I am still on the journey to 100 Days Strong. Let’s be honest. When I started, I didn’t know if I could make it 100 days. I believed I could. I set it as the goal. But, it was a big number. Now that I am at day 59, I know that I will make it. There is not other choice.

Starting with my List, I have been able to approach every day the same. I have things that I have to get done. I mark the first one off the list as quickly as possible…I take my progress photo every morning at the same time. With that first task accomplished, it is easy to get into the routine pattern of marking the rest off the list.

As I mentioned kin a previous post, the List has stayed the same from a high level. However, I have taken an opportunity to fine tune some things along with way. Originally my goal was stick to my exercise plan. I had been working out three days a week and was going to fill in here and there with walking.

Without specifically intending to, I started walking on days that I was not lifting weights. That turned into walking even on days that I am lifting weights. Which then turned into walking, yoga, and lifting. I am averaging 2 workouts a day every day of the week, but one. I just walk on one day.

Sunday: Weights and 30+ minutes walking

Monday: Yoga and 30+ minutes walking

Tuesday: Wights and 30+ minutes walking

Wednesday: Yoga and 30+ minutes walking

Thursday: 30+ minutes walking

Friday: Weights and 30+ minutes walking

Saturday: Yoga and 30+ minutes walking

I have seen awesome results thus far. I am down 23 pounds in 58 days from changing the way I eat and workout.

It all started with the List and setting an achieve by date.

#keepmovingforward

Sometimes I hate walking to the mailbox. I know the only thing that will be there is stuff I don’t want to see: bills, advertisements, catalogues, etc. Occasionally there is a package, but those usually come to the door. Didn’t there used to be a different use for the mailbox? Oh yeah, letters. I haven’t gotten a letter in forever.

I remember years ago. The summer my wife and I got together we would write letters to each other. I was away on a mission trip and missing her terribly. This was before we all had cell phones in our pockets and WAY before text messaging. We could email, sure, but to really express how we were feeling we wrote letters. I still have them. They are a wonderful snapshot in time.

I can think of three reasons that letter writing should still be practiced:

1. Writing out a message by hand makes you take more time. Some people would see this as a downside, but there are some benefits that can not be over looked. When we slow down to write by hand we think through what we are saying. We take time and make sure the message is right before we fold it up and send it off.

2. You are sending someone the gift of your time and touch. You have touched the paper. You have expressed your thoughts in a very tangible way. It is a personal exchange from you to them.

3. It is outside the norm. Digital messages get lost in the shuffle. We all get multiple, sometimes hundreds, emails and texts every day. Writing a letter is a way you can cut through the noise and show you are thinking of them.

I will admit, I haven’t written a letter in years. However, I am going to pull out pen and paper and do that very thing today.

I have been thinking about my younger self. He was a free spirit and a dreamer. He spent a lot of time with his head in the clouds and had many awesome ideas of what he wanted life to be. He was also frustrated and unmotivated. He wanted things to happen, but had no idea of where to start. Do you know someone like this?

When did I realize that I needed to change? After the birth of my son. There is something about holding a little human and realizing that your choices every day will impact how that little person grows. It toughens your resolve. It makes you want to get your head out of the clouds and start to find your way in how the world works.

I had started a new job 8 months before he was born. It didn’t take long after he showed up that my need to improve became a real thing. I wasn’t sure if I needed to find a new job, or buckle down and make something out of the one I had. Figuring that it took more energy to find something new, I buckled down and did everything I could to be better at what I was doing. I am so glad I did.

It didn’t take long and I was involved in everything I could be to learn more. I was promoted a few times within 3 years. I was given new responsibilities and started to develop a deep sense of pride in my work and my set of knowledge. I focused on helping people and providing what they needed. After 5 years, I was pretty good at what I was doing. So I thought.

I remember sitting at work one day when an email came into my inbox. The company I worked for was notorious for not financially supporting further academic pursuits. They went deep into in company training, but not university training. So, it was interesting that they were supporting a specific masters degree at a local university. I had no interest in going back to school….until I felt a physical bump that almost knocked me out of my chair. I knew it was something I had to do.

