Inspiration

The other day I received a very inspiring video from one of my clients. It was a short TV segment about her niece performing with her high school’s Flag Team. It just happens that her niece is blind. One of the comments from her team mates was that “somebody forgot to tell her that she wasn’t supposed to do this.” Not only that, but the story also told how she had failed to make the team a few times before succeeding.

It also reminded me of another client who is also blind. Again, you would never know it based on how she operates. She was part of the group that went on the “Dare to Manifest Your Dreams” Learning Vacation on the Orient Express last fall and probably enjoyed the trip more than any one of us. She was able to “see” through other’s descriptions of the sites as well as using her other senses. Again, if you simply listened to her comments and insights, you would never have know that she couldn’t see with her own eyes.

These people are an inspiration to me and many others. They are living examples of regular people doing extraordinary things. Since one of my goals is to be the kind of person that inspires others the way those people inspire me, I’m very thankful to have those people be role models for me.

Podcast Episode #7 -The Impact of Mentoring.

Episode #7 of the Xtraordinary Living podcast is out. Mentoring is the topic. In this episode, I was joined by Bob Macrann, who is the VP of client evaluation and mentor assignment with the Chairmen’s RoundTable (CRT) in San Diego. Through the CRT, Bob & Tom Dorosewicz – another CRT member – mentored Lindon and I a few years ago and had a profound impact on our business. He is currently a member of PL&L’s advisory team. Learn more about the CRT.

About 6 weeks ago I wrote a post titled Isn’t it Ironic? about the value of “free.” Listen to Bob and I talk about the incredible value that mentoring offers to both the mentor and the mentee.

The episode is a little under 19 minutes. If you have broadband, click on the player below:

f you don’t have broadband, click here:Podcast Episode #7.

If you would like to subscribe to this podcast and receive new issues automatically, you can do so by clicking iTunes button on the left sidebar. You can also go to iTunes or Yahoo directories, type Xtraordinary Living and subscribe there.

Podcast Episode #6 – My radio appearance

Episode #6 of the Xtraordinary Living podcast is out. Last week I was a guest on San Diego’s KCEO AM 1000 Inside Business Radio Program where host Bob Ryan interviewed me about what PL&L is all about. If you missed it, you can catch it here. The interview is approximately 20 minutes long. Make sure your computer speakers are turned on or if you use a head set, that it is plugged in.

If you’re not a PL&L client, this interview is straightforward and informative. You’ll get a glimpse at how PL&L clients are leading xtraordinary lives.

If you are a PL&L client, this podcast episode may help you find the right words to tell your friends what you’ve been doing. You could email this post to them directly by clicking on the links at the bottom of the message.

If you have broadband, click on the player below:

If you don’t have broadband, click here: Podcast Episode #6

Sneak Preview

I’ve recently been asked by my friend and PL&L client Heather Somaini to participate as a “tastemaker” for an upcoming slate of films from Lionsgate Entertainment that are inspiring and focused on living consciously. Heather is creating a nationwide network of likeminded people who want to see films like WHAT THE BLEEP, DREAMER and REMEMBER THE TITANS and she has asked me to help.

I would like to invite each of you to a screening of Lionsgate’s upcoming film PEACEFUL WARRIOR on April 23rd at 4:00p. This screening will take place at Lionsgate’s Screening Room: 2700 Colorado Ave. (Lobby Level) Santa Monica, CA 90404. The screening will be followed by a discussion of the film, ie. the things we liked and disliked and the issues and topics we’re interested in seeing on the big screen.

Please let me know if you are interested and able to attend. Spaces are limited and will be assigned on a “first-come first-served” basis. You can either contact me or Heather directly at hsomaini@lionsgate.com.

PEACEFUL WARRIOR
www.thepeacefulwarriormovie.com
Dan Millman (Scott Mechlowicz) is a gifted young athlete bound for Olympic gold who will do anything to be the best. Driven by success, Dan has got it all: trophies, fast motorcycles, fast girls, and wild parties. But Dan’s world is turned upside down when he meets a mysterious stranger in a gas station (Nick Nolte) who holds the power to tap into new worlds of strength and understanding. The young man discovers that he has much to learn and even more to leave behind in order to master this new vision of greatness in this moving tale about the power of human will. Based on the semi-autobiographical book loved by millions, “WAY OF THE PEACEFUL WARRIOR” by Dan Millman

Mistakes

One of my hobbies is playing Fantasy Baseball (click on the link if you would like to find out more about this game.) This past Saturday we held our 2006 draft and kicked off our 19th season.

To succeed at this game, you need a combination of preparation, execution, capitalizing on your strengths, minimizing your weaknesses and luck. Of these, the only one I have no control over is luck. Therefore I tend to focus on the others and let luck take it’s course. In my experience, this is very similar to what it takes to succeed in business.

While evaluating my draft, I concluded that this was both one of my best and one of my worst drafts. The reason for this is that even though I walked out with a GOOD team thanks to a very sound game plan, I also made a MAJOR mistake that prevented me from drafting a GREAT team. And this mistake may end up costing me dearly if I get any kind of bad luck this year. You see, great teams are much better at overcoming bad luck than good ones.

This mistake I made was due to my lack of preparation in one area- I was using a new tool and I wasn’t totally familiar with some of the details. While I had done my homework and was well prepared in the major areas, I did something which I often do. I neglected the details. And it just happens that not paying attention to details is one of my areas of weakness that I constantly have to monitor. And unfortunately, this time I didn’t.

In Jim Collins’ book Good to Great he states that “good is the enemy of great.” Those words certainly were true for me this past weekend. The good news is that it is experiences like these that motivate me to continue working on my pursuit of Xtraordinary rather than settling for “good enough.”