Alissa Finerman

Los Angeles Executive Coach, Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, Facilitator and Author

Defining Success On Your Journey

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Alissa’s blog was featured on Positively Positive’s Blog.

 

Success is not a one-way street that let’s you coast on your bike while riding downhill. There are lots of pot holes, flat tires, some flowers on the way, but mostly, it’s up and down, and you just need to believe in yourself and keep on going. You will experience true success as you invest time and energy in actions and projects that make you feel satisfied and fulfilled.

Top 1% moments help us define what success means at different stages in our life.

These top 1% moments are available to all of us regardless of where we are in our life—married, single, lots of money, no money, fancy graduate degrees, no degrees, kids, no kids, love your job, despise your job, old, young, lots of challenges, or minimal challenges. These accomplishments are important to recognize and celebrate because when one of us reaches higher, we can all leverage the inspiration to take a step further ourselves.

A top 1% moment is when you accomplish something that you feel good about and is meaningful to you. They can be big or small—ordering business cards, swimming 110 miles from Cuba to Florida (thank you, Diana Nyad), going to sleep before midnight, changing careers, writing your first book, successfully leading a team project, buying your first home, re-connecting with a relative, running fifty-two marathons in fifty-two weeks to raise awareness and money for pancreatic cancer (thank you, Marathon Goddess), getting back into your photography hobby, earning your certification as a yoga teacher, making your first public speech, completing your first 5k walk/run, or simply making yourself a priority.

These moments expand your view of what’s possible and build confidence in yourself. Top 1% moments help us define our personal best. It’s not a competition; it’s about cooperating. We can all live in our top 1%.

Here are the recurring themes that emerge with my clients when they experience their top 1% moments:

Dream: The journey starts with an exciting dream. Your dream/goal may seem impossible and crazy to others, but it’s not about them; it’s about what adds meaning to YOUR life. For example, Diana Nyad recently fulfilled a lifelong dream of swimming 110 miles from Cuba to Florida. After four failed attempts to complete her goal, Diana, at the ripe age of sixty-four, became the first woman to complete this accomplishment while swimming without a shark cage to protect her. This was going to be her last attempt either way. And yes, swimming 110 miles and fifty-three hours is definitely beyond what most of us can comprehend. (If you are not a swimmer, substitute that word for something that does represent YOUR dream.) Diana’s journey showed us what it means to have a dream and pursue it.

Belief (a.k.a. mindset): All people who achieve top 1% moments have a deep belief in self. Even when others think your dream is crazy, YOU need to believe it. That’s key with every new invention or achievement. You may not know how you’re going to do it, but you believe you CAN. This is exactly what happened with Julie Weiss, known as the Marathon Goddess. She had a crazy idea to run fifty-two marathons in fifty-two weeks to raise awareness and funds to benefit pancreatic cancer (she lost her father to the disease). She had no idea how the journey would unfold. She started with one marathon, and for the next year, she did a marathon every week while working her full-time job. She’s raised over $200,000 and has decided to continue running marathons and raising awareness.

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
Nelson Mandela

Challenges: Every top 1% achievement has challenges. There is no other way. The challenges may seem unique, but they are all just challenges—time, money, resources, health, knowledge, motivation, etc. Challenges test how much you want to complete your goal. Whether you are looking to take a photography class or complete your first 5k race, speed bumps will show up, but know they are not a valid reason to abandon your heartfelt goals.

Resilience: You may fail several times and feel discouraged many times before success. Diana failed four times and tried one more time—that alone is courageous and a top 1% effort. Part of living in your top 1% is knowing when to move on. Diana understood this and decided this would have been her last attempt. Even if she didn’t complete the swim, it would have been a top 1% effort. Often, when we are operating in the unknown territory, it’s scary, and you start to doubt yourself. Every top 1% moment has that brief period where you want to throw in the towel and call it quits. It’s part of the process, so don’t let the feeling push you off course.

Age: Often, you will be on the wrong side of the age factor—too old, too young, too much experience, or not enough experience. Perhaps you’re too young to start a business or too old to change careers. Forget this and keep moving forward. Disregard age as an excuse. As forty-one-year-old Olympic medalist Dara Torres said, “the water doesn’t know your age…[goals] may become harder to achieve, but your dreams can’t stop because you’ve hit a certain age.” Invest the time to figure out what you want to do and keep moving forward.

Stretch Zone: Every great dream and goal pushes you into your stretch zone—the zone where you need to draw on your strengths, face uncertainty, move past challenges, and achieve something beyond what many thought was possible. When you declare that you are writing a book or changing jobs, there will be lots of uncertainty and challenges. Top 1% moments do not happen in your comfort or stress zone. They happen in the stretch zone.

Top 1% Team: Although great journeys may start from an individual effort, they are more commonly team efforts. Diana Nyad had over thirty people on her team helping her navigate the waters, chart her course, and provide care during her swim. Epic efforts require resources from many different areas. Do you have the right team to help you share YOUR top 1%?

Everyone can enjoy top 1% moments from any starting place. You need to show up with the willingness to invest time and effort, face challenges, and make progress. You will find yourself completely committed to your vision when it’s meaningful and genuinely excites you. You may have some speed bumps or flat tires on your path, so stay on your course. Your top 1% moments can be big or small as long as they’re meaningful to you.

What dream speaks to your heart?

About Alissa

Alissa is an Executive Coach and Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, speaker and author of Living in Your Top 1%. She has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. To learn more, visit www.AlissaFinerman.com 

Living in Your Top 1% Interview Series with Julie Weiss – “If you can dream it, you can achieve it”

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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.

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About Alissa

Alissa Finerman is an Executive Coach and Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, speaker and author of Living in YOUR Top 1%. She works with managers, C-suite executives and teams to leverage strengths, shift beliefs and achieve meaningful goals. Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked with Ross Stores, Petco, BNP Paribas, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Brookfield Property Partners, Neutrogena, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Dress for Success. To learn more about coaching with Alissa, please visit her website and follow her on Facebook