Circle of Excellence vs Circle of Influence

"Some people take better care of their pets than they do themselves. Their animals can run like the wind and they can barely make it up a flight of stairs." - Jim Rohn

Here in the US we celebrated Memorial Day. It's during these long weekends that I take time to reflect.

Over the weekend, the recurring theme was the climbing gasoline prices. In every conversation that I had, bar none, the price of gas was mentioned. (here it is again!)

This is one of the reasons I'm so stoked about my circle of excellence. This is not quite the same as what others refer to as their circle of influence.

The circle of influence is made up of people that influence you, whether incidentally or on purpose.

The circle of excellence is made up of those individuals that you allow to influence you on purpose, and those people that go beyond influence. They can also motivate, inspire, provide solutions, kick you in the arse when needed, team up and offer a different perspective on what's going on.

That's why this "gas thing" is such an appropriate example.

Sooooo many people are allowing this to manipulate their mindset. They're angry, scared, tentative, cautious, flustered, anxious, worried and flat out peein' their pants!

Most of my close friends and associates are aware of the price of gas, that's it. They don't talk about it; the subject is simply not permitted to infect their mindset.

"How can they not think about it?" you ask? Are they simply hiding their head in the sand?

No Virginia they're not. They merely recognize it for what it is, an uncontrollable variable.

I bring all this to your attention to illustrate the point of evaluating where you are in your pursuit. Ask yourself these questions:

What are your goals for the year?

Are you closer to them now than when you started?

What is the strongest aspect of your mindset?

What is the weakest aspect of your mindset?

Who are you spending time with?

What have they got you doing?

What books are they reading?

What personal development practices do they have?

All this is important because remember, these are the people that you are choosing to allow to influence you.

Take some time for yourself. If you have a "Circle of Excellence" give it a timely review. If you haven't yet created one, there's no time like the present.

The choice is uniquely yours.

Best of Success,

David Martin
EmpowerMax PCS, Inc.
info@empowermax.com
www.empowermax.com
The Performance Zone

PS - Personal Mastery is a limited group of people learning the skills that will assist in making sustainable breakthroughs. You will learn how to do this in minimal time and what you learn will stay with you life. To schedule a one on one exploration into Personal Mastery send an email with phone number directly to me at info@empowermax.com.

Just Sit Back and Do Nothing?

"I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." - William Penn

Back in the saddle again - and I'm in that saddle at an odd hour. It'll take a few days to adjust my internal clock to get back on local time. Oh the perils of an international lifestyle .

During my topsy turvy night, I wasn't sleeping well so I retreated to the livng room and turned on ESPN to catch up on sports news.

AC Milan won the Championship, played in Athens (it was very cool being there as the city prepped for the game).

Roger Clemons is expected to make his Major League return in a few days. At 44 or 45 years of age, "the Rocket" is still an elite player in a game dominated by young men.

In my sport of Taekwondo, Steven Lopez won an unprecedented 4th World Championship in China. It came in sudden death overtime. This guy is amazing. He's won 4 consecutive World Championships, 2 consecutive Olympic Gold Medals, 2 consecutive Pan Am Games Gold Medals and the list goes on.

Basketball, baseball blah blah blah. There is something else that stood out to me during my nocturnal viewing of the electronic income reducer.

During a commercial break an advertisement for an abdominal product caught my attention - and I actually began to laugh.

This little appliance is strapped on to the tummy area and then buttons are pushed. This begins an electronic muscle stimulation process that will tighten the muscles and reduce fat in the area.

The testimonials from the ad were funny. "I can sit at my desk and sculpt my abs" or "Geeze I can even be in line at the bank and work my abs better than...." was another.

Now my intention is not to promote nor denounce this product. When I was living as a resident athlete at the US Olympic Training Center the Sports Medicine teams used electro-stimulation as a way to assist athletes in muscle maintenance during rehab.

My point is this, looking for the easy way out is not the best course for achievement and success in this new millennium.

I appreciate tools and processes that make life simpler or that can assist us in producing more while doing less - to a certain point.

There comes a time when you actually have to do something.

After watching the movie "The Secret" people somehow equate merely thinking about their goals and acting less.

