you are on the phone or immediately after.
11) One of the best ways I have found to complete my intentions each week is to get started right away. I often write items in my Planner and then complete them immediately. When I look back at my plan later in the week, I see that I have already done some things and that inspires me to keep going. (This strategy also works with Quarterly Intentions. Try completing one of your Quarterly Intentions the first week of the quarter. You will be amazed at how it energizes you!)
12) Speaking of looking back during the week, I recommend that you keep your Planner close at hand and look at it several times throughout the week. That increases the likelihood that you will complete all the items on your page and thereby get a taste of success.
If you have not been using the Weekly Success Planner, I strongly encourage you to make an effort to do so. And, if you have been using it haphazardly - either on a hit and miss basis, or ignoring your intentions for the week after setting them - I encourage you to tighten up the way you use this powerful tool. Spend 15 minutes a week on this and the payoff you get will be amazing!
Housekeeping Items
ProCoach office closed July 23 to August 3
The ProCoach office will be closed from 5:00 p.m. Friday July 23 until 9:00 a.m. Tuesday August 3 for a well-deserved week of staff holidays. Please keep these dates in mind if you need to contact our office.
Laser Coaching
There are still many ProCoach members who have not had their first Laser Coaching session yet. There is no need to wait until you have a "significant" issue before you book a session! You are only guaranteed one Laser Coaching session per calendar quarter, but you can get as many as one per month if you use the system to your advantage. (Read the Laser Coaching instructions on the website for details.) This kind of private coaching from a Master Certified Coach is worth hundreds of dollars a month. We recommend that you take full advantage of it!
Recordings of July Quarterly Seminar
The recordings of the July Quarterly Seminar have now been edited. There are two ways you can listen to them. One is to go on-line to www.procoachsystem.com, enter your password and then go to the Coaching/Live Seminars tab. From there the recordings are available for you to listen to in streaming audio or download to burn your own CDs. The other way to listen is to have ProCoach mail you copies of the recordings. You must let us know if you want them, and specify whether you prefer CD or tape format. In order to receive copies you must place your order with us before Wednesday, July 28.
Recordings of Success Factor and Success Booster Teleclasses
Recordings of the recent Success Factor and Success Booster Teleclasses are now available. You can listen to them by telephone or on-line. To get the telephone access code or connect on-line go to www.procoachsystem.com, enter your password and then go to the Coaching/Teleclasses tab.
Success Partner match-ups
If you want us to match you with a Success Partner for the coming quarter, you must reply to the email request we sent immediately. We will do our best to match you with a compatible partner who lives as close to you geographically as possible.
Member Success Stories
Our focus this month is on Anita Johnson, one of our Seattle members. Anita originally joined SuccessTracs one year ago. Although she had excellent skills as a computer program designer, she was not working at the time because of health concerns. She knew she needed to take action on her health, but was having a hard time getting started. She felt lethargic and was in considerable pain. And, like many of our members, she was being extremely hard on herself because of her lack of results.
When Anita started using the system she chose health as her primary area of focus. Things began to change immediately. First she hired a fitness trainer. She started working out and following a healthy food plan. As her energy increased she began doing kick boxing several times a week, which increased the upward spiral of her health. Her strength and muscle mass increased, and her back problems vanished. Each quarter, with the help of her trainer, she set new and higher Quarterly Intentions. In all Anita lost over 25 lb. Her energy rebounded and by the end of last year she was ready to start working again. She started with some freelance computer consulting projects. That led to a contract this spring with Microsoft designing the "UI" (User Interface) for a new program. The work was a perfect fit for her Natural Gifts, and her contract has been extended several times. In less than a year Anita's health and her career had done a 180 degree turnaround!
When the original SuccessTracs Program ended, Anita found her momentum and commitment diminishing. She joined the ProCoach Success System with a goal of taking her success to a whole next level. A powerful Laser Coaching session with Andrew and a new set of Quarterly Intentions helped Anita regain her focus immediately. She is now clear about where she is going and has more than regained the momentum she lost earlier this year. She has renewed her commitment to her health and is confident about the future of her career.
When asked about the key to her success in the past year, Anita says it was the fact that Andrew's philosophy of success gave her permission to take small steps. "I just love the way the system keeps me focussed on taking one step at a time," she says. "The analogy Andrew uses about building a fire makes so much sense to me. Having a Success Partner was also invaluable because it caused me to complete my Weekly Planner each week."
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