Introduction
“They say it takes a lot to win … and even more to lose.”
-The Grateful Dead
These days, many of us are re-defining what it means to win.
Our over-busy lives and a fast-paced 24/7 world place many demands on us in “the here and now” and at a very heavy price. That price is our future. Workers around the world are literally being eaten alive by the pressure of balancing daily responsibilities, short term demands, and long term goals.
I should know… the stress landed me in the ER… three times, and the operating room once. There’s nothing like a stress test on a treadmill, staring at a mortality chart, to give you a little life perspective.
So, what exactly is this 60 Second Strategist book about anyway?
And why would I open a strategy book with a quote from a rock band?
Is this just another gimmick of outrageous claims in a feeble attempt to sell a book? You tell me.
Is it a gimmick when an ER physician can re-start your stopped heart in less than 60-seconds?
Is it a gimmick when a US Army Infantry squad can clear out a terrorist hideout and secure enemy prisoners without sustaining a casualty… in less than 60-seconds?
Is it a gimmick when a team of fire fighters enters a burning house on the brink of collapse and rescues a trapped family… in less than 60-seconds?
60 seconds is a lot of time if you train your mind and body to react quickly, efficiently, and effectively.
So maybe, just maybe, you can trust me to teach you, as I have taught so many others… how to accelerate your thinking and organize your daily actions in a unique way that will dramatically improve your business and your life.
Keep reading and I will show you . . .
. . . how to manage your daily priorities while setting aside time, energy and resources that focus on the future. If you want to be truly great, to live a great life that is fulfilling and healthy, you must find a balance between planning and execution.
To do this, you will have to get a handle on your life and learn to speed up, automate and delegate much of your current daily routine. I will show you how to do this.
Proactive vs. Reactive
The speed comes from developing what are called, Diagnostic Reasoning Skills. Sounds complicated but it's not. Much like an ER physician or combat soldier, you will learn to react at the speed of light to more than 90% of the daily situations you face because you have proactively learned the skills taught here. This will free your mind to focus on long term objectives… the stuff that really counts. No more drowning in minutia.
Most business strategy books focus on organizational, or “high level” strategy, which is great. I teach workshops and consult at that level all the time. This book isn’t about that. This book is about you!
The fact is, if you can’t manage your own life, career, and daily routine, you are going to have a real hard time taking care of anything else or anyone else. For a team, business, family, or organization to be forward thinking, strategic… and all that good stuff, the members of the team need to get their house in order first.
So how do individuals and organizations become more strategic? How do they become great? How can people become more innovative, intuitive, and creative?
Well, sorry to say, there is no single “magic silver bullet” that does it all. If someone has sold you that kind of solution, go back and get a refund ASAP! The only thing a silver bullet is good for is killing vampires, and if vampires are your problem then this book is not going to be much help.
I have been studying this strategy stuff for a long time. You could say it’s my life’s passion. As with most solution-based philosophies and concepts, it was born from a mating of desire and desperation.
I started writing in the journal which eventually became this book in a motel room in Seligman, Arizona, way back in August of 1993.
That’s a REALLY long time ago, isn’t it? Fifteen years and counting.
Point is, this isn’t some hastily pieced together book filled with worthless clichés and mind-numbing figures used as filler so you’ll experience a good “thud factor.” In fact, I have tried to make this book as short as possible.
I actually want you to read every word of what I have to say. To take something important away with you.
Over the years I have isolated a few hundred strategies, tactics, principles and techniques that lead to the ability to execute effective strategy quickly and effectively. In this book, I have narrowed it down to sixty. Instead of giving you a big list, I have followed in the wisdom of the great teachers of the ages and show examples of each principle in a story format. Not just any old third-hand story, but stories from my own experiences.
You’re going to come along with me and peer inside my mind like a CSI as this whole “60 Second Strategist” thing grew from concept… to a business and life-altering toolkit for those who use it properly.
Everything presented here is left-lane fast paced. If you are expecting a Sunday drive or some pap designed to just make you feel good about yourself, put this book down now and go read a John Grisham novel.
