Ever experience a “sour patch” moment? 

You know… when you experience a bad moment only to have a sweet one right after.

(If you still don’t know check out this sour patch kids video)

A sour patch moment could be when you break up with that relationship and feel a sense of relief to be single again, only to realize you already miss the comfort from your partner.

Or that time you finally walk in your college graduation after four years of waiting to get out and be on your own – only realizing once you graduate that you miss the “responsibility of doing nothing” oh so much.

Funny how things work, eh?

My belief is we should always have fun, and be playful no matter how bitter or sweet the moments are.

At least that’s the way I like to act on things.

I actually had a bitter sweet moment recently.

I received a DVD in the mail of an interview that a T.V. station covered of me over four years ago when I was playing Arena Football.

I missed the interview when it aired on the local news and never got a copy of it… until now (view below)

It was a fun story about my usual antics during practice…. slapping five and dancing around.

Yes… salsa dancing at that. 

Don’t worry, I was the most focused and determined athlete in practice and during games, but I had to have fun in moments that didn’t need to be so serious.

Because what’s the point of trying to achieve your dream if you don’t have fun along the way… right?

It was a sweet moment watching that video.

I got to laugh at myself and remember the fun times I had playing professional football with my teammates.

It brought back a lot of bitter memories as well as I had played 14 games that season with a broken wrist and could remember the pain I felt every day as the broken wrist bone chattered with the surrounding bones.  Or memories of driving home after a loss for a 15 hour drive in the middle of the night with 30 very large men on a sleeper bus…  can you imagine the things done and said during these rides?  They were a trip!

(here’s me below in the middle bunk on the bus with my wrist protector on and usual gatorades to help with hydration after a game).

Good times.

Just shortly after I received the video above in the mail and had my bitter and sweet memories, I received a Google alert with my name.

I opened the alert on my iPhone and read this (view image on the right).

It told me that my NCAA All-Division record for most receiving yards in a single football game over 9 years ago… was broken.

Trey McVay of Northeastern Oklahoma State broke it by 7 yards.

I was waiting for this day to happen ever since I broke the previous record back in 2002.

It was inevitable, and I’m surprised no one broke it until now.

Every Saturday during football season I knew it had a chance of being broken, and it just so happened to be on that day.

I was happy earlier in the day and for a short while after receiving that update I was a little bitter.

You gotta enjoy the bitter sweet moments.

Later I found out that even though my All Division record was broken, my Division III record for the most receiving yards in a single game was still intact.

However, that to will be broken one day.

I just can’t win… can I?

You’re Only As Good As Your Last Game

My coach used to tell us that after we had a big win.

That we are only as good as our previous efforts and every game should be played at a higher level because we have that much more experience to work with.

So what does this all mean and why am I sharing this personal moment with you?

My point is we will always have bitter moments, go through challenging times, and have our records broken.

I don’t think the feeling of success is as sweet without the bitter moments we face along the journey anyways.

I’m really happy for Trey and hope he gets to enjoy holding on to that record for more than 9 years… however his record will also be broken one day.

Should I give up, or focus even more?

I’ve got big goals and even bigger dreams (my parents are the ones to blame for making me dream big .  The moment I learned my record was broken, I felt bitter – started dancing – and then began to focus even more on my game plan for achieving the goals I’m going after right now.

We all have a choice to let the bitter moments rule our thinking, or let it become the driving factor that gets our butts in gear to play our next game better than the last.

Fact is, I can’t try to hold onto my “claim to fame” of some record I broke 9 years ago anyways… if I’m not playing big now then what does it matter when I retired from football so long ago?

Every day I’m thinking about the goals I want to achieve short term and long term and I take action each day to achieve them.

I hope you are doing the same thing.

Of course, you want to enjoy your life, and live the way that makes you the happiest, but if you are going after big goals and dreams you can’t be holding on to past achievements.

Next time you have a bitter moment or someone breaks one of your records just remember one thing… you’ll always feel better right after you start dancing.

How’s the view when you look back on 2010?

I’m currently in New Zealand as I write this post, and the view has been amazing.  2010 was also my biggest year (in the business world) by a long shot.

I expected big things to happen.  Not only did they happen, but a number of unexpected blessings occurred as well.  I’m so grateful for all the good from 2010, and there was one thing that set the tone early on that allowed me to focus throughout the year, and that was… having a plan.

