Creating a Bad-Ass Vision Statement for Your Life like Coach Belichick

Bill Belichick accepted the coaching position for the UNC Tar Heels College football team! I can’t wait to watch them build the program. I’m fascinated when successful people make a program flourish. His vision for UNC is to create a fast track for college players to get into the NFL - a unique vision for a college team. I love the step up. He’s not thinking about beating other college teams per se - he’s planning to create super-performers. Thinking big! I’m envisioning countless tiny improvements in all facets for the team.

Belichick’s vision reminds me of the book Blue Ocean Strategy. I was obsessed with that book for a long time. I listened to the audio book ten times because it had amazing concepts yet it was so poorly written that I kept dozing off. I’ve always thought the book should be translated for typical humans to read. It’s super corporate and dry. The idea of the book is to grow your business by NOT competing with your competition. While everyone else turns the ocean red with blood from battling one another, you seek blue waters where there is no competition - due to your unique strategy. Let’s talk more about creating a vision for you life.

Vision Statement Tips

Excerpt from my workbook “All the Hats We Wear - Leadership Course:

Vision Statements:

A vision statement helps us imagine an inspiring future. Your vision statement should be 10-12 short statements. It should make your heart race! Some lines in your vision statement should describe measurables like “I earn x dollars per month.” Statements should be in the present tense. In addition, have “I’m a” statements related to the exciting roles that you play - as in “I’m a Visionary.”

Create a habit of writing your vision statement in a special notebook in the morning and before bed. Doing this will make sure you're regularly hovering over the most important metrics and identities for your life. Revisit your goals, mini-mission statements, and vision statement every day. You need to constantly hover over and reconnect with what’s most important. Researchers have found that only 8% of people who make New Year’s resolutions achieve them.

Example of a Vision Statement

I practice Transcendental Meditation every day

I weigh X pounds

I'm the best Dad I can be

I'm a Visionary and World-Class Problem Solver

I'm the Willy Wonka of Creativity

My company generates X dollars per year

I lead X people in my online community

I earn x per month and donate X% to those in need

I have a net worth of X

I enjoy abundance in every role

I'm joyful, productive, and fulfilled

I believe more every day

Share your vision in the comments!!

Have a Clear Vision Through the Storm

The Buffalo Bills are on my mind ever since quarterback, Josh Allen, scored 51 points in Fantasy football! He’s on my team! Woohoo. He’s a scrappy, hard-nosed player and fun to watch. 

The truth is, I’ve been thinking about the Bills since the December 1st game which was whiteout conditions with a snowstorm. I’ve seen plenty of snowy football games but this one looked different. I think it’s the super high quality of the tv cameras that made it so all you could see was snow flakes. Usually, he watch the action on the field and the snow is there but becomes secondary in focus to the athletes. These cameras made the snow flakes and the noise the entire focus. 

In life that happens all the time. The noise and busyness is all we can see and feel as the essentials often drift into the background. The problem is the essentials make up the main action! 

Here are strategies to help you have clear vision through the storm in everyday life:

Purposefully adjust your lens - spiral in and out as needed. When you find yourself blocked creatively, you’re probably too detail focused when you should broaden your perspective - and vice versa. 

Jot down bullet points to blab about in your daily audio journal. Each day you should have at least five interesting thoughts or observations from the day’s events worthy of exploring further and capturing. Refer to Module 5: Unleash Your Creativity of my free pdf workbook for the steps for starting a daily audio journal. It’s one of the best habits you can ever start!

Use a voice recording app on your phone to record yourself reading your goals and mini-mission statements so you constantly revisit and hover over the most important metrics of your life.

Begin meditating! I suggest getting trained by a certified Transcendental Meditation teacher and begin twice daily practice (20 minutes before breakfast and 20 minutes before dinner). TM is a highly effective technique for giving the mind and body the rest it needs and craves. After a session if TM, you’re mind won’t have any of the noise we’re so used to having - the snowstorm of demands that robs us of our attention.   

Lastly, if you really want to quiet the noise, uncover your purpose and you’ll begin to see the world through the filter of your purpose. Sound impossible? I’ll walk you through a transformational leadership course. Click here: All the Hats Leadership Course Video. And thank me later!

Martha Stewart: The Queen of Reinvention

Martha Stewart inspires me. She’s bold and intelligent. She seems bossy, but I kind of like that and I’m not sure why. She’s a perfectionist and only surrounds herself with the best. I got a lot out of “Martha Rules,” her entrepreneurial book.