But if you stick with me, you will gain insights on how to implement powerful strategic thinking principles. I’ll show you some specific examples of how this stuff can work for anyone.
There are tools in this book that you can use today. Forget the hype, fluff and filler.
Your life is waiting for you NOW. You don’t have time to mess around.
Do you?
Let me address the beginning Grateful Dead quote by telling you, It DOES take a lot to win. You will have to stretch outside your comfort zone. You will have to take risks. You will no doubt fail one way or another during the process. You wouldn't be human otherwise.
So yeah, it takes a lot to win. Dang Skippy.
But remember, it takes even more to lose. Losing is costly. The 'Dead' got it right (as rock lyrics often do). More on that later.
On this journey we’ll call “Becoming a 60 Second Strategist,” you might occasionally get frustrated, confused, or discouraged. That's okay.
You might try a new idea and have it blow up in your face. That's okay.
You might invent a new product and not sell a single one. That stinks, but it's still okay.
That’s life and it’s how things work. You have to get up, swallow your pride and get back in the fight.
When you are down, always remember one thing: It costs 100 times more to lose than it does to win.
"There are few sorrows, however poignant, in which a good income is of no avail." ~Logan Pearsall Smith, "Life and Human Nature," Afterthoughts, 1931
Sure, it can be tough to tear your business, your job and your life into tiny pieces. It can be frustrating to examine, restructure, and reprioritize everything.
You will be tempted to give up and just throw in the towel. That’s when it becomes crucial to examine your thinking and approach.
What will your life be like five years from now if you don’t tough it out?
Where will you be? Same job? Same income? Same lifestyle? Perhaps you will even go backwards.
It has happened to me, so I know.
When I look back at the days following when I got laid off, I remember how hard it was. I was scared out of my mind.
I was humiliated. How could I explain to my friends, family, and professional network that I was unemployed?
I had thought I was invincible. After finally becoming an executive, I had thought that only people from the “labor force” were vulnerable to downsizings, right-sizings and other such sizings. I thought I had finally escaped my past. My mind flashed back to my humble beginnings as a homeless, first generation American.
I thought my years of clawing my way to the top had finally brought me security. I thought my fancy MBA and Rolodex of powerful people made me immune from my trials of the past.
Boy, was I wrong. After teaching and coaching strategy to executives for all those years, could I actually use this stuff myself in an extreme crisis?
Sure, my strategic system worked in the military, sales, marketing, coaching, operations, and several other “organizational” contexts. I was able to make it to the top once before, but what about now?
How could I support my wife, who was paralyzed from the waist down from a car accident?
How could I feed and clothe my four kids?
How would I pay the mortgages on both my houses?
I was scared, even paralyzed with fear (sorry, Leslie). Around the same time, excessive stress lead to health failure. Like I said before, I went to the emergency room three times.
One ER visit landed me in the operating room. I almost died during the surgery.
Almost dying has a way of giving you some perspective. Near death, as they say, is nature's way of saying, "Hey, stupid, pay attention!"
Now, when I look back at my life like the roiling wake behind a boat, and then look at my freedom today, and examine the impact I have been able to have on others, I can’t help but realize the cost of giving up would have been 1,000 times greater.
It would have been MUCH easier for me to just become a local consultant, or call up some classmates from business school. These guys are executive level managers with companies like Coca-Cola, Home Depot, Seimens… you get the picture.
Instead, I chose a different route. I chose my family and my health over going back into corporate slavery.
I have over $1 million worth of training and coaching in my head (and I have the receipts around here somewhere to prove it).
Instead of helping another billion dollar brand become a two billion dollar brand, I decided to apply these “well kept corporate secret strategies” to my own life and teach others to do the same. Put my mouth where my money is.
This decision has already put me in the firing line. One global corporation has sent multiple “cease and desist” letters to my home, claiming that the strategies I teach are confidential.
What are they afraid of anyway?
I admit that much of what I share with my clients (and now with you) falls under the category of “well guarded secrets,” but none of these secrets is “company confidential.” In fact, I discovered that one company’s “secret strategic process,” is also “secretly” shared by nine out of ten Fortune 100 Companies.
