2Weeks2aBreakthrough

Breakthroughs at ConverStation

Mike over at ConverStations is doing a series of posts about Two Weeks to a Breakthrough. Mike, the five-spot is in the mail :-).

Here's a snippet from post 1:

The introduction explains that part of the daily process is sharing the goal, taking action and making requests. The suggestions Lisa offers fall into one of four categories, including 'Obliterating Resistance' - just saying that out loud almost motivates me to finish this book tonight.

Yes, I like the words, "obliterating resistance," too. It feels liberating to use a term like obliterate to mean something positive. Here's a snippet from post 2:

I believe in the power of questions as a conversation ignitor. In particular - the conversations we have in our own mind - conversations we sometimes take for granted. Lisa lists five 'states of mind' that we can exercise in order to recognize and manifest possibilities:

And he says there will be more posts in the series. Goody! If it isn't already, throw ConverStations into your aggregator and keep up with all the great posts. Thanks, Mike, for taking the time and energy to do this series!

Make Your John Wayne of Nails

Let me explain what you are looking at:

This is a photo of a large portrait of John Wayne that hangs on the wall of the Frontier Restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This picture is large, about 4 feet by 4 feet. It is constructed on wood. The portrait was created by banging in nails with varying size heads and and varying distances.

This took a long time to create. This is an amazing piece.

How do I know this? I friend of mine made it. His name is Dave and one day he started talking about how he was going to create a John Wayne made of nails for the Frontier Restaurant. We worked together at Intel and it was somewhat of a ritual to come to the Frontier every now and then. The Frontier has dozens of John Waynes on its walls.

At each visit to the restaurant, Dave would talk a bit more about his plans. They seemed really monumental and honestly, I don't think we took him very seriously. He started with a small printout, one with dots, not from a laser printer. Then he blew it up to create a rough pattern, then he adjusted the size and distance of the dots so that the face of John Wayne was clear. Then we worked on a design for the backing of wood and sourced a variety of nail types until he found the ones that were the right length and with the right sizes of heads. Then moved things around at his home so he could work on this. He had to figure out how to drive in so many nails - to just the right distance. It was slow, hard, and exacting work.

And he kept at it. There came a point where we (his colleagues) started believing that he was really going to do this.

And he kept at it.

One day, about a year later, he finished. An aside - his intention was to GIVE this to the Frontier Restaurant so they could hang it one their wall. Through this whole process, Dave had not told the owner of the Frontier of his plans - he just had faith that the guy would want the John Wayne.

And he did. As you can imagine, he was a bit surprised when Dave told him what he had done. I helped get a mention in the paper and we had an unveiling party at Dave's house, complete with a western band.

It was an amazing accomplishment - and all to provide a gift and see his contribution on the walls.

This is pretty amazing, isn't it? The picture does not do the artwork justice, you need to visit it yourself the next time you are in Albuquerque. The Frontier is a must-not-miss place anyway.

Sometimes I think about Dave and his John Wayne made of nails and ask myself when the last time was that I put so much care and effort into doing something for someone else....into doing something that offers no financial gain or promotes my business.....

Every time I go to the Frontier - which is every time I go to Albuquerque - I sit under the John Wayne made of nails and smile.

See what another blogger wrote about the Frontier (and a mention of the John Wayne made of nails) here.

Breakthrough Webcast

I posted this webcast on this blog last year, but I thought I would share it again as most of the readers of this blog have joined since then. It's a quick morning elixir that can give you some ideas for how to generate breakthroughs today.

26 minute webcast: 10 Ways to Generate Breakthrough Results. In this webcast, I share a few of the techniques you can use to generate breakthroughs. If you would like to get your goal on the fast track, enjoy this.

Grab a grande latte and take it all in. Click here to see and hear the webcast. It takes just a minute to load.

Let me know what you think!

P.S. It requires Flash 8.0 and you will be directed to download it for free if you don't have it. One note: if you don't want to download a Yahoo toolbar at the same time, be sure to uncheck that before you download Flash.

What if? Second Guessing Ourselves to Inactivity

We've been hearing all the "what if" questions related to John and Elizabeth Edwards's decision to stay on the campaign trail even though Elizabeth's cancer has returned.

