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1 and 5 principles for getting what you want

System For Winning

“Not all seats are created equal…”

An old colleague reminded me I said that to him back in the day.

He’d wandered down to my office and as usual I was ranting about these topics!

It’s sounds exactly like what I’d say.

And I use a line like it in my Do What You Want books.

Yet it’s funny because…

This one principle I’d used for decades and just blurted out stuck with him to this day.

The power of principles

I like Ray Dalio and his principles.

In the business world, he’s the most accurate thinker I’ve discovered on these topics.

Yet, fact is, hundreds of principles are NOT principles.

As educator Harrington Emerson said—

As to methods, there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods.

Even more specifically, what I gathered from my first 14 years R&D’g these topics is…

That with just 5 principles of winning you can master anything!

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Shoot for the moon and stay the course

If you boil down my method to one phrase it’s this.

The other way I often say it is—

Dream MASSIVE and keep going.

See, this is where we often get stuck or fail.

If you’re going for what you TRULY want, it likely won’t work right away.

So people never commit.

Give up too soon.

Or constantly changing their method, fail to build momentum any way.

But if you stay the course…

It ALWAYS works.

Certainly, you can never control outcomes.

So there’s lots of reasons you might not achieve that goal you might have set your mind on.

YET…

If you just keep moving forward towards your grandest vision…

Continuously getting better and better and better along the way…

You’ll land where you’re destined to be.

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For focusing on what matters, choose YOUR reality bubble

Focus Tools “You’re in a reality bubble,” she said.

Thinking it was an insult.

I took it as fact.

It was right after I told her I never pay attention to that stuff.

You know the things you’re “supposed” to pay attention to.

How some celebrity did this.

Lunatic did that.

Politician said…

Whatever, whatever

A question I keep hearing these days is—

With all that’s going on, how do you stay focused?

And it’s not just focus…

But how do you stay “optimistically” focused?

The best answer I have is—

Keep your attention on what you control.

I know that’s overly simplistic.

And I get some people see that as “narrow” minded.

Yet it also reflects the tale of two peoples you see right now.

Many people feeling stuck, are getting even more stuck in noise and distraction.

When everyone I’m close to is laser focused driving forward goals.

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A method for building more and more momentum, without the ad hockery

System For Winning

“When it pours it pours,” a client says.

He of course gets that’s the “wrong” phrase.

But it’s the right phrase for him.

He remembers what it was like the other way.

And now he ONLY wants to remind himself of how much more you can keep it pouring!

Stuck begets stuck

Earlier in his career.

When he was first building his business, he felt stuck.

“Actually, it was way worse than stuck,” he says.

“It was like I couldn’t get a win edgeways.”

He was working harder than ever.

“Hustling” harder than ever.

But it wasn’t enough.

And worse.

Feeling like nothing was working…

Like a car stuck in the mud, spinning wheels, he felt himself getting stuck more and more.

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1 thing for best starting your day, without getting lost in the “mourning” routine

Ultimate Days

How you start is often how you continue.

You certainly know the notion of waking up on the WRONG side of the bed.

And how much that can lead to the wrong side of the day.

But how much do you experiment with starting your day right?

Personally, I want methods to get my day ultimate no matter how you wake up.

And irrespective of how you wake, to use this CRUCIAL time for building incredible momentum for your day.

Many days ruined

In my last job I RUINED many days.

Waking up with someone I loved, like an actor on cue, my brain would start ruining the day.

Ugh, don’t feel like going to work today.

If only this wasn’t that.

Or whatever wasn’t whatever. 🙂

I laugh at it now because it’s just so obvious to me how I was waking up and letting that brain ruin the day.

But FACT IS, I hurt years of my life that way.

Now I see clearly, no matter what you’re doing, you’re doing it anyways, so you might as well find a way to love the one you’re with.

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Yes YOU can… But this might keep you stuck

Yes, I know that phrase might now have political connotations from the Obama campaign.

Maybe to you that’s a good thing.

Politics ISN’T my thing.

I love the way Obama used Yes We Can to drive a powerful campaign.

