Reach your goals - do whatever it takes

Now that you have goals, what do you do to reach them. As an athlete you worked with a coach and/or a team to achieve goals. Who is helping you now?

Retirement & Comebacks in sport

When is it a good time to retire? It took me three times to finally retire from sport. The first time I retired was because I had reached my goal of playing in the Olympics and thought there was nothing left to do in the sport. The second time I retired was because I thought I was getting old (37 y.o) and I should take care of my back (screws had held it together since '92). When I retired the third time, at age 41, it was for the right reasons - I had a new passion and new goals to finally convince me to put away the competition cozzie/togs/bathers/swimsuit for good.
Australian, Geoff Huegill, just announced his comeback to swimming with aims to swim in 2010 Commonwealth Games. He cites is health and weight as a major reason for returning to swimming and also feels he has unfinished business.
Lance Armstrong is making his official comeback to competitive cycling in January in South Australia for the 2009 Tour Down Under. His reasons seem to be more about raising awareness for cancer, than cycling per se.
And Layne Beachley, Queen of the surf, 7 times world champion, recently announced her retirement, excited about the business opportunities ahead of her.
Each athlete will have their own reasons for retiring, returning or even staying in sport. I think it's important for an individual to wisely consider their motivation for either - is it positive and towards something they want to do, or is it motivated by pain, moving away from an undesired situation eg lack of success outside of sport. Having a positive direction to move towards is inevitably a more empowering motivation that produces results.
A key to successful transition is identity. I realised my identity was wrapped in being a sportsperson and as long as that remained, I always floated back to that. Once I learnt to identify myself as something new - a business person and entrepreneur, it was easy to change my actions, my results and therefore my life.

Seve Ballesteros and getting around obstacles

Do you wish that life would run more smoothly and that you didn't have to deal with obstacles? I was asked how I approach obstacles during a live tele-call last week. When you look back over your life, you will see that the obstacles you have faced and dealt with have shaped you into the person you have become. We all need challenges to grow and it is how you deal with the obstacles in your life that will determine how quickly you overcome them to get to your desired goal.
I just read that golfing great, Seve Ballesteros, has been diagnosed with cancer and his response is "During my career I was one of the best at getting around obstacles on golf courses. Now I want to be the best at confronting the most difficult match of my life with all my strength." Do you think that that attitude will help him recover more than if he focused on the problem of having the cancer.
It has been said "keep the end in mind" and it was the attitude of another famous golfer, Greg Norman ("Way of the Shark"). By knowing where you want to go, and being committed to that goal, you will find a way. It's just a matter of how and trust your unconscious to guide you there. If one way around an obstacle is not working, then find another way. It that doesn't work, find another way. How many time? As many as you need until you succeed. How much do you want it?

Responding to Challenges-Jana Rawlinson

I am sitting at Heathrow airport waiting for my flight back to Australia. The flight has been delayed 3 hours and I will now miss my connecting flight in Singapore. Along with some other challenges recently in completing my membership site on schedule, it reminds me of how often things do not turn out like you think they will.
Have you noticed how once you set a goal that obstacles and challenges suddenly arise? Of course they do. If you didn't have the goal or the intention to go in a certain direction, a particular event or object does not present itself as an obstacle. The more you want to achieve something, particularly in a certain planned way, the more an obstacle can challenge you - how much do you really want it?
World Champion, Jana Rawlinson has had her fair share of challenges over an amazing athletic career. At her fittest, she has proven unbeatable on the track in her pet event, 400m hurdles. Her biggest challenge has been in staying fit and healthy for the biggest prize - Olympic glory. A knee injury disrupted her 2004 Games and the 2008 Olympic year has been another struggle for her. She is only just returning to international competition this week. Will her persistence and tenacity drive her to overcome this challenge and enable her to claim her Olympic dream? Often when we are faced with recurring challenges such as injury, there may be lesson that we need to get. Often we resist or fight our challenges rather than responding, like an aikido warrior and going with the challenge and redirecting the force.
What are your challenges? Have you stopped to consider what message it is that you need to get to overcome these challenges once and for all?

Goal Setting with Brian Tracy

I was reading "Maximum Achievement" by Brian Tracy last night and got some new distinctions with regard to Goal Setting. It wasn't anything that I hadn't heard before, but just by reading it again and being open to learning something new, I understood it at a deeper level.
It is with regard to the power of persistence, particularly for goals that are much bigger than your current experience. These goals do not come easy or quickly - as Brian Tracy says "you will have to grow and develop to the point that you are ready to achieve it." Consequently, you experience challenges to reach that point.
Think of all the great things that you have achieved in the past - did they follow times of difficulty and even initial 'failures'? When you experience the same challenge over and over again, there is still something for YOU to GET. Here is another chance to learn and grow.
Many of the greatest successes in time occurred 'one step beyond' a great failure. Often it seems like everything is suggesting to quit, when in fact it is the challenge to you - HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT THIS GOAL? How much do you belief in yourself. Along the way you even get to learn something about faith and trust at a deeper level than you ever thought possible.
Get the learnings, belief in yourself and your dream, and GO FOR IT!