It was always going to be a wild challenge, and early on it grew a tail as well as threatening teeth & claws! But it has taken all my resources as a coach and a life-long learner to stick with it. The challenge is to write 30,000 words in 30 days – which is quite a stretch from the only other piece of lengthy writing I’ve done (6,000 words over a few months). I started with one month of research, followed by one month of planning, and yet November has still felt under-prepared.

I’d completed a SMARTER (Specific, Measurable, Appealing, Realistic, Timely, Ecological, Resourceful) goal analysis, and broken it down into more manageable chunks by deciding to write 1,000 words a day. But within the first week of the challenge I was already 4,000 words behind!

Where did I stumble?

• Measuring too much: with the focus on writing 1,000 words each day, I was continually using “word count” as I typed, to measure my progress. This was counter-productive, as it disrupted my flow and was demoralising when the numbers were increasing more slowly than I’d expected.
• Not acknowledging my success: Paul & I are such fans of back-patting ourselves because it really works. But I was forgetting to do it, because I was focusing on how far behind schedule I was. By the end of week 2, I had caught up with my anticipated progress, and only then remembered to celebrate my achievement.
• Didn’t plug the experience gap: whilst writing is something I love doing, I have almost never written dialogue, and it hadn’t occurred to me to plug that gap with some practice ahead of time. For every hour I spend typing dialogue, it is probably accompanied by another hour of thinking about what and how it will be “said”.
• Validation Catch-22: all new ideas or works of creativity are fragile things to begin with. I decided to protect the story from myself and others’ opinions (by not sharing or editing it); but this felt like writing into a void. I needed external validation other than word-count, and eventually chose one person I felt I could entrust the first chapter to. Definitely the right decision, as it has helped confirm that I can translate the magic in my imagination onto ‘paper’ for others to share.

I’m now at over 15,200 words – so how did I turn it around?

• One word at a time! 1,000 words a day is still a large chunk, so by acknowledging that every word counts and breaking my focus into smaller baby-steps, it has helped me to keep going even when I was struggling. I also stopped using the word-count function so regularly, and forgave myself for having fallen behind!
• My challenge, MY growth. I knew what this challenge meant to me, and by reminding myself of how I would feel once I’d completed it, helped me to push on when I was sleep-deprived or upset or uncertain how to continue. This is different to my purpose (“why” I was doing it: to save the Scottish Wildcats), but equally important. For me this is about personal integrity and commitment and contribution.
• Asking for help! There have been a great range of people supporting me through this: with enthusiasm, ideas, promotion, sponsorship donations and encouragement – including the occasional reminder of what I’m achieving! By being able to ask for support when I needed it most, has meant I’ve not been striving alone.
• Mantras for Momentum. Before I started writing, I was plagued by doubts about what I’d put into motion when I committed to this crazy challenge! So I created three short mantras that serve to balance me: “I give thanks that I am writing what I’m meant to write. I give thanks that the sponsorship donations are increasing daily. I give thanks that we are saving the Scottish Wildcats”.

I am deeply grateful for all the support I’ve received, and feel honoured to be doing something that will make a real and much-needed difference. And thank YOU too, because being part of ActionPodcast.com has taught me so much about myself and how I tackle challenges, that I am sure I wouldn’t be here at this point without the AP team and all our listeners and readers who’ve been with us over the last couple of years!

♥  Sam

“Think about an action you’ve been considering: which of the tips above would allow you to avoid some of the early hurdles before they trip you up?”

We all face stumbling-blocks in our daily lives, as well as during times when we step out of our comfort zones; and many of these techniques for success can be applied to any challenge that we set ourselves – large or small.

If you are feeling inspired after reading this, or want to share the details of a challenge you’ve set yourself, then we would love to hear from you. Please rate this post, add a comment and don’t forget to check out our ebook packed with 80 great tips to help you create every day action momentum!

As part of being a member of the BNI (Business Networking International) I’m entitled to some quite good training events. I’ve recently attended their new members training and during that session they also talked about how to prepare for your 60 seconds. The type of information you should be looking to cover and how to structure it best. So with my new found leaning from the course I went home and put together my 60 second speech.It really surprised me at how differently I had to write to make it work. Writing for an article to be read, is totally different to writing something that is going to be spoken out loud. I had to really simplify my language so that each word flowed into the next. Any time I practised the speech I would find a spot that I would have difficultly in saying, so I’d see if I would simplify it more. I tested the speech out on a couple of friends who helped me tweak it some more and timed me to make sure I was hitting as close as possible to the 60 seconds.

Last Friday I went to the BNI group again and used my 60 second speech. I was almost dead on the 60 seconds and had just a few seconds to ad lib at the end. I was delighted. It wasn’t the most exciting 60 seconds, but it was effective, it covered all the points and was fluid. So how does this relate to personal development you ask?

Well this type of action is a fantastic way of building your confidence in an area that you feel needs a bit of work. By giving it a format, a structure that covers everything it needs, you are giving yourself a basic template also known as a Boilerplate. The purpose of this isn’t to then use it permanently unchanged. The idea is that once you have the basic format in plate you DO change it.

Your boilerplate is your base line, your starting point, not your end point. From your boilerplate you know what must be in place, from there as you grow in confidence and your skills develop, you can adapt it. Either with some additional preparation or, if you feel daring enough, on the fly and ad lib some new bits into it each time you use your boilerplate. That way you have something to fall back on it things go a bit wry.

Have a think about some of the places you are already using a boilerplate. Maybe cooking your favourite meal, each time you make it, it’s somehow a little different. Going to the gym, you have a basic routine that you follow, but each time you go you do something else to liven it up. Even at work you may produce the same report on a regular basis but each time you do it, you find a new and more efficient way to do some part of it. By having that boilerplate, a base line to work from, you know what to do. After a while of using that base line your creative side starts to kick in.

Although having the boilerplate may initially seem a bit restrictive and even dull, it helps you put in place the foundation upon which you can build. By having the initial structure in place, your creative side is engaged, and before you know it, new ideas are flowing. You begin to tweak things here and there. If you can think about an area of your life or a task that you need to do and you are struggling with it, think about creating a boilerplate for it. Then watch it blossom into a creative and unique tool that you can flexibly use everyday.

Just for a giggle, I’ve recorded my speech onto YouTube. I still need to use it a few more times and be able to recall it without having to read my notes. The important thing is it’s a start and from there it can only get better.

ENJOY! And please do feel free to comment, I’d love to get some feed back on how to improve.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYVBOYXFnng

Rather than struggle to the point of frustration and disappointment, become more aware of the type of motivation you are seeking. Clarity always leads to power and once you get clear on what it is you want, and why you want it you’ll be able to generate the deep internal drive to propel you to success.

In this Action Podcast, Paul and Chris discuss how to find your motivation, and how to keep it to ensure you get the results you want.