"You must act to attract." - David Martin

It's a very simple concept. The machine, the tool, the "thing" that you must own is your mind. Then you must back up that ownership with action.

All the systems, pills, lotions and potions must have an Action Equivalent or they are worthless.

Remember this, all that you seek in your pursuit of excellence....ALL of it, is available to you if you do the following - decide what it is you want, prepare with that end, commit, execute.

Until next time, Show Up, Suit Up & Step Up!

Best of Success,

David Martin
EmpowerMax PCS, Inc.
info@empowermax.com
www.empowermax.com
The Performance Zone

Learn From Disappointment

"The past does not equal the future" - Anthony Robbins

So often when we're in pursuit of our goals and dreams we run into a road block or two. We have a result in mind and it just doesn't come out in our favor.

It happens to everyone at some time.

You prepared, sacrificed family and social obligations, spent a lot of time and money on equipment, travel, lodging etc.

You rested, tapered and fully expected to have success. But things didn't turn out quite like you expected...

We've all experienced it; our dreams dashed. You wonder what more could you have done?
Perhaps now you are feeling discouraged and depressed. Unfortunately, the depression usually seems greater if you expected a lot. It seems there is no way for anyone to console you.

So how do you get out of this depressed condition; this "mental mess"?

Do you have the feeling that nothing you can do will make any difference?

Well, there is ALWAYS something you can do.

If you're feeling really down, go ahead and feel down for a little while. I repeat; a little while, just don't stay there.

Remember that you can't change the past. What is done is done.

But maybe you can learn something from it. It's been said that sometimes we learn more from losing than we do from winning.

You think you did every thing right, but did you? If your preparation and focus weren't at fault, than perhaps there is another explanation that you have been missing or avoiding.

A close objective assessment of your performance may reveal some useful lessons for the next time. In fact, I have discovered that losing a match, or not achieving a goal, actually made me better in the future.

Listen to me now and believe me later. You will be a better person having had the experience.

Take some time to analyze your performance.

You'll be glad you did.

Until next time, put everything you have into everything you do.

Best of Success,

David Martin
EmpowerMax PCS, Inc.
info@empowermax.com
www.empowermax.com
The Performance Zone

Two Minds Within One

"Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better." - Pat Riley

Your subconscious mind is an amazing powerhouse that when properly used can move you rapidly towards the achievement of your goals and your desires.

Your subconscious can be used for creation or destruction, for good or for ill. It can and will make you a prince or a pauper, depending on the way its programmed.

To fulfill your potential you must learn how to tap into your subconscious mind at will and use it for your purposes intelligently and constructively.

Back in the early 1990s when I first opened my tae kwon do school, one of my students was a computer expert. He was telling me how much a computer can do for the business end of the school.

He was probably 10 years ahead of the curve when he came to computers and the Internet as well and still is.

One day he walked into my office carrying a box, he went back out to his car and brought another box. He repeated his process several times and when he was done what he we showing me was my very first computer. He was donating his computer to the school because he felt not only would help me keep better track of the business and students, it was also time for him to get a new one.

For the time it was state-of-the-art. High-speed wired up for the Internet turbocharged and ready to go. He showed me some of the processes that were in it and how I could use them.

But unfortunately I have to admit that because of my lack of understanding and lack of knowledge of how to use that computer at the time it was mostly used for simple word processing duties and playing the occasional game.

Here I had this tool that was worth thousands of dollars and that could have helped me produce so much more in a much, much shorter period of time, but I was using it as a typewriter and for my own personal entertainment.

I was not using that computer to even a fraction of its full potential.

Most people are like me with that computer.

They work every day with their minds but the use this powerful computer for only the most rudimentary tasks and then they wonder whether working so hard and why they seem to produce so little.

Peak performers however are those who have learned how to operate their conscious and subconscious minds together in harmony thereby allowing them to achieve their goals far faster and with a great deal less effort.

So which one are you?

Are you settling for the minimal level of production from your mental faculties?

Or do you have your two minds working together to achieve life on your terms?

The choice is uniquely yours.

Best of Success,

David Martin
EmpowerMax PCS, Inc.
info@empowermax.com
www.empowermax.com
The Performance Zone

Take A Look Inside

"Practice, the Master of all things." - Augustus Octavius

How are you doing?