So now these corporate types are running around with their hair on fire whining that I am a thief or a criminal or something. Are they so terrified of your success? Are they so frightened of their 'secrets' being discovered? Or do they just know that you may be coming for their jobs? For their corporate jet? For their home in the Hamptons? They remind me of the schoolyard bully who turns out to be a coward when confronted with boldness.
It’s kind of hard to ignore all that bluster but remember…
It takes A LOT to win!
But when it comes down to it, you have no choice but to win. Losing is unthinkable.
The cost of losing is almost immeasurable. The cost of losing is a life unfulfilled, or in my case, a life almost lost.
Can you bear the cost of staying in a job you hate?
Do you want to bear the cost of looking into a loved one’s eyes and saying, “I can’t give you what you want …or even worse …what you need…”?
So what’s it going to be?
Are you going to be a LION or a LAMB?
Will you join me and the ones who came before me and shared what they discovered? Will you use this growing body of knowledge to improve your life and your business?
Do you want to better the lives of your loved ones, and positively influence hundreds …thousands …or even millions of people?
Or will you stay safely on the “easy road” and settle for mediocrity? One of my favorite Bible quotes is:
"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.” Matthew 7:13
Will you go through the wide gate and settle for less? Would you rather happily crash in front of the TV, be oblivious, and let other people dictate your life?
We both know the answer, right? If you weren't motivated to change things you wouldn't be reading this book, so …
Let’s get into the battle together and kick some butt.
"Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons." ~Woody Allen
Becoming a 60 Second Strategist requires hours of preparation, so let’s get to it!
DO THIS NOW
Go to www.60SecondStrategist.com and take the strategy assessment quiz to get a baseline of how good your strategic thinking already is.
While you're there on www.60SecondStrategist.com register for the FREE 60 Days to 60 Second Strategy Online Video course.
Chapter 1
"Don’t Chase the Wrong Waves"
“Dude, why did you go for that wave? I have bigger waves in my bathtub. Next time, wait for the sets to come in.”
-As told to Tony Galliano by Chris Pontius from MTV’s 'Jackass'
Much of this section was inspired by my pastime as a foolish surfer wanna be. More about that later…
Naples, Florida has to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever lived. Perhaps second only to its neighbor, Marco Island, Florida… the most peaceful place I have ever lived.
If you have ever been to these places, you might think that money actually does grow on trees. Palm trees. There is so much wealth there; it’s enough to make you puke green with envy. But stick with me through this book and you won't need to be jealous of anybody. They'll be jealous of you.
When I first moved to Naples, I actually thought that Bentley must have started a line of cheapo cars. Why? How else could one out of every 20 cars on the road be a Bentley? I went to the dealership and checked it out. Sorry folks, they still cost $300,000.00.
Anyway, when I first moved to Naples, I just rented a small villa in a nice gated community called Pelican Marsh, right across from the Ritz Carlton. I was doing a lot of work commuting between Florida and Chicago, so the family stayed in Chicago.
I ended up spending more time in Florida than in Chicago with my family, so I eventually brought the gang down with me. The villa was too small, so we started house hunting. Sometimes life can be like a game of Dominoes.
I never REALLY paid much attention to the Naples area until I committed to moving there. Then I made a startling discovery…
There’s A Whole Different Planet Out There That Has Yet To Be Fully Discovered-
But put away your telescope - you won't find this one in outer space …
It’s called planet “Disgustingly Rich” and it’s inhabited by people who collect million dollar homes for a hobby, like the little plastic ones in Monopoly, and buy a new 50-foot yacht every other year. I mean, who wants last year's yacht, right? (Maybe those tone-deaf auto executives who flew to D.C. in their luxury jets to ask Congress for a bail out!)
Listen, everything we believe about money right now is nothing more than what we have been programmed to believe. Let the un-programming begin right here.
"Money will buy you a pretty good dog, but it won't buy the wag of his tail."
~Henry Wheeler Shaw
My house hunting adventure led me to meet a man named Pely. Pely was a young immigrant, no older than twenty-five.
One day, a friend told me that this Pely guy might have some property on Marco Island I’d be interested in.
