What You Will Get Done is Nothing Compared to What will Get Done To You.
The things we’ll be “getting done” together in this course are insignificant compared to the things within you that we’ll install, discover, heal, strengthen and sometimes remove, as we fight to execute the strategies and tactics that will allow you to live an inspiring life.
You see, when we confront the actions required to live a big and inspirational life, we’ll quickly realize that to initiate and sustain them is far beyond our current skill, capacity or sometimes levels of interest. This is a good thing.
In fact, It’s my belief that we’ve been given dreams bigger than ourselves to inspire each one of us to become a new kind of creature. A humble creature that realizes that it must evolve by tapping into higher sources of power and community.
So the power and capacity that you’ll continue to hear me talk about doesn’t just come from…
…having your life dialed in. The bulk of it comes from the strength of character that is developed by dialing your life in.
To me, this life is an obstacle course that was designed to develop a very particular kind of strength, skill and ruggedness in preparation for something very big and very specific, which by the end of this course you’ll have had the opportunity to discover for yourself.
If you keep running around the obstacles because they don’t align with your already existing strengths and interests, you’ll never grow or progress beyond who you are right this very moment. You can see this a lot in [parenting.]
Some of you are experiencing this right this very moment. You’re skimming or just reading through this rather than methodically doing the work as assigned. You’re letting this wash over you like a suntan.
It’s a big reason there are a bunch of people in their 20s, 30s and even 40s are stuck on the bench of life.
They don’t believe that they need to travel through and master the domains which they are weak or uninterested in. Or even worse, they can’t commit to a dream that’s big enough to require or inspire them to do so.
Now one of the reasons we operate with such precision here is because…
…it forces us to confront our character flaws. By the time you finish this unit you’ll have real live structures that tell you:
- The exact actions to be in (What to do)
- The exact times to do them (When to do)
- The exact process for figuring out how to do them (How to do)
- The life or death nature of having done them (Why to do)
It’s a very common occurrence for people to run into things here that require professional help to travel through.
The beauty of this is that when they clear a character flaw in one area of their life it disappears in all of the other areas too.
Now there’s another good reason that so many people…
…remain stuck in life. Either they are constantly consuming social media and T.V or they are surrounded by others who are.
The cultural narratives stuff our minds with the radical accomplishments, good or bad, of others.
It is this constant consumption that takes up the space required for their big dreams to take root and grow.
We think that each amazing or entertaining picture or video is inspiring us to do or become more, but all it’s actually doing is producing a type of craving that can only be satiated through the continuous consumption of someone else’s amazing life.
Now I want you to really get this. An inspiring post on social media does NOT inspire you to go and do what you’re consuming. It inspires you to come back and consume more.
It’s heartbreaking for me to see people I know and love tethered to their phones consuming empty content rather than allowing their minds to rest, recover and remain open to the dream God keeps trying to plant within them.
So understand that those times you’re looking at or for a…
…text, checking your social media or even just opening your phone to see if something came in…
are the times you should be allowing your big, seemingly impossible dream to haunt you.
Those are the little quiet moments a dream needs for growth. They need sun. Get them out of the shadow of your phone!
So, where we get started is by addressing the…
…biggest barrier to entry when it comes to taking action and that’s having a very good reason, like a life or death reason, for doing so.
Taking action requires time and energy so it’s natural for our psychology to resist it in an effort to conserve our limited resources.
And let’s face it. We’ve fooled our subconscious so many times by convincing it that something we’ve been doing or want to be doing is actually good for us.
Of course it doesn’t trust us anymore. Why would it?
The good news is that by this point we’ve already done the work, and as we tap into this foundation we’ve built you’ll also find that you’ll not have worry about conserving your precious resources,
…because the work we’ve already done will increase your capacity as we execute.
Now…With the hyper levels of situational awareness…
…precise clarity regarding what truly impacts our ability to live a good life and lead others to do the same, rigorous assessments and a clear set of priorities
taking “Action” is no longer something we need to push ourselves into.
