See you at the finish line!
Q-I is almost gone. How are you doing on your 2023 growth and fitness goals? A few of us needed a little motivation to accelerate our efforts, so we started a March Miles Challenge. March is about the time when people start to fall off their rhythm and begin to put things off until tomorrow. So, if you’re looking for some motivation to super charge your fitness… friend Shelly Johnson on the MapMyRun app and join the March Mindfulness Steps Challenge. (Yes, it was named wrong and now we can’t change it 😂 but that’s ok what’s in the name anyway).
This Challenge is all about getting in the reps and the miles. Challenge yourself to do at least 15 runs regardless of the mileage or the pace before the end of the month. If you are already in a rhythm, then bump things up a little and set a lofty mileage goal. Can you make 100 miles? If you’re lacking motivation… just start going through the motions and get out there! You will be surprised how quickly action turns into motivation!! YOU CAN DO THIS!! See you at the finish line!!
Notes that Resonated
Are you challenging your mind and your body daily? What can you do differently here?
When you are a true leader….you work for your team…. They don’t work for you! What are you doing to serve them?
You can have results or excuses, but you can’t have both
It’s less about what you have and more about how you handle what you have…. That determines what you do
Everything you need is within reach… leave your list of what you don’t have behind… he already gave you everything you need.
Sweat more in training so you bleed less in war (the Spartans)
If you don’t like where you are in life… move. You are not planted like a tree. You control your own growth and your situation. You can change both.
What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem. What can you do to change the situation?
Anytime a 6-ton elephant (our emotions) and the rider (our logical brain) disagree about which direction to go, the rider is always going to lose. The rider is completely outmatched. (See how to address this below)
“Going through the motions” is often thought of as a bad thing, but it is the artist’s great secret for getting started. - Austin Kleon
If we just start going through the motions, if we strum a guitar, or shuffle sticky notes around a conference table, or start writing our to do list… the motion kickstarts our brain and puts us in the mode of action
Things to read:
This book helps you learn the how to create lasting change in yourself or your organization. The author gives you practical and tactical ways to motivate change by giving you the psychology and science behind what does and does not work when you seek change
The Framework for Creating Change:
Direct the Rider- Provide crystal clear direction. “What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity.” Set clear direction and know exactly what needs to be done. Ambiguity is the enemy of difficult change. Small, visible specific goals help create momentum
Motivate the Elephant- Engage the emotional side. If you don’t have emotional buy-in, change is hard if not impossible. Anytime a 6 ton elephant (our emotions) and the rider (our logical side) disagree about which direction to go, the rider is going to lose. He is completely outmatched.
Shape the Path- Create the conditions of your environment. This helps both your emotional and logical brain to accept the change. “What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem.” example… eat off smaller plates to avoid overeating. How can you create an environment that would make the change easier for you or your team? Is it possible to design your environment to make undesired behavior harder if not impossible?
Actionable methods for creating change:
Find Bright Spots- What is currently working and how can we do more of that? Finding what is working can help you get ideas on how to create a framework or a process to change. We too often look at what we need to change and not what is working for us and how we can grow those successes.
Shrink the change- Make the change smaller so you can get quick wins and create emotional excitement to continue further. If you want a reluctant elephant to move, you need to shrink the change. If you believe you are halfway there you are more likely to get going
Use Habit Stacking and Action Triggers to help create and sustain the change. Setting your workout clothes out the night before or setting the coffee pot to brew at 6am to trigger the aroma to wake-up are great ways to help motivate change
Rally the herd- Behavior is contagious. Getting advocates to buy in that can help bring the rest along and makes change easier. Peer pressure can create positive change
Checklists- Even pilots need a checklist to stay on track :)
B&W Goals: Set black and white goals to make sure you stay on track and can’t negotiate with yourself on what you really meant.
Identity- Match the change with an identity that people aspire to become…. I am the kind of person that recycles and eliminates waste…. Or I am the type of person that is fit and can hike to 5 miles.
Videos to watched: How do I handle this?
What you have is what you need. Everything you need is within reach… Leave your list of what you don’t have behind… he already gave you everything you need. It’s what you do with it that makes the difference.
Top Quotes:
Bob Goff: “If God answered every one of your prayers, would it change anybody’s life except your own?”
Stop wasting today’s strength fighting tomorrow’s battles -Steven Furtick
“To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.” —Bruce Lee
Real Estate News:
Rates are back over 7%. Many economists believe that the Fed funds rate will need to be elevated above 6% in order to control inflation. Although this is not currently priced into our mortgage rates, last week’s rise was a lean in that direction. With the drop in volume, excess capacity, and Fed rates increasing, the mortgage industry is suffering massive economic losses with little relief in sight. Behemoth Rocket Mortgage lost nearly $500 million in Q4 2022. Unless they dramatically right sized their operation, increased their margins, or dropped their astronomical advertising bill Q1 will be even more challenging for them. In Q3 they had already cut expense by $202 million. But don’t worry they still have 3.3 billion in cash to float the storm 😉
Pricing pressure will still be a challenge my friends but weathering this storm will help make you rock solid!
Rocket loses $493 million on $19 billion on loan volume in Q4 & searches for a new CEO
Dr. Doom’s (yes this is a nickname for a world renowned economist) financial and inflation prediction https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-03/nouriel-roubini-warns-of-stagflation-crisis/102045718
Heavy fog: Goldman Sachs report: we have assigned a probability of 45-55% risk of recession in 2023 Outlook 2023 – Caution: Heavy Fog - Goldman Sachs
https://www.gsam.com/content/dam/pwm/direct-links/us/en/PDF/2023-isg-outlook.pdf?sa=n&rd=n
East versus west market inventory divergence. Real estate market crash in the west? Why are the coasts not matching?
https://youtu.be/qx1EnOjolxc
Food & Drink:
Tired of crappy coffee when you are on the road? I discovered the cool packages of instant gourmet coffee. You can brew them as a full cup or with less water and turn it into a latte on the go! The coffee is delicious and super packable. I survived my sabbatical with great coffee thanks to these babies 🙂
https://www.domacoffee.com/collections/coffee/products/carmelas-instant
Cool Stuff:
https://tuck-ins.com- S’mores ready to roast all in one tiny package. Cute leave behind gift for referral partners. Or just a no muss, no fuss way to have a delicious treat on your next camping adventure.