Dulles airport has stairs…

… but no one is using them!

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See you in the stairwell,

Rory Vaden
Take the stairs – Success means doing what others won’t.

Get Control of Your Email -Tim Ferriss’ 9 Habits to Stop Now!

Hey Everyone,

Some of you know that I’m a big follower of Timothy Ferriss, author of 4 Hour Work Week. He and I were introduced last year via the National Speakers Association annual convention.

This one particular article that he wrote is so relevant to many of you who are looking to maximize your life performance. It deals specifically with how to control the flow of email and incoming busy work. We always talk about what are the right habits to start developing. These are powerful habits that Tim says you should stop immediately.

Score yourself to see how many of these you are actually doing. This does work!

Read the list here: Tim’s “Not-To-Do-List” – 9 Habits to STOP NOW

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See you in the stairwell,

Rory Vaden
Take the stairs – Success means doing what others won’t.

The Headlight Principle

A follower of the Take The Stairs World Tour  named James recently posed a great question. He asked, “How do you balance the importance of having long term vision with taking short term action?” A brilliant question.

 If you don’t have vision – that’s a problem. Yet, it seems like most of us have (or at some point have had) a vision about what we want for our lives. But often a breakdown occurs in the very beginning because some of our visions are so grand (a great thing) that we cannot see the details of exactly how it could ever possibly come true because it’s so big so we never get started (a bad thing).  To some, it might seem rational that there is no point beginning something when you can’t clearly see all of the steps of how it would be completed. The problem with that approach is that it’s the equivalent of taking a road trip across country and waiting to leave your driveway until all the stoplights are green!

All lights being green will likely never happen, and you will most definitely never even get started. Instead you’ll want to understand and apply The Headlight Principle. Headlights serve as a great metaphor because when you’re driving in the dark on your road trip towards your destination it is your headlights that keep you focused on the 10-15 feet right in front of you.

The same is true in your life. While it is critical to know where you’re trying to get to, making progress more often comes down to focusing on the next step that is directly in front of you. One of my favorite things to tell people is:

Spend time THINKING about your wildest and most distant dreams

but ACTING on your most immediate and present opportunities.

In other words there will never be a perfect time, you may not be able to see every step you need to take from where you’re at, but don’t let that stop you from taking the one immediate step that is right in front of you. What you always find is that once you take the step right in front of you, the next one becomes clearer, and the next, and the next. Just like the next piece of road becomes more visible in your headlights as you move incrementally forward.

Somewhere in your life or business you have a major vision. Don’t be overwhelmed by the massiveness of the goal but instead just take the 1 clear step immediately in front of you and watch as the rest become clearer. It’s one more reason why everyday is an important first step to “take the stairs.”

 On the road to your dream what is your next step? (you can post it here)

Join the Take The Stairs Tour:

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See you in the stairwell,

Rory Vaden
Take the stairs – Success means doing what others won’t.

It’s all about doing what others won’t…

I received this from fellow Toastmaster Brian:

Picture of Taking the Stairs.

NYC Subway – Grand Central Station, number 7 subway line – 2 flights to street level.

 

Join the Take The Stairs Tour:

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See you in the stairwell,

Rory Vaden
Take the stairs – Success means doing what others won’t.

What’s your defining word?

Last week in North Carolina we had two of our large Success Starts Now! motivational public seminars. During the “Meet The Speakers Q and A” at the end of the day, a man who joined Top Producers Edge named Vernon asked us the question, “What is one word that defines you, your life, and that has helped you to get to where you’re at?” Have you ever thought about that question? What one word would you use to capture your essence? 

I guess most people, including myself, would’ve expected me to answer with “Discipline” which is obviously the core of my message and philosophy but somewhat unexpectedly a different word shot out of my mouth; the word was “Faith.” Looking back on it I’m realizing that the two words are inherently connected. For our purposes here I offer a simple definition that Faith is a general belief that things are going to work out for the best. The reason it takes Faith to lead a disciplined life is because Faith gives you the perspective you need to stay the sometimes difficult course of self-discipline. 

