*THE 10 STEPS TO ACHIEVING SUCCESS*

Throughout the year I re-evaluate and set new goals as I accomplish my other goals (or fail miserably).  Not all goals are created equal, but all goals contain the same foundational elements.  No one is born with all of the talents to achieve a goal - you learn as you go!

Success is individual and your definition of a "good life" is different from others'.  However, the underlying steps to achieving success and setting goals are the same.  Success is the ability, first, to recognize opportunity; second, to form plans and strategies that leverage opportunity; and, third, to develop the necessary skills needed to execute those strategies.

Over the past few years u have used these 10 rules for goal setting and ultimately, achieving success.  Each rule is one piece of the puzzle of achieving success.  I encourage everyone to take these rules into serious consideration and implement them 1 at a time no matter how large or small your goal is.

#1.  BE DECISIVE
A decision is never made only once.  Typically, I admit it, I am an indecisive person.  With setting goals, though, the wishy washiness won't cut it.  You must choose what you want, with certainty, or else accept the scraps by default!  You define yourself by your decisions, so choose wisely.  With every decision comes risks and costs, but indecision is the biggest factor that leads to missed opportunities. 

#2.  STAY FOCUSED
Focus requires focus.  Focus is following of one's course until successful.  It is the glue that holds a goal in place.  You can have a great goal or idea, but without focus you are left with nothing.  The higher your focus is, the power you will generate.  Unfortunately, focus can be easy to lose, but as long as you repeatedly recover your focus, and as soon as you realize you had a minor derailment, the quicker the recovery.  Without focus, you lose your way, your enthusiasm disappears, and goals become faded, distant aspirations.  Your focus should receive constant care, feeding, and attention. 

#3.  WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS
I have lists everywhere.  In my world, if it's not written down, it's not happening...goals included!  Unwritten goals almost always lose in the end because the goals fall victim to the "outta sight, outta mind" phenomenon!  When you keep your goals only in your mind they tend to remain as only figments of your imagination and the odds are stacked up against you ever acting upon them.  When you write them down you are actually seeing what you are thinking and you're taking a step toward achieving them. 

#4.  PLAN THOROUGHLY
Details, details, details.  Know who you are, what you want, where you are going, how you will get there, what you will do when you arrive, and then you can pretty much guarantee your success with any endeavor!  Have a plan in place before taking action and your process will be faster, efficient, and probably cheaper!  Do your homework and research, plan in private or in a group, have patience, and resist temptation to jump into a decision.  Planning significantly increases the chances of success.

*Planning:

• Promotes Focus
• Coordinates Efforts
• Provides Standards
• Prepares You With Necessary Tools & Knowledge
• Reveals Potential Roadblocks
• Stimulates Thinking
• Offers a Possible Exit Plan

#5.  INVOLVE OTHERS
It can be scary sharing your goals with others, but chances are, there are other people out there that have been in the same boat as you.  They have been there and done that and have a wealth of knowledge, wisdom, and experience to share.  So...embrace it and seek them out!  Having another set of eyes and ears is important for the times where you may be nervous, unsure, or skeptical about where you are going and what you are doing.  Knowledge from others' experiences allows you to build and maintain momentum.  No goal is ever achieved alone.  We all need guidance, support, opinions, tips, and extra motivation, which comes from involving others.  In addition to shortening your learning curve, when you involve others, an extra level of accountability is added, which is mandatory for success!

#6  EMBRACE & WELCOME FAILURE
Failure - so important, yet so misunderstood!  There are plenty of wrong assumptions about failure when it comes to achieving success.  Failure has an ulterior motive, not to get you to quit but to stop you long enough so that you learn something, re-evaluate, re-focus, re-strategize and then re-launch again more prepared.  Anything worthwhile and worth pursing comes with the risk of failure, but it is a good measure of your investment and a true test of your character, commitment, and courage. 

#7.  TAKE PURPOSEFUL ACTION
If you don't take action, odds are, you won't succeed.  Fear causes people to stay put where they are and if you give into the fear, procrastinate and don't take action, life becomes a constant series of postponements, cancellations, and missed opportunities.  If what you have done or haven't done in the past hasn't worked; change something.


#8.  INSPECT WHAT YOU EXPECT
Change is going to happen, it's inevitable, but growth is optional.  Performance should be reviewed periodically or else growth and development will stop.  Evaluate your progress and don't be afraid to alter some things.  When you inspect your expectations you are also maintaining and improving your focus.  Inspection tells you where you are in relation to where you want to be.  It also tells you how you are doing in the process of pursuing your goals and achieving success.  Are your actions putting you on the right track to produce your desired results?  No?  Change and improve what you're doing.  Yes?  Keep going full speed ahead!  Take the time to inspect past performance and learn from your experiences.  Plans need reviewed and even updated.