Do you know what's going on?

I mean do you really know how you're doing in relation to your goals and desires?

It's important to be aware of where you are in relation to your goals. However, it's equally important to be aware of what's supporting you and what may be holding you back.

There is a difference between limits and limitations.

Limits tend to be physical.

How high you can jump, how fast you can run, what color your eyes are, your brain, talent etc are all physical.

Limitations tend to be mental.

They are your psycho-logical boundaries. What you believe about yourself ...your self-image determines many (if not all) of your actual limitations.

It's been said that, "The only limitations on human creativity are self-imposed. You never outgrow the ones you set, you only set new ones within which you must live." I guess that means the onus comes back on us.

Take an inventory of your personally set limitations.

What may be holding you back from achieving your dreams?

Be courageous. Don't Mickey Mouse with the pen and paper. Write down what's really going on.

By identifying obstacles, now you can make the necessary adjustments to eliminate, move around and go over or breakthrough the blockage.

Getting through the blockage is much easier with an expert guide or coach.

The EmpowerMax Performance Coaching Systems are designed to guide individuals that are committed to excellence to the next level of results.

Do you want to reach your goals faster? Send an email to info@empowermax.com along with your phone number to schedule an exploration into what your "Next Level" may be.

It's your life so choose wisely, as the choice is uniquely yours.

Best of Success,

David Martin
EmpowerMax PCS, Inc.
info@empowermax.com
www.empowermax.com
The Performance Zone

Obstacles Don't Have To Stop You

"Energy and persistence conquer all things." - Benjamin Franklin

This is a topic that is not addressed often enough. So I decided to dust off one of the PCS archives and bring your attention to the following topic - Distraction.

Distraction is one of the most perilous diseases in the world today. It can kill you, figuratively and maybe even literally.

It's not the HUGE, cataclysmic distractions that are the most dangerous. That's what the average people look out for.

No. It's not that at all.

It's the small ones, the sneaky ones. They're insidious little monsters that are barely noticeable, yet will wreak havoc in your life.

Let's see. We have steroids in baseball, corrupt politicians, climate change, illegal aliens etcetera etcetera.

The danger lies in the slight nudge off course that the aforementioned can cause, the barely perceptible change in direction; the wrong direction.

You see if you change your course by a mere three degrees, you probably won't notice it immediately. And when you do notice it, it may not appear that you are treading in dangerous waters.

Eventually you arrive at a destination that you never intended to reach. It's then that you remember that song by the Talking Heads. Lead singer David Byrne has that wonderful lyric, "And you may find yourself asking, well how did I get here?"

Good question and therefore, it deserves a good answer.

The same holds true if you nudge yourself three degrees in the right direction. You will arrive at a more favorable destination; one that has more in line with your Vision, Beliefs and Mindset.

The key is to eliminate as much distraction as possible.

How can you do that?

First, let's get the easy stuff out of the way. Get away from the TV, Radio and Newspapers.

Next, take a look at your goals. Are you on track? Are you pressing toward or moving away from your goals?

Be courageous. Don't Mickey Mouse with your answers. The more direct you are with your evaluation, the faster you'll make any necessary corrections.

If you find yourself lacking in regard to your performance, and you are having difficulty identifying the steps to take, maybe the "I just don't know..." phrase rears its ugly head.

Ask yourself this question, "If I did know the steps to take, what would they be?"

By uncovering the small distractions, the minute blockages, you can eliminate them from your life, thus beginning a new era in your performance and your results.

The PCS Next Level is a program by which you can and will learn how to eliminate the obstacles in your life quickly, efficiently and permanently.

Commit to the strategies and tactics of excellence for your life. Call me directly at 505-821-0157 or send an email me directly at info@empowermax.com with your phone number to schedule an exploratory consultation.

If you have been considering coaching, STOP THINKING & START DOING! You can't go forward looking in the rearview mirror.

Take action, the choice is uniquely yours.

Best of Success!

David Martin
EmpowerMax PCS, Inc.
505.821.0157 direct
info@empowermax.com
www.empowermax.com
The Performance Zone