Dan Waldschmidt's Blog, page 44

The Hard Truth About Why You Don’t Win More.

Practice doesn’t make you perfect. It makes what you’re practicing permanent.

Working out doesn’t automatically make you fit. It just means you’ve been working up a sweat.

Practice is the performance.

You need to read more. You need to make more time for learning. You need to hire a coach to push you beyond your limits.

But most importantly, you need to practice being successful.

That’s why you aren’t winning more.

You aren’t practicing like it really matters.

That means you can’t just go through the motions, you do those motions with purpose and intensity.

You do it right. You correct yourself when your practice is sloppy or slow.You do it again until you get it right.

That’s the essence of steady improvement. That’s the only guarantee you have of being better.

A relentlessly deliberate rehearsal of success.

No matter what type of outcome you’re looking for in business, sports, politics, or life in general, you improve when you focus manically on being better.

You’ll never be better than your best practice.

If you’re training to win, you’ll do that. Not because you get lucky, but because you practice and train and prepare differently when you’re serious about it.

What are you serious about?

The post The Hard Truth About Why You Don’t Win More. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

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Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

You Think You’re Disciplined, But You’re Not.

You’re not disciplined because you do some of the things that need to be done.

You’re not disciplined because you do the same things each day.

You’re not disciplined because you get up on time, go to work on time, or get things done on time.

The hard truth about discipline is that repetition isn’t the same as practice, excellence, and focused determination.

Superstar athletes and high-performance business executives share the same ability to maniacally develop improvements in their own abilities, no matter how good they already are.

That’s where discipline comes in.

It’s easy to do what’s easy. It’s natural to do more of the things that you’re automatically good at.

But doing more of what you’re already good at isn’t going to lead to any new breakthroughs.

You won’t be awesome by doing the same old things you’ve been doing before.

It takes discipline to practice improving that one skill that makes you feel uncomfortable.
It takes discipline to try new things when you are already a pro at the old ones.

Given that definition, you’re probably not as disciplined as you think you are, are you?

You play around at improving.

You aren’t focused and deliberate.

You want to be better but aren’t willing to do the work to get there. Disciplined work. Focused work. Uncomfortable work.

What are you doing today that feels awkward and new? What new, specific skills are you focused on improving?

Awesome isn’t easy. But it’s possible. Discipline is the pathway there.

The post You Think You’re Disciplined, But You’re Not.  appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

How To Solve Problems Awesomely.

There are no easy answers to life’s complex problems.

Generating more revenue and fixing sticky business problems isn’t something you can do by simply following the course or selecting a few generic, reproducible actions to incorporate into your existing strategy.

It’s not that easy.

Doing the work of solving complex problems isn’t hard. But figuring out what to do and why it matters to you demands extraordinary emotional commitment that most people just aren’t up for.

It’s hard work to think for yourself. It’s tedious to look weird and follow your instinct even when there isn’t enough evidence to justify that what you’re doing will actually end up working.

That’s what makes problem solving so difficult.

Every solution works some of the time. And at the worst possible time, even the best solutions fail to give you the results that you expect.

So what are you supposed to do when the obvious answer isn’t always the winning answer? What are you supposed to do when even the best ideas and winning strategies from the past don’t seem to be effective anymore?

You change how you look at problems.

You start by recognizing that there are no easy answers. You admit that your decisions and solutions impact other people around you.

You frame the discussion not around what is easy, quick, fast, friendly, or cheap — but rather around the need for empathy and compassion throughout the process.

Embrace kindness.

Instead of looking for the silver bullet that remedies a difficult challenge, look for the reason to tackle the challenge in the first place.

Tough problems aren’t ever solved easily.

Know that going in. Remember it. Embrace the process. Avoid easy answers. Do what no one else is willing to do — longer than it seems logical.

Everyone else will have already given up. The secret to figuring it out is to humbly keep trying.

The post How To Solve Problems Awesomely. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

Finding Your Way Back When You Feel Lost.

One of the most hopeless feelings in the world is feeling lost. That sense that you’ve lost your way.

Going somewhere but not sure where or why or if you actually want to be where you end up.

If you aren’t there right now, you’re guaranteed to be there soon. It’s a challenge that plagues all of us.

You were born looking for purpose.

You cried and struggled and failed your way to figuring things out. You didn’t know enough to even consider that you might have limits.

Before you could run, you walked. Before you could walk, you crawled. Before you could crawl, you grabbed whatever was closest to you and pulled yourself up until you fell back over again.