#9.  REWARD YOURSELF
The road to achieving success is a journey.  Along the way you build character, integrity, heart, discipline, and you will probably learn a lot about yourself.  Those things, alone, can be thought of as rewards.  However, having something that symbolizes achievement is a powerful motivator, positive reinforcement, and inspire us for continued progress.  Be smart with your rewards, but make them special and tailored towards you.  When you reward the right behavior and results, you almost guarantee a repeat performance.  You should reward yourself for small accomplishments as well as large; this simple act becomes fuel for future achievement!

#10.  MAINTAIN PERSONAL INTEGRITY
Your biggest concern is not your skills, ability, or intelligence - it's your commitment.  When you feel like quitting, inspect yourself for will, courage, and spirit.  Lack of integrity ensures false promises and broken dreams; it negatively reinforces a sense of incompetence.  When you fail to honor your commitments to yourself, it reflects badly upon you and is one of the biggest mistakes you can ever make.  It shows a sense of incompetence.  without personal integrity your goal is just a vision or a thought, not reality.  Personal integrity is not only habitual, but it is essential because it moves you closer to your goal and achieving success.  commitment is the heartbeat of your goal and integrity is the oxygen that keeps your goal breathing.

If things get difficult, which they probably will, simply re-evaluate or go back a few steps to make some changes.  Nothing good in life comes easy!!

Success is a beautiful thing and it feels great.  Grow accustomed to prosperity and confident in the process of achieving a goal and being successful.  Embrace and implement these 10 steps of goal setting and watch the powerful transition take place right before your eyes!

Hummus Crusted Chicken

I like chicken and I like hummus and I eat a lot of both!!  So...enter in...Hummus Crusted Chicken!  I prefer Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, but honestly you can use any flavor you would like.  When I make my next batch of Homemade Hummus I will be using that instead of store bought hummus!  This is so easy to make, it's ridiculous!!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I flattened them with a meat mallet since they were thick)
• 1 Cup of hummus of your choice
• Lemon Juice
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Chopped Rosemary
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Smother (and I mean smother) the chicken with hummus on one side
• Squeeze lemon juice over the chicken
• Sprinkle with Balsamic Vinegar and Rosemary
• Bake until hummus is golden brown and chicken is cooked through - roughly 30-35 minutes
• Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste

*NO NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FOR ME!*

Last week I was asked what my New Year's resolution(s) will be for 2015.  My answer?  I'm not making resolutions...and that's my resolution!

Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with making resolutions, I understand everyone is different, but I have decided I don't necessarily believe in making them anymore.

This comes after the past few years of making several miscellaneous changes throughout the year..so I figured, why wait until the New Year?  I will set some new goals, but I do that throughout the year anyways.  It's a new month so I like to go back to the drawing board and re-evaluate but not just because it's January 1st or because it's what I am supposed to do when the clock strikes midnight, but rather whenever I decide something needs to change and because I WANT to make the change.

For some reason, people commit to "change their lives" starting January 1st - not sooner.  If you think something in your life needs to change, why wait?  This year, as well as in 2013 and 2014, America's #1 resolution is to lose weight, but making a once-a-year promise to do so is NOT the way to go.  I am ALL FOR starting over and starting with a clean slate, but you don't have to (and shouldn't) put changes or alterations to your life on hold until the New Year or other "specific" times of the year, like a Birthday, or as a result of certain life changing events, like a death in the family.  Why not start as soon as you come to the realization and as soon as you decide that is what you want to do?  Get ahead of the game.  Get started before you set yourself back even more.  What's holding you back?

FUN FACT:  Over 30% of people give up their resolution before the end of January, and another 30% quit before the end of May.  In fact, only 8% of people regularly succeed in keeping the promises they made as the ball dropped.

So if you did make a resolution to get healthy in 2015 you want to lose weight, tone up, and get stronger, here is some advice that I will share with you.  A lot of this is no-brainer stuff, but sometimes people just have a hard time grasping it all, which is COMPLETELY normal.  I can hear you now..."I don't have the time."  Yes, you do.  No one ever HAS the time.  You MAKE the time.  Most people have lives, kids, jobs, dogs, families, friends, whatever.  Figure out and determine your priorities.  If you want one of your priorities to be to get fit and have a healthy lifestyle...well, it takes hard work, compromise, and sacrifice, but chances are, everyone will benefit from it, not just you.  So it's more than worth it!  If it's not one of your resolutions/goals, then I question why you are reading this blog post.