You may remember from the Law of The Pendulum that your real beliefs are revealed by how you act. But it takes having Faith that things are going to be worthwhile in the long term, in order to endure challenges and take action on the sacrifices in front of you right here and now. 

If you find that you’re not able to make the sacrifices and endure the pain of the short term then perhaps it’s because you are dwindling in your Faith that things are going to workout. Here are three strategies you can use to increase your Faith and in turn enhance your ability to follow through on your commitment to be more disciplined. 

1. Recognize how you’ve been Protected in the past when things went differently than you had planned. Hindsight is 20/20 and recalling the broken plans you had in the past will give you confidence that present un-planned challenges you may be experiencing will also likely lead to eventually prospering you.
2. Notice the Peace that comes from thinking about things that are beyond your control. Whether its nature’s miracles such as the mountains and the ocean, or man-made wonders like sky scrapers, there is a calmness that comes from reflecting upon the greatness of things that have taken shape beyond our control.
3. Gain Perspective from people who have endured incredible difficulties in their life. Learning from the stories of others not only gives us hope and inspiration but it reminds us to view our own lives with a greater scope of timeframe rather than just the here and now.

Many people have been asking for audio copies of my speech and I’m currently in the process of recording, packaging, and releasing my official Take The Stairs motivational speech on audio CD in the next few weeks. But to borrow a line from my contest speech at the 2006 Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking:

Faith gives you peace in times of frustration

Faith gives you protection in times of fear

Faith gives you perspective in times of failure

Ladies and Gentleman, Have Faith.

So as it turns out I guess Faith is my defining word. What’s your defining word? And this week can you develop the Faith required to “Take The Stairs”?

 Join the Take The Stairs Tour:

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See you in the stairwell,

Rory Vaden
Take the stairs – Success means doing what others won’t.

more about “Take The Stairs – Vlog 1 What’s your …“, posted with vodpod

Video of Take The Stairs World Tour in Canada released from this morning!

Earlier today I climbed the tallest freestanding structure in the world, the CN Tower, in Toronto. This was the 3rd of my 10 stops on the Take The Stairs World Tour to raise money for charities. Thank you to all of my readers who donated as we raised over $750 for the World Wildlife Fund who sponsored the race. Making the Take The Stairs World Tour team once again a top contributor. Hope you all enjoy this!

Leave a comment here.
See you in the stairwell,
Rory Vaden
Take the stairs – Success means doing what others won’t.

The Pain Paradox

If you watch the Oprah Winfrey show you are probably aware of her good friend and trusted advisor Dr. Oz. He appears regularly on Oprah, is the c0-author of the “YOU” books (ie “YOU: The Owner’s Manual”), and is the Vice-Chairman of Surgery at Columbia University in New York. Earlier this week Dr. Oz’s team contacted the Take The Stairs World Tour about being a guest on his radio show for an upcoming series. Of course I was thrilled about the opportunity because of Dr. Oz’s incredible work and concrete personal character. So I’ll be recording with him next week in New York and the show will hopefully air in 2-8 weeks. (please post a comment here if you’d like to be notified)

In the pre-interview with his producer one of the topics that came up was “Why do people naturally avoid self-discipline?” And my answer was that either they haven’t yet been made aware of the benefits of self-discipline or that they do not understand a principle that I call:

The Pain Paradox

Most of us avoid self-discipline because we think that it’s “hard.” And, as I describe in my Take The Stairs speech, we then become victims to “creative avoidance” – which is naturally gravitating towards things that are easy to do. But more often than not the “easy” way doesn’t yield results that are “easier” to live with, in the long run. In fact many times the impacts that result from the completed trajectory of living life the “easy” way are quite devastating.

For example, in the “Finances” part of Living a 5 Star Life “The Escalator” mentality is using credit cards. Credit is seemingly easy for me on the front end because I get to have it now and not have to pay for it until later. I get to indulge in the pleasure of owning it now. But the reality is that I don’t own it; it owns me. At least until I pay that debt off.

