No more bullshit – it’s time we get to the heart of top secret information regarding the four simple yet deadly covert ways your internal saboteurs pull the strings and create the illusion that you can’t lead or succeed.

Do you recall the significance of the date – June 13, 1942?
It was shortly after midnight on that date that four saboteurs landed on a beach near Amagansett, Long Island, New York – no more than 20 minutes from where I was born and raised some 17 years later.

The four men were from a German U-boat, clad in German uniforms and had brought ashore with them enough explosives, primers, money and supplies to support a two-year campaign of destruction, chaos, and fear.

The purpose of this campaign and one like it on the coast of Florida was to strike a major blow to the American people by bringing the violence of war to our home ground.

The mission was to shut down our ability to manufacture vital equipment and supplies for transport to the battlegrounds of Europe, diminish our resolve to win… and strike fear into the American civilian population;

Shut Down Ability — Diminish Resolve — Strike Fear

In the face of our recent economic BS and all the external challenges and resistance you’re up against everyday…  have you felt a little like your ability to succeed has been “shut down”  – or like your resolve may be giving way to fear in the past 24 months?

What if the primary resistance you face everyday wasn’t external at all – what if the majority of it is coming from within?

What if the biggest saboteur to you success had nothing to do with the economy, lack of resources, lack of capital, increased competition, or the controversial even hostile political climate.

What if the primary resistance you face everyday wasn’t external at all – what if the majority of it is coming from within?

Napoleon once said that,
“A spy in the right place is worth 20,000 soldiers on the battlefield.”

What if you have been infiltrated by inner saboteurs – whose job is to sabotage your ability to succeed, lower your resolve and induce paralyzing fear?

And if the answer to all those questions were YES – would you want to know about it?

My illusion is that you would.

Keep in mind however that knowing these answers may require some self evaluation and work on your part- possibly a lot of f—ing work or having to live with the knowledge that if you’re not where you want to be in life… it’s your fault – one way or the other.

Let’s start with this question; do you consider yourself a LEADER?                                                                                                                                                                                                             

In your business, your family, your community and or personal life… are you a leader?

If your answer is “NO” what follows may provide some insights as to why.
If your answer is “KINDA”… than the answer is actually NO.
If your answer is “YES” then you’re about to discover why you have not been as effective a leader as you could be.

Would you agree that at one level or another it’s your job as a leader to motivate, inspire, persuade and influence the actions and behaviors of others – primarily through your own actions and behaviors?

And if so, would agree that – that “leadership influence” is critical to getting others to willingly take action or change behaviors even in the face of resistance and to your success as a leader?

Of course it is!

But what if your own actions and behaviors are being covertly influenced or have been sabotaged by internal forces acting outside your conscious awareness or detection, below your radar you might say.

The bottom line is you would be at jeopardy of losing your influence as a leader… if you haven’t lost it already?

The ability to identify and stop your inner saboteurs… if indeed they actually exist should be of prime concern to you.  And if it’s not you can stop reading right now…unless you just want to check for more spelling and grammar errors.

Either way let’s get to it.

Like the Long Island beach invasion there are 4 Primary inner saboteurs that stop most of us from having or achieving what we want or from taking out leadership role.

There exact names and aliases (they have many) are on a need to know basis– and aren’t important.

What is important, what you need to be aware of – is how their actions manifest in your life.

The first saboteur is ANARCHY.

In my way of thinking Anarchy is allowed entry into our lives as a result of a Lack of clarity making it very easy to do its job.

“Most people never get what they want because they don’t know what they want”   ~ Jim Rohm.

Have you ever had to be at a meeting or someplace important and in your own mind you knew exactly where the place was you had to be without having to look at a map… or at least you thought you did?  But then as you were getting close to where you thought it was you suddenly realize you weren’t so sure after all, and maybe wound up a little lost and possibly late as a result.  This has happened to me on more than one accession.

