An Old Song with an Enduring Message
In 1973 they released their first album, pronounced ‘lĕh-’nérd ’skin-’nérd.
Their fame grew in large part due to their opening slot on The Who’s Quadrophenia tour.
They released a follow-up album in 1974.
And by the mid-seventies Lynyrd Skynyrd had reached super-stardom.
On October 20, 1977, just days after the release of their new album, Street Survivors, and only five days into their largest tour to date, the band was leaving a show in South Carolina and headed for their next stop in Baton Rouge, Louisianna. They boarded their Conovair 240 private airplane for this short, routine flight.
They never played together again.
Towards the end of the flight, their plane ran out of fuel. The pilots attempted an emergency landing, but were unsuccessful as the plane crashed down in the forests of Mississippi. In all, six were killed and many seriously injured. Among the dead were lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist and vocalist Steve Gaines and his older sister, backup vocalist Cassie Gaines.
The band would reconstruct and re-tour after a 10 year hiatus, but would never be the same.
Through my father, I grew up on the classic rock music of Skynyrd and others like them: Cream/Clapton, The Who, and The Eagles, to name a few. I have fond memories of this music accompanying us on baseball road trips, serving as the soundtrack for a day of fishing in the Puget Sound or blaring from a garage boom box as my dad built something or changed the car’s oil. It has remained some of my favorite music to this day for its straightforward and timeless message. Skynyrd has remained one of my favorite bands and Simple Man, one of my favorite songs.
The lyrics to this song are haunting, deeply true and more relevant today than ever.
I’m posting this video as a touching tribute to the members who’ve passed on, as a reminder of what’s important in life and as an opportunity to enjoy the talent of a great, great band.
I hope it speaks to you wherever you’re at.
Why My Goals Are Mediocre – Part 3: The Benefit of Being Mediocre
(Photo Source: koert michiels)
“Few people take objectives really seriously. They put average effort into too many things, rather than superior thought and effort into a few important things. People who achieve the most are selective as well as determined.” – Richard Koch, author of The 80/20 Principle
Here we go!
Over the last few days we’ve done a pretty thorough look at setting great goals. We’ve gone through a few things regarding goals: some personal examples and experiences, the truth about resolutions and why most goal-setting fails and how to set amazing goals.
I listed three criteria that every goal should have: being manageable, measurable and actionable.
Finally, I’d like to talk about the benefit of being mediocre and how to leverage this goal-setting tactic to your advantage this year.
What Really Matters
First, I think it important to separate what I’m calling mediocre from what most will interpret that as… Laziness.
This post, this year and life in general are not about being lazy or idle. Comfortability is not the goal. The idea here is not to set no goals, nor is it to set shamefully low goals. Instead, it is about weening ourselves off of years of goal-obsession or of the overly ambitious and ambiguous goals and resolutions that never get done, in search of one indispensable pursuit: accomplishing that which is most meaningful!
So, in the New Year ask yourself this question: What are the few things that can change all the others?
What two or three things can you follow through on exceptionally well?
What big dream have you been putting off that can most certainly happen this year? (A long over-do trip through Europe, learning a new language, making a significant career move, it could even be a ‘vain’ purchase. If not 2010, then when?)
Which accomplishments would leave you most satisfied and inspired for the future?
Setting your sights in this way can bring about huge gains! This provides clarity on the few things which matter most and provides the opportunity for a laser-like focus in defining how to go about them.
To some this may appear less impressive than having finely detailed goals across many areas of life, but the reality is that this type of thinking cuts across all boundaries of life. Success in one area means success in others. It has the advantage of bringing the peace of mind that mere talk never can. You are not just talking about your goals, but are actually taking action on your greatest dreams.
Most people never do this.
This approach may seem lazy and mediocre to others, but who cares. It can offer tremendous motivation to yourself and this is really all that matters. Actually, contrary to popular belief, there is much to show that keeping major goals to yourself actually increases your chances of success.
So, as you are busy defining your most significant pursuits for this year, keep them to yourself for a while, allow them to take root in your heart, come up with a bulletproof plan of action, and take comfort in knowing that you are on your way to some truly life-changing achievements.
It is my sincere hope that this series helps you in an amazing year!
May this year bring lasting happiness and the satisfaction of accomplishing the few things that matter most!
