God's Way Works

Ladies and Gentleman,

I am proud to announce that despite several obstacles that have put us off schedule several times over the past few months, I finally got to did and “Getting to Did” is available for sale. Check it out and purchase your copy today.

This book is a bit different from my norm. It is my first secular, self-help book. If your world seems to be crumbling, learn along with Sam how to put it back together. If you know someone who is about to start their trek in the “real world,” this will make a great gift.

Just click the book and be transported to the webstore to buy this great guide for getting things done.

Feel free to review the book for free. I’ve blogged this book for you for free. Check it out here. If it helps you, buy the hard copy to keep with you, mark up, and re-read again and again.

Have a great day!

Edwin

(If you have stumbled across this post, you have found the final installment of my upcoming book “Getting to Did: How To Lose Your Big But and Live a Life Without Regret.” In the previous installment, Sam had his very first YES MEN Council Meeting. If you need to catch up on the whole book, you can start with “Sam’s Crumbling World” which has an index of all the posts or you can follow the successive links.)

Sam’s Rebuilt World

Sam continued with his plans. He turned his COULDAS into CANS, his SHOULDAS into SHALLS and his WOULDAS into WILLS. He got rid of his big BUT. He was consistently able to GET TO DID.

Don’t misunderstand. His life was no bowl of cherries. He had struggles. He had ups and downs. Some days, weeks and years were worse than others. He had times when he considered throwing in the towel. His YES MEN council helped him through those days.

In time, his business expanded. He employed others and eventually trained managers to start extensions of his company in neighboring cities. He began to write do-it-yourself manuals that he sold online providing residual income beyond his own personal landscaping work.

Sam began to teach these principles to his family, friends and employees. He was convinced that the more people he could help GET TO DID, the better his community would be. Sam found himself a part of several YES MEN councils. One of his greatest pleasures was seeing someone else GET TO DID.

He continued to celebrate his successes with his council. He even became a trusted advisor for each of these people who had been a help to him.

To each person he taught, he explained that the specifics in their life would differ. They SHOULD follow their own life’s course. But the principles would be the same, whether they started a business, found a job or just needed help with a particular project.

Sam’s biggest desire today is propagating the GETTING TO DID message as far and wide as possible. He is asking you to help. Don’t hoard this message. GO BEYOND YOURSELF and share it with others.

This is the end of Sam’s story.

Hopefully, it is the beginning of yours.

(Thanks for going on this journey with me. I hope you have enjoyed Sam’s story. I hope you have been helped. Please, pass the message on to others. Invite them to this blog. Better yet, let them know about the book. It will be published and for sale in October 2009.)

(If you have stumbled across this post, you have found me blogging my upcoming book “Getting to Did: How To Lose Your Big But and Live a Life Without Regret.” In the last installment, Sam learned about YES MEN. If you need to catch up on the whole book, you can start with “Sam’s Crumbling World” which has an index of all the posts or you can follow the successive links.)

Wrapping Up with the Coach

As Sam looked up from the paper, the COACH asked, “What do you think, Sam?”

“This is great,” replied Sam excitedly, “I’m on fire. I CAN Make the PLAY right now on sheer PASSION alone. You, however, have helped me realize it won’t always be like this. I have to be prepared for those moments when I don’t feel like Making the PLAY. I need to LOOK TO THE FUTURE, thinking in the big picture to stay motivated even when I’m not on fire about what I am doing at the moment. I must ACCEPT NO EXCUSES but face up to my responsibilities and push on to success. Finally, I need to get a council of YES MEN who’ll push me where and when I need to be pushed.”

“You’ve got it. Any questions?”

“Yeah, WILL you be one of my YES MEN?”

The COACH grabbed Sam’s hand and shook it, saying, “I thought you’d never ask. How about we go grab a bite of lunch and have our first YES MEN council meeting?”

“Sounds great,” Sam said. As he walked to the COACH’S car, he looked again at the card the COACH had given him.

*****

Sam was so excited as he shared what he learned with Susan she could not make even one objection to what he had to say. To Sam’s pleasant surprise, when he finished his ecstatic description, she said, “I WILL be happy to let you follow whatever course you think you SHOULD on two conditions.”