Because of the work we’ve done to this point, we now feel the pull of action as it becomes a natural part of our intuition and desire.
No different than running away from a fire or towards a pot of gold. Neither requires levels of motivation or discipline beyond what they generate.
Let’s Dive in…
To EXECUTE…
…is to constitute an objective, design a strategy and complete the tactics assigned to it until the objective is produced. Anything else is just being [busy].
It’s important to not think of this as a “Project” to get done.
Victims do projects, which are often looked at as one time sets of actions.
What we’ll be doing is transforming projects into practices, which are sustainable action plans that can be repeated, evolved and delegated in ways that produce more capacity than they consume.
It’s “Hero’s” work. It’s the actual “Art” of living a good life.
This is where we realize our full potential as creators.
Step One: Parts of Parts
From the “Prioritize” Unit you should have three “Practices” labeled as “1″.
This means that you’ll have at least one and up to three “PARTS” also labeled as a number 1.
The reason you might only have one part labeled as a number 1 is because, when you prioritized by power, you may have determined that three practices within a single part met the criteria for being the most impactful actions to take.
[_] Follow the “1s” down to each practice
[_] Review the Impacts and the Parts and update as / if needed
Step Two: Practices
Now look at our PRACTICES cell in the example above, and you’ll notice that we basically started a list of the things which produce the positive IMPACTS of the part and remove the negative IMPACTS.
So in our example we determined what PRACTICES we need to be in to produce:
- Powerful moods
- High levels of energy
- Confidence
- Creativity
- Discipline
You’ll see in our case we determined that:
- Sleep
- Exercise
- Diet
- Mindfulness
…would be the practices that would create the IMPACTS we are after.
And in this example, we determined that “Exercise” would be the thing that, if we got handled, would ripple across other things in a positive way and produce an early return of the time, energy, creativity, and currency we put into it. (Prioritized by Power)
** Warning **
Do not get overwhelmed here. At first, when you start listing out these practices, it will feel like a bunch more things for you to do. But as we progress, you’ll discover three things that will help you with this.
First, is that you’re either already doing many of these things or you’re much closer to being able to do them than you think.
Second, is that many of our practices, if designed just right, can and will care for multiple PARTS and sub PARTS at a time.
For instance. The time and effort you put into eating a specific diet can produce returns in many other areas of your life — sleep, focus, energy, mood, confidence — either immediately or in the future.
Third, it’s likely that you’ll be able to identify and drop many of your existing practices to make room for these new ones because you’ll realize how ineffective they are in regards to living a good life..
There’s a whole lot of untapped power to be accessed just by deleting that which does not apply to a good life.
Onwards!
The Pull Through
Now, what we’re going to do is pull a single element all the way through the four remaining performance structures that when used together and consistently, can energize, optimize and accelerate your performance in any and every PART of life.This is a big step, and once we complete it, you will have touched, and have in your possession, all of the required tools we’ll be using moving forward.
We’ll start from the top and work our way through with the:
- Life Mission Map
- The Roles and Responsibilities Tracker
- Strategic Operating Practices
- Ultimate Calendar
Life Purpose / Mission Map:
Look at the map above and you’ll notice that it’s a fairly accurate depiction of any element of life. It’s a bit cluttered, blotchy and looks a bit of a mess. Kind of like a handful of legos thrown on the table.
This is where the hero steps in and converts the mess, the anxiety, the disorganization and the wishy washy disjointed execution of life and turns it into a power building, capacity growing source of passion and inspiration. It’s what we call “Performance through process”, which is the simple and underlying secret to high levels of performance.
By using these structures to retool your intuition and habits you’ll produce a default way of being that will put PARTS like “Performance Health” in the green and eventually, out of habit alone, will push them into the blue. These habits are created with intention are what we call “The Habits of Heroes.”
Step One: Life Mission Map to Roles & Responsibilities
Note: We highly recommend that you use two separate screens to do this work. Using a single computer screen is the equivalent of trying to design a house on top of a single TV tray. It’s just not big enough.