Cheers,
Ryan
View the Other Posts in this Series:
- Why My Goals Are Mediocre – An Introduction
- Why My Goals Are Mediocre – Part 1: Confessions of Goal Obsessed
- Why My Goals Are Mediocre – Part 2: Why Most Goal Setting Fails
Why My Goals Are Mediocre – Part 2: Why Most Goal Setting Fails
(Photo Source: andreasnilsson1976)
“Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account.” - Oscar Wilde
The Truth
40-45 - Percentage of adults who set some type of resolution each year
1 in 5 – Those Who Follow Through
4 in 5 - Number of Smokers Who Say They’d Like to Quit
30 – Approximate Percentage Who Actually Do (For At Least One Year)
80 – Percentage of Diets that Ultimately Fail
85 - Percentage of Gym-goers Who Will Have Quit by March 1
Most resolutions are not much more than wishful thinking. From the mundane (cut back on lattes, floss, cure that brutal slice…) to the sincere (Start/Finish __________, get out of debt, take that long-awaited trip), most goals do in fact fail.
Many are not even measurable: Be more appreciative, worry less, get finances in order. They lend themselves to amnesia from the get-go.
We see that the track record is not to our favor. Failure is the norm, and if there is another thing we can be sure of it is that good intentions and more willpower usually do not equate to greater success.
Why This Will Not Be Your Best Year Ever (But How It Can Still Be Amazing)
I know, very uplifting thus far.
As I said the other day, I hate this goal.
This ideal sounds honorable, but it is vacant of any real staying power. It fails for two reasons (maybe more) it is at the same time both ambitious and ambiguous. While we set such a goal almost tongue-in-cheek, not really expecting it to happen, I wonder how many of our goals actually resemble the same pitfalls: Be in the best shape of my life, travel more than ever, be more at peace with myself.
OK, now what?
Such goals are too ambiguous and overly lofty (remember, we’re striving for mediocre here… More on this tomorrow) and fails to be manageable, measurable, or actionable. They seem noble, but are a cover-up for lazy thinking and lazy living.
They are non-goals.
How to Set Amazing Goals
I just mentioned three criteria that serve as my sieve for every major goal that I am serious about accomplishing:
- Is it Manageable?
“Shoot for the moon; even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Not necessarily. Don’t stop dreaming, but do set goals that are realistic enough to be manageable. If you’ve never held to a consistent workout routine, then five times a week is probably not a good starting place. If you want to do more for charity this year, jumping on someone else’s bandwagon for a while might be a better approach than going at it alone. Many resolutions fail out of the gate, they never even had a chance to succeed.
“Great ideas need landing gear as well as wings.” – C.D. Jackson
- Is it Measurable
This is huge!
How will you measure your progress?
If your goal is to build a sizable emergency-fund, then you must define that. What is sizable? What is your cut-off date? (And the end of the year does not count!)
Measurement requires two things: some form of metric – pounds, dollars, days a week, hours a day, whatever – and a time-frame – “By March I want to have completed my first 12 Week High Intensity Training Series
(On a slight aside, research varies on the necessary length of time it takes to develop a new habit and create a sort of ‘tipping point‘ for change. Some say 21 days, or 40 days, some 8 weeks, some 12 weeks or beyond. For me there seems to be logic in the natural breakdown of four seasons, approximately 12 weeks, or 3 months each. For this reason, I find it helpful to break my major goals down into quarterly segments, and re-evaluate my progress and priorities at that point. I find that if I can do something consistently for 12 weeks, then I can expect to have good enough results to judge whether or not it’s working. If not, it’s about time to adjust course)
Whatever goals you decide to set for yourself this year, be sure that you have a way to measure yourself during that time. This will increase your rate of success like nothing else can.
- Is it Actionable
“The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps – we must step up the stairs.” ~Vance Havner
What is the absolute simplest action-step that your goal can be broken down into?
If your goal is, “get published in a magazine,” then what is today’s step? Maybe it is a phone call. Maybe it is finding a good book on this topic.
Having a real plan of action forces you to stop putting things off indefinitely and to start acting now. You can think of the smallest possible step and do it today! If it is a vacation you’d like to take, then the smallest possible step may be putting it in your calendar. The next smallest step may be to invite one close friend, and so on.
This takes your vision from being a neat idea in your mind and gives it legs to start walking.
As you are setting goals and resolutions for this year, keep these three criteria in mind and you will have goals that are more inspiring and more attainable.