The conversation went something like this:
Me: Dave told me to call you to see if your property is still available.
Pely: Which one?
Me: The one on Marco Island.
Pely: Which one?
Me: Dave said you had one on the water …on a canal with a yacht lift and a pool.
Pely: Which one?
Me: He said you currently have it listed for $1.5M.
Pely: Well, I have two houses that fit that description. Why don’t I give you directions? They are both already fully furnished and move-in ready.
Me: So, when should I meet you?
Pely: I’m kinda busy today …you can just let yourself in. I never keep my houses locked. I mean, if someone needs the furniture that bad, they can have it.
I really liked both homes, but decided on the one with the bigger pool. It turned out Pely owned over a dozen million dollar homes in Naples, Miami, and Cancun. Pely told me that he decided to move his family from Miami to Marco Island for a better quality of life. He started doing some remodeling to the house I'd decided I didn’t want.
I watched the renovation progress on a regular basis, as I used to pass by his house on my morning jogs around the island.
One day, the house was gone. Completely demolished! I called Pely to ask what happened, thinking it may have burned down. Pely told me that he got frustrated with parts of the remodeling project, so he decided it would just be easier to demolish the house (mid project mind you) and start from scratch.
I should note that Pely wasn’t even a real estate investor. Real estate was more of a hobby for him.
Guys like Pely aren’t even “Rich” by Naples standards. In fact, 400 of the Fortune 500 CEO’s have homes in Naples. Talk about money.
I quickly learned that I was definitely an “outsider” in Marco Island for two reasons:
I was the only guy in the neighborhood who went to work in the morning.
I was the only guy who did not have a 50-foot yacht parked in the canal behind the house.
I felt “equalized” after Hurricane Katrina swept across the island on its way to New Orleans and capsized my neighbor’s yacht. Their weeping echoed across the canal as their yacht was dragged away in pieces. You'd think they would have insured the thing…
Why would they? The “disaster” was the perfect excuse to buy a new, bigger, and even better toy.
I think the one characteristic the super affluent people I met shared was that money just wasn’t a big deal. I’m not saying that they are necessarily complacent. I mean that they just look at money like most people would look at dog food or dish soap. Money and the toys it buys are everyday commodities that really aren’t anything special.
Money may be the husk of many things but not the kernel. It brings you food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; acquaintance, but not friends; servants, but not loyalty; days of joy, but not peace or happiness. ~
Henrik Ibsen
Over the past few years, I have had the pleasure of meeting several Internet Millionaires. They seem to like me better when I hide my education and corporate background. In my more ignorant days, I regarded their style of marketing as tacky, annoying, and unprofessional. Then I saw how they actually live, work, and play. These guys are for real.
Imagine Frank Kern, an ordinary guy from Macon, Georgia …who organized the StomperNet launch which totaled over $24 million in sales in just a matter of days. This made me wonder: Was I truly considering everything, or was I placing snobbish limitations on myself.
These days, huge Internet product launches, from INDIVIDUALS, NOT BIG COMPANIES, are becoming more commonplace. As of this writing, Rich Schefren recently launched a coaching program which reportedly sold over $981,000 in just two hours.
What’s my point?
You can accomplish just about anything - including the impossible - if you want it bad enough.
Success breeds success. I truly believe you ARE what you pay attention to. It's called 'paying' attention for a reason! Do you want money? Do you want more quality in your relationships? Do you want to help people? Pay attention! In other words, focus on what you want or want to accomplish, for what you focus on is what you'll get.
If you believe it can be done, then go do it! I have seen proof all around me. After being surrounded by so many millionaires, corporate CEO’s, and celebrities, I remember saying to myself, “Wait, I’m smarter than that guy! I’m better educated than her! How come they have everything they want and I don’t?"
Then I figured it out. It took years of research, but I finally figured it out. And you will soon know it too.
It all goes back to almost 20 years ago when I was learning to surf.
I lived in the middle of nowhere, outside of San Luis Obispo, California, which made life pretty lame growing up. When I turned 16, everything changed. I became the proud owner of a red Datsun 210 Station Wagon…with a primer brown hood (no, that was not considered cool in my neighborhood).
