Strengths and weaknesses - why do we obsess so much about them? It seems like you can’t go on a job interview without someone asking you what you’re strengths and weaknesses are. If your employer reviews you, chances are they help you identify your strengths and weaknesses. If you own a small business, prospective clients will compare your strengths and weaknesses with that of your competitors. So chances are you are at least somewhat aware of some of your strengths and weaknesses. Now what?

The other day I was talking with some friends about our health goals. We discovered we all had the same obstacle standing in our ways: a busy schedule. Someone mentioned a story of a busy single mom that was able to lose 75 pounds by making tiny changes every day and it got me thinking…

Let’s face it, full-time jobs and families barely leave you with enough time to sleep. If you’re involved in any hobbies, clubs, activities or are taking a class or own a business, time is extremely scarce. If you expect to jump into a full-blown workout routine or go on a crash diet, you will fail. This is where tiny changes come in.

There’s an old joke about a guy that prays every day and asks God to help him win the lottery. Finally, God speaks to the man and says “could you at least meet me halfway and buy a ticket?”

Most people wake up every day and wish for things: fame, fortune, success, etc… However, shockingly few people actually take action to make these things happen. The main cause of this is that we’re too busy – we’re so caught up in day to day activities that we don’t have time to pursue the things we really want. Sometimes taking that first step, buying the ticket, is all we need to do to get the ball rolling and creating the momentum we need.

Decisions are what make or break us. Or, to be more accurate: the decisions we make when things get tough are what make or break us.

Life is a series of journeys (with each aspect of our lives representing a journey). Like a journey that you would take on foot or by car, knowing your destination is the most important key to success. But a close second is how you get there (and if you choose to continue to go there).

I recently heard a quote from the opening day of Walt Disney World in 1971 that really inspired me. A reporter said to Roy O. Disney (Walt’s brother) “it’s sad that your brother didn’t live to see this” and Roy replied “Walt saw it first which is why you’re seeing it today.”

If you’ve ever been to Walt Disney World Resort, you’ve probably found it to be a pretty amazing place. There is an attraction in one of the parks called “One Man’s Dream” which is a walk-though exhibit focused on the life Walt Disney and his dream. Walt Disney was a dreamer. He had big ideas and big goals.

Have you ever wanted to do something but procrastinated so long you could never do it? I’ve done this quite a bit and was reminded of it yesterday while driving.

When I was college, there was a Roy Rogers restaurant that I would pass every day on my commute. I had always wanted to stop there to just see what it was like. College was a busy time for me so I kept putting my trip to the restaurant off (even though it would have taken me less than five minutes to stop and pickup my food).

Do any of your goals conflict with each other? A classic example of this is the work-life balance dilemma where you have the following two goals:

Goal 1: Spend more quality time with my spouse and family.

Goal 2: Get promoted two levels within the next year.

Obviously, both of these goals require a substantial amount of the same resource: your time. Knowing that forgetting about sleeping and spending 12 hours per day with your family and 12 hours per day at work is unrealistic, you’ll quickly find yourself frustrated. And you’d have plenty of company as there are probably thousands of so-called experts who make their living preaching about work-life balance. I’ll give you my short course and this one’s on the house.