Tomorrow we will wrap things up by talking about the benefits of being mediocre.
View the Other Posts in this Series:
- Why My Goals Are Mediocre – An Introduction
- Why My Goals Are Mediocre – Part 1: Confessions of the Goal Obsessed
- Why My Goals Are Mediocre – Part 2: Why Most Goal Setting Fails
Why My Goals Are Mediocre – Part 1: Confessions of the Goal Obsessed
(Photo Source: el cinto)
“He who breaks a resolution is a weakling; He who makes one is a fool.” - F.M. Knowles
An explanation is in order.
Where did this series come from and who cares?
For the past few years I would consider myself a serious goal-setter. Year in and year out, sometimes throughout the year, but certainly in January I’d sit down with pad and pen (now keys and monitor) for a couple of days and try my best to define how I wanted my life to look in the ensuing year, laying out a robust plan of action and an ambitious set of goals and resolutions, only to be met with varying degrees of success.
Goal-setting is universally recognized as a necessary tool of successful people and organizations, but often times it can be a source of frustration and mixed emotions as everyday life can leave our plans and dreams by the wayside. A few nagging questions persist:
Why can’t I hold to what I say I’ll do?
Why is change so difficult?
And at times, why did I even make ‘XYZ’ a priority in the first place?
If you’re at all self-aware then you probably have similar stories of your own.
Before getting into the tips and techniques portion of this series I’d like to spend some time sharing personally and give you a chance to be introspective as well. Here are some questions to get you going. Leave a response at the end if you’d like, or you can simply think through them on your own:
Where are you at along the goal setting spectrum: Serious or just beginning?
Have you set many goals in the past? (Why set goals in the first place?)
What degree of success have you had in reaching your goals?
What have some of your discoveries been along the way?
As you look ahead, are you hopeful or discouraged?
Confessions of Obsession
Prior to college I don’t know that I ever set a hardlined goal in my life. My grandest goals at that time were to fit in, have fun and for people to like me.
Then, somewhere along the road, like many university students, I become goal-oriented. I began keeping a weekly planner and filled my days with color-coated activities and events. I read Steph Covey’s 7 Habits
However, orientation quickly gave way to obsession. By the end of college, I found myself setting more and more goals that were more and more specific. I’d write goal sheets for myself every week, breaking my life down into four or five regions and then filling the sheets in with all that I wanted to accomplish in the coming week, as I filled my day-timer up as well (This is pathetic, but I even use a ruler or straightedge to fill in all of my appointments with perfect symmetry. I know, I can be quite OCD, and I’m sure you’re nothing like me 
I had goals for everything! I mean everything!
I remember one time, during a busy week, having a goal to “do less pleasure reading.” My roommate at the time, a laid back guy, commented, “That’s kind of weird. You actually have a goal to read less?”
I thought about it for a moment: “Yes, that is kind of weird.”
Orientation became obsession: I became addicted to achievement in a vicious cycle as I knew how to define my success by only one standard: my ability to set and meet benchmarks.
I’m a bit embarrassed to say that I’ve committed to some pretty outlandish things in the past with a pretty dismal success rate:
- “Read 52 books this year” (That’s one per week. I actually tracked this and ended up at 30. Impressive, I guess, but I remembered little except being miserable throughout)
- “Run my first marathon and climb Mt. Rainier and finish my first triathlon” … “Oh yeah, and can we do it all in the same summer, pretty please.”(None of these happened, and I left wondering when and where some even became important to me?!?)
- “Be in the best shape of my life” (Not exactly a solid plan to stay committed to the gym)
- “Get out of debt” (Was this a goal or a prayer?)
- “Wake up every morning by six” (Lasted maybe 3 days)
Blah, blah, blah, someone please, just end me already!
The funny thing, however, is this: It worked!
But only for a time.
In reality I didn’t so much get good at setting and meeting my goals, as I did at setting and forgetting them. I then chose to combat this “failure” with what else but… More goals. I quickly became the slave, and my ambitions and endless lists, the master. Instead of serving to focus and inspire my life they were dominating my thoughts and overwhelming me.
I felt defeated.
Can you relate? I’m sure that you have similar stories. I’d be interested in hearing them below if you’d like to share.
Clearly, a change is necessary, and that is the point of this series. All of this frustration has caused me to pause, reflect and change my approach to defining and achieving what is truly important in my life and to creating lasting change to who I am.