But I avoid the divisive, drama-filled world of politics.

And this message of yes YOU can runs far deeper than any of that.

It’s like Make America Great Again

This phrase will now forever be associated with Trump’s campaign.

I of course wrote a book on how he powerfully used this mass influence for thrashing the GOP.

And ultimately to take over the country.

But now, well, again, it’s associated with being divided.

Sadly, Americans are divided on making America Great Again…

Or maybe not.

Maybe they all still want America to be great, just by their own definition.

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How can you use this less bizarre Groundhog Day for perfecting your days?

Ultimate Days

You might be aware of the bizarre tradition of Groundhog Day.

As it goes, the direction an imprisoned groundhog looks after being pulled from its burrow is a predictor of how long the winter will last.

Truth is often stranger than fiction.

And in this case, it’s hard to say!

The fiction I’m referring to is the movie Groundhog Day.

The day repeats

I recently watched this movie as one of my clients suggested it.

Together we’re focused on advanced topics of reality construction…

And some more common topics of perfecting his day.

“The movie is both,” he said.

It’s a story of reality construction because somehow Bill Murray’s character gets caught in a time loop that makes this one Groundhog Day repeat.

“The reason you’ll love the movie is because of what he does with it,” he said.

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Give yourself an “UNFAIR” advantage

Imagine your favorite athlete right before competing.

How do you imagine them being?

What mental picture do you have of them?

How do they look?

What’s the feeling they’re “broadcasting?”

Which words would you use to describe them?

Maybe words like

Focused.

Certain.

Energized.

Motivated.

Prepared.

To have made it to their level.

And to compete at the highest levels.

You can NEVER compete any other way.

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Why can your “inner” thoughts be so different to your “outer” life?

Have you wondered why someone can have so much and still feel lack?

Why an attractive man or woman can feel ugly?

A rich person can feel financially insecure?

Someone who’s achieved enormously can fail to feel like they’ve “made it?”

I’m betting like me you know plenty of these people.

Maybe you are one of them?

I used to be.

What’s going on here?

You know we have that phrase of “inner thoughts.”

There’s nothing “inner” about it.

That’s who you are!

It’s your ENTIRE experience of life.

You know that person on the outside?

That’s who you choose to be.

I don’t have to point out to you that most of your life…

In fact, perhaps nearly all of your life, who you’re being outside can be different to inside.

The person you’re “playing” might not be how you feel.

Things that you say to people are edited.

You’re rarely, basically never, sharing your inner thoughts.

But package them in a way that you’re comfortable saying and others are comfortable hearing.

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Upgrade YOU: The 9 Module Video Program Here In One Post

Hi there,

This was a FREE video program that i shared with our audience by email and in articles.

Upgrade YOU was such a hit that we wanted to find a way to bring it together so that someone else like you could easily go back in time and do it too.

The best way we could think to do this is to link all of the articles here so you can easily and quick move your way through this transformational program.

This way you will get the entire experience of Upgrade YOU:

You’ll see what I wrote about why this topic matters (3-4 articles for each of the 9 videos)
You can watch the video and hear me talk about these topics in quite some detail (9 videos)
You’ll have a practice in each of these 9 videos that you can do with me too

I’m sharing this with you because Upgrades have been of limitless value to me, and my clients.

And I know if you follow what we do together in this FREE program it can be of limitless value to you too:

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Where do we REALLY get stuck?

I had a call with someone who’s been reading these articles for years.

She said, “I really love what you’re doing on Upgrade YOU.”

And then it came…

“But, I’m having some trouble putting it to work.”

For a few minutes we went around in circles talking about her upgrade.

And then I saw…

It’s my fault

I see it now.

I’ve been TRYING to give you the solutions.

Not the usual airy fairy stuff that people tend to talk about on these topics.

The actual solutions I’ve built for myself over 21 years.

And what I actually do to drive results with clients.

But it FAILS.

From calls like this I’ve seen I’m failing to convey it in a way that best serves you.

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Upgrade YOU 3.3. 74 times a day we do this, and it massively holds you back

On average we check email 74 times a day.