It’s like that with our goals. We think we know what we want and even have an internal map of how to get there – but somewhere along the way we wind up confused, lost and chaotic.  That’s when Anarchy does its best dirty work.   If your objective or goal is even remotely cloudy, vague, and ambiguous this saboteur will slip in and begin destroying your ability to achieve it.

The way to neutralize this insidious little f—er is to get 100% crystal clear on exactly what your objective is.  And if you are going to create the focus, clarity and vision to inspire others to move with you it is imperative.

The 2nd saboteur shows up as EXCUSES

This unscrupulous saboteur will have you convinced that it’s someone or something else’s fault that you’re not succeeding or leading at the level of your potential.

Have you ever made up some BS excuse for dropping the ball, not following through or even just being late for a meeting?   Excuses will always point out a way of re-framing a failure so that you don’t admit to the mistake or error ir learn from the experience.

In most coaching circles there is this presupposition – “there is no failure only feedback”

But when we get in the habit of accepting excuses – we wind up missing the lessons or the feedback and losing out on the ability to use that feedback to correct and continue the next time.  And so we make the same mistakes again and again. Can you stand in your power as a leader when you make excuses? NO!  A true leader never, ever makes excuses for his or her actions. They stand in their truth regardless of the consequences.
Learn to recognize when you are making an excuse – even small excuses like “I was late because of all that ball game traffic” – it’s bullshit.  Stop mid sentence– Stand in your power and take the heat.

Cut the BULLSHIT and Take responsibility for what you are responsible for – YOUR ACTIONS AND YOUR RESULTS

The third Saboteur sneaks out of our dark closet at night – it’s FEAR

And it will stop you dead in your tracks – sometimes within inches of the finish line.
When I ask my audiences for the definition of FEAR – without hesitation they shout out “false evidence appearing real” which is of course and acronym not really a definition.

The actual definition is as follows: “a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined;
In short – “The Anticipation of Pain”

Do you remember the original Night of the Living Dead  movie?  I was about 10 years old when my older brothers and sisters took me to see it.  I am not proud to say that within the first 15 minutes of the movie I had jumped up from my seat, bolted out the theater doors and was half way home before I realized I was all alone on a strange street in the dark.

When I finally got home I ran around the house locking all the doors and windows and hid behind the living room curtains so I could peak outside to see if they were coming for me.

10 years old notwithstanding, what had me acting like such a little pussy?

The anticipation of pain & False -Evidence -Appearing –Real

To this day there has been no reported case of anyone actually being killed or eaten by a ZOMBIE. Not that I know of.

But because there is evidence of smart, competent people just like you and me losing their businesses – their jobs, their 401ks, their homes or stepping our front to lead only to be humiliated and rejected that the saboteur has us thinking – no believing it is going to happen to us.

And so we contract, lock the doors and windows, and spend all our time peeking through the curtains to see if it’s coming for us. And as a result we miss the abundance of opportunities that are just outside our door.

While we are on the subject of fear let me share with you just how much damage the 4 long island saboteurs were ultimately able to inflict on the US during their campaign?

The answer is zero. No damage whatsoever.

Why?  Becouse the leader of the group Georg John Dasch had his own inner saboteurs.  It’s been speculated that his resolve gave way to FEAR, doubt, and uncertainty as he began to think of the entire operation as to “grandiose”… and as a result of those very thoughts, it was… for him. Just one day into the mission he called FBI headquarters in Washington DC and arranged a deal that involved betraying his colleagues and turning himself in.

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.”~ Mark Twain:

Fear will always be present at the moment of life changing or life saving decision.  This saboteur’s job like a terrorist is to invoke FEAR and paralyze our ability to take action.

As leaders we must – FACE THE FEAR AND TAKE ACTION ANYWAY!

The 4th and last saboteur shows up as a Lack of Commitment

It’s job is to diminish our RESOLVE and fortunately for us it worked for Georg John Dasch in 1942.

