We had a fantastic, Living in Your Top 1%, Workshop in Santa Monica, CA this past weekend. I am always inspired and empowered by what people can accomplish when they shift their mindset to say, “I can” and believe in themselves. Thank you to all!
There were lots of great takeaways and I wanted to share a few of them for people who could not attend. You can achieve top 1% moments from any starting place and any age. Don’t sell yourself short!
Here are six takeaways that will help you raise your game. All of these principles are discussed in my book, Living in Your Top 1%, if you want to learn more.
1. Situations are neutral until you define them as good or bad.
2. Focus on the gap when you set goals. This is the space between what you say you are going to do and getting it done. Achieving your goal involves two core parts: Declaring what you are going to do (aka setting a goal) and moving through the process (aka taking the essential small steps).
3. Step into the CEO role of YOU INC. and define what TOP 1% means to you.
4. Pursue a goal that is important to YOU rather than one that is important to your friends, family, or partner.
5.Set aside the “shoulds” and what society thinks you should do. Now is the time to develop your ideal life, not someone else’s.
6. Honor the three Cs: Choice + Commitment + Consistency = Your Results.
Watch the video version (5 takeaways)…
One of my goals is to do this workshop around the country and share the principles from my book, Living in Your Top 1%. To host a Living in Your Top 1% workshop for you and a group of friends or your organization, please contact top1@alissafinerman.com.
Wishing you all continued success on your journey.
Alissa
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About Alissa
Alissa is a Business/Life Coach, speaker, and author of the book, Living in Your Top 1%. She coaches clients individually and gives corporate workshops. You can learn more and connect with Alissa on Facebook, Twitter, and her website.
The beginning of the year is both exciting (with all the amazing things you want to manifest in your life) and overwhelming because you have so many things you want to manifest and are not sure what to do first. So congrats on setting a goal. That’s a huge step and a big win. Now the question becomes how are you going to get from where you are to where you want to go?
Goals are a starting point and they help you step up to the plate and get in the game. The only way to stay in the game is by taking continuous small steps to make progress.
Here’s a simple process to get started AND keep moving forward (key word is simple):
1. Write down all your goals, just do a download.
In an ideal world what would you accomplish this year?
- Pursue goals that genuinely excite you rather than someone else
- Ask yourself why the goal is important
- Vague Goals = Vague Results. So be specific!
2. Prioritize the goals that need to get done first
Some goals you pursue to meet basic survival needs and others can be for pure enjoyment.
- Focus on goals that are both important and a priority to you (important is not enough, you need to narrow them down)
3. Identify your top tier goal and focus
The challenge is to identify the most important goal which becomes your Top Tier Goal. These are the goals that help you live in your top 1%! You can also refer to Ritual Four in my book which focuses solely on goal setting.
- The reason we get overwhelmed is because we focus on too many things at once. Choose one goal for starters. You can bring more goals into the mix once you are rolling.
4. Breakdown your top tier goal into small steps
Small steps help to build confidence by generating a series of “wins.”
- Write down all the small steps you can take to make progress on this goal.
For example, I have a client who wants to start his own advertising company. This is a big goal that can be overwhelming. But once you break it down and look at each of the areas of the company (financing, marketing, operations, sales etc), you can start taking small steps in each area.
- Take action on your small steps.
Small Steps = Big Results!
TOP 1% BOTTOM LINE: Setting a goal is a major part of creating something but it’s only the beginning. Growth occurs in the gap between saying what you want to accomplish and making it happen.
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About Alissa Alissa is a Professional Life Coach, motivational speaker, and author of “Living in Your Top 1%: Nine Essential Rituals to Achieve Your Ultimate Life Goals”. She works with individuals and organizations to help them think bigger, redefine what’s possible, and get results. Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. To learn more and to take the Living in Your Top 1% quiz, please visit Alissa’s website or her Facebook page.
The goal of the “Living in Your Top 1%” interview series is to break down the qualities of people who excel and to show that you can be successful and achieve personal greatness from any starting point in your life. The interview series looks at people from all different careers and industries. Some names will be familiar and others may not. The purpose is to understand and borrow from the “best practices” of winners to develop a roadmap to YOUR TOP 1%. We will share a new story each month.