Every day was a new learning experience. Developing new muscles — intellectual, emotional, and physical.

Your way was everywhere, doing everything.

You wanted it all. And tried it all. But then something began to undermine your grand exploration towards greatness.

You begin to realize that failing came with a cost. Even the threat of failure came with the cost. Being different was painful. It cost you something to venture boldly and miss the mark.

And so over time, you tried to figure out a way to grow without getting hurt.

To win more without having to lose as much.

Your best option was to develop new skills.

Hoping that if you knew enough fast enough you could do anything.

But now this feeling of helplessness seems all consuming. You’ve got more skills than ever before. Right now you should be the most qualified winner in the universe of your existence.

Instead you left feeling stuck. Miserable. Depressed and shaken to your core. You’ve lost your way and can’t seem to find the way back.

Maybe that’s because you’ve been looking in all the wrong places.

What you’re missing isn’t skill.

There’s a reason we don’t say: “If there’s a skill, there’s a way.” Because the way isn’t something you figure out in books, degrees, or training.

It’s a fire burning deep in your soul waiting to be unleashed. Will. The antidote to your misery. The prescription to fix what’s broken.

When you lose your way, find your will.

Renew your resolve. Double down on your determination.

When you can’t find a way, build will.

The way will follow.

The post Finding Your Way Back When You Feel Lost.  appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

Why Your Ideas Don’t Matter.

Ideas don’t really matter.

That you have them is a good sign.

It means that you’re alive and somewhat alert and perhaps wildly brilliant.

But the idea of having ideas isn’t all that spectacular.

So you should stop being shocked when other people don’t take your ideas all that seriously.

Because ideas don’t really matter.

How to execute those ideas is what matters.

Whether you call your ideas a strategy, new tactics, or just some solid brainstorming — figure out how to execute your idea.

Execution is what really matters. Really, the only thing that matters.

A bad idea beats an awesome idea when you can’t figure out how to get an awesome idea accomplished.

That’s why the best ideas don’t always get implemented. Because there’s no plan to actually make them happen.

There is no pathway to success.

So the obvious, underwhelming idea is the one that everyone decides to execute.

Stop focusing on great ideas and focus on ruthlessly awesome execution.

That’s the only way to guarantee your idea matters.

The post Why Your Ideas Don’t Matter.  appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

It’s All There.

There is always something to complain about.

There’s always something bad ready to happen.

You don’t even have to look far to find all the nasty stuff that keeps you up at night.

It’s all around you.

Financial challenges, work stress, family drama, friendship chaos, and your own personal unspoken fears and pain collide continually in a tidal wave of negativity that will drown you in despair if you let it.

What’s also true is that the most wonderful things in life are all around you all the time as well.

Laughter and love, generosity and opportunity — they are abundant and within reach. You just can’t see them because you’re looking down.

Not up. Not around. Just down.

Which is a lesson in perspective.

A lesson in potential and possibility.

What you want is out there for the taking. But you might be missing it because you’re overwhelmed by negativity.

You’re looking for trouble before it ever arrives. You’re looking for drama, chaos, and deceit before it exists.

You think you’re doing yourself a favor. But you’re really robbing yourself of opportunity and momentum.

It’s all there. You’re just looking for the wrong thing.

The post It’s All There.  appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

Why You Can’t Move Forward

Getting things done isn’t just about forward progress.

Achieving great goals, making tiny progress, or even just planning your next step requires lateral movement.

Even more than that.

Sometimes it requires moving backwards.

From the outside looking in it might appear that you’re not as strong as you need to be. Those side to side movement seem indecisive. Stepping back appears to be a sign of weakness.

One of the biggest mistakes you can ever make in attempting to achieve audacious goals is to assume that the only acceptable movement towards success is moving forwards.

Relationships requires empathy.

If you’re focused on moving forwards at any cost, you’re probably trampling those relationships. Later you’ll wonder why there is no one to have your back. You’ll wonder why when things go wrong for you it seems like everyone is out to get you. They are out to get you.

You haven’t done anything to build those bonds. And when it matters most you end up losing.

Building wealth requires insight.

If you’re only focused on getting more money at any cost you’re probably doing something illegal — and almost assuredly hurting someone else. Later you’ll wonder when you’re broke why you couldn’t make money as impressively as you imagined.

You forgot about the Golden Rule. You forgot that “what goes around, comes around”. And not you’re in trouble — because you didn’t think it was important to think about others.