Winston Churchill once said – “Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.”

When I was pursuing a professional athletic career I once asked my coach and mentor who had trained countless champions – how he was able to identify who had what it took to go all the way and be a champion?

What he told me was not what I expected to hear. He said the true measure of championship potential had nothing to do with genetic predisposition, who trained the hardest, or who had the greatest level of skill or even the best coach. But rather it had everything to do with everything.

A CHAMPION, he said is someone who gives 100% to everything they do, even when the stakes are low, and when others see little or no value in the reward or the effort and sticks with it until the job is complete. That rare individual who has developed the habit of playing FULL OUT and giving 100% even when no one else is looking is already a champion so when the time comes to step up… it happens automatically for them – they don’t know any other way.

There’s a saying;
“How you do anything is how you do everything” If you’ve allowed yourself to get in the habit of playing at 50, 70, or even 80% or less you can stop wondering why you’re not where you want to be yet.
In today’s competitive climate there’s simply is no room for another also ran.  You either identify the enemy and stop them, or ……… puff…. they stop you.

The Challenge:
Make a commitment starting today… right now to Identify and systematically eliminate all your inner saboteurs
1.    Get Clear on What You Want
2.    Stop with the BS Excuses
3.    Face the FEAR and do it anyway
4.    Get and stay Committed

I would love to hear your thoughts! Leave a comment below…

It’s one of my favorite expressions because – although we don’t like to believe it or admit it, if we half-ass the stuff we don’t want to do there is a very strong likelihood that we will also half-ass the important stuff too. Holding back, playing it safe, committing 50% or less becomes a habit that will show up just at those critical moments when you need to step up and give 100% without thinking about it… you know – “just do it!”

On the flip side of that coin – if we practice playing full out and giving 100% in the gym, on the job, in our relationships  we will find that we also give 100% in other areas of our lives even when the stakes are low. Playing full out takes commitment and practice. It also takes constant self observation.

Once we notice we’re holding back we have to train ourselves to flip the switch and instead of putting one toe in the water we dive head first with everything we have. That’s how winning us done.  No one ever regrets giving 100% even if they “fail”- what we do regret are the times we held back and failed as a result.

Start becoming aware of those times when you’re not putting as much effort forward as you could, when you hold back, or screwing around instead of living up to your commitment and realize at that moment that what you’re doing right then is what’s going to show up later on.  Or your unconscious self image will soon -  if it has not already – become that of someone who half asses his or her way through life… is that really you?

“No one ever regrets giving 100% even if they “fail”

What are your thoughts?

I’ve been quoted as saying “All achievement is based first on the strength of your WILL.” The strength of will I talk about of course is the WILL to start, the WILL to go on, to be more, and to achieve at the level of our potential and the Will to WIN.

We witness it more often than we would think‚ but we don’t always recognize it when it’s happening.

Last night I had the opportunity to see it in one of its most distilled and acute forms and I have to admit I was moved. Which is somewhat telling – in that, its purpose is to get us moving and keep us moving.

Last night I attended a FIGHT, several actually. More specifically I was at the Denver Athletic Club for the “St Paddy’s Day Punch Out” pro boxing matches‚ I know I know, not a very sexy name is it?

I’ve been to countless fights before I have also had the distinction of having been on both the teaching and “learning” end of more brawls than I care to remember.

But as I watched what I can only describe as a “Rocky” style epic battle I reflected on a lesson I learned years before which is, it isn’t always the opponent with the most skill, training, or conditioning that winds up on top, although those things are all critical factors.

It is the strength of WILL that may ultimately determine your outcome.

Two men standing toe to toe with one single goal between them, WIN. Only one can achieve this goal‚ but both must. It dawned on me, as I watched the nonstop exchange of blows, that for many of the fighters on the card this wasn’t just a fight‚ this was their life. Winning or not winning could mean the difference between paying the rent and being tossed out on the street, putting food on the table or going hungry, taking care of their family or the demoralizing affects of feeling like a failure.

