2 minutes ahead of my target time, driving myself on to start the 112-mile bike leg.
After about 7 hours taking in each long mile, I was back in transition and changed into my running gear getting ready for a full 26.2-mile marathon (just what you want the most, having already been racing for about 8 hours).
I'd done the training and paid the entrance fee and was determined to finish the race. I was discovering new levels of fatigue but as I finally crossed the finishing line, I realized that it's at moments like this that you discover the person you really are.
Discovering who you really are is one of the main reasons I love to compete in long-distance triathlons and cycle events. We are goal-seeking mechanisms. I think the reason why so many people don't make the most of themselves is because they don't habitually set goals. When you set yourself a goal, a real challenge that requires you to commit to in order to be successful, you connect with the person you really are. You tap into areas of your personality that you forgot about. You demonstrate resolve and tenacity, skills that are there but often dormant. In short, when you start to perform at your best in order to complete a goal, you become alive.
The only reason I was able to complete this huge challenge was because I became Unstoppable. Just imagine what you will achieve when you perform at your best, make the most of yourself and you become Unstoppable?
Part One
The Beginning
Chapter 1
Why Develop an Unstoppable Attitude?
When you compete in a challenge like an Ultra Endurance Triathlon you have to be quite fit. But you don't even stand a chance of reaching the finish line inside the 17-hour cut-off without realizing that your mindset can dramatically affect your attitude.
I've read a lot of quotes about mindset and attitude. One of my favourite ones is:
Attitude is the little thing that makes the big difference.
While being a company sales manager and to a lesser extent when I had my own retail business, I had to conduct lots of interviews. One of the key areas I used to focus on was to appoint for attitude and train for skill. So, if a candidate had the right attitude but didn't have all the necessary skills, they would still be ahead of the candidate from a competitor company that displayed the wrong attitude.
I'm sure you have been into a store, bank or medical surgery and a member of staff displayed the wrong type of attitude. From my experience, I've felt like I was interrupting that person. You can then turn the corner and visit another business and have a completely different experience. I've even walked into a train station and met two people from the same business that gave me a completely different experience of the business. It's amazing to consider that some businesses don't address these traits. Attitude really is the little thing that makes the big difference.
Going back to the Ultra Endurance Triathlon as an example, you develop your mindset over the months of training you do. You also develop your mindset by training in bad weather in the depths of winter. You have to work on your mental strength because completing a 140-mile race tests your mental strength as much as your physical strength. So, during your 20-week training programme you have to build the mindset that will develop the attitude that you can complete the event comfortably. OK, you may be a little uncomfortable towards the end, but you get the picture.
There are lots of components that come into play when you are developing your attitude for endurance racing. You have to consider your nutrition, your physical training, your mental strength training in winter and dealing with setbacks such as mechanical failure with your bike. There is also dealing with missed training sessions because of work commitments or family. All of these go into the pot of building the attitude that you will be successful on the day of the race and reach the finishing line in one piece.
The same approach applies when developing your attitude for your business and life. I believe that where you are now is a result of all the thoughts that occupied your mind and the actions that you took up to this point. I believe that where you are now is not where you have to stay. I know that change is inevitable but growth is optional. You are the one person who can decide how you respond to that change. If you look around I'm sure you can find people and companies that failed to respond effectively to that change: you can be different.
The fact that you are reading this shows me that you are prepared to try something different. I'm going to share with you the seven components that make up the full Unstoppable system. You will build your mindset, become more confident and approach your business and life challenges with certainty. Because of these changes you will set bigger and bigger goals and live a bigger life.
One of the greatest characteristics of winners is that they develop the expectation of success way before there is any evidence to support that success is certain. They simply believe that they will be successful. I received a reply recently from Tom Peters (business speaker and author of In Search of Excellence, www.tompeters.com) on Twitter (I have to say I was humbled and thrilled, I studied Tom loads during business school). He said that belief is pointless without the right toolkit. Well, part of the benefit of an Unstoppable system is that you are going to build the right toolkit in Part 3 where we develop the key skills. You'll then learn how to put the skills together and develop a 1-3-5 Action Plan, which will massively improve your results.
Right now at the beginning you may not have a certain positive mindset that you can achieve the level of success you want. When you start out you say to yourself ‘right, this is going to be tough, can I do it?’ Then with time as you train and practice consistently your belief and confidence grow. As your belief and confidence grows your toolkit grows. It is OK to be unsure at first, developing your Unstoppable system is an exciting journey; admittedly very challenging at times but still exciting. I'm not going to say that you can develop your Unstoppable system overnight – you can't – it will take a little time. But I am going to show you how by developing your mindset you can dramatically affect your attitude.
1. You are going to develop 1 Crystal Clear Vision of what a successful life and business looks like and sounds like to you. This Vision will clearly and succinctly describe where you want to be and give you an overall focus.
2. You will develop 3 Core Objectives that will chunk down your Vision so that you keep on track and stop doing what many business owners and professionals do, which is chase bright blue butterflies.
3. You will establish 5 action orientated Goals for each core objective so that you have a daily focus. I will show you how to identify the tasks that are needed to complete your 5 Goals. By focusing on your 5 Goals you will achieve your Core Objectives. Then by achieving your 3 Core Objectives you will achieve your Vision.
4. You will develop your Leadership Skills so that you become a far more effective leader, even if the only person you lead is yourself!
5. You will develop your Personal Organization so that you make the very best of your 86,400 seconds every day.
6. You will develop your Relationship Skills focusing on the relationship and not just the transaction.
7. You will develop your Key Strengths and learn to manage and delegate your weaknesses so that you dramatically increase your effectiveness within your business.
When you have developed your foundation 1-3-5 Action Plan (1 Vision, 3 Core Objectives and 5 Goals for each Core Objective) and then developed the key skills to maximize the application of your 1-3-5, you will be far more confident, your belief will increase and you will have developed your Unstoppable system.
I remember how I felt when I entered the biggest physical challenge of my life, my first Ultra Endurance Triathlon. I was absolutely terrified. I had never undertaken anything like it before and that scared me. There were times in preparing for this challenge that I doubted I could achieve it. I knew I would only finish it if I was focused and consistent in my preparation.
Just as I faced my Ultra Endurance challenge, I bet you have some challenges you are facing right now. I'm sure that in your life, your work or your business you've thought about those challenges but for some reason you haven't followed through yet.
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