I remember hearing this slogan on Canadian television last year talking about the possibility of Canadian dominance at the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

I must admit, when I heard it, I thought sometimes “no”. lol. Think about it, Canadians have already had two Olympics in their country and how many gold medals do they have? NONE!

And yet, they’ve been running winter sporting programs called “own the podium” and television campaigns asking “do you believe”.

Here’s the point.

Canadians could easily have looked at their past results and had a promotion saying “maybe we could win just one gold!”. Funny but true, because this is what most of us do in life. We look at previous results and let them dictate what we expect of the future. If Canadians believed that past results dictated the future, they’d be committing sporting suicide. We all know that.

And yet, when it comes to ourselves, we make excuses about our own expectations.

Another one of those human traits I guess *sighs*.

So where to from here? Well, firstly, cheer on a few Canadians as the do “own the podium” in Canada as their athletes think only of the future and winning gold for their country rather than looking to the disappointments of the past. Second, cheer for the Aussies, because I’m a bloody proud one and I love seeing them own the world sporting stage.

Third, look at something in your own life that happened in the past that dictates how you feel about future achievement and disregard it. Throw it out and replace it with the thought that you are going to “own the (podium)” and replace podium with your area of choice.

It’s not too late, your not too old. Go out there and get it!

Ha, ha… got you! You thought from the title that I was going to suggest what so many other personal development “guru’s” are saying and for you to throw your tv out so you can’t watch it!

Well, it’s almost true.

But first, why is it that so many “guru’s” tell you to turn off, or throw out the television, yet in the same talk, tell you about an inspiring sporting moment (from the television), or an amazing interview (that was on the television)? BECAUSE THEY WATCH TELEVISION!

Here’s the point though. They don’t sit in front of it like you do, flicking the channels until they find something that remotely looks familiar to entertainment.

Why am I going on about this today?

Because for the last month, I haven’t had a television. Admittedly, not by my own designs, but because the aerial is broken.

It has been amazing! I mean, I didn’t consider myself as one who watched much television anyway, but I really had so many habits based around it. I turned it on to fill a time gap where I was waiting for something else to happen, or I turned it on while I was eating, or I watched a bit to relax at night. You know the story, right?

So here I am one month on and how has it changed me? Well, I’m certainly more productive work wise. I have no tv, so to fill time I often sit in front of the computer and do work.

My wife gets a better night sleep when she has to start early for work, because when she gets home, there’s no television to turn on and keep her awake for that extra hour or so.

I’ve written far more clear goals.

I’ve started on a new business plan.

I’ve planned three physical activities and organised sporting events each week (not to mention a few others with friends).

I’m making more money than I have in a long time!

And guess what… I STILL AM ABLE TO WATCH TV!

But, but, but… “you said you had no tv”. Right! But the internet is a wonderful thing! The difference is that I never sit through ads, if I watch an episode of a show, I can pick the exact episode (by the way, did you know almost one third of a television show is ads!), if there’s important news, it’s always online, if there’s a big interview I can watch that and I can LIVE STREAM all the major sporting events I need if I really want!

Easy.

But here’s the test. I get a television back this week. Can I resist the urge to watch? I think so. My life has been way too good and too much fun to change anything now! Find out what happens here at VIP Success Club - The Ultimate Online Personal Development Resource Library and Community.

One of my biggest downfalls in life is always being concerned about what others think of me.

It’s something I’m working on, but it is definitely a work in progress.

I remember someone said to me many years ago that even though people spend so much time wondering what other people think, the chances are, no one else is thinking about them at all. And even if they are, they probably only thought about you for a nano second and made a decision based on that.

Ridiculous isn’t it. Why oh why oh why.

So the lesson is that we should spend less time worrying what other people think and more time thinking about how we can make ourselves better.

Sounds so simple doesn’t it. So why is it that I haven’t figured it out? A bit slow? lol

Did the headline get your attention?

It’s not so much a headline as it is a reminder to myself, so don’t get your knickers in a knot.

Sometimes I just need a reminder… a blatant reminder of what it takes to be successful. And yes, the headline is a good start.

I spent so many years wondering why I wasn’t successful and have only recently figured out the winning formula.

You see, anyone can be busy doing stuff. However it takes a different type of person to do the stuff that PAYS well. And by “pays”, I don’t just mean money. The return on a relationship can be just as rewarding as an example.

However if it’s the cash you are after, get off your ass and do the stuff that pays cash. That could be so many different things to different people, but I’m sure you know what it means to you… and most likely, like me, you’ve been avoiding it for way too long.

Make today a day of change. Something has to give eventually after all.

More great tips tomorrow at VIP Success Club.

Goal setting is central to everyone’s lives. Whether or not you deliberately set goals, they run what you do.

For some people they may be a “to do” list, for others they might be called “priorities”, but either way they still mean the same thing. They are things that you hold important enough to want to get done.

So why are we weighed down by the pressure of having meaningless tasks as goals or worse still, goals that are solely directed at helping someone else out (like a boss), rather than ourselves.

My point today is that I am saying to get your priorities straight and start setting goals for yourself. What is it that you want? You don’t have to start big either. Try something small, like I am going to walk for 15 minutes a day, or I am going to buy new pillow cases. It doesn’t really matter. It is the habit that counts and this is a very important step.

I know I keep getting lost in the world that I know all this stuff, but I keep forgetting to actually do it. Well, today, I am going to set a few new goals for me as well.

A great first step was exactly what Liza and I did last night. We went to a goal setting workshop. Maybe you don’t have a workshop that you can go to. If that is the case, do a search on line and find some learning material, or read a book on goal setting, you could even listen to a cd or mp3.

Just get started. As I always say, why not now?