You've Got to Stand for Something, or You'll Fall for Anything...

I've had quite a few conversations recently with executives across the insurance, banking and broader financial services world recently and one of the key themes that keeps emerging is that organizations are redefining the values of their companies and establishing desired behaviors even as part of the performance review cycle. The economic collapse and financial downturn has driven home the message that not only is 'what' we attain important but so too is 'how' we attain it.

While I suppose that this could in fact seem like common sense what's interesting to me is that it is a reminder to all of us to take a step back and think about our own personal values. What is it that we ultimately stand for and who ultimately do we want to be? Recently I delivered a speech on behalf of The Mind Gym (www.themindgym.com ) for BBC Worldwide at the Liverpool Convention Center about creating and maintaining a 'personal' or 'individual' brand and in which we established that values are the things that ultimately provide direction for our lives. While who we are is a combination of many things including our own individual talents, our values give us the highway to travel on.

For example take two people with exactly the same talent of running, Brooke and Ryan. They each run 6:00 minute miles, cover a marathon in 2:40:00 and can do a 100-miler in 20:00:00. They both have an incredible talent for running, in fact, they even have the same running coach. Now Brooke values modesty, helping others, and time with his family. Ryan on the other hand values travel, adventure, and financial security.

Brooke becomes a running coach in his local community and raises money for charity through various running events. Ryan becomes a sponsored professional runner and travels around the world competing in various high profile events. There's no right answer here but simply an illustration of how values create movement and direction.

Amidst an avalanche of turmoil across the United States and here in the UK I can't help but immediately jump to values as the essence of the break down. I'd be curious to sit whoever is responsible for the News of the World phone hacking scandal down and make them list out their core values. I have a feeling that 'invading personal privacy for financial reward' wouldn't make the top 10. I have a feeling that if we made the idle youth here in the UK list their values that they wouldn't list violence, destruction of property, and financial gain at the expense of others as their 1,2, and 3.

Now, I'm not so puritanical as to think that life isn't such a strong wind that our values don't get tugged at from time to time, if not on a daily basis, but if we remind ourselves of what they are then we are so that much less likely to get blown in the wrong direction.

Take a brief time out, write down your values, and remember them when the wind starts to pick up.

In the meantime, good running.

Rp

Rubicon Moments...The Right Side of the Rubicon

I was first introduced to the idea of a 'Rubicon Moment' back in 2006 by the then SVP of Advertising for UNUM Provident and now good friend, Keith Hickerson, who was working on a novel with the same name. Recently, I've heard it more and more especially as it's general concept sits within several of The Mind Gym's learning interventions, or 'Workouts'.

During the Roman Empire, the Rubicon was a river serving as a boundary between the Roman province of Gaul and Italy itself. Only Province Governors were allowed to cross the Rubicon river while commanding troops as they maintained a right of what was called Imperium. To cross the Rubicon commanding troops without the right of Imperium was considered a treasonous maneuver and a capital offense punishable by death. In fact, once an army crosses the Rubicon, every soldier is thereby considered an outlaw and a traitor of Rome.

In 49 A.D. Julius Caesar led the Legio XIII to the river bank and after some personal deliberation decided to cross the Rubicon uttering the phrase 'alea iacta est' or 'the die has been cast.' Since then a 'Rubicon Moment' has become synonymous with the point of no return.

Caesar went on to win and survive his Rubicon Moment but they aren't always successful and there are numerous historical examples to show both failure and success. The point for me is that we all have these moments in our lives, these moments where we can cast the die one way or the other. Tin Cup, Roy McAvoy, in the movie Tin Cup called them defining moments where 'you either define the moment or it defines you...'




There are stacks of books about decision making and coming to conclusions, etc...however what's been on my mind recently has been what holds people back from making what they know is their correct decision. Not the correct decision but their correct decision. The decision that is right for them as an individual. I think where I've landed is that their decision actually starts involving others on the 'wrong' side of the Rubicon. In order to validate our decision or 'gut' even we start involving others, asking their opinions, etc...and inevitably others talk us out of it, or there's so much deliberation that the goal or decision gets crushed under its own weight. I'm not saying that others want to derail us, or deter us out of anything malicious but actually to the contrary because they care for us. Do we think that Caesar's wife in today's world, or his mother, or close friends would have urged him on into and across the water knowing that potential death awaited on the other side? It's the same with starting a new business, or climbing a mountain, or running across a desert, or any number of any 'scary' decisions. The pure and simple truth is that our friends, family, colleagues, etc...just don't want to see us get hurt, physically, emotionally, financially, etc..., and that's ok but it's not always the right decision for us as individuals.

So what's the answer? Well, I think the answer is cross the damn Rubicon and then tell your family, friends, colleagues, others, that you're invading Rome dammit. Watch the conversation change from one of deliberation and concern to one of support and positivity. The difference between 'I'm thinking of starting my own business' versus 'So, I've started my own business'. Watch the difference in reaction move from 'Well, are you sure it's a good idea, you're so stable now' to 'What a great idea, you can do it I know you can.'

Rubicon Moments define the landscape of our lives and lead us from opportunity to opportunity, many of which not actually revealing themselves until we get to the other side of the river. They don't always go to plan but regardless of the outcome they give great color and insight to our lives. Go find your Rubicon, I know I'll be in search of one myself.

Be good, and good running!

Rp

Just Over the Ridgeline

I was really thrilled to be featured during the recent Juice Plus leadership conference and honored to have had a bit of my story shared with more than 5,000 enthusiastic and warm people.

Here's a clip that Juice Plus shared with those shiny people and the piece that seemed to resonate the most was the idea that when we persevere something beautiful awaits.

"What you realize very quickly is that if you just keep going, something great will happen – something beautiful will be there. But if you had stopped, if you had shut it down, you never would have been exposed to it. Just keep doing the right things and eventually you will be rewarded!" I hope you enjoy the clip.

What Would You Do w/ A Million Dollar Race Horse?

I just returned from a great week in LA and the Juice Plus Leadership Conference. JP+ was such an integral part in my 2010 4 Deserts Challenge and a great partner and sponsor to fellow runners and now great friends, Dave O'Brien, Samantha Gash, and Lisa Tamati. Along with the lovely filmmaker and force behind the Desert Runners Movie project, Jen Steinmann, we were invited to play a part in the conference and to meet many of the warm people who make up Juice Plus. What a pleasure to meet such open and sharp people like Jay Martin, Sean Hopkins, Melissa Brady, Ron Atkins, DJ Paganoni, and so many others. How exciting and encouraging to see such a large inspired group who ardently believe in good health and nutrition. 


I can't mention enthusiasm about health and nutrition without talking about Dave O'Brien. Dave gave the most inspiring, incredible and crowd rousing speech on the Thursday night about the difference between health and fitness and the impact of fruits and vegetables on the body and it's performance. One of the insights that I took from Dave's speech was his story about investing in a racehorse. Dave asked "if you spent your last $1mm on a race horse, would you feed it large quantities of alcohol, would you keep it out all night, would you feed it greasy food, would you let it get dehydrated? Then why would any of us do this to our own billion dollar bodies?" Other than just being packed full of energy, and great humor, Dave was full of thought provoking insights. He's a consummate professional and I couldn't have been more impressed.