This week’s guest is Julie Weiss aka the Marathon Goddess. I first met Julie at my book signing in LA at Barnes & Noble. She shared her exciting journey of running 52 marathons in 52 weeks to raise money/awareness for Pancreatic Cancer (which took her father’s life). She had a lot of amazing ideas that she wanted to put into action and I loved her energy and passion to make a difference. We spent some time working together and she’s never looked back.
Julie is taking on a huge challenge with an open heart and determination and is filled with much hope. She is putting her dream into action and we wish you the best of luck on your incredible journey. She will featured in the upcoming documentary about running, “Spirit of the Marathon 2.”
Alissa Finerman: What’s the most important strength you possess that allows you to be successful in your role? Julie Weiss: I have always been a very positive and optimistic person. That’s a huge strength. Even before I started running, I knew there was the opportunity for greatness within me, and running has helped bring it out. Running has given me a gift. Through running I have discovered things I didn’t even think were possible. Many people will look outside of themselves for strength and or happiness, whether it is clothes, a new car, food, etc. I believe and have found that when you are optimistic it creates opportunity and allows people to achieve the impossible. I also like to surround myself with positive people and spread inspiration and hope wherever I go.
AF: What does success mean to you? JW: I believe success is doing what you love. In order to be successful I truly believe the only way to achieve that is to love yourself first. It has to start with you.
Success comes from within.
Success is being healthy, waking up every day and being grateful that you are alive. By having a feeling of gratitude and love, this will allow you to go after your dreams with greater passion than you ever thought possible. Success comes from the heart, not from your bank account. The heart has beats and to be successful you need to make sure those beats are spent wisely and for a purpose. To me, that is success!
AF: What inspired you to start Marathon Goddess and pursue such an incredible goal (run 52 marathons and raise money for Pancreatic Cancer)? JW: My father, Maurice Weiss, was my greatest fan and most challenging critic. He was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in October 2010 and I lost him only a month later. Our greatest dream was for him to see me qualify for the Boston Marathon where we would go together. I ran the Sacramento Marathon for him two weeks after he passed. I finally qualified for the Boston Marathon on December 5th, 2010, after nineteen attempts. I ran it in 3:47, finishing with my fingers pointing to him in heaven. In 2011, I ran Boston and although my dad wasn’t there in person to see me run, I know he had the best seat in the house — my heart.
My father always did things in a big way. After I ran Boston, I knew there was more I could do. I had heard of people running 52 marathons and thought, why not me? I can do that! And now, I am running with greater passion and purpose to help change the course of history and raise over one million dollars to find a cure for Pancreatic Cancer. One of the goals is to increase public awareness and government focus on finding cures for the nation’s fourth leading cause of cancer deaths.
AF: What motivates you on a daily basis to keep going? JW: To stay in the moment and be grateful for the miracles in your life. This includes appreciating the small things, like a flower or your car, and bigger things such as your children, pet, home, or friends. Often, we get so overwhelmed with life but if you pause for a moment, there is so much to be grateful for. It is a collection of seeing the sweetness in all things good and the blessings even in the bad.
If you can dream it, you can achieve it.
AF: What role do goals play in your life? JW: Setting goals and benchmarks will be critical in my upcoming journey. My #1 goal is to stay healthy so I can make this all possible!
AF: What obstacles/challenges did you have to overcome to start this new venture, 52 For You? How did people react to your idea? JW: They said it was the worst thing they have ever heard. Some of the obstacles included overcoming the doubters, breaking out of my comfort zone, believing in my vision, and staying determined to redefine what’s possible. Stay tuned…
AF: What are some of your most meaningful accomplishments? JW: My children, meeting David (my fiance), being a group leader for the LA Roadrunners, and being on a mission to change the course of history for Pancreatic Cancer.
AF: What do the top performers do differently to excel? JW: They have a great attitude, a support system, and an unstoppable will.
AF: What’s next for the Marathon Goddess? JW: Meeting with top government officials, appearing in a running documentary, writing a book, speaking around the world, and gaining federal funding for Pan Can.
Please visit Marathon Goddess to learn more about Julie and her fabulous journey. You can also donate to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network directly through her site and help make a difference, Marathon Goddess.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” ~ Albert Einstein
Have you ever had an important project or goal not turn out as well as you had hoped? Don’t worry, we all have! It’s time to reverse this trend by re-evaluating the actions we are taking in our lives to see if they are setting us up for success. Here’s what we know:
* Change is constant
* We control our actions
* Our actions and results are connected
* We can all turn our ideas into action and enjoy amazing results
The powerful formula below tells the truth every time! You must be proactive in each area to enjoy optimal results.
