“Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans” John Lennon
A couple of years ago I set up my company, Extraordinary You and began this website. At the time, I set out to produce an Extraordinary A to Z, having set myself a challenge to produce a weekly blog. The idea was that, beginning with A and working all the way through to Z, each week I would choose one word beginning with the chosen letter and that would form the theme of that week’s blog.
This turned out to be a very interesting activity. Choosing a single word for each letter of the alphabet was not as easy as it first appeared. For example, there are so many really good “A” words to choose from, like “attitude”, “accept” and even “awesome” and any of those could provide the basis for a good article. I mean we all have to accept how awesome life can be when we have the right attitude 😉
So, what happened? Well, life intervened! My working pattern and location changed and other business interests took priority. While I continued to do some coaching activity and to increase my reading and learning in the coaching arena, my other commitments pushed the blog activity down the pecking order and it fizzled out after a few weeks. I have always felt that as a disappointment and finally now have decided that the time has come to address it.
To do that I have set myself a new challenge and am declaring it here:
- MY PERSONAL CHALLENGE 1: I will produce and complete my Extraordinary A to Z by publishing an alphabet-based weekly blog for the next 26 weeks. I will be using the themes, tools and techniques outlined in the blog to keep me focussed on delivering against this challenge.
So that’s personal challenge number 1 and, to be honest it’s the easy one.
My second challenge is also a reflection of how easy it can be to lose sight of goals and drift away from the path of good habits. I have been overweight for some time and while I have managed to lose weight, I always seem to re-gain it just as quickly. My work in coaching has shown me how, by using the techniques we’ll discuss in the blog, I can be more focussed, dedicated and committed to achieving my desired weight loss goals and achieve a more healthy regime.
I have recently managed to lose one stone and I am now publicly declaring my goal for 2019 in my second challenge:
- MY PERSONAL CHALLENGE 2: I will lose a further four stone in weight (or more*) by end of 2019 and will maintain my target weight and healthy lifestyle.
I believe that if you share a goal you are more likely to achieve it and that people will want to see you succeed and will help where they can so I am sharing my challenge here and will be providing weekly updates on my progress in the blog.
Each week I will also provide some advice for recommended reading (book, article, podcast etc.) to inform, inspire and challenge and an audio/video recommendation (song, poem, movie, play, podcast etc.) for your delectation and delight!
Please feel free to join in the discussion by commenting on the blog posts or contacting me on email or twitter and share your encouragement, stories, challenges and successes.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Mike
mike@extraordinaryyou.co.uk
* tip of the hat to W Clement Stone who always encouraged people when stating a goal or a target to avoid putting limits on what they can achieve – always add “or more”, “or bigger”, “or better” and you can go beyond your dreams.
Tablets of Stone by Michael Finnigan
Recommended Reading
This week’s recommended reading is the aforementioned “Tablets of Stone – The ‘People Genius’ and possibly the greatest leader of all…” by Michael Finnigan If you don’t know about W Clement Stone, his is a truly inspirational story. Among his many achievements in a long and successful life, he was co-author with Napoleon Hill of “Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude” and his beliefs and the way he led his life and inspired others really come to life in Michael’s book.
Recommended Audio/Video Media
This week I’m recommending one of my favourite movies “North by Northwest” directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring the ever cool Cary Grant and the ice cold Eva Marie Saint. A plot that blossoms from the tiny seed of a coincidence and a misunderstanding and develops into a story of intrigue and espionage.