I saved up my money from my paper route to buy a cheap used surfboard in junior high, but never got to use it much because I could never get a ride to the beach. Now that I had wheels, it was time to get serious about surfing, so I tried to follow my friend, Chris Pontius, around to get some “cool surf tips.” Years before he became a star on MTV’s 'Jackass', Chris was just a normal guy, just like everyone else. In fact, some considered him a lesser human being than everyone else. Let me explain.
Chris and I met in fifth grade at a special magnet school for gifted students. We were in little league together; I even gave him a kitten once when our cat had a litter. His dad was a cardiologist and his mom was a college professor. Since Chris lived out in the sticks like me, we became instant friends and hung out quite a bit. We would spend the night at each other’s houses and sometimes go on overnight trips to places like Disneyland.
I’m sure Chris’ dad was the only cardiologist in town who let his kids build a skateboard half-pipe in his yard. I am even more certain that Chris was the only doctor’s kid with TWO half pipes in the yard.
As a teenager, my mom saw danger signs I couldn't and she forbade me to hang out with 'creative' people like Chris. Yes, if you have seen 'Jackass', I’m sure many parents would do the same. The part I find interesting was my mother’s dire predictions about the future of “those Pontius kids”.
While traditional parents forced their kids into educational straight-jackets and rules and “fitting in,” the Pontius parents were different. Despite the fact that both the mom and dad had a PhD and MD respectively, they believed their kids could be successful in whatever field they chose and taught their kids to believe in themselves, not goals set by others.
What was the result? Chris is a rich and famous “Jackass” (a very happy jackass) and his brother, Matt, is a professional skateboarder (a very happy skateboarder). They both followed their dreams and found the pot of gold. Not bad for kids who grew up 'in the middle of nowhere'.
Perhaps I should have skipped business school and pursued my original dream of being a lion tamer. I guess it’s never too late. How much do lion tamers make anyway?
But back to surfing…
When I started surfing seriously, I tried to make it out to the beach every day. In fact, after my mom left town and abandoned me with no place to go, I wound up homeless at age 16 and lived in my car. Guess where I parked at night? The beach.
Why? Because surfing rules!
The term 'surfing' conjures up images of idyllic days in the sun, glistening bodies and warm Pacific waves, but that image belies the reality of the sport. It’s one of the hardest things you can ever do. After a day on the water, in the water, and under the water, you feel beat up, like you went a few rounds in the ring with Mike Tyson! This is not a joke. I have competed in dozens of sports and have even run an ultra-marathon (33 miles), but nothing compares to the physical exertion, exhaustion and brutality that defines surfing.
I think back to the advice I got from Chris…. So many years ago:
“Next time, wait for the sets to come in.”
In a nutshell, the “sets” are the big waves, the ones worth riding.
He taught me that the waves you DON’T take are just as important as the ones you DO take.
You see, actually catching a wave is a lot of work. You have to paddle your butt off to get positioned for the wave to “catch” you. Also, depending on where you are, you may have to fight off LOTS of competition for the right to ride that perfect wave.
Your competitors are often bigger, meaner and faster than you. They may have more experience, or just be more gutsy and daring.
It’s really rough out there. “Locals Only” isn’t just a brand name, a regulation, or saying. For some it’s a way of life and even death.
So anyway…
Even if you take the silly little easy waves, you still have to work like a madman to catch them. On top of that, the “ride” they give you is mediocre at best. Then you have to claw your way back into position just to have a chance to catch the next one.
Sometimes you just have to chill out and focus only on the best waves FOR YOU, not necessarily the biggest. Sometimes patience and some judicious selection pays off.
Why?
One of the hardest lessons I ever learned was on the famous Bonsai Pipeline.
When I was in college, I got a free flight to Hawaii via Air Force transport. I was in the National Guard which entitled me to fly stand-by anywhere the Air Force flies …which is pretty much everywhere.
I wanted to live out a long-time dream of surfing the Bonsai Pipeline on the north shore of Oahu. But there were a few obstacles in the way of my dream.