A: Open your “Life Mission Map” on one screen, and then, on the other screen, go to the “Roles & Responsibilities” page of the Quickstart section HERE.
B: Click on the blue link that says “Roles and Responsibilities: Template”
[_] On the top left of the spreadsheet click File > Make a Copy.
[_] Rename it “Roles and Responsibilities: your first_and_last_name
You’ll find that it’s already been populated for you, so that you have a baseline to refer back to and build from as you go forward.
[_] Now, review each of the title cells by hovering over them. You can tell which cells have notes because there is a small black triangle at the top right corner of the cell.
Step Two: Strategic Operating Practices (SOPs)
A: Review the Strategic Operating Practices distinction on the top of the “Strategic Operating Practices” page HERE.
B: Go back to your personal Roles and Responsibilities Tracker that you just created and open up both the “SOP Checklist” and “SOP Outline” links for the “Sleep” practice.
[_] Repeat the File > Make a Copy drill and rename each document:
[_] “SOP Checklist Sleep: first_and_last_name
[_] “SOP Outline Sleep: first_and_last_name
C: Copy the URL of each document found in your browser, (it will look something like this: ”https://docs.google.com/document”) and paste the URLs in your Roles and Responsibilities Tracker.
Note: There are probably a hundred variations of how to use these two SOP documents depending on what you’re after accomplishing and what habits and intuitions you need to develop to do so.
For now, it’s important to stay simple and stay with us so that you can see the entire picture, which will allow you to make modifications to the process to best suit yourself and situation as we go forward.
SOP Checklist:
You’ll notice that the SOP Checklist example for “Sleep (Bedtime Routine)” is nested within the other aspects of “Performance Health”. This is a good example of how life’s PARTS and sub PARTS are connected and can be cared for using a single Strategic Operating procedure.
In the context of crossing complexity, things can quickly feel overwhelming. But when you start to see how one action cares for multiple concerns across multiple elements, you’ll get a glimpse of the simplicity and the power that is coming on the other side of all this.
What I’d like you to do right this moment is just mentally take in the “SOP: Performance Health” spreadsheet, and see how by operating this way you’d likely sleep like a baby.
And you can reverse it and see how that good sleep will give you the energy, desire and willpower to eat right, workout, meditate and enjoy meaningful time with family and friends. Which all of course, in turn, will help you sleep better as you lay your head down satiated and satisfied with your day.
So yes. I am saying that what you snack on during the day can impact your relationships as it impacts your ability to sleep.
Okay. Now that you’ve got your own SOPs in place, we can put them into sustainable, repeatable and evolvable action. Here comes the good part.
Step Three: Ultimate Calendar
A: Quickly review the Ultimate Calendar distinction on the top of the “Ultimate Calendar” page HERE.
B: Select a calendaring system that allows you to add layers.
We use Google Calendar and highly recommend it. It comes in real handy when you start incorporating your tribe into your world.
C: Create a new calendar and name it “Ultimate Calendar”.
D: Create an event that represents the “Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Semiannually or Annually” cells on your Roles and Responsibilities tracker.
In this case, we’re going to use the “Sleep (Bedtime Routine)” practice and name it the same.
E: Within each event you create you are going to do three things:
[_] Set the start and finish time
[_] Set the repeat frequency
[_] Connect your Strategic Operating Practices
[_] Set the start and finish time. In this case the duration of the event will match the “Daily Cell” in your Roles and Responsibilities tracker for the “Sleep (Bedtime Routine) practice.
So you’ll see in our example we listed it as .5 (30 minutes) and in the calendar it goes for 30 minutes.
[_] Set this event to repeat “Daily”.
[_] Link your SOPs to it using the paperclip button.
Optional: You’ll notice in the details section of our example event we’re showing a simplified way to capture your SOP.
I often use this for simple SOPs like a sleep routine. It’s nice because I can easily tweak it in my calendar.