Looking Back at 2010

It was mid January and I still didn’t have my “goals” set for the new year.  I met up with my good friends Jon Myers (creative business genius) and Barry Chandler from manageyourbar.com to discuss some things they were working on and it wasn’t 5 minutes into the conversation where I already felt like complete dog shit (in a good way).

Barry went through this entire story about how he knew what his goals were and had the entire year mapped out with the right systems in place for everything to work in order to achieve each goal.

I was still trying to figure out how to pay off three credit cards and didn’t even have one goal yet for the year.  In short, I felt like dog shit failure and the first month wasn’t over.

Something happened that night.

Barry laid it into me when I told him I hadn’t had any goals for the year.  It got so bad at one point that I got up during mid conversation, gave him a hug and told him “thanks for the tough love words of wisdom” and ran close to 2 miles home in the freezing Winter wind to map out my goals, and prepare for the launch of a sports business membership site that I had been putting off for months.

Taking Massive Action

Barry told me the entire time that I wasn’t taking enough massive action (even though I’d been known to do that a lot).  He lit up a fire inside me when he drilled home the point that launching my site didn’t have to be perfect, and that things would change over time so why try to perfect it when I’ll change it later.

I realized I was over analyzing things too much and decided to launch it asap.

Within a month the site was fully created with content, and a marketing plan for the rest of the year.  I now have over 350 monthly paying members, and a library of content that I could sell, plus a new business I didn’t have before… all because I took massive action.

I made a number of other goals that night for my other business with Sean Malarkey, and for my personal goals.

My business with Sean has exceeded our goals and expectations and my personal income increased 12 fold since the previous year.  Setting the tone that night for the year allowed me to invest in two start up companies, travel the world including London five times, Paris, Ireland, Buenos Aires, New Zealand, and nearly every major city in the U.S. to rack up a years worth of frequent flier miles.  It’s been an amazing year, and it all started with the night where I decided to map out some goals (thanks Barry!)

Have the “End” In Mind

Now that a new year is around the corner, it’s time to acknowledge the good and ugly from 2010, and start to figure out what you would want to have happen by the end of 2011.

Instead of just writing down what you want to have happen, make sure to frame the exact goals you want.

For example, “I want to do 2 million in total sales by December 31st”, or “I want 5 clients that pay me $10,000 each”, or “I want to write and publish my first book by March 16th”.  The more direct you are with your goals, the easier it is to work backwards and put the puzzle pieces in the right place at the right time.  Also writing your goal down, and hanging them in a frame on your wall acting as if you have already achieved them, tends to help me the most.

How to make 2011 Incredibly Awesome

Now that you realize you want to make this year freaking unreal, let’s break down the necessary steps to making that happen.  I created an overview of bullet points and unedited thoughts, but if you want to hear more of an explanation behind my thought process, then make sure you watch the video below that covers more detail.

1.  It’s All About Connecting and Building Your Network

• Make real world connections by showing up
• Attend the correct events
• ”BPB”  Business Passion Business or  “the 2am connection principle“
• Follow up sincerely

If it’s online then make it “feel” real world any way possible by sending them a happy birthday video on their Facebook wall, write an article about them, make 3 highly targeted introductions for them, etc.

2.  Taking Massive Action

I believe those who produce will be remembered, those who sit back and wait will be forgotten.

Steps for producing more:

• Start small, then make it bigger
• Write a free ebook
• Do a video series
• Write a monthly free webinar
• Just produce something!

Collaborate with your key connections and reach out to your network

Come out with something where you can take payment solo, or with a partner with someone who will do well in the things you aren’t great at if you don’t feel comfortable doing it.

Perception is reality, even if you don’t make money… those who produce will ultimately sell more and succeed over time.

3.  Prepare For The Big Game

Speak as often as possible in front of small and big groups.  Speak in person, on teleseminars, webinars and any other way possible to get in front of an audience.

Join Toastmasters and hone in on on presenting like a master!!!

• Presenting over and over will be crucial when preparing for the big game
• Everything is a small moment working towards big moments

Have a game plan:

• Content
• Speaking
• Products
• Services
• Events
• and more

4.  Document Your Success And “Misses” (not failures)

Do a monthly log of where you are and where you want to be

Celebrate the successes, and review the misses

Frame the end goal

5.  Enjoy The Journey Baby

Make the business stuff pleasurable

Have fun on the travel and enjoy what the city has to offer

Stay out late and connect on personal levels with people

Remember your passion, and live it daily/weekly

It’s not about the destination, its about the journey!