First, I didn’t live in Hawaii. Then thanks to the US Air Force, I overcame that obstacle, but there were still more. I wasn’t able to bring my surfboard because it was in California and I flew out of St. Louis. Not many surf shops in St. Louis. There were little kiosks that rented surfboards in Waikiki (on the south shore), but not on the north shore. For those of you who don’t know, I think the record wave on the south shore occurred in 1972 when a storm surge caused a tsunami about 13 inches tall.
A slight exaggeration, but the fact remained that the south shore had smaller waves than Lake Michigan. For those who doubt me, this is an open invite to surf the Kenosha, Wisconsin waterfront next summer. Send pictures.
I desperately NEEDED to get to the north shore.
Adding to my problem was that (at the time) you needed to be 21 to rent a car and I was only 19. To make matters worse, the Oahu bus system did not allow surfboards on the bus and the trip was WAY too far to walk …especially carrying a surfboard.
I decided to go see the Pipeline first hand anyway, sans surfboard. After getting off the bus, I was disappointed to find ONE lone surf shop at the bus stop. This was it? Where was the fanfare? Where were all the pros, photographers, and girls in bikinis? The Pipeline was supposed to be a surfer’s paradise. No trash talk, no hype. Just serious surfers doing what surfers do best.
After watching the waves for a few minutes, my whole body was screaming for action. I just HAD to go out on the water. I had a little room on my credit card, so I headed back to that lone surf shop to see if maybe… just MAYBE there was a cheap used board I could buy.
WRONGO, dude!
The cheapest used board they would sell me (and it was a total piece of garbage) cost $900.00. In retrospect, perhaps the $900.00 would have been a sound investment.
Back to the drawing board …so to speak.
I went back to the beach and just watched the waves… totally mesmerized.
Then I had a BRILLIANT idea!
I decided to BODY SURF the Bonsai Pipeline. Why not? I used to body surf all the time at home. Okay, usually I would use a body board, but is that necessary? I mean, don’t penguins do it all the time? …or is that sea lions?
Anyway, I found an area with no other surfers (I didn't exactly want an audience if this turned out badly, nor did I wish for some Hawaiian local to mow me down with his 13-foot long-board) and started swimming out to where the REAL waves were. [Note to self: if you're about to do something and there is no competition, always question why.] After painstakingly swimming for 20 minutes, I reached a cool “shelf” in the ocean. Although I was over 100 yards from the beach, the water was only ankle deep.
I jumped off the 'shelf' and continued swimming for deeper waters. I am a very strong swimmer, but fighting the waves was a KILLER without a board to float on.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity of swimming, I saw the “perfect” swell approaching and moved into position.
As the wave grew in the distance, I could “feel” it calling my name. It grew bigger and bigger, closer and closer.
I clearly remember thinking; this is a killer 6-footer! No wait! 8-footer! No wait! 12-footer!
“This is it, the ride of your life,” I told myself as I turned toward the shore and began swimming as fast as I could.
For a brief moment, I felt nothing… just a floating feeling as I was drawn into the wave… I felt a sense of peace and tranquility all around me.
Then, I felt the power and fury of nature as never before as the wave violently sucked me inside. There was then a brief period of being held prisoner (very much against my will) inside a very, very tall wall of water. As I began to panic, I was rudely reminded that people aren’t meant to breathe water.
I was then hurled over the top of the wave … you’d probably say I was exaggerating if I told you I was hurled 15 feet straight down. I couldn’t tell you for sure… I didn’t have my tape measure with me, but it felt like 50 feet.
Have you ever done a belly flop off a high dive? Hurts, doesn’t it?
That doesn’t even compare with the pain I felt at the bottom of my fall.
Remember that “shelf” in the water I mentioned earlier? Well it turns out there’s LOTS of them on the Bonsai Pipeline.
They are not made of sand.
They are not made of stone.
They are made of razor sharp coral formations.
Yes, that perfect dream wave slammed my body down onto a coral reef. I was in too much shock to feel the tiny jagged edges of coral slice through my skin like thousands of tiny razor-blades.
I began coughing the salt water from my lungs and gasping for air. I looked behind me and saw another wave… an even bigger wave, headed straight for me.