“Really? What are they?” Sam asked.

“First, let me be one of your YES MEN and keep me informed about what’s going on. Second, let me live by the same principles.”

“That’s awesome, as long as you promise to really be a YES MAN or perhaps I should say, YES WOMAN. I don’t mind if you keep me in reality, but will you be willing to dream with me and make those dreams realities?”

“I’ll put it this way,” Susan responded thoughtfully, “I don’t think I am as far down this GETTING TO DID path as you. But I promise to keep walking it with you.”

Sam jumped up and kissed his wife. It had been a while since they shared a kiss quite like that one.

(Come back next week to see Sam set up his Getting to Did Council and moves on with success in his life.)

(If you have stumbled across this post, you have found me blogging my upcoming book “Getting to Did: How To Lose Your Big But and Live a Life Without Regret.” In the last installment, Sam learned about Accepting No Excuses. If you need to catch up on the whole book, you can start with “Sam’s Crumbling World” which has an index of all the posts or you can follow the successive links.)

YES MEN

After reading the questions on the paper, he asked, “Okay, I get the PASSION, LOOKING TO THE FUTURE, and ACCEPTING NO EXCUSES. But what is up with this YES MEN thing? I’ve always hated that.”

The COACH responded, “Yeah, Dave told me you were already upset about that one. The normal connotation of YES MEN is dreadful. We don’t want people who just always say, ‘Yes,’ even when they disagree in order to get on our good side. That, however, is not what I mean by YES MEN. We want people who will challenge our thinking and expand our vision.

“These YES MEN are people with whom you surround yourself to encourage you and hold you accountable. They are the people who tell you, ‘YES, you CAN,’ when you are thinking, ‘No, I can’t.’ They tell you, ‘YES, you SHALL,’ when you are thinking, ‘No, I shall not.’ They tell you, ‘YES, you WILL,’ when you are thinking, ‘No, I won’t.’

“Your YES MEN are your accountability partners. Dave and I get together regularly along with the TRAINER and the PROFESSOR to act as each other’s YES MEN. Further, we get together with many of the other people we have helped along the way.

“I hope you don’t think it’ll be a cake walk from this point on. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve had this conversation with who end up settling for mediocrity in their lives. They don’t step up to the plate. When you talk to them today, they’ve just grown their big ol’ BUTS back again. Without fail, each one started back into their old habits of COULDA, SHOULDA and WOULDA by neglecting their relationship with their YES MEN.

“As you pick out your YES MEN, don’t pick out the ones we often think of as YES MEN, the ones afraid to state their convictions and disagree when it’s necessary. They won’t help you. Pick the ones who’ll push you. Pick the ones who’ll force you to get up when you have fallen. Pick the ones who’ll question you and make you clarify your vision and your course of action. Pick the ones who’ll ACCEPT NO EXCUSES. But make sure to pick out YES MEN who are willing to say ‘YES, you CAN,’ even when no one else has before.

“When you have established your council of YES MEN, be completely open and honest with them. Let them know your plans, dreams and visions. Let them know the obstacles you see and the struggles you face. Let them know your fears. Then listen respectfully to their advice. Remember, it’s just that, advice. You SHOULD still be you and you must make your final choices. Good YES MEN will ACCEPT NO EXCUSES from you, not even, ‘I did what you YES MEN said I SHOULD.’

“Here are the benefits of YES MEN. First, two heads are better than one. Even with all of your INSIGHT into your work and life, it’s still hard to read the label when you’re inside the bottle. It’s always good to get advice and counsel from others with differing perspectives.

“Second, you’ll be surprised how often your network of YES MEN can actually help you with your projects in practical ways by connecting you with others or with needed resources. For instance, when I first started working with this high school, you may remember the team had maintained a losing record for several years. The school board had cut the budget. We were in desperate need of new equipment and didn’t have the funds.”

“Oh yeah, I remember that,” Sam said. “I remember little Sam complaining about some of the outdated and dilapidated equipment. One of the local sporting goods stores stepped in and made some donations didn’t it?”