As far as this series goes: You may have noticed that I tweaked things a little to make yesterday’s post an introduction, and today the official Part 1. Tomorrow I’ll be talking about “Why Goal Setting Fails,” with one more post to come the following day.
I’d love to create as much buzz and interaction as possible, so please share your thoughts, challenges, goals and dreams as well.
View the Other Posts in this Series:
- Why My Goals Are Mediocre – An Introduction
- Why My Goals Are Mediocre – Part 2: Why Most Goal Setting Fails
- Why My Goals Are Mediocre – Part 3: The Benefit of Being Mediocre
Why My Goals Are Mediocre – An Introduction
(Photo Source: NYCArthur)
“Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.” - Mark Twain
WARNING: The following posts may cause frustration, cynicism and a general reduction of enthusiasm.
How many more magazine articles will promise this year to be your greatest ever? How many blogs will offer “The 8 Principles for Creating Lasting Change,” “The 5 Keys to Keeping Your Resolutions” or “The 55 Proven Principles to Trimming Your Waistline?”
Do a Google search for the exact phrase, “Make 2010 Your Best Year Yet.” You will be greeted with over 19,000 results!
I will be setting no such goals. My goals this year will be unimpressive, at best.
Sounds inspiring doesn’t it?
The thing is, I think you should do the same.
Over the next three days I will be sharing my personal experiences to explain why 2010 will not be your year best year ever (but will still rock), why most goal-setting fails and why setting mediocre goals is a great tactic that can be leveraged to your advantage.
To stoke the fire in the meantime, if you are comfortable, I’d like to hear your response on just this one question: What are the major dreams you’d like to see realized this year?
(Note: This is a follow-up to a previous post entitled, The Ambition Dilemma)
View the Other Posts in this Series:
Bouldlife, The Year Ahead
“Many a false step was made by standing still.” – Fortune cookie (Photo source: Laurent Filoche)
Much is changing for the better.
This next year is one that I am seriously looking forward to. There is plenty to be excited about personally and for this site.
I have many hopes for this blog in the new year and am working hard to improve on it daily, but I am new at this, only know so much and now need your help.
I have a few quick questions that I’d like your feedback on.
Please respond to any or all of the questions with a comment below.
- What content on this site has been most/least helpful?
- Which posts have you most enjoyed? Why?
- The idea behind this blog is adventuresome-living: What does this mean to you?
- Do you have a personal story that could be featured?
I’m including my Top Posts of 2009 for you to peruse if you have not yet had a chance.
- Negotiating APR’s: How I Saved Over $1,400 With Two Phone Calls
- In Pursuit of 5.12: Thoughts on Life and Climbing
- No Shave November: A Brief Guide
- Everything is Amazing and Nobody is Happy
- The 4-Hour Workweek Updated and Expanded Edition
Also, I’d like to clue you in on what’s in store. If you have any neat ideas in addition to mine, please share them.
Here are some of my future plans (to name a few):
- First and foremost, this site is in need of an enormous overhaul in appearance and theme. Currently it does not represent anything even remotely adventurous.
- In depth product reviews for products with life-changing potential related to the bouldlife theme, idea, brand or whatever you’d like to call it. I’m aiming for things that will legitimately alter the course of your existence.
- Valuable guest posts and interviews. Who might this be? I have no idea.
- On location video. That’s right, video!
My sincerest thanks for your help and support,
Ryan
Everything is Amazing and Nobody is Happy
As myself, and I’m sure many of you, are traveling I thought I’d leave this hilarious video as a reminder to be happy, enjoy life, and appreciate the miracle of flight.
If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment.
Cheers!
“What Matters Now”: A Free e-Book Gift from Seth Godin
I am a big fan of Seth Godin’s blog and books
Everyday (literally, everyday) he releases a short and insightful post that is easy to read and packed with value and fresh ideas.
Today (December 14, 2009) he released a short e-book entitled, What Matters Now, that is available for free download, and I’d like to pass it along, promote it and share it with you.
It features ideas from 70 of the world’s biggest thinkers: bestselling authors, tech guys, radio hosts, bloggers, entrepreneurs, speakers, CEO’s and others.
The e-book is totally free for download and distribution, the goal being to pass it on to 5 million readers as quickly as possible.
If you haven’t clicked on any of the above links to download, you can download it by clicking here.
Or you can view it below.
I am very excited about this and hope that you find something useful from this book as well.