Nowhere to run… nowhere to hide…. I lay back down on the reef, hugged it tightly, and braced for impact.
CRASH!
Wave after wave, beating after beating, the barrage continued. I was 100 yards from the shore. The waves were so close together that I didn’t have time to “make a mad dash for the beach” between the sets. Besides, I was scared that I would just smash into another reef. I was scared, disoriented, and thought I might die.
The next day's headline would read: MORON DIES IN LAME ATTEMPT TO BODY SURF THE PIPELINE!
I began to recall the stories of how surfers have been pulled under water and trapped in the little caves that formed underneath the reef. Great. Another way to die. The only thing missing was a twenty-foot shark and with my blood in the water how far away could that be? Amazing how terror brings such moments of clarity.
For the next 30 minutes, I endured the beating. Wave after wave crashed into me as I hugged the jagged reef.
After deciding that the waves would never ease up, I let one more wave crash me into the reef, then I made a mad dash for shore.
I didn’t look back, I didn’t slow down… I put every ounce of strength I had left into a sprint that probably broke some kind of speed record.
I was still 50 yards from shore when I felt a powerful wave suck up my weak body.
I must have done ten summersaults in the water as the wave crashed down. I was trapped in the whitewater and tumbled over and over. I couldn’t even tell which way was up. It was like being in a big commercial sized washing machine and I couldn't reach the 'off' button.
I remember kicking and flailing as I gasped for air. I said a quick prayer of repentance (for being such an idiot). I knew then it was time to meet my Maker. I just hoped He didn't count off for stupidity.
In the distance, I heard an angelic voice say, “Laddie! Laddie!”
That’s when I really panicked! I wasn’t ready to see “them pearly gates!” I kicked and flailed even harder.
Again I heard, “Laddie! Laddie!”
Wait a sec… the voice sounded Australian. St. Peter wasn’t an Aussie …was he?
I heard the voice again, this time it was SCREAMING!
“LADDIE! LADDIE! STAND UP! STAND UP!”
So I did.
Much to my surprise, I was actually drowning in about 18 inches of water.
As the Australian lifeguard approached me, I walked to the dry sand and kissed it …eternally thankful that I had lived to touch terra firma once more.
The Aussie put his hand on my shoulder and asked…
“What the heck were you thinking, Laddie?”
“I dunno,“ I said. “Where were you anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be saving idiots like me?”
He said, “Yeah, but I was too busy saving that girl over there that followed you into the water. Besides, I could tell you are a really strong swimmer, am I right?”
Suddenly full of pride that I had survived, I casually bragged, “Yeah, I have surfed a bit and I swam and played water polo in high school.”
“Well, you’re lucky to be alive and that girl is even luckier!” he exclaimed.
It turned out that she was from Oklahoma and had never even seen an ocean before. She figured it was safe to swim …because she saw me do it.
As the Aussie turned away, he pointed to my chest and said, “You might want to clean that up. If you don’t, it will get infected and can scar pretty bad.”
I looked down and saw my ENTIRE body was covered in blood. The coral had literally sliced thousands of tiny cuts all over my chest, stomach, legs, and arms.
After washing my cuts out at the public shower, I passed out on the beach from sheer exhaustion.
I woke up with the worst sunburn of my life. I was as sliced and red as raw sushi and couldn’t move for two days…
So, what’s my point?
Surfing IS JUST Like Business!
Sometimes you will be more successful by saying “NO WAY!” Than by saying “yes”.
Here’s what I mean: There’s opportunity EVERYWHERE so you have to make judgments.
Every day, I am pummeled with new opportunities to make money.
When I first started out on my own, I seized on an opportunity to do a project for a huge international client. I was sick and overburdened with existing work, but took the job anyway. The project almost sent me back into the hospital.
The next week, I got an invitation to take part in a major project for Motorola.
Was the project worth a lot of money? Yes!
Did the project have potential to lead to more work? Yes!
Did I take the project? NO!
It was not in line with my personal goals and the direction I was taking with my company and my family life. It wasn’t easy to do the first time, but since then, I have learned from turning down several big opportunities. I have seen my “almost” partners make tons of money from projects I have turned down.