“That’s right. What you don’t know is those donations came because I laid out my troubles to my YES MEN council. The TRAINER had a connection with the upper crust at that store. Dave had an accountant friend who explained the tax advantages of making such a donation. Voilà, our equipment issues were resolved.

“The third benefit from YES MEN is they help pick you up when you fall down. Before I moved here, I had an experience so devastating I was ready to throw in the towel. I had made a few mistakes in my first head coaching job. Instead of letting me learn from them and grow, one of my assistant coaches, a man I thought was a friend, went behind my back to get me ousted so he could have the job. It was my introduction to another aspect I hate about this job—school politics. I was down and the ref had counted to 9. That was when Dave really came into my life. He had been my landlord for a few years. One day he was just checking out his property and struck up a conversation with me. I guess I needed someone to talk to because I just opened up to him like he was my best friend. He taught me about GETTING TO DID and ever since he has acted as my YES MAN, picked me up and helped me move on. I’m just going to tell you, you can’t replace that or manufacture it on your own.

“Fourth, maybe I think this because I’m such a people person, but life is just more fun when you’re sharing it with others. Your council of YES MEN gives you people to laugh and cry with. It gives you people to support and people who support you. It gives you people who will pat you on your back when you do well and kick you in the backside when you slack off. It just makes life more interesting and more fun.

“Finally, when it’s time to do battle and go toe to toe with the ones who’ll try to knock you down and keep you from reaching your goals, your YES MEN provide you with support and strength you WILL never have alone.

“My game is a game of YES MEN. I have yet to see the one man football team. No PLAY in my game is ever made by a single player. I never let my team forget that. We have to support each other, defend each other and bust heads for each other. In the end, I’m convinced there’ve been some games we won simply because we ‘YES we CANned’ each other through it.

“Here’s your final exercise. It’s pretty simple.”

(Come back next Thursday as the Coach wraps up with Sam.)

(If you have stumbled across this post, you have found me blogging my upcoming book “Getting to Did: How To Lose Your Big But and Live a Life Without Regret.” In the last installment, Sam learned about Looking to the Future. If you need to catch up on the whole book, you can start with “Sam’s Crumbling World” which has an index of all the posts or you can follow the successive links.)

Accept No Excuses

“Alright we have talked about PASSION and LOOKING TO THE FUTURE. Now you must learn to ACCEPT NO EXCUSES,” the COACH began again. “Even the best laid plans get old from time to time and you just don’t want to follow through. This is an agreement issue. You have agreed to and committed yourself to a course of action. You must ACCEPT NO EXCUSES until you have followed through. We have to realize just about everything we do is a choice. You did not have to come here today; you chose to. You did not have to work your job for all those years; you chose to. You do not have to do anything about your situation right now; you are choosing to. EXCUSES are nothing more than blaming something or someone for our carelessness or wrong choices.

“Think of a few excuses you’ve made when you didn’t pull through like you were supposed to. Have you ever excused yourself for not coming through on a project by saying, ‘I’m sorry, I just didn’t have enough time’? What would you have said if the person questioning you had asked, ‘What did you spend your time doing instead of working on this project? Did you keep up with your favorite television show?’ Or have you ever fallen short and responded, ‘I’m sorry, I just forgot’? Why didn’t you act on it immediately or write it down? Do not tolerate EXCUSES from yourself. Listen, I’m not saying be a tyrant to everyone else. I’m telling you to hold yourself to higher standards and ACCEPT NO EXCUSES.”

Sam jumped in, “But aren’t there times when you really have a good EXCUSE?”