Like those fighters, who’s WILL has been strengthened by need more than desire or want and through pushing themselves well outside their physical, mental and even emotional comfort zone almost daily; we all have more inside us than we know.

The fighter trains and prepares both body and mind but never really knows exactly what will show up in the ring when he or she suddenly realizes they’re in a war. Will they quit, just hold on, or fight to the death if necessary?

It’s like that in many of our own lives. We’re unofficially in training every day via our personal struggles but we can only guess, hope or speculate that when we are challenged to do battle beyond our conditioning or preparation that what will show up WILL be what we need to show up. That we will have the inner strength and WILL to not quit, to push beyond what we t believe are our limits and go the distance.

There was one particular fight last night that from the very onset appeared to be unevenly matched. As one opponent imposed his WILL on the other it began to look as if the lesser opponent should simply throw in the towel and cut his losses before they cut him. Instead he fought on – and at one point it was apparent, at least from a fellow warrior’s eyes, that he had already defeated his number one adversary the very thought of quitting. As a result everyone in the audience was on their feet and cheering for the underdog even though they knew he wasn’t going to win. We were inspired.

He finished the match and was able to walk away with his head held high, bloody but high.

How will you show up? No one was born a winner or a loser just a chooser. You get to choose how you show up… if your WILL is strong enough.

Have you ever had a partner, coach or friend who pushed you a little harder than you actually wanted to be pushed?  I mean they demanded more from you perhaps than you yourself even thought you had?

When I was training for competition I always had a training partner and the very best training partners were the ones who were the MEANEST, toughest and most demanding.  I once trained with a guy I can only describe as a complete psychopath. I never trained harder or looked better… I hated the guy but loved the training.

Then there were those times when I had to face the iron alone. I remember my 3rd attempt at winning the Nationals – I had taken the bronze and the silver consecutively the two previous years and you might say this was the moment of truth. If I didn’t win it my third time out I would have lost the power of all that momentum and as they say “3 strikes and you’re out” .

Yet, I was having a tremendous amount of difficulty finding the energy and discipline to train and diet the way I knew I needed to.¬† For some reason the motivation just wasn’t there.

Have you ever been in that place ‚Äì where you knew you had to get moving and even knew exactly what you needed to do but simply couldn’t find the gumption to do it?

In hind sight I realize now that part of what was holding me back from unleashing everything I had was a lingering unconscious doubt as to whether or not – I was really good enough to win the whole thing Рto be a full fledged champion. Sure, I was good enough to come close – even within one point of winning the previous year- but the whole enchilada????

And so the ENERGY around my preparation had gone MIA. On top of that my psychopath training partner had also gone AWOL – so I was going it alone.

If you have ever trained for an athletic event, body transformation challenge or contest you know that the real serious training begins at about the twelve week mark. When I began to realize there was a problem I was already at the10 week mark and in the worst physical, mental and emotional shape of my life. You could say my BOTTOM LINE wasn’t looking so good.

I needed help DESPERATELY ‚Äì so I reached out to my mentor Tony Pandolfo who I hadn’t seen or spoken to in a few months. I remember calling him out of the blue late on a Sunday night and sharing my challenge.¬† He didn’t try to coach me or even sympathize he simply told me to show up in the gym at 6am the next morning and that I had better be ready to rumble.

Bear in mind that I had been training at around 3:00 in the afternoon and had never considered myself a morning person.¬† But I also knew that unless I wanted to be “mourning” my own defeat in 10 weeks I had better get to bed early, show up early and be ready to go at 6 am.¬† Something I would not have done on my own.

Now other than the morning thing ‚Äì wasn’t too worried about keeping up with Tony ‚Äì he was after all almost 40 years old at that time and I was in my prime at only 27.

That may have been the worst “ass”umption I have ever made in my life.