Your Actions + Your Leadership = Your Results
Three Areas to Evaluate for Better Results: 1. ACTIONS
Are your actions aligned with the results you want?
Often, we wait until the end of the year to decide that our results are not what we wanted. Perhaps you are not entirely satisfied with your business, relationships, health, or finances. We have to be honest and ask ourselves, “If the actions we are taking today will lead to the results we desire tomorrow?”
First, we need to know what we want to accomplish or bring into our life and then we can align our actions. For example, one client wants to get her art career back on track and is working to put together a small event for her friends at the end of the year. As a result, one of her actions will be to spend time each day in her studio.
What are the actions you consistently take to enhance your life? If you want to build your business, do you attend networking events to attract new clients? Do you attend conferences to broaden your knowledge? There is no right or wrong answer to these questions. You have to decide what you what.
The encouraging part is that we have control over our actions.
2. PERSONAL LEADERSHIP
Are you taking personal responsibility for your life?
One of my core principles is to Be the CEO of YOU INC. It’s about accountability, responsibility, making yourself a priority, and choices.
Life is a series of choices.
Each day you must decide how to invest your precious time and energy. Will you step up and be the CEO of your life or franchise out different areas and let others make key decisions for you? If you want a specific set of results, you must take an active role in your life and be proactive. If changing jobs is a core priority, then what steps are you taking on a daily basis to own the situation and create a new path?
You make the decisions, not someone else!
3. RESULTS
Are you doing everything you can to get your desired results?
Make no mistakes — results are not arbitrary. In a world where there is much uncertainty about the future, we can be certain that we will always get results. The uncertain part is if we will view the results as desirable or undesirable.
It all comes down to you.
Are you clear on the results you want to accomplish and are you taking the necessary actions to get there? If health and being in shape is a core value, does it make sense to order a high calorie coffee drink at Starbucks every morning and only exercise when you feel motivated? It’s one thing to say what you want but another thing to do it. Again, there are no right or wrong decisions, just the ones that work the best for you. Don’t be fooled, your results are directly related to your actions!
TOP 1% BOTTOM LINE: The good news is that you control your actions, which means that your results are dependent on what you do on a consistent or inconsistent basis. Many people want success overnight (this would be a good time to identify what that means to you), but success is a process that is created by the actions and ownership we take over time. Be honest, will your actions lead to the results you want in 2012? There is still plenty of time to assess where you are in different areas of your life and decide what shifts, if any, to get on the best path for success.
It’s time to make choices that position you for success in every area of your life!
“More than anything I want to see you take a glorious bite out of the whole world.” ~ Snow Patrol from “You could be happy”
2012 is your year to shine! I’ve been talking to lots of clients who all have some really great ideas as to what they want to accomplish this year. So many in fact that it can be overwhelming. And when we are overwhelmed, you know what happens?? Yes, you guessed it — nothing!
Some people want to change jobs, make themselves a priority, train for their first marathon, strengthen their relationship with a spouse, learn a new language, or start a side business. There are three things that are helpful to get things rolling:
1. Identify Core Priorities: Decide what needs to be on your plate 2. Prioritize: Decide what’s the best way you can spend the next hour of your day 3. Take a Small Step: Do one small thing this week that helps you move toward your goal. Yes, just do it!
It’s important to note that your priorities will shift so you need to continually re-assess them. And just because something is important doesn’t mean you need to make it a priority right now. Stay true to yourself when you prioritize and think about what resonates with you and makes you happy. If you’re going to Be the CEO of YOU INC. you will need to become a master at the game of prioritizing.
This is the ideal time to make 2012 your best year. Start off by practicing one key word: PRIORITIZE!
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About Alissa
Alissa is a Professional Life Coach, motivational speaker, and author of “Living in Your Top 1%: Nine Essential Rituals to Achieve Your Ultimate Life Goals” available on Amazon.com. She is doing a live workshop in Santa Monica Sat Jan 21st to help people prepare for an amazing 2012! She works with individuals and organizations to help them think bigger, redefine what’s possible, and get results. Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. To learn more about coaching with Alissa and to take the Living in Your Top 1% quiz, please visit www.AlissaFinerman.com or www.facebook.com/alissafinermantop1.