Saving up to make a purchase on the other hand would be an example of exercising personal restraint, self-discipline, or a “Stairs approach.” While it seems harder on the front end and not as much fun I would encourage you to ask people with tens of thousands of dollars of credit card debt which way they’d do it if they had a chance to do it over again. For most in that situation they’ve shared with me that all of that “fun and pleasure” on the front end is very miniscule in a hindsight comparison to the pain and challenge that resulted.

The Pain Paradox is demonstrated with equal clarity in the “Fitness” part of Living a 5 Star Life. We don’t work out because “it’s hard” or “it’s not fun.” But ask someone who has barely survived an intensive stroke as a result of being in poor physical condition which is more difficult. They might be willing to trade the pain they’re experiencing now for what they thought was the hard way earlier in life.

So you see, The Pain Paradox is that:

The person who forms the habit of enduring the pain on the front end is the one who gets to experience the pleasure and enjoyment in the long run.

It’s all about changing your habits. How do you change your habits? For that you’ll have to tune-in to my conversation with Dr. Oz. J

In your life or your business what pain have you been avoiding on the front end? Because there is a chance that the path to what you desire most lies immediately on the other side of a little short term sacrifice. If you feel comfortable, I’d invite for you to openly post a comment about what your pain is that you know you need to confront head on and perhaps we can go through this journey together.

I share the concepts on this blog because I need to be reminded daily of these principles. I take the stairs not because I have indestructible will but because it’s a simple physical display of a commitment that I have to make each day to do the hard work necessary to get what I really want out of this life and the next. Will you join me?

Join the Take The Stairs World Tour:

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 See you in the stairwell, 

Rory Vaden

 

The Law of the Pendulum

What we say we believe and what we actually believe are really two different things. My home pastor Rick Rusaw once told me that if you want to know what a person really believes in then you don’t need to waste time asking them. Instead just look at their calendar and their checkbook; because what we spend our time and our money on is what we truly value most. You see it’s much harder to lie with our actions than to lie with our words.  

I often write about how integrity, and the power of words, is the foundation of a disciplined life – yet commitments are empty without action. Taking action is the critical and often missing component of manifesting your dreams or ideas into reality. One of my mantras is:

You dream it, You speak it, YOU ACT, it happens. You dream it, You speak it, YOU ACT, it happens.

You dream it, You speak it, YOU ACT, it happens. You dream it, You speak it, YOU ACT, it happens.

 Action is the critical element. Action validates your words, it erases your setbacks, and cures your fears. Developing the habit of taking action now is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to create unconditional confidence in our lives. In a state of a depressed marketplace we must respond to uncertainty with action. We cannot wait for the escalator of the economy to turn back on; rather we have to control what we can control, take action and take the stairs. 

Charlotte hasn’t caught on yet

Nearsightedness: The leading cause of failure

Did you know that nearsightedness is currently the leading cause of failure? That’s right, people who are able only to focus on what is up close right in front of them are exponentially more inclined to fail in business and in life. Of course I’m not talking about nearsightedness as it relates to your physical vision but rather as it relates to your mental vision.

Success is about sacrifice. Success in anything typically means we have to give up something somewhere else. In a recent blog post we discussed that two of the most common things we have to give up to be successful are Convenience and Comfort. In other words being successful is about learning to deal with the inconveniences of greater pursuits and getting involved with activities that are uncomfortable compared to what we’re used to.

With great certainty I can say that whatever success looks like to you, it is going to require a substantial amount of sacrifice, discomfort, and inconvenience; which is exactly why nearsightedness causes failure. Most of us are emotional beings and, unless we are intentional about our own self-control, we are governed by our natural impulses.

Therefore most of us tend to naturally gravitate – either consciously or unconsciously – toward immediate gratification.

If you are mentally nearsighted, you’ll find yourself consistently making one of the most common mistakes of average people:

Trading what you want most for what you want right now