Seth’s material is so great that I have no problem promoting his new book, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
Thank you, Seth.
In Pursuit of 5.12: Thoughts on Life and Climbing
Since the 1950’s, the Yosemite Decimal System has attempted to assign a numerical value of difficulty to climbs throughout the United States. It was originally thought that 5.9 would be the most difficult, with 5.10’s not possible. That quickly changed with modern climbing technique and technology (Hence the name of climbing shoe manufacturer, 5.10). Rather than go back and re-grade every route to fit under the 5.9 ceiling, the system was opened up and grades of 5.10, 11, 12, etc. were quickly added. Today the toughest routes being done in the world fall into the 5.15 range!
Though the physical barriers of climbing are constantly being beaten back, there are many mental barriers as to what can be done that still remain. One such barrier is the mythical status symbol of climbing 5.12.
This has been true in my own experience as a relatively recent climbing convert. At this point I have climbed many 5.11 routes (a, b, c, etc.), but as soon as I mentioned going for 5.12, I was cautioned that this would be, “a whole new ball game.”
Really? Why?
What is it that makes this jump different than any other that most every climber has needed to make in the past?
No one had anything to say when I was scraping around at 5.9 and decided to try my luck at 10a. I remember succeeding on that relatively quickly and finding a whole world of new climbs available in 5.10 land.
It was an awesome feeling to breakthrough that wall!
Now I’m ready to continue progressing, but I’m finding that even in a sport as free and open-ended as climbing, there are traditions and assumptions that the majority of climbers hold to. There are modes and methods in place, red tape, and a way things “ought to be done.”
I’m thinking that the truly successful play by a different set of rules!
The 5.12 designation provides nothing more than a man-made benchmark for how you’re doing. That’s it! It is like a mile-marker on the highway. It is not progress itself, but only an indicator that you are progressing and that rapid progress is possible.
I have experienced this myself. Two months ago I was climbing at a 5.8 -5.9 level. I have climbed as little as twice a week and as much as five times a week in that two month period, with a mix of work on boulder problems and sport routes, and I have seen and felt incredible results. I am aware that I have so much yet to learn and so many skills to be polished and honed, but I am unwilling to settle or stay put.
Right now I am in pursuit of finishing that first 5.12 route. Then I’d like to finish it cleanly. Then I’d like to finish it flawlessly. Then I’d like to move on.
I use this metaphor as a way to think about the countless areas in life where the same could be said, that those who succeed think differently and play by a different set of rules than those who plateau.
Why do we get stuck?
In what other areas do we self-impose boundaries that limit our progress?
How often do we play to the unfounded constraints put in place by others?
If you want to succeed, you must test and challenge the rules, assumptions and constraints that others have bowed to.
Climb on!
The Ambition Dilemma
Projects unfinished.
Letters and e-mails to be written.
Books half-read.
Trips and travels on hold.
Goals, dreams, plans and far-off fantasies.
What’s with all of this?
This is “The Ambition Dilemma,” one I often find myself in: the desire for a grand, epic life.
This is the draw of the athlete, the mountaineer and the entrepreneur. It is characteristic of the young in general.
There are many realms of life where I’ve found myself reflecting on the volume of ambition I’m pouring out. In my last post I wrote about the humbling self discovery that I am essentially a driven person and not much of a called one. This is an important distinction for me to make, and one that has left me with constant realizations and a barrage of questions.
Like, where did this gnawing ambition come from?
Where does driven-ness fit in?
Which projects am I taking on for the sake of self-aggrandizement? vs. What great work am I being called into for a greater purpose?
I connect with the words of famed Canadian mountaineer, Earl Denman. He chronicled his solo-attempt of Everest in his book, Alone to Everest
“I grew up with an ambition and determination without which I would have been a good deal happier. I thought a lot and developed the far-away look of a dreamer, for it was always the distant heights which fascinated me and drew me to them in spirit. I was not sure what could be accomplished by means of tenacity and little else, but the target was set high and each rebuff only saw me more determined to see at least one major dream through to its fulfillment.”
At times I am glad to possess a drive that desires to accomplish much and to do great things. In other instances I am overwhelmed by the vastness of the plans I make and the goals I find myself striving after. There is a battle within, a battle between ambition and contentment.
Philosophical Question: Can contentment be an ambition, or does that eliminate the possibility of possessing it all together?