But you know what? That’s okay. If you spread your focus out in too many directions, you’ll be like I was as a 16-year old beginning surfer. You’ll waste your energy chasing after garbage.
If you are doing something that gives you success, keep doing it. It’s much easier to do what you are currently doing and do it BETTER than to move on to the next big thing.
Also, be careful of the “next big thing,” or "the next big wave," because it can kill you. Success isn’t found in chasing little waves or big waves. It’s about catching the wave that’s “just right!”
Oh …and be careful not to follow someone without getting the facts first. “Miss Oklahoma” almost killed herself by blindly following me into the ocean. A simple conversation with me would have told her that:
I have several years experience in the water and have swum competitively
I am a trained lifeguard
I grew up with Jackasses like Chris Pontius and will do lots of stupid things on a bet, whim, or dare.
I plan on writing a strategy book in several years and I need an anecdote to showcase what complete and utter stupidity looks like.
“Miss Oklahoma” also taught me that no matter how dumb you are… there is always at least one person around that's dumber than you.
And with that thought, I give you a 'Yogi-ism' just for fun ~
"A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore." ~Yogi Berra
Your 60 Second Strategy:
Eliminate Distractions
By
Managing your time so you can focus on long-term goals rather than routine daily activities
Keeping stress in perspective and preventing emergencies from derailing long-term goals
Regularly challenging traditional methods of thinking
Not letting your daily schedule interfere with long-term thinking
Reserving time and energy to contemplate and act strategically
Finding a quiet place to think that is free from distractions, interference and business
Identifying "waves" in your work; map out strategies to manage them
Developing the discipline to control mundane activity straps and firefighting
Periodically weeding out unimportant tasks and obsolete responsibilities
Develop techniques to control internally created "waves of distraction"
DO THIS NOW
Go to www.60SecondStrategist.com and download the Chasing Waves strategy worksheets.
2. Identify your top ten habits, tasks, and pressures that prevent you from acting strategically.
Rate the difficulty you will have attempting to control these “demons”.
Develop a plan to deal with each of the difficult distractions.
Ask yourself: Is there any “wave chasing” I can delegate?
Ask yourself: Is there any “wave chasing” I can eliminate completely?
Ask yourself: Are there any waves I can just plain ignore?
Chapter 2
"Locking In On Your Target"
“So, tell me what you want, what you really, really want…”
-Spice Girls
“GUNNER!”
“MISSLE!”
“TANK!”
“TANK! I said TANK! What’s wrong with you? Don’t you see it? Soviet T-72 Class! Eleven O’clock! It’s right there! … No, from MY position!”
BOOM!
Target destroyed.
“Sorry, Sir, I just didn’t see the tank,” Specialist Jacobs apologized as he took off his helmet.
"It’s okay," I assured him. "It’s just a good thing this was only a simulation. That tank would have gotten us for sure! Let’s re-load the program again and take it from the top. I hate to get “old school” on you, but next time I have to take control of the missiles and kill the tank from my position …I’m gonna make you drop and give me a hundred pushups. Got it?”
In the Infantry, simulation was part of the job. A BIG part. You did the same stuff over and over and over. We practiced thirteen battle drills. You had to know them in your sleep… ambush, bunker assault, react to contact…. This way, when the moment of truth came, you just had to react. The script was programmed into you. In battle, you really don’t have time to contemplate things. You need to know your role and the role of your team. No time for second guessing or mistakes. Training - repetitive training - muscle memory takes over and you simply perform the task quickly, without having to think about it.
As a mechanized infantry platoon leader, I had to assemble thirty men from all different kinds of backgrounds, levels of education, and degrees of intelligence… then heavily arm them and trust they knew what to shoot at and when to shoot it. As long as everyone understood their target and their role, there were no problems.
In many ways, the so-called “dumb” soldiers were often the best ones. They learned their part and played it on cue. It was usually the "smart", clever ones who tried to over-analyze everything and second guess direction. They often thought they were "smarter" than their commanding officer. Those who could maintain a laser sharp focus on the goal at hand and not be distracted by over-thinking were the best soldiers.