I highly recommend the latest documentary titled “Martha.” I’m fascinated with her time in prison. I was shocked when I heard she was going to prison in 2004. What a culture shock for her! She ultimately triumphed by leaving prison and hopped into her private jet. She was wearing a hand-made crocheted poncho that a prisoner made for her. They referred to the prison as Camp Cupcake – meaning it was easy time - but she said it was difficult. I love hearing her journal entries while she served her time. She ended up becoming a mentor to many prisoners and counseled them on starting a business.

It seemed to me that she got railroaded and convicted, as a result of, becoming so successful.

Martha said she was set free by going to prison. I loved when she summarized her story – which is something I think everyone should do as part of uncovering their purpose. In Martha’s words she said her story was that she was one of eight kids living in very modest means. She had a great idea, built it into something fantastic, made a profit, then fell in a hole. She said, “I fell in a fucking hole and I had to dig my way out of it.” Love it.

She IS difficult at times! I was surprised how demanding and rude she was to her staff at times. But it’s part of her charm, too. (As long as I’m not working for her- right?)

She lives by two mottos:

  • Learn something new everyday 

  • When you’re through changing, you’re through

Martha has a knack for reinvention. She got a new lease on life when she stepped outside her comfort zone to do the Justin Bieber roast and that’s where she met Snoop Dogg. Now, they’re working together all the time. Plus, at 81 she was the oldest person ever to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Issue! Bad-ass!

Reinvention is a part of the All the Hats We Wear system. Each quarter, we revise our role lists. It’s best to start from scratch. Start to sketch possible new roles and sub-roles.

For example, as a Music Therapist at a psychiatric hospital, I needed to adopt new sub-roles for that role:

Blues Artist – the blues is a powerful song style to use in therapy, I decided to embrace the blues and become more proficient in that area for the benefit of the patients.  

Guitar Improvisor – I do some 1:1 sessions. Since I’m a drummer and guitar is my second instrument, I need to play guitar better. I’ve always been interested in scales and harmonies so it gave me permission to dive in!

School of Rock Dude – I have a group made up of folks who play instruments, so I need to know how to orchestrate jam songs that the players can achieve. I’m channeling Jack Black.

What’s a role that you need to CREATe sub-roles for? How do you need to reinvent yourself?

 

Journaling: Audio Dictation, Handwritten, or Typed?

I’ve decided to transition from keeping an audio journal to typing my daily journal on my laptop. I still jot down talking points with a red pen in my capture notebook and I still rip off the bottom corner of pages after typing my journal to show those days are finished. I was beginning to feel that I was going through the motions with my audio journal and simply gabbing through bullet points and not adding much more. Also, I wasn’t experiencing any feeling in my body or mind. It was as if I was reporting the news. I want to feel cozy, irritated, pissed, or inspired! I wanted to feel! Also, I can reveal more in my laptop writing - it feels more protected.

I set up a password-protected Microsoft Word document and plan to type a month at a time from the 1st to the last day of the month in numeric order from top to bottom. Then I’ll start the next month above last month. I used to type today’s entry at the top of the document – so the days went in backwards chronological order – which is a pain, so I’m not doing that anymore.

When you write a journal by hand, the feeling is there but it’s a security risk. Everyone should have a safe place for their innermost thoughts. Even if you follow through and keep a journal for decades - which is amazing - now you have 40 notebooks hanging around for anyone to browse.

Also, I’ve begun recording the time spent composing the day’s typed journal entry to see how much time it takes. For example, today I typed the entire entry (personal plus blog) from 7:07-7:45pm.  

I’m contemplating whether to change the title of my workbook and course from leadership course to 10 ways to unleash your creativity. I definitely feel creativity is my bigger strength but I can see folks using the course as a leadership journey, too.

Do you journal to feel something or just to record thoughts and events?

Ep 125 - Secrets! Ooh La La

Today's outline:

(2:30) The Living Sea Wall

(5:07) Brainstorming Example: Eminem Board Game Design

(7:42) Iron Maiden Creativity

(10:43) Turn the Lights on and Watch Them Scatter

(12:09) Facade of Celebrities

(16.33) Inspiration at the Movies

(19.13) Iron Mike and His Alter-Ego

(20.00) Drawing Your Roles

(22.22) Secrets! Keeping Your Private Thoughts Private

Podcast Link

Visit ⁠www.allthehatswewear.com⁠ for more info!