Fitness requires forgiveness.

If you’re only focused on losing more weight or building stronger muscles, you’re doing something that is surely unhealthy and probably going to kill you. Later you’ll wonder why you feel tired, uninspired and miserable.

You forget that health isn’t just what other people see on the outside. It’s what drives you on the inside — your thoughts and fears and mental baggage. Hire a trainer.

But also hire a therapist.

Success demands you move side to side.

Forward and back. Smartly. Looking and planning and playing the long game.

Winning isn’t about machismo or being a bully to get ahead.

Maybe the best way for you to move forward isn’t by moving forward at all.

It’s a different move altogether.

The post Why You Can’t Move Forward appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

It’s Not Supposed To Get Any Easier.

Life is tough. Relentlessly tough.

Financial pressures, unrealistic expectations from work, family needs, and personal challenges test your resolve daily.

It’s unrelenting pressure. Pressure that will  break you if you don’t have the right perspective.

The truth about life is that it’s not supposed to get any easier.

All those 7 step programs to an instantaneously easier life just don’t work. Those get rich quick tactics you heard from your friend or saw on the internet are a hoax.

You’re telling yourself a lie when you expect you can do something and life will automatically become easier.

It’s not supposed to get any easier. You’re supposed to get stronger.

You’re supposed to develop a stronger will.

That’s what winners do. They don’t whine and complain about life being unfair. They don’t let other people’s small-minded thinking break their determination and drain their spirit.

Winners don’t expect to achieve success because they are hoping the contest will got easier.

They expect to win because they are unrelenting in developing the right muscles and mindset to overcoming the obstacles they expect to be in their way.

That’s true no matter what challenges you are facing.

It’s not going to get easier. It’s not. You want it to, but deep in your soul you already know that this challenge you are facing is your proving ground.

This is your gymnasium. Your gladiatorial arena. Your opportunity to rise from the dust of conquest with the steeled resolve of a warrior unwilling to give up.

Don’t pray for peace. Pray for strength. Don’t beg for mercy. Beg for another chance to battle

Develop the toughness to win no matter what the odds look like.

The post It’s Not Supposed To Get Any Easier.  appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

Why You Don’t Succeed.

You don’t succeed because you don’t think you can.

When you don’t think you can, you don’t try as hard as you need to.

When you don’t try hard enough you don’t get the results that you want.

When you don’t get the results you want, you reinforce the idea that you don’t think you can

That spiral continues until you disrupt it.

Until you rip from the roots of your soul the disbelief in your ability to do whatever it takes, you’ll never work hard enough or try long enough to get to where you want to be.

You’ll fail and flop and blame other people for your own lack of confidence and poor performance.

And the answer is simple. You have to believe.

You have to believe that within yourself is enough ability and stamina to keep doing the hard things long enough to get across the finish line.

You don’t need anyone else. You don’t need anything else.

What you have and who you are is all you need to succeed.

If you believe that — if you let that belief consume your soul — you’ll win.

You’ll succeed. You’ll achieve the impossible.

Start believing now.

The post Why You Don’t Succeed. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

You Won’t Accidentally Be Awesome.

Being successful demands that you manage your priorities.

There is enough time in the day, every day, to get done what needs to get done.

You don’t have too much to do. You aren’t running out of time.

You just don’t know what matters.

When you can’t manage your priorities, you won’t manage to be successful.

Which is the slow, miserable, frightful death of your dream.

It will crush your spirit and rob you of your money.

You’ll chase strategies that promise you the quick and easy path to success when your real priority is to find the courage to do what’s hard.

You’ll follow advice that’s good but not great.

You’ll be busy, but not clearly possessed with a purpose.

It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of not being clear about your priorities.

Unless you’re careful, you’ll forget to constantly review and refine how you spend each moment of your day.

What you think about. How you spend your money. The friends you spend time with and books you read.

Look at how you spent the day yesterday.

And the week before that. And the months before that.

Chances are, you spent your time being busy. You were tired at night from the day’s efforts — but not because you were invested in activities uniquely crafted by you to catapult yourself towards success.

That has to change.

You need to get clear about your priorities. Pick anything. Aim high. Build a plan.

Stay disciplined.

Use smart tools to keep you scheduled and hold you accountable each day.

There’s no excuse for spinning in circles. There’s no good reason to waste your time, money, and courage on things that don’t matter.

You won’t accidentally be awesome. You have to work for it.

The post You Won’t Accidentally Be Awesome.  appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...