“No, there are never good EXCUSES. There are, at times, good REASONS. There is a difference. In a game, if one of my receivers gets the ball in his hands and drops it, he will be running laps. I ACCEPT NO EXCUSES for that. I don’t want to hear how wet the ball was or how he was distracted or how he forgot what pattern he was running. Those are all EXCUSES. I want to hear he caught the ball. On the other hand, if the quarterback throws it wild or if the defense just makes a good play, I don’t hold that over my receivers’ heads. Those are REASONS. Sometimes my team just gets outplayed on the field. If the other team’s defense was just making all the right moves and their offense was working tight, I can handle getting beat. That is a REASON for losing. On the other hand, if my guys were sloppy and not putting forth their best effort out there on the field, everything they will say in the locker room afterwards is just an EXCUSE. I don’t tolerate that sort of behavior from my football team or myself.

“There is another aspect of ACCEPT NO EXCUSES. No matter how much you plan, prepare and protect yourself, there are going to be some failures. I’m sure one of the others already told you this, however, the only people who never fail are the ones who don’t try anything. ACCEPT NO EXCUSES means when you fail you don’t duck out on your responsibilities. You don’t make up lame excuses to explain away your failure. Take a good long hard look at what you did and what obstacles you faced. Then find the REASONS you failed and try again, working to overcome those REASONS.  Use your failures as a springboard for future successes.

“At the same time, don’t think that ACCEPT NO EXCUSES means you have to beat yourself up every time you make a mistake. I remember one time when I learned I was doing this to myself. I missed a turn and the first thing out of my mouth was, ‘You idiot!’ But it struck me. I wasn’t an idiot. I’m actually a pretty smart guy. I just had my mind on other things and missed my turn. I did what all humans do. I made a mistake. Here was the great thing. I learned that day to make a u-turn and learn from my mistake to do better the next time. I ACCEPTED NO EXCUSES. I didn’t try to blame anyone else or anything else. I owned my own mistake and learned from it to do better the next time.

“If you’re going to COACH for very long, you have to do this. When I lose a game, I don’t get to say, ‘That’s it, I’m never playing that team again.’ In fact, I may have to play them again this year. That means I get out the video and go over the game, play by play, looking for mistakes and weaknesses. At the same time, I look for what worked. In other words, I find the REASONS we lost in order to fix what is broken before we play that team again. I ACCEPT NO EXCUSES. I certainly discipline my team for sloppy play, but I don’t beat them up or call them names for making mistakes. I encourage us all to own our responsibilities, to learn from the mistakes and move on.

“I imagine you encountered the need for this philosophy time and again in the sales world.”

“You know it. If there was ever anything that clued me in to know someone wasn’t going to cut it as a salesman, it was how they handled rejection,” Sam explained. “Some viewed it as a springboard, a place to learn. Some took it personally, thinking it meant they were failures. I’ll tell you what though, my best salesmen did not just use their failures as learning experiences. They would even review their successes with their co-workers and supervisors, looking at what worked and what may have almost been a hindrance.”

“You’re two steps ahead of me, Sam. If you’re going to grow, don’t just look at your failures, examine your successes. Is there anything you can do to make it work more smoothly? Was there something different about this team or that customer that made this approach work when it didn’t or wouldn’t work another time? Either way, you’re always working to rule out EXCUSES. You can’t Make the PLAY if you are always making EXCUSES for why you’re not making it, won’t make it or didn’t make it.

“This really cuts to the heart of the COULDAS, SHOULDAS and WOULDAS and your big BUTS. When we find ourselves saying those, we are usually making EXCUSES.”

“Now you’re making me feel small. I don’t know how many EXCUSES I’ve accepted throughout my life. When you put it like this, it makes perfect sense. I’m going to work on that,” Sam said thoughtfully. “Where’s my homework on this one?”

(Make sure you come back next week when the COACH teaches Sam about Yes Men.)

(If you have stumbled across this post, you have found me blogging my upcoming book “Getting to Did: How To Lose Your Big But and Live a Life Without Regret.” In the last installment, Sam wrapped up with the TRAINER, learning to turn his COULDAS into CANS. If you need to catch up on the whole book, you can start with “Sam’s Crumbling World” and follow the successive links.)

Meet the PROFESSOR

Sam had little trouble getting up this time. He still wasn’t sure about all this GETTING TO DID business. However, he was intrigued enough by his meeting with the TRAINER that he really didn’t want to miss meeting the PROFESSOR.