• What if it gets worse?
• What if you are going to die?
• What if you live and John becomes president and then you get worse?
• What if you don't feel well?

And on and on. They will reassess as each new bit of information reveals itself regarding her health, but in the mean time they are going for it. The Edwards are facing a tough situation. Lots of "what ifs".

We "what if" ourselves and others about a lot of things. I have been getting a lot of "what if" questions related to my motorcycle book tour.

• What if you run into bad weather?
• What if you break down?
• What if you get sick?
• What if you are in pain from riding every day?
• What if a car hits you?
• What if your stuff is stolen?
• What if your bike is stolen?
• What if you get lost?

And then the derivative what if questions:

• Aren't you afraid?
• Should you be doing this all alone?

Sure, I need to plan well and take precautions. I need to wear Kevlar pants and a fully padded jacket. I need to have a list of all the Honda Motorcycle dealers along my route. I need to have good maps and my roadside assistance card. I need to get in shape to handle the physical demands of riding every day. I need to get proper sleep and eat well....

If I thought too much about all these "what if" questions, I might be tempted not to go. Instead, I prefer to focus on another set of "what ifs":

• What if I am able to catalyze breakthroughs and help people zoom forward?
• What if this becomes a trip of a lifetime?
• What if I see amazing places and meet amazing people?
• What if the minor setbacks turn into challenges and adventures?
• What if I am able to enjoy the solitude on the road?
• What if my talks make a difference in other people's lives?
• What if Hazel runs perfectly?
• What if I learn something?

I can't jump into their heads, but I think the Edwards are thinking about a different set of "what if" questions too, first and foremost being: What if John can win the presidency?

Which type of "what if" questions are you asking yourself and your friends? Are they the questions that invite action and exploration or the questions that second guess yourself?

We need to be prudent and plan well. And then we have the opportunity to go for it.

What if you did?

Tagged for Five Habits

I've been tagged by Brad over at Achieve-IT. I am a bit late in responding due to my travel last week. Better late than never, right? Here's the meme:

List five habits I practice every day:

Well, let me think. OK.

1. Morning planning - just 10 minutes to plan my day. When I don't do this I feel a bit lost.

2. Paris time - I give my 17 year old cat Paris some attention. I find this relaxes me. She is so sweet.

3. Walk - I do a walk of some kind - strenuous, short, a dog walk or on a treadmill. When you sit at a computer a good bit of the day, moving is critical to keeping the blood and brain juices flowing.

4. Daydreaming - I try to let my mind wander a bit each and every day. Most of my great ideas (and most of the not so great ones, too) come from this time.

5. Small actions - I take several small actions to support my goals - even on weekends. This can take all day or just 10 minutes.

There you have it! What are your daily habits?

Review of Two Weeks

Here's another nice review of my latest, Two Weeks to a Breakthrough, offered by Mike DeWitt on Businesspundit. Here's a snippet:

I particularly liked the chapter on goal setting. Haneberg goes beyond the SMART approach and brilliantly outlines steps for defining life-changing, breakthrough-level goals that aren't simply fantasy. This chapter alone is worth the investment.

Thanks Mike! If you would like to read a bit of the book, you can download an excerpt here.

Breakthrough Podcast with Music with Guest Perry Devine

Over on Management Craft, I just put up this podcast. But since it is all about breakthroughs, I am posting it here too!

In this inspiring 23 minute podcast I chat with singer/songwriter Perry Devine, who used the processes and techniques found in my latest book, Two Weeks to a Breakthrough to create a song about generating breakthroughs. I think that music can inspire and serve as a powerful catalyst, so I am thrilled to have this song all about breakthroughs. As you can imagine, I was doubly thrilled when Perry told me that he used many of the suggestions offered in the book and experienced several breakthroughs while writing and recording this song. During the podcast, Perry tells listeners how he applied the book's concepts to the writing and recording of the song and which techniques made the greatest difference - catalyzing breakthroughs. At the end of the interview, you will hear the song "Breakthrough," by Perry Devine.

Join us in making this the year of the breakthrough!

By the way, I am happy to tell you that Perry is my brother. It was better than an ice cream sundae to work with him on this project. I cannot tell you the delight and humble pride I felt when I first heard the song and when Perry told me that my book was helping him push his music and process to new heights. Very cool. Thanks, Perry, for doing this with me! Here's a pic of my guitar pickin' brother in action.