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What do you think about this process for making 2011 amazing?  Do you have these steps and your plan in place yet?  If not, what are you waiting for?

Image credit: smemon87

David Siteman Garland is an extremely successful young entreprenuer.

He has started and owned a professional hockey league, created a hit T.V. show, speaks professionally around the country, and now has his first book deal (all before his 26 birthday).

The guy is a mutant and his hustle mentality gushes from his eyelids.

So how has David been able to build a powerful brand and achieve (some of) his goals?

One way David has done this is by being completely fearless and taking action to go after what he wants.  He isn’t afraid to fail, and he alters his path at any time along his j0urney when he notices something isn’t working the way he wants it to.

Simple as that.  David creates valuable content, connects people, and does this on a consistent basis.

Do you need to have 20+ years of experience to make a living doing something you are passionate about?  David has a little over 3 years of experience (not including his life experiences), and is completely dominating his niche and growing every day.

Don’t take it for me, watch this video interview below with David just to see how much passion and knowledge he has.

Make sure you check out David’s new book when it comes out, as he really knows his stuff and I stand behind everything he produces.  There aren’t too many people I can say that about, but David is the real deal and his site The Rise To The Top is always a great resource for entreprenuers.

What are your challenges you face along your journey to being an entreprenuer, or any other goals you might have?  Make sure to leave a comment with a few of your challenges, and I’ll have David respond with his best stuff.  Make sure to follow David on Twitter for quick markeitng tips as well.

There are different paths to success.  Wouldn’t you agree?

Arthur Kade is someone who has a clear goal in mind, takes massive action each day to achieve his goal, and doesn’t let anyone negative stop him along his journey.

Are you doing this along your journey to success?

There are some people that love who he is, and what he does… and there are others who disagree with everything he represents.

If you take 30 seconds to read parts of his blog, or watch one of his gazillion videos you will know why.

I’m not here to comment on the controversial things he posts on his site, but rather talk about his approach to achieving his dreams as everyone can learn something from his approach.  Check out this video interview I did with Arthur below:

(*disclaimer* Arthur swears and uses offensive language, so if you don’t feel like being offended today, then don’t watch this video, and watch this one instead)

Again I’m not here to judge Arthur on the things he does or says that you may or may not take offense to, instead, I’m here to talk about his passion and his attitude.

Arthur has built a pretty nice brand for himself in less than a years time.   The action steps he is taking is one to take notice of as he is constantly doing something to build his personal brand.  The success he is receiving has come directly from being completely transparent, not listening to the critics, taking massive action, and going after what he wants (as opposed to waiting for someone to hand it to him).

Can you appreciate Arthur’s hustle and accomplishments?  Are you taking these steps along your journey to success?  Are you visualising your goals every day and see yourself holding your own Oscar?  Time to step things up on your journey to success… wouldn’t you agree?

Have you ever had to sleep on a couch?

Not much fun is it?

Not even if you are on the most luxurious 20 cushion couch, it still doesn’t feel as good as the California King that makes you sleep like a baby.

Sometimes, however, we are forced to sleep on a couch on our own journey to success.  I can’t tell you how many couches I have slept on during my travels to attend conference and events.   It’s just something you will have to do if you can’t afford the expense of a hotel.

Have you ever had to sleep on a friends couch while traveling?  Did it make you want to work that much harder so you wouldn’t have to sleep on another couch again when you traveled?  I would love to hear some of your experiences.

Sometimes we forget why we work so hard.

Sometimes we don’t notice the beauty right in front of us.

We are passionate about what we do for a reason… so we can enjoy moments like this.  Nuff said!

I have been inspired by Chris Brogan’s Overnight Success Series on his blog ever since I watched the first video.  It makes me appreciate my journey to “success” as I grind and hustle every day to achieve my goals.

Check out my first video on my Journey To Success

Chris is a guy I follow, because he is someone who has reached the coveted “overnight success” goal in the online space that I play in.  Many others have achieved this overnight success as well, and each of them have taken a different path to get to where they are now.

I’m not anywhere close to Chris or some of the other over night successes out there, but I take my game to the next level every day, and I’m constantly breaking barriers, reaching new goals, and taking the necessary steps to become my own “overnight success”.

I decided to start my own series, inspired by Chris, to share with you what it is like for someone who is on his journey, and what it takes to stay on the right path to achieve whatever it is you are looking for (clue: it is NOT about the destination people).

I hope you enjoy my first video in this series, and please add your thoughts below to share with me a little more about your personal journey to overnight success.