At 5:44 he walked up Dave’s driveway, slid into the car and said, “Are we going to The Early Bird again?”

“Oh yeah,” Dave replied. “I don’t drink coffee anyplace else, especially if I’m paying.”

After a few moments, Dave continued, “So, did you learn anything from the TRAINER?”

“I don’t know,” Sam said after a brief hesitation. “The ANYTHINGG stuff was neat and I think it CAN work. BUT, like I told the TRAINER, everything is so iffy. Susan thinks I SHOULD get a job first and then talk with you more about this stuff. She’s afraid I’m going to follow some hare-brained scheme and try going into business for myself, BUT then I won’t have any benefits, no retirement package. You know the story.”

Dave smiled indulgently.

“I’m just not sure what I SHOULD do at this point. I mean, my dad always said I SHOULD think about my family first. Having a good, steady job seems to be what is best for them. I gotta tell you though,” Sam continued, this time with a slight gleam of excitement, “the idea of going out on my own really gets my blood pumping. Especially after getting slapped by my good, steady job. One thing is for certain, if I’m working for me, I’ll never get fired again.”

Dave laughed along with Sam at this as they pulled into the coffee shop parking lot. When they walked in, the aroma of espresso mingled with that of frying eggs and bacon; Sam began to lick his lips. Tammy said, “Hey Dave.” Melinda looked up and, seeing Sam, said, “Another panini?”

Sam looked around to make sure he didn’t see the TRAINER anywhere and said, “Bring it on.”

Sam and Dave walked to the same table in the back of the café. This time a sharply dressed woman, who looked as though she could have only just recently become a grandmother, greeted them with a smile and a handshake.

Dave said, “Sam, I would like you to meet my PROFESSOR. PROFESSOR, this is Sam.”

“Alright,” blurted Sam, “I imagine Dave wants to shoot the breeze for a few minutes and then leave me stranded here with you. He probably doesn’t want me asking a bunch of questions yet. But I have to know why you’re called the PROFESSOR. I mean, it sounds a little too ‘Gilligan’s Island’ for me.”

“I’m called the PROFESSOR,” she responded looking as though she didn’t quite appreciate Sam’s humor, “because that is what I am, or that is what I was. I am now the President of our nearby university. But I still teach. Would you prefer that I were the MOVIE STAR?”

Sam tried to smile but was slightly abashed, then both Dave and the PROFESSOR burst out laughing. Sam didn’t know quite what to make of this. Despite the humor, to Sam, the PROFESSOR at least looked the part. She was impeccably dressed. She sat up like she had a board up the back of her shirt. Every hair was in place. She looked like she had never dangled a participle a day in her life, whatever that means, Sam thought.

“Well,” said Dave, “that’s the first time anyone ever brought up ‘Gilligan’s Island.’ Maybe I should try to add a movie star into our retinue. I always liked Maryann better though. Either way, like Sam said, I am going to strand you two together. I’m taking a three-hour tour of a couple of my restaurants today, plus I’m checking out a possible buy on a small apartment complex. What do you think I SHOULD do about that, PROFESSOR?”

Before the PROFESSOR could respond with more than a reproving look, Dave said, “I’m only joking. You can talk to Sam about the SHOULDAS today. I’ll catch up with both of you later this week.”

Then draining his coffee and ordering a blueberry muffin to go, Dave walked out whistling.

“As soon as you’re done with your sandwich,” the PROFESSOR said, “we’ll head to the school. I’m keeping office hours today and prefer to be on campus.”

Sam finished up and once again asked for more coffee in a to-go cup. Melinda said, “Keep hanging out with Dave and his friends and you’ll be a regular too.”

“I certainly understand why Dave is,” Sam said. “Does he own this café?”

“Oh no,” Melinda replied, “I own this. Dave encouraged me with his GETTING TO DID business, but this puppy is all mine.”

Sam was impressed as he walked out sipping his delicious coffee. Maybe Dave and his friends could help. As he left, Tammy mumbled something to Melinda. “What was that?” Sam said expectantly.