These 5 tips, in NO particular order, are helpful in making healthy living part of your everyday life - not just a one-time thing.

1.  Start Small.  Too often, people plan on making overly drastic changes to their lives, changes that they inevitably fail at sustaining.  People want immediate gratification and immediate results.  That's not how it works, unfortunately.  If you want to eat better, don't make your resolution to become a Vegan or to run a marathon - make it something like you substitute your whole milk in coffee drink with skim milk.  Or take the stairs instead of the elevator, park your car farther away from the front door of the store, go on family walks in the evening after dinner (and take the dog).  You can transform your body just by adding more steps each week!  It can be overwhelming at first, but you should start small.  Baby steps.

2.  Start Today.  Don't wait for January to begin your journey to a "NEW and FITTER" you.  Start immediately.  Tonight after dinner, walk around your block 3 times (it's a start!).  If it's too cold, walk on the treadmill if you have one, or pop in a workout DVD.  Get moving.

3.  Surround Yourself - Strength in Numbers.  Having friends and family members with similar goals will only make you more successful.  You are more likely to stick to your goals if you have others motivating you and with a similar view points.  Surround yourself with people who inspire, motivate, and push you in a positive and encouraging way.  You don't need to have a trainer - a buddy can help motivate you too.  This is where Accountability Groups come into play, which is how I got started with Beachbody.  I joined this PRIVATE group that included people, like me, looking to make a change, looking for support and motivation and HELP!  I actually joined my first group in the middle of the year, not at the beginning.  When you have people around you in the same boat as you and with the same goals in mind, it helps.  Having support works!  The support is undeniable and extremely effective.  Believe it or not, you're not alone.  Always remember that.

4.  Get the Right Tools.  A comfortable pair of tennis shoes, a pedometer, a FitBit, a blender, a support group, and a positive attitude will make eating better and moving more that much easier!

5.  Focus on the PROCESS.  That's exactly what it is...a process.  Embrace it and have patience.  This is probably #1 in my book.  It won't happen overnight so having patience is key!  Since we were kids, we have been hard-wired to be goal-oriented and expect immediate results and get that instant gratification.  That can actually hurt your progress if your goals feel too unrealistic, unattainable, or if you judge your success on the outcome of just one goal.  If you focus on the process, methods, and techniques you use working toward your goals; like how many steps you have added to your day, getting enough protein, healthy fats and fiber in your diet, and sleeping at least 7 hours a night; you will be more successful and there are plenty of studies and personal success stories to prove it! 
Will you fail?  Probably.  Will you hit bumps in the road?  You bet.  You may even want to throw in the towel several times over and over again!  That's why it is a process and if you picture yourself being successful and focus, you are destined to succeed.  It might not be pretty, and if it is pretty, you didn't make scary enough goals/resolutions.

It can be easy to get off track and that's normal, you just have to stay the course and get right back on.  Write your resolutions/goals down so you can see them and hold yourself accountable and then share what you write down with others so they can hold you accountable too!  Then keep them somewhere where you can see them.  Also...celebrate how hard you're working, the little successes, and how dedicated you are, BUT celebrate the right way.  It can be difficult at times, but don't undo all of your hard work at the end of the week because you think you "deserve" it.  There will be dinners out, Happy Hours, friends who can eat whatever they want and not gain a pound, and parties; NONE of which are worth sabotaging all of your hard work you are putting in to improve the quality of your life and be a better version of you!  Instead, treat yourself to something different rather than food or booze.  For example, get a pedicure, a massage, new shoes, or a new workout outfit.  This technique is a great self-motivator!

Change and new things can be scary, which is why I always say...ease into it (#1 from above).  Don't be shy to ask for help, guidance, motivation, accountability, tips, or support!  Most people need it and I would love to provide that for you!  There are always new Accountability Groups forming and I would love to support you during your journey!  If a private group isn't for you, no problem, I can still be your sounding board and support and motivate you anyways!!  We all have to start somewhere and I am always looking to add more to my own personal support group too!  It doesn't matter where you are in your transformation or how large or small your goals/resolutions are, everyone has their own journey!!

AND REMEMBER:  MAKE IT FUN and DON'T compare your process, progress, successes, failures, and journey to anyone else's!!

So I will end with saying, Happy New Year and may your year be filled with health, happiness, success, and lots of love!!!