It took two years, but I was able to finish my masters degree that supported the job that I had been doing. I had now been at the company for over 6 years and had a really good handle on what I did and how it fit in. I was then assigned to a new team that was set to implement a new software at the company. The project was supposed to take 2 years and would be transformational to the company. A few years before I thought I knew a lot. I knew at this point I didn’t know as much as I thought I did and was about to learn a ton more.

There is a lot more to this story, but this is what I want to share today. We all start somewhere. Many times it looks nothing like where we have gotten to. The roads that we have taken may not look like we expected to. However, there is one common thread among all of them. We have to take the opportunities when they present themselves and have the drive to move those opportunities forward. It took the birth of my son to set me on this path.

I used to spend time wishing that I could change things in my past. Total waste of time in my opinion. I now want to be able to see the past clearly so I can make better decisions for the future. I want identify my mistakes so I can avoid making them again.

I was once a dreamer without a plan. I am now dreaming with my eyes open. I have an idea of where I want to go and I look for ways to get there with what is presented to me. When I need to pivot, I pivot. When the goal changes because of new things I learn, the goal changes. At the end of the day, I am excited and am so much further along that many of the dreams I had. I am ok with that.

The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities. – Stephen Covey

Have you ever noticed when you are learning something important that the information seems to show up from multiple places? Maybe it is because you are focused on the topic, but it still shows up unexpected? I have seen this several times. Most recently around planning. Let me explain.

The reason I have found success in my 100 Day Strong journey is because I have a plan. I wrote about the List a few days ago. I even presented the idea of the List to my Toastmasters group. What is the List you ask? In short, it is a plan that I have to execute to every day.

I was reading Extreme Ownership yesterday and that chapter of the book was called Plan. In the chapter they discuss a rescue mission they undertook while in Iraq. The hostage was the son of an Iraqi official. The enemy had threatened harm and would kill the young man if their demands were not met. They described the planning process and the execution of the mission. In the end the hostage was saved and no shots were fired.

One thing they highlighted was this, there may be variables and uncertainty, but a well designed plan prepared the troops so that they could still move forward and deal with whatever came up. They followed the plan and were successful.

For transparency here, I am not a natural planner. I used to think planning was the antithesis of spontaneity. So, I would actively avoid planning altogether. Yeah, I know. It was very shortsighted of me. My plan was to dominate through sheer force. When I got hurt, that was out the window and I had nothing to fall back on.

I tried the weight loss thing before. Several times. The last “successful” run I had was in 2009. I had a plan…exercise 3 times a day. That was it. While I did lose weight in the short term, I overextended myself and got hurt. The weight then came back on quickly. So much for spontaneity.

This time is much different. I have multiple goals and facets I am working on. If one starts to slip, I still make progress with the others while I circle back and fix whatever is wrong. It is a methodical approach and has worked so much better. I am losing more steadily and not struggling as I progress.

The plan is working. I will keep executing. I can’t wait to see how far I am able to go.

I have made a rediscovery on my 100 Day Strong journey. I love books. I have had a love/hate relationship with them over the years, because I have a hard time sitting still to read. However, the audio book helped solve this problem. I love getting the information and being able to move around.

One of the books I picked up is called Extreme Ownership. It was written by two Navy Seal commanders who served in Iraq. The stories they tell of what happened as they served in Iraq are amazing. The bravery and determination of the troops in those circumstances are very inspiring.

The thing I like most about the book is how they can apply the principles of leadership across all domains. In war and in business, leadership is essential. It is needed more today than ever. As Navy Seals they got to apply the leadership principles they teach in a life or death environment. So naturally, my ears perk up when they start sharing how to do things like they did.

I am especially struck with the idea of extreme ownership. Loosely translated, to display extreme ownership as a leader you have to take responsibility for everything that happens under your lead. If something blows up, you have to own it. If one of your team doesn’t perform as they should have, you have to own it. As a leader, you are personally accountable for all the details. It is called extreme for a reason, but as the authors demonstrate, it works.

I am come to a place where I understand more fully what this means. The first person that I lead is myself. I am responsible for the decisions I have made. If I don’t like where I am at in my life, it is on me to take that ownership and do something different. Personal responsibility and accountability. I need this.

If you haven’t read the book, I encourage you to check it out. It is a good one.