When you look at that number, what does it make you think?

Is it high to you?

About right?

Low?

Because in a 16 hour day, this means ONLY checking email every 12 minutes.

Ding, ding human…

Does the story of Ivan Pavlov ring a bell?

You might be familiar with how he conditioned his dogs to salivate at the sound of a ringing bell.

But do you know why this works so well?

And how it works exactly the same in you and me?

Of course you do!

Because you might be doing it all the time too.

Jumping to a dinging phone, responding to notifications, half the day working for your device, rather than it working for you.

It costs you a ton of time and effectiveness.

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Upgrade YOU 3.3. Keep riding the bull

A private equity founder shared this story from a portfolio company CEO.

Now, this client is an entrepreneur.

A founder. Builder.

He’s been surrounded by top business builders all his life.

And this idea is from one of them.

A guy with a special and meaningful story.

Who sold the business he founded in his kitchen for nearly a billion dollars.

“From the outside…”

He says, “Building a business is like riding a bull.”

Someone watching might be dazzled.

The way they ride that bucking animal can look magical.

Even effortless, as they flow with the movement.

“Yet to the bull rider,” he says, “You don’t have a choice.”

You’re strapped onto this thing!

Whether you’re gonna get thrown or ride to victory, you’re hanging on for dear life.

Failing means major disappointment.

And also potentially being impaled!

So you keep riding.

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Upgrade YOU 3.3. The myth of using 10% of your brain—SOLVED

If it’s popular culture, it’s likely wrong.

Just like this notion that you only use 10% of your brain.

It sounds all fancy.

And plenty of fiction, such as movies like Limitless and Lucy, is based on unlocking the remaining 90%.

But what does it mean?

You can trace the myth back to…

Articles suggest it comes from this vague quote by the father of modern psychology, William James—

Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake. Our fires are damped, our drafts are checked. We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources.

So you see, there’s apparently little to it.

Yet, directionally, it’s certainly true we only use a fraction of our potential.

Whether that’s 10% or not, who cares?

Let’s talk about what it means.

Or, at least, in my view, a valuable interpretation!

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Upgrade YOU 3.3. Stop holding yourself back avoiding taking actions, without hours of yelling at yourself!

Do you wish you could be getting more done?

Have moments when you sit down to get started and it’s just too hard?

You can’t quite get into it?

Your brain is seeking distraction?

Oh, just better grab a drink before I do this.

Haven’t checked email in 9 seconds!

Hmm, maybe I should just check in with…

Resistance, avoidance, procrastination…

Whatever you call it, sucks.

It sucks time from your life, and energy from your accomplishing.

If you’ve procrastinated throughout your life, you know how much it has hurt you.

All the way back to school I’m betting you’ve been living with that awful feeling.

Us pros call it inner conflict.

One “part” of you says, I want or I’ve gotta do this.

And the other part of you, meaning, the part of you that actually must do the work says…

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This may be helpful tonight if you’re roaring ahead this week…

You may be chilling.

But if you’re roaring into the new year, this might be helpful for you.

It’s been a focus for me and I’ve had a number of conversations with clients on it this week.

One thing you see with us ambitious types is the start of the year can feel a little overwhelming, can’t it?

Even after last year proved you can never simulate the future, that’s what your brain is built to do.

You think and perform worse

When your brain is simulating on ALL those things in the future, you perform worse now.

And even worse, with all of those more things you must get done…

No matter how much you accomplish today you can feel like there’s always more to do.

It’s a lose-lose when you can so easily make it a win-win.

Whether you’re fired up or overwhelmed, take what is massive and shrink it down.

Stop that brain simulating all those big things you’re doing this year.

Simply keep bringing your focus back to the smallest things you’re doing this week building momentum in your year.

Just small steps this week.

Then next.

And the next.

Over and over again crushing each day.

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Upgrade YOU 3.2. For when you MUST find a way to win

A buddy lost his restaurants in the lockdowns.

Well, actually, he’s got some great properties that might come back.

“The question is, will the ‘suits’ come back?” he says.