While I had my head in the men’s room toilet getting rid of what was left of my pre-workout breakfast, Tony was banging in the stall door ‚Äì demanding that I get back out there and finish the workout.

Man he was MEAN‚Ķ but it was exactly what I needed to get the ENERGY back to where it needed to be.¬† He knew I had the ENERGY AVAILABLE ‚Äì I just wasn’t MANAGING it at that moment.

He knew as did I that if I were going to win I would have to tap into and manage that available energy every single day for the next 10 weeks. And if I was truly a champion – well beyond those 10 weeks.

That was the year Tony and I brought home the GOLD at the Nationals.

From that experience forward I have never been shy about asking for help when it’s needed – or giving it when it when it was asked for and sometimes before.

He almost talked himself out of it…

A few weeks ago one of my coaching clients had traveled to the Big Apple on what was designed to be a reconnaissance mission.  The goal was to scout out the right location for a customer and client reception party that was going to take place in conjunction with big media conference going on at the Jacob Javits Center in July.

He owns a mid size media production company here in Denver that produces some absolutely amazing digital work.¬† I’m not going to mention the name of the company but you have seen their work on Discovery, History, and several other cable channels.

We’ll my client felt that as long as he was going to be in New York he might as well see if he can set up a few meetings with some of the networks headquartered there.¬† As a result of his efforts he was able to schedule several meetings… turning his recon mission into a full fledged business trip.¬† He arrived in NY with a day and a half to spare before the first meeting so he could relax and do some scouting along with his assistant.

What happened that first day took him by surprise and almost sent him packing.¬† He found himself looking out the window of his 34th story hotel window at the biggest and most intimidating city on the planet with his thoughts turning to the belief that he was from the small “cow town” of Denver.¬†¬† He began thinking about all the big players in Manhattan who do similar work to what his company does.¬† With those thoughts his little inner voice began to present doubts about his ability to compete with the big dogs in the Big Apple.¬† Those doubts soon manifested into full blown fears.¬† He could feel his heart beginning to race and palms sweat as looked out at the skyscrapers filled with competitors seeking only to make him look like an amateur fool… or so he thought.

Have you ever had one of those moments when you doubted yourself and your ability and maybe even thought everybody else had the advantage over you?  Have you ever felt a little small when compared to the competition?  I sure have!

Although his company already had several established successes in their portfolio he himself was feeling very small and insignificant at that moment.¬† A man of action, he picked up the phone to call his first appointment and CANCEL.¬† He had already worked out in his mind the reason why he couldn’t make the appointment and was convinced that they would understand.¬† The phone on the other end rang and as the receptionist gave her hello greeting, he hesitated for a moment and then hung up the phone.

Understanding the importance of “state change” from our coaching he got up through on his running shoes and went over to Central Park to pump some oxygen into his blood thirsty gray matter.¬† While he was running he began to “reframe” his thoughts, review his past successes, and muster the courage needed to face the Goliath.

The next day he met with the network executive and they hit it off, as the Brits would say, “smashingly.”¬† As it turned he was also from Denver and had several other things in common with my client.¬† The first meeting was a success as were the following three meetings.

He shared this story with me for the first time yesterday some two months later because just yesterday he received a call from the the executive from Denver who he met with in New York.  Evidently overcoming his fears and doubts and taming that little inner voice paid off.  He was contracted for a new television advertising campaign with hundreds of thousands of dollars but more importantly he opened the door to a relationship that may turn out to be worth millions.

…But it almost didn’t happen.

BE REAL. There is only one you. In terms of microeconomics 101 supply and demand, that makes you a HOT COMMODITY!

I am still wrapping my mind around the magnitude of the leadership it took to not only coordinate such a multifaceted rescue but to survive for more than 69 days and nights at 2000 feet below the surface of the earth, relentlessly hot temperatures, 100% humidity, little food and the uncertainty of ever seeing their families again.

What does it take to keep the political soup of a multinational, multi-corporate, and multi-department effort from becoming a wheel stopping quagmire?