Want to know what Perry means by the ultimate breakthrough catalyst? Listen to this podcast!

Oh, and by the way, stay tuned for the Breakthrough visual presentation - coming soon!

You can listen to my podcast with Perry Devine by clicking here:

You can also download an MP3 version of the podcast here: MP3 Download

Here is the Podcast Feed for the entire Fireside Chat podcast series:

To see the complete list of podcasts in this series, select the Podcasts and Webcasts category on this blog or see the list on my main website here.

You can also find this series on iTunes (and several other podcast sites), just search under my last name for Fireside Chat.

Wild Hogs and Romance versus Reality

I had a tense and stressful week last week and needed some relief - comic relief. So Bill and I went to go see Wild Hogs, the middle-age-dudes-go-on-a-motorcycle-adventure movie starring John Travolta, William Macy, Martin Lawrence and Tim Allen. I went in with basic expectations - I knew this would not be an Academy Award winner, that it would likely be a bit formulaic, and predictable. But I hoped it would be fun and funny - I needed that.

The movie is very funny and we loved it. A special cameo near the end is precious. A big bonus is that much of the movie takes place in my favorite place, New Mexico (even many of the shots prior to them getting to New Mexico were from New Mexico - that bridge is the Rio Grande Gorge bridge and that Valley is Valle Grande).

Upon exiting the theater, Bill asked me if I got any ideas for my upcoming motorcycle adventure. Sure, I picked up a few do's and more than this number of don'ts.

But mostly, I was charmed by the notion of romance versus reality and how that plays into generating breakthroughs.

Throughout the movie, things don't go exactly as planned. People aren't quite who they appear - or try to appear, and stuff breaks. Courage comes from cowardice. Cowardice comes when the shock of being courageous sets in.

I like this aspect of the movie because it relates very well to how we generate breakthroughs. We all have notions about how things will be or ought to be. We don't act until all our planets have aligned, we have a certain amount of money, we feel comfortable, or we have reached the right weight.

But even then, things will not go as planned.

So as the Wild Hogs bumbled through their midlife crisis adventure, they were wonderful. Goofy, sure. Tragic - sometimes. Putting on a show, certainly.They were all these things and they moved forward. They put themselves - as awkward as that may have looked and felt - out there and made things happen. They got on the road and drove.

As we think about the direction we want our lives to go, one thing is sure. If we don't get on the road toward this life and drive, we are certain to never reach it. When we drive forward, we might get bugs between our teeth and be surprised by a few speed bumps and sink holes.

No worries, it's all part of the inelegant and yet very elegant journey of progress. Put on your helmet and let's ride.

Breakthrough Quotes

“Sometimes a breakdown can be the beginning of a kind of breakthrough, a way of living in advance through a trauma that prepares you for a future of radical transformation.” Cherrie Moraga

“The person who can combine frames of reference and draw connections between ostensibly unrelated points of view is likely to be the one who makes the creative breakthrough” Denise Shekerjian

“The most exciting breakthroughs of the 21st century will not occur because of technology but because of an expanding concept of what it means to be human."  John Naisbitt

“All personal breakthroughs being with a change in beliefs. So how do we change? The most effective way is to get your brain to associate massive pain to the old belief. You must feel deep in your gut that not only has this belief cost you pain in the past, but it's costing you in the present and, ultimately, can only bring you pain in the future. Then you must associate tremendous pleasure to the idea of adopting a new, empowering belief.”  Anthony Robbins

Have a Breakthrough - NOT!

I find that knowing:

• What is NOT right
• What we DON'T want
• What is NOT interesting
• Where we DON'T what to go
• What we DON'T want to spend time doing
• The actions that WON'T lead to success

is really, really helpful when trying to generate breakthroughs. Culling the list of good things to do to the two or three great things to do is a talent. And it takes resolve, courage, and discipline.

What should not be on your list?

You have one hour that - if used wisely - can catalyze forward movement and progress. what's the best way to use this time? Start with a big list of ideas and then start culling.....

Uncommit - decommit - not sure what the right word would be - from a project that is no longer a good use of time and is getting in the way of your focus and progress.

Focus on NOT today.