Those were the words of Italian Coast Guard Gregorio de Falco to Captain Francesco Schettino while he was abandoning his ship, leaving 4,200 people on board to perish (at least 12 died).

When you “mess up” and difficulty strikes, how do you handle it?

Do you take responsibility, do whatever it takes to make it right, step up and take action (like the Coast Guard)… or do you shirk responsibility, leave the scene of the disaster you created and start looking for someone else to blame (like the Captain)?

The translated exchange between the Captain and Coast Guard is transcribed below. In parenthesis are examples of excuses we might use in our daily lives for not taking responsibility for common failures.

(This isn’t what I envisioned for my life. But I don’t really want to change, please…)

Captain: Please …
Coast Guard: There is no ‘please’ about it. Get back on board.

(But I send out résumés, I leave messages for my prospects, I mail letters…)
Captain: I am here to coordinate the rescue.
Coast Guard (interrupting): What are you coordinating there! Get on board! Coordinate the rescue from on board!

(It’s not my job, the president is supposed to fix it, when Monday comes…)
Captain: (inaudible)… there is another lifeboat…
Coast Guard (interrupting, yelling): You get back on board! That is an order! There is nothing else for you to consider. Now I am giving the orders. Get back on board, dammit! Is that clear? Don’t you hear me?
Captain: I am going aboard.

(The market is down, no one is hiring, our industry is in a recession…)
Captain: Look, chief, I want to go aboard but the other lifeboat here has stopped and is drifting. I have called …
Coast Guard (interrupting): You have been telling me this for an hour! Now, go aboard! Get on board!

The Captain never returned to the ship. According to the harbor master’s office, which notes the final exchange as occurring at 1:46 a.m., Capt. Schettino sought refuge on a rock at 12:30 a.m. Witnesses said he read more »

We are mid-stroke the first month of 2012. How you doing?

There is really only one barrier that can stop you from accomplishing every wildly ambitious and outrageous goal you have for 2012.

Do you know where that barrier is?

Let me give you a hint—it’s above your neck and between your ears. Yes, it’s your own mind.

If you want to achieve more this year than you have ever been able to achieve in previous years, then we need to first get your head straight.

I want to help you cultivate what I call an Achievers Mindset.

If you were to guess what I am going to teach you on how to cultivate an achievers mindset, what would you guess?

You are probably thinking things like: doing affirmations, or creative visualizations or guided meditations, or putting your goals on a post-it note and sticking them to your mirror or a vision board or listening to a recorded version of yourself saying, “I am happy, I am healthy, I am terrific!”

Ah, no. While all those things are fine and well (but weird), in my opinion they have nothing to do with achievement.

Note that I am talking about an Achievers Mindset. Not the ‘Happy Mindset’ or the ‘Make-Yourself-Feel-Good-Mindset’. We are after the mindset that produces results.

To have an Achievers Mindset is to have the mental discipline to push yourself through the long, sometimes grueling and sometimes painfully, hard work it takes to achieve. And really the only thing keeping you from doing it, and the only thing that will ultimately power you through it is your mind.

As my Spin instructor says repeatedly, “Your legs can go harder, faster and longer than you think… all that is keeping them from doing so is your mind. Push it!!”

Thus you need an achievers mindset to push yourself to do the things necessary to achieve the big goals you have set for 2012 (you do have big goals for 2012, don’t you?)

What’s the mindset Richard Branson, Donald Trump, Warren Buffet and others use to achieve 10 or 100X more than everyone else? Get my $20,000 presentation on the subject for FREE here: Insiders Resource Pool

Let me give you a brilliant example of what I am talking about. On the cover of our November 2010 issue of SUCCESS we had the Manning Family and the feature was titled: Raising Champions. What Archie and Olivia passed on to their three sons was not genetics, talent or innate ability that propelled each of them into stratospheric success. What they passed on that created their collective great success was a mindset… an Achievers Mindset.

Let’s take Peyton Manning for instance. Peyton holds the record for the most NFL MVP awards and in 2009 was deemed player of the decade. In 2010 he was named the 8th best player in NFL history, the only one still active in the league. Point is the guy has done it, big time. But, how has he done it? Talent, giftedness or luck? Nah, those things are a product of what I will give you as the real answer.

Like Michael Jordon famously said, read more »

What matters most in making your business successful? (It might not be what you expect)

If a genie popped out of a bottle and granted you instant “best-in-your-industry” status in just one of four categories, which would you choose?:

• best management
• best margins
• best marketing
• best product

While all these contribute to your business success, only one factor matters most.