What does it take to keep otherwise sane level headed men form turning on each other or giving up under such enormous pressure.

Since I can only hypothesize РI would  say the first ingredient would have to be COURAGE.

• The courage and willingness to make a mistake and admit when they have.
• The courage to except the ideas and input of others over their own desire for recognition, significance and personal gain.
• The courage to put all other agendas aside and place the safety and welfare of those in their charge at the forefront of their decision making process.
• The courage to admit (to the world in this case) “we may not succeed.”
• The courage to do everything within their power to succeed in spite of the doubts, fears, and uncertainties.
• The courage to face the nay sayers and critics and keep moving forward (or in this case downward).
• The courage and humility to ask for strength and guidance from a higher power.

There are few stories of human courage, stamina, hope and leadership that can compare to what the world witnessed in the past 69 days. The leadership and courage exercised by the mine’s foreman Manuel Gonzalez particularly during the first 17 days underground can be likened to one other amazing story.

That of Sir Ernest Shackleton who for some 20 death defying months led his entire crew of 28 men to safety across the frozen arctic tundra after their ship aptly named the “Endurance” became trapped in the ice, crushed and ultimately sank.

It has been said that Shackleton was a man of modest if not mediocre existence outside his heroic journey. I’m betting something similar can be said about Manuel Gonzalez. Average men when placed in extraordinary circumstances are capable of extraordinary things when they find the courage to lead or be led – especial when life and death is on the line.

Is Manuel Gonzalez a born leader or did he simply display the courage to lead?

Can you really achieve something great in spite of the presence of fear?

Register for the  Achievement Bootcamp !

 

If you have purchased the book, 7 RULES of Achievement then you already have two FREE tickets to this event ($3000 value).

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‚Ä¢ You will unravel the mystery of what’s behind those “self imposed limitations” that continue to hold you back year after year.

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• Learn the critical importance of first identifying and then aligning your most motivating values with the right sequence of action steps in order to avoid frustration and overwhelm.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) ‚Äì Jan 04, 2011 ‚Äì The process of real, acute and lasting change almost always comes as a result of taking some sort of “LEAP of Faith.” ¬†More often than not the LEAP is taken consciously but leaper has no clue of the process that is taking place. ¬†Author and former Mr. America, Tom Terwilliger has identified and teaches that 4 step process.

On January 11, Tom and host Kathleen Gage will discuss the process and how understanding and mastering it will allow anyone to consciously take massive LEAPS forward in their life during a 60 minute interview on Daily Awareness РSpirituality in Business Radio.  The show will air live at 1:00pm Eastern.  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/awakeningzone3

Tom Ter-will-iger is the author of the #1 bestseller, 7 Rules of Achievement and is a leading authority on the science of achievement. Tom’s unique background as a former Mr. America, longtime Fox Sports Net TV show host and Clear Channel radio show host has allowed him the opportunity to reach and impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. His inspiring story of pulling himself from the world of outlaw biker to world class athlete and high achiever has moved countless struggling would be high achievers to reach for their own limitless potential.

His achievements and contributions have been recognized by the American Heart Association, New York Games for the Physically Challenged, Colorado Special Olympics, Fetal Hope Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Association, Rocky Mountain Senior Games and The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Host Kathleen Gage, The Street Smarts Marketer‚Ñ¢, is the CEO and founder of Turning Point Inc. Kathleen works with spiritually aware speakers, authors, coaches and consultants who want to reach their market with information, products and life impacting services. Since the inception of her business in the early 90′s, Kathleen has become recognized as one of the top Internet marketers in her field.

Having been on a conscious spiritual journey for over 30 years, Kathleen believes and teaches that business can (and must) be run on spiritual principles while maintaining a “keep your feet on the ground” mindset.

A strong believer in the Law of Attraction, Kathleen readily dispels the myth that all one needs to do is “visualize” what they want through her teachings.