But remember. If you’re not sleeping 8 or more hours a night, your SOP will likely have to go deeper or further to get you there so the details section of the calendar may not work for you.
This is the essence of performance This approach gives us the ability to take something as deep as we need to.
We’re no longer limited to what is already existing and just floating around in our brains. We’re NOW a highly effective learning machine.
Results
One of my favorite quotes is “Structure determines behavior.” I love it because it gives me the “Keys” to any behavior I need or want to change in myself or others.
These philosophies, structures, strategies and practices are like a set of braces that can adjust our intuitions and desires to line up with our life’s purpose, making the living of a good life a matter of fact, rather than a frustrating and untouchable dream.
Now that you have these SOPs in place, the possibility for evolution exists. Each time your calendar tells you it’s time to do something you have an action plan to not only reference, so that you don’t have to come up with what to do every time, but you have a plan that you can modify and tweak until it produces the results your after.
Consider the possibilities that now exist for you.
Strategic Writing
In the comment section below:
[] ” The things we’ll be “getting done” together in this course are insignificant compared to the things within you that we’ll install, discover, heal, strengthen and sometimes remove, as we brawl to execute the strategies and tactics that will build your good life. “
→ What parts of you need healing, strengthening or removing if you are to live the life you were created to live?
[] What new possibilities does this comment open up for you?
“To me, this life is an obstacle course that was designed to develop a very particular kind of strength, skill and ruggedness in preparation for something very big and very specific…”
1: What parts of you need healing, strengthening or removing if you are to live the life you were created to live?
I’m going through the biggest change in my life during these courses. I was a typical victim, and to be honest, my family was angry if I wanted to do something other than crying and be helpless; in their opinion, I was “nice” only when I did everything for someone else. I still fight with this mindset a little bit. I still have problems seeing the difference between saving someone’s life, and sacrificing myself for someone who is just a lazy parasite. I still learn that it is not selfish to care for myself, and it is stupid to sacrifice myself for someone who doesn’t want to change their life in fact. I need to remove this mindset and replace it with a true understanding of reasonable helping others. I also need to keep working on improving my time management, and I need to strengthen my ability and willingness to use new ways and things – it is much better than in the beginning but I still feel some blocks sometimes. And I definitely need to improve my trust in myself. This is much better as well, but it still stops me from doing many things and achieving some goals.
2: What new possibilities does this comment open up for you?
“To me, this life is an obstacle course that was designed to develop a very particular kind of strength, skill and ruggedness in preparation for something very big and very specific…”
It brings me the understanding that these obstacles are here not to beat me, but teach me. When I try to avoid them, they repeat again and again. When I learn how to go through them, they don’t disappear from my life, but I don’t consider them as obstacles any more – I already know how to handle them. And there is something more: I learn that I’m able to solve problems in my life, I learn that the only person who is responsible for my life, is me. There are many new possibilities in knowing that. For me, there is a new life itself.
QUESTION #1: “What parts of you need healing, strengthening or removing if you are to live the life you were created to live?”
ANSWER #1: To me, this life is an obstacle course designed to forge a very particular kind of strength. Mental, emotional, and spiritual in preparation for something very big and very specific if I want to achieve it in my semi-retirement. That means I’ll want to reinvent myself and dismiss my old self someone whom I am very familiar with.
Now, the question is: What parts of me need healing, strengthening, or removing if I’m to live the life I was created to live?
Well, let’s start here: First, I need to heal the parts of me that settled for being “good enough.” The part that believed for too long that just being “busy” and “successful” was the same as being productive. That version of me chased importance instead of power. He thought saying “yes” to everything was noble. But in truth, it was draining. That part of me needs healing so that I can stop reacting to life and start creating it.
Next, I need to strengthen my discipline at the level of practice and repetitions. You see, we’re not talking about just doing more—we’re talking about doing the right things, consistently, at the right time, and for the right reason. And I’ll tell you, that takes strength of character. Not just once, but daily. If I want more energy, focus, mood, and creativity—then yes, I’ll need to build that through things like better sleep, diet, and yes, regular exercise, in fact daily exercise focusing on strength, coordination, flexibility and balance, which creates power. But not just for my health, for my life as well. Because as the lesson says, “exercise” is no longer about just staying fit; it’s a keystone habit that ripples into everything else affecting my career, family, finances.