“Oh nothing,” Tammy replied with a mischievous grin. “We’ll see you next week, if not sooner.”

The PROFESSOR chuckled as they walked out and got in her car.

 (Come back next week as the PROFESSOR begins to teach Sam about getting the world off his SHOULDer.)

(If you have stumbled across this post, you have found me blogging my upcoming book “Getting to Did: How To Lose Your Big But and Live a Life Without Regret.” In the last installment, the TRAINER taught Sam about the valuable point to NEVER QUIT. If you need to catch up on the whole book, you can start with “Sam’s Crumbling World” and follow the successive links.)

GROWTH

“GROWTH is just that. You have got to GROW. In a very real sense, there are things you CAN do that you can’t do today. However, if you NEVER QUIT while you gain INSIGHT, YOUR STRENGTHS will grow and you will do more than you ever thought possible.

“I train a lot of people in this gym. Many of them come in with a secret desire to be Arnold Schwarzenegger. Most of them CAN. It won‘t be today, tomorrow or even this year. However, if they keep up their NEXT STEP THINKING and NEVER QUIT they will get there. They have to be willing to GROW slowly, step by step. That GROWTH is not necessarily easy. It means pushing and challenging themselves with each workout. It means reaching a GOAL but not stopping. However, in time, everyone who works to GROW makes progress. Measure that progress and you will be pushed to GROW even more.

“Face it, Sam, you’re not going to be in Dave’s financial shoes by this time next year. However, if you’re willing to GROW, you’ll get there…eventually. Are you willing to GROW? Use this card to help.”

“GOALS is the final key. I know, you are thinking this could have been put under NEXT STEP THINKING and then I wouldn’t have misspelled my key word. However, this point is not about planning. It brings us full circle to ATTITUDE. Let’s face it. We all feel better when we have victories under our belt. If you want some really practical advice on moving from COULDA to CAN, set attainable intermediary GOALS. Then celebrate each one.

“I started my daughter running when she was eight. She hated it until we got into our first race. Some runners, who are much better than me, run in those races to win. I run for the experience. However, as you can imagine, there were not many kids in the 10 and under bracket for a 5k Turkey Trot. Winning that medal changed my daughter’s outlook on running completely. Today, she CAN run better than me. Why? Because she was rewarded for accomplishing a GOAL. Take this last card. It’s simple, but it’s necessary.”

(Come back next Thursday as the Sam wraps up with the TRAINER and gets ready to meet the PROFESSOR.)

(If you have stumbled across this post, you have found me blogging my upcoming book “Getting to Did: How To Lose Your Big But and Live a Life Without Regret.” In the last installment, the TRAINER taught Sam about the valuable points of HONESTY and INSIGHT. If you need to catch up on the whole book, you can start with “Sam’s Crumbling World” and follow the successive links.)

NEVER QUIT

“NEVER QUIT is important at this point because gaining INSIGHT through experience kills many attempts at getting to CAN. I’m sure Dave has mentioned he started his first restaurant at 25.”

“Yeah, he mentioned that,” Sam said, eager to hear a little more about Dave’s success.

“Has he told you he nearly went bankrupt in his first attempt?”

“What?!” Sam exclaimed, nearly falling over in the chair he had been leaning back on two legs.

“Oh yeah. He usually waits and lets me tell people about that. Dave knew he wanted to get into the restaurant business. When he was a kid, he had a good friend whose dad owned a restaurant. His friend’s dad always seemed to be having fun. That’s what Dave wanted. However, back then, Dave didn’t know anything about managing a restaurant, picking the right people to work in a restaurant or leading the people he had working for him. He made a series of bad choices that put him on the brink of bankruptcy.

“About ready to throw in the towel, he went to his friend’s dad and wanted to know what he was doing wrong. He was told, ‘You’re not learning from your mistakes. Hang in there. Pay attention to what is working and what is not. You’ll gain the INSIGHT you need to make it.’ Dave decided to stick with it. He was certain about success and he decided he was not going to quit, no matter what. In a couple of years, he was running one of the most successful independent restaurants in town.