Ep 124 - Election Day, Character, and Values

As the presidential election result revealed, we know very little about the character, values, and beliefs of the people in our lives! We interact with hundreds of people every week: co-workers, family, friends, neighbors and more. If you want to take a deep dive into your purpose, take my leadership self-study that's available on my web site ⁠www.allthehatswewear.com⁠.

Outline:

(2:15) Election Day and Character

(4:25) The Substance: Creative Ideas from the Film

(10:14) Cancel Culture Trend

(11:08) Around the World Technique

(13:57) Transcendental Meditation & Distractions

(15:39) Creative Incubators

(16:44) Gandhi on Life Purpose

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allthehatswewear/episodes/Ep-124---Election-Day--Character--and-Values-e2qlhgu

You Can’t Lead with a Black Heart - Podcast Ep 123

In today's episode, you'll hear:

0:45 When to look outside yourself to improve performance

3:00 Voice recording app

3:45 Routine and Countdowns

5:00 Talk Scary to Me Podcast

7:07 Leadership and Thin Slicing

10:30 Lessons from the book "Quench Your Own Thirst: Business Lessons Learned Over a Beer or Two" by Jim Koch, Founder of Sam Adams Brewery

Visit ⁠www.allthehatswewear.com⁠ for more information.

Goalsetting is Like Hugging a Butt

Ok, let me explain. Lol.

I show a video highlight of the 1994 Olympics in Atlanta as an example of determination and emotion. One scene stood out and that was when a track runner won the gold and she jumped into the arms of someone in celebration. I don’t know the relationship between the two, but I noticed he hugged her whole body as they twisted and turned. He held her in mid-air. His arm supported her legs, hip, butt, and part of her back. I thought this was beautiful. It wasn’t a traditional hug where the couple is conscious of where their hands were. They hugged all of one another.

Working on your goals should be similar – make it so you’re making progress on your goals all the time. There’s no set time to work on goals. Embrace your goals, mission, actions, brainstorming all at once. It’s all connected. If your goal is a butt, your vision statement is your hips, and your legs are the purpose.

I’m a huge believer in micro-progress with goals. Create action goals requiring 15 minutes or less. And have plenty 3-5 minute goals. Keep chipping away at that goal. Keep the pressure on always.

I use the term “Make it liquid” to describe using the cracks of the day. Brainstorm your goals then see how you can cleverly tuck them in throughout the day. You only have so much time in the day. You say you want to read for an hour a day – how can you fit it in? Maybe you listen to audio books in the car during your commute. Listen to yourself reading your mini-mission statements, goals, and vision statement every day. Listen to a recording of your mini-mission statements while washing dishes.

If you’re hyping about New Year’s Eve resolutions, you’re missing the point. You should already have your habits and routines that keep the pressure on your goals. There’s nothing special about New Year’s Day. I don’t understand why people go gaga over it. I hate the crowds and all the hulabaloo.   

I use three types of goals: Action, Deadline, and Bucket List.

Examples:

Action Goal – Listen to the audio recording of my vision statement for 3 minutes daily

Deadline: By June 1, I’m scuba certified.

Bucket list: Ride in a presidential motorcade

Rocketman: Self-Development Lessons from the Film

Every time I watch Rocketman, the Elton John film, I appreciate it more. My favorite line of the movie is when Elton gets advice from another musician: “you have to kill your old self to create the new you.” It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: It’s Never too late to be what you might have been” by George Eliot.

The first step in the All the Hats We Wear system is identifying all the hats you wear, of course! What some people don’t realize at first is that you can adopt roles you aren’t actually doing yet. Think of them as placeholder roles. For example, one of my roles is Philanthropist. However, I’m not rubbing elbows with billionaires at fancy galas but I can give of my time and effort. I can go after it each day to build my business and make my mark. One day I’ll be able to give like a true philanthropist. Other possible future roles or placeholder roles: visionary, business owner, entrepreneur, supervisor, CEO, professional speaker, or millionaire.

Another moment in the movie that inspired me was when Elton asked a friend how he could become a songwriter. The guy cleverly responded, “Write some songs.” Lol… sometimes it’s that simple! Just start doing it. The acting was excellent and I loved the way Elton was the focus of the AA meetings. The other members of the group were more like props. They didn’t act like normal people – they were much more subdued. It’s like in a play when everyone is talking in the background among themselves but inaudibly. The director turns the down the volume on the background players and brings the focus up for the leads. In many ways, we do the same thing in life. We transition between all of the hats we wear. Different roles require different attributes. Sometimes, it takes a conscious effort to ready myself from one role into another – especially going from work to home life. Music, deep breathing, and a minute of centering help to switch gears.