The residential and office towers that fill his restaurants are still mostly empty.

He’s started another business on the side.

“You’ve gotta find a way to win,” he says.

I detest failure porn

That’s the stuff like how failure is the most wonderful learning experience.

It’s a loser’s mentality.

As Vince Lombardi put it, “Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser.”

Have you noticed that you only hear how great failure is from people who ultimately succeeded?

Failure is necessary and loveable feedback to keep getting better.

But that’s a distant last compared to the feedback of your goal being crushed 🙂

Certainly life isn’t about whether you win or lose.

Still that’s different to what I’m talking about here.

People talking about how grateful they are for their failures.

What did they fail at?

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New year, new YOU!

Hi there,

How you doing?

Hope you had a great new year and are roaring for 2021!

Certainly, none of us know where this year is headed.

Who could even pretend to guess the future based on what last year taught us all?

But we all do know one thing…

Focus on what you control

From about April on last year, this was so crucial to making last year one of my best.

The same is true with every client.

All of my work comes back to focusing on what you can influence.

And last year was a powerful reminder that’s basically nothing!

Zero ability to influence the health of the world.

Zero control over the decisions that govern you.

Heck, you have zero influence on your stomach digesting food or heart beating, let alone anything in our world.

Of course last year threw you a curve ball.

And who knows, this year could be the worst or greatest of all.

But what you do know, with absolute certainty is, nearly everything that impacts your life, you have zero control.

Absolutely zero.

None.

Nothing.

Nada.

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Why do New Year’s Resolutions REALLY fail?

This week surely lots of resolutions will be made.

Few broken resolutions will be reflected upon.

Too few resolutions will be any more than resolutions.

80% will be dust by mid-February.

Do you know why resolutions REALLY fail?

I mean, REALLY?

It’s not that we are weak or lazy or undisciplined.

The problem is the word “Resolution.”

In some way it has come to have a different meaning to a “real” goal.

Ultimately, it’s a type of goal that is socially acceptable to quit and fail at.

So we’re never really committed to begin with.

I write 3 more reasons why in this post and discuss a little in this short one minute video.

Not meaning to send you off the page here, but I’m keeping it short.

In past years I’ve written longer on why New Year’s Resolutions are stupid, and this video on why they’re still stupid.

But this year I’m making a resolution of my own. 🙂

And I’m starting early.

I, Geoff Blades, do solemnly resolve…

To ramble a whole lot less!

I haven’t put a word limit on it yet, but I can’t imagine writing any longer letters to you in 2021.

Less words more impact is my phrase.

And my target is one to two-thirds less words in every conversation, and the same in writing and videos.

That’s a reason I’m keeping this tight.

btw, not saying resolutions are entirely stupid.

Just that if you are making resolutions, why not go all the way to setting real goals you’re resolved to achieving?

If you want to go deeper into doing this I’d suggest these videos from Upgrade YOU:

Why Goals
What Goals
How to Condition Your Goals (so they’re not just resolutions but drilled into your brain)

Priceless learnings quickly reviewing YOUR 2020

I struggled writing this for YOU.

That’s because I kept finding myself writing about the world and my year…

What it meant to me.

Why it was so transformational.

How it was one of my best.

Where they’re taking the world, etc.

There’s lots of stuff I’d like to share with you.

But this isn’t about any of that.

This is about one thing and one thing only—>

You, and getting the most from YOUR year.

Not about the world’s year

You’d have to be pretty narrowly focused to be looking back on “your” year without any reference to the year humanity had.

Tragic.

Disastrous.

This was a hard and painful year for billions of people.

Many lost their lives and livelihoods.

Multiples more still have their backs up against it.

Freedom was surrendered by all.

You simply cannot tally the enormous cost of human suffering this year.

Yet you also can’t let that weigh down your year.

True compassion and empathy is so rare and crucial, yet that’s different to using the suffering of others to justify your own.

If you wanted to ruin your days counting human tragedy, before this year it was still everywhere there’s oxygen.

But if you’re focused on how you keep doing your best to serve yourself, family and humanity…

Well, you must focus on those things you control.