“What would have happened if he quit while he was still gaining INSIGHT? Who knows? Hopefully he would be sitting where you are, learning from someone about how he should NEVER QUIT.

“I think you will like this card. There is not much work to it.”

(Come back next Thursday when the TRAINER teaches Sam about GROWTH and GOALS.)

Last week the TRAINER taught Sam about NEXT STEP THINKING. This week, Sam will learn about pursuing his own strengths and not someone else’s. If you need to catch up on the entire book, you can start by going back to Sam’s Crumbling World and following the links to catch up.

YOUR STRENGTHS

“YOUR STRENGTHS means you SHOULDN’T spend your time trying to be someone else. Of course, I have to be careful here. I don’t want to jump ahead and get into the PROFESSOR’S territory.”

“Who’s the PROFESSOR?” Sam interrupted.

“You’ll meet her later,” replied the TRAINER. “She’ll help you get from SHOULDA to SHALL. Right now, let’s suffice it to say you CAN only do what you CAN do. There is no need to try to do what someone else CAN do, even if that someone is your hero. In other words, just because you and I really like Dave, doesn’t mean we should start trying to run restaurants. Think about what you’re good at and realize the world needs people like you.

“My dad was good at fixing mechanical things. My brother inherited that strength and I didn’t. I never understood why on earth they liked working on heating and air conditioning units every day. I tried doing that sort of thing with them for a while, but it’s just not my cup of tea. We were all frustrated during that time. I now understand they like doing that because it’s their strength. It’s who they are. But it’s not who I am. Now, when my air conditioner breaks, my plumbing leaks or my lawnmower quits working, I call my brother.”

Sam started laughing, remembering his old job, “I know just what you’re talking about. It used to frustrate me so badly when my superiors wanted to promote someone for doing a good job and all they thought about was that people in my sales division made more money. They would promote someone who COULDN’T sell a coat to a naked Alaskan and wondered why sales went down.”

“That’s exactly the point,” the TRAINER said, happy that Sam was starting to see the benefit in all he was telling him.

He handed him the next card. Sam glanced at it quickly.

Come back next Thursday in which the TRAINER teaches Sam about TIME and how that will get his COULDAS to CANS.

Last Thursday, the TRAINER taught Sam about ATTITUDE. This week he takes Sam to the next step–NEXT STEP THINKING. If you want to start from the beginning of the story, start with SAM’S CRUMBLING WORLD and follow the links forward.

NEXT STEP THINKING

“NEXT STEP THINKING simply means you need to be thinking ahead. Too often, people fail because they never think past what they are doing right now. Perhaps I should have called this LAST STEP THINKING. But if you think it is funny saying you CAN do ANYTHINGG with two Gs, imagine what people would say if the card read, ‘You can’t do EVERYTHING. But you CAN do ALYTHINGG.’

“Anyway, you can only get from COULDA to CAN when you plan. Where do you want your plans to end up? What will it take each step of the way? Think about it this way, Sam. Not that I’m big into borrowing money, but let’s say you were thinking of starting a business and were heading to the bank for a small business loan. What would you need to give them?”

“A business plan, I guess.”

“That’s right. Why? Because the bank understands this one fact—you only CAN when you plan.

“This key is true whether you are talking about a project at work or home or about your life as a whole. I have to think like this in my work as a TRAINER. I have to ask people what they see as the end product. Are they here to be more healthy? Are they here to lose weight? Are they here to increase strength? Are they here to bulk up and look muscular? I have to plan their training around what they see as the end result. Then we have to establish a plan to get there.”

Sam interrupted, “I understand this. It’s just like the company I used to work for. Every year we had these planning meetings. The first step was to determine how the company should look at the end of 10 years. Then 5 years. Then we came down to this year. Where did the company need to be at the end of this year in order to be on our way to the 5 and 10 year plan? Then we broke it into the steps each department needed to take to get to this year’s goals.”

“That’s it exactly, Sam. I knew you already knew this stuff. You just have to apply it to your life as well as your company. Take a look at this card.”

Come back next Thursday when the TRAINER teaches Sam about YOUR STRENGTHS.