PRODUCT?
It’s often assumed that the highest-quality and best product wins. Not true.

What’s the No. 1 restaurant in the world? McDonald’s. What’s the No. 1 wine? Franzia (the stuff that comes in a box!).

MANAGEMENT?
The next assumption is that management makes the competitive difference. Countless “dream teams” have failed miserably (think Enron, the movie Oceans 12 and the 2004 Olympic basketball team, comprising nothing but NBA stars, ending up third, losing to Lithuania. Ouch.).

MARGINS?
Certainly your accountant and CFO would wish for the highest margins. Tell’em margins don’t matter at all if the product never sells.

Ultimately, like  it or not, the one thing that matters most in determining whether your business succeeds or fails miserably is read more »

In the movie City Slickers, Curly explains to Billy Crystal’s character that the secret to life is “one thing.” When he asks what the “one thing” is Curly says, “That’s what you have to figure out.”

When it comes to making 2012 the best year of your life, the secret is the same, figure out the “one thing” that if you achieved it, would change your life so dramatically that it would make for the best year of your life.

Identification

In my Living Your Best Year Ever program (you have one for 2012 right??) I take you through a process that vets out your entire life: your core values, strengths, weaknesses, ambitions, fears, purpose and inner most passion to try and help you discover your Top 10, then Big 3 and then the ONE goal that matters most in your life.

Action: That’s your first challenge: figure out your ONE THING that if you achieved it would make this your best year ever.

 Now let me help you achieve your one thing…

Motivation

You will be tested. You will encounter obstacles. You will experience pain. It will suck at times. You will want to quit. So, you need a significant reason WHY you want to forge ahead and continue to pursue and persist through the pain, obstacles and sucky stuff. (resource: watch this video or read pg 3 of this article: Finding Your Mojo-Your Why-Power)

Action: Figure out your unique WhyPower.

Execution

Behavior
In the LBYE program I also reveal my Massive Transformation Formula. One of the steps in that process is: List the one key behavior most important to accomplishing your goal, your “one thing.” You are one key behavior away from a massive transformation in any area of your life.

Think about it: Improving your marriage could need just a few consistent behavior changes to transform your current connection and intimacy. Your sales results? A few consistent behaviors could massively transform your results. This is true in your health, parenting, networking, leadership… any area of your life. (Resource: Living Your Best Year Ever)

 Action: Figure out the one behavior most important to accomplishing your “one thing.”

Habit
Of course for that behavior to add up to anything it needs to become a habit. Habits are those things you eventually do without thinking about them. One of the key strategies to developing new habits is to install that key behavior into a routine—something in a predictable sequence that removes thinking from the equation. (Resource: The Compound Effect, free Habit Assessment)

Sticking With It read more »

I love year-end Top 10 lists.

They are almost like cheat sheets! I feel I can get a good review of year bygone and check-in to see if I happen to miss anything important.

In that spirit I had the top 10 blog posts (based on comment and shares) pulled for you:

Be a ROCK STAR Presenter (Pt 2 of 3)
Based on important advice I gave to an executive team of a mid-size company to improve their ‘State of the Union’ address. Can help you improve any presentation you give.

THANKS-Giving Challenge
Of all the awe-inspiring stories I get about how The Compound Effect made a difference in someone’s life, this is the concept that has had the most impact. This is something you can do ANY time of the year with equally life-altering results.

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY (1 of 3)
The cause and fix to all your money problems. Be sure to see post #3 too.

Why the Rich Get Richer
One of the most important distinctions I made all year.

Knocked on Your Tush (Part 1 of 4)
When you get knocked on your tush in life, how do you get back up so you are not knocked OUT.

How to Be a Loser
It’s best to learn what losers do so you don’t accidentally end up one!

You Can Be Right or Happy…
I paid dearly to gain this insight. Let me save you the pain, read this one!

Get IN the Game
Oh, it’s definitely a good time to review this post!

Now Explode Off the Starting Line
If you have any goals you want to achieve in 2012, this post will be very valuable to you.

The Overachiever vs. The Superachiever (1 of 4)
The difference between Richard Branson, Tony Hawk, Donald Trump and me (and probably you).

8 Shocking (and Hilarious) Social Media Gaffes
More people need to read this. Send this one to all your friends – before they hurt themselves, permanently.

By the way, the link in the email update was incorrect on Tuesday. If you missed:
Goal: See More Sunsets <-there is the correct link.

Happy New Year everyone!
Wishing everyone lots of love and prosperity in 2012.