And finally, I’ve got to remove the part of me that hides behind perfection. You know the one, the part that says “Let’s wait until it’s all figured out before we act.” That voice is both protective, comforting and most of all seductive, but it’s a trap. The truth is, clarity comes from movement. From making assessments, prioritizing by power, making mistakes and executing even when you’re still figuring it out.
If I don’t let go of those old ways of thinking, I’ll never evolve beyond the version of myself that’s comfortable but yet unfulfilled. But if I do, if I heal what’s broken, strengthen what’s weak, and remove what’s unnecessary, then what happens next is extraordinary.
Not because life suddenly becomes easy, but because I become able. Because I become the kind of person who doesn’t just chase a good life… instead I build it.
And that is where transformation begins.
QUESTION #2: What new possibilities does this comment open up for you?
ANSWER #2: To me, this life is an obstacle course designed to forge a very particular kind of strength—mental, emotional, spiritual—in preparation for something very big and very specific.
And when I read the words, “The things we’ll be getting done together in this course are insignificant compared to the things within you that we’ll install, discover, heal, strengthen and sometimes remove…” it opens up a new world of possibility.
You see, what this comment tells me is that the greatest results aren’t found out there in the world—but here inside me, in the work I’m doing on myself. A new operating system.
It reveals the possibility that every practice I commit to—like exercise, sleep, mindfulness—isn’t just a box to check off on a calendar, but a seed planted deep in the soil of my character. And if I tend to those seeds with intention, they’ll grow into habits, and those habits will grow into a harvest of transformation.
It opens up the possibility that even my biggest weaknesses, for example, my distractibility, my procrastination, my old stories about what’s possible. They don’t disqualify me from the good life… they prepare me for it. Because it is through confronting those things that I develop the strength I’ll need to sustain what’s coming.
It reminds me that I’m not just here to build systems, I’m here to be built by those systems. That when I follow this process, first by creating my Life Mission Map, track my Roles and Responsibilities, run my Strategic Operating Practices, and live inside my Ultimate Calendar, then I’m not just organizing my time… I am reorganizing myself and reorganizing my mind by selling myself on myself.
And what does that unlock? The possibility of waking up with energy and clarity. The possibility of showing up for my family, not depleted, but fully present. The possibility of working not just with skill, but with joy, flow, and purpose. The possibility of becoming someone who doesn’t merely survive their day, but designs and leads it.
That’s the real promise here, not that life will get easier, but that I will get stronger and more resilient. Replacing self-esteem with self-respect, and once you realize that you’re the one being built… that’s when it all begins to change, especially when I greet each day with love in my heart.
As the scroll marked #1 in the book by Og Mandino, “The Greatest Salesman in the World” says, “I drink as instructed, and spill not a drop. And the seed of success I swallow. And in scroll #2 it says, “And most of all I love myself. For when I do, I zealously inspect all things which enter my body, my mind, my soul and my heart.”
→ What parts of you need healing, strengthening or removing if you are to live the life you were created to live?
Early in life I was trained to follow those who came before me. To do things the way they did. I’ve learned that this doesn’t actually work. It’s been a gradual and continuous “un-learning” from that way of thinking and an embracing of crossing complexity that has me in an entirely different place today. However, the early training continues to haunt me like a default switch.
[x] What new possibilities does this comment open up for you?
“To me, this life is an obstacle course that was designed to develop a very particular kind of strength, skill and ruggedness in preparation for something very big and very specific…”
I love this analogy because an obstacle course is a tremendous training tool, despite it being perceived by many as something to avoid or to get through. The obstacles we face are opportunities for growth. Master them, and there are new obstacles to handle. We never stop growing with a mindset that embraces obstacles as training tools.