Author Archives: James Wm. Frank

Developing Goals for Baby Boomers: Exert, Evolve, and Execute for a Fulfilling Retirement

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Developing Goals for Baby Boomers: Exert, Evolve, and Execute for a Fulfilling Retirement

Portrait of confident senior male carpenter standing by his workbench looking at camera. Mature male carpenter in his workshop with laptop on table.

Are you a baby boomer looking to develop meaningful retirement goals? Developing Goals for Baby Boomers using the progressive repetitive steps of Exerting, Evolving, and Executing can help you build physical and mental strength, continue to learn and grow, and take action toward fulfilling your goals.

Exert: Building Physical and Mental Strength

The first step in the progressive repetitive process is to exert oneself physically and mentally. As a baby boomer, you may find that your body and mind are not as strong as they once were, but there are still many ways to build strength and resilience. For example, you might consider:

  • Exercising regularly: Even a 30-minute walk each day can help improve your physical health and mood.
  • Taking up a new hobby: Engaging in activities that require physical or mental effort, such as gardening or crossword puzzles, can help keep your mind and body active.
  • Engaging in intellectual pursuits: Reading, attending lectures or workshops, or learning a new language can help keep your mind sharp and engaged.

By exerting yourself physically and mentally, you can build a foundation of strength and resilience that can be used to achieve future goals.

Evolve: Growing and Developing Over Time

The second step in the progressive repetitive process is to evolve or to grow and develop over time. As a baby boomer, you may have already achieved many of your life goals, but there is always room for growth and development. Consider setting long-term goals that challenge you and allow you to continue learning and growing. For example:

  • Learning a new skill: Whether it’s cooking, painting, or playing an instrument, learning a new skill can be a fun and rewarding way to continue growing and developing.
  • Traveling to new places: Exploring new cultures and experiencing new things can help broaden your horizons and keep life interesting.
  • Volunteering for a cause: Helping others can be a meaningful way to give back and stay engaged with the world around you.

By setting long-term goals that challenge you and allow you to continue growing and developing, you can stay motivated and fulfilled in your retirement years.

Execute: Turning Dreams into Reality

The final step in the progressive repetitive process is to execute or to take action to achieve your goals. This is where the rubber meets the road, and where you can turn your dreams into reality. To execute your goals, consider:

  • Breaking down larger goals into smaller, more manageable steps: This can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed and stay motivated.
  • Seeking out resources and support: Whether it’s a fitness coach, a mentor, or a community of like-minded individuals, there are many resources available to help you achieve your goals.
  • Staying motivated and accountable: Set deadlines, track your progress, and celebrate your successes to stay motivated and accountable.

By taking action to achieve your goals, you can turn your dreams into reality and live a fulfilling and meaningful life.

Outtake

As a baby boomer, you may be facing unique challenges in your retirement years, but you also have many opportunities to stay engaged, active, and fulfilled than ever before. By using the progressive repetitive steps of exerting, evolving, and executing, you can develop goals that help you build physical and mental strength, continue to learn and grow and take action towards meaningful goals. Whether it’s exercising regularly, learning a new skill, or traveling to new places, there are many ways to stay motivated and fulfilled in your retirement years.

At Boomer to Zoomer, we’re committed to providing resources and support to help baby boomers live their best lives. Our website is filled with articles, tips, and advice to help you navigate the challenges and opportunities of retirement. We also offer a community of like-minded individuals who are on the same journey, providing support, inspiration, and motivation to help you achieve your goals.

So why wait? Start using the progressive repetitive steps of exerting, evolving, and executing to develop goals that will help you live a fulfilling and meaningful life in your retirement years. With the right mindset, support, and resources, anything is possible.

Find tips on traveling with goals HERE

Find goal setting for side hustles for baby boomers: HERE

Senior Fast Get-Away Tips

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Recently, I needed a break. I had completed cancer treatment and a reward was warranted. I just wanted to quickly travel to some sunny place and have someone else fix my meals and say please and thank you. Mostly, I wanted to remain totally anonymous, just see and not be seen. Here are five steps to make travel for seniors more enjoyable.

Senior Fast Get-Away Tips

Senior Fast Get-Away Tips

Plan Ahead.

When planning your trip, it’s important to research your destination and accommodations to ensure they are senior-friendly. Consider factors like accessibility, transportation options, and proximity to medical facilities. If you have specific needs, like wheelchair accessibility or medical equipment, make arrangements ahead of time to ensure they are available when you arrive.

I wanted easy transportation and attractive accommodation. Originally, I thought the idea of a short cruise might be a good option. The disadvantage was the nearest port with a cruise that would work was a plane ride away. If I was going to take a flight, I wanted to arrive and be feet up within two hours. Not waiting for afternoon check-in and living out of a carry-on.

With an early flight, it made sense to start with prepaying the enclosed long-term parking at the airport. It is so easy to enter and exit with a QR code on the mobile receipt.

Arriving early at the airport is essential to starting a trip feeling the least stressed. In fact, I make it a habit of signing off nearly all responsibilities a day earlier than my flight so I can take a breath and focus on enjoying a few days without responsibilities. It’s cheaper to chill at home and pack thoughtfully. For that reason, I flew out on Sunday morning early.

The destination I wanted needed to be close to the arrival airport. I was not interested in a long van ride with other guests and sweltering heat. I decided that all-inclusive resorts don’t work for me. As an abstainer, it’s never a bargain. I just wanted it to have a pool, decent restaurants on the property, easy walking to entertainment as necessary, and enough sights and sounds to keep my attention in the here-and-now moment.

Pack smart.

Packing light and using luggage with wheels can make navigating airports and other destinations much easier. Consider packing versatile clothing that can be mixed and matched and bring any necessary medications or documents in your carry-on bag. Start with investing in a good travel bag or suitcase that is easy to maneuver, light, and fits your needs.

I amazed myself at how few things I really need for four days away. The biggest liquid turned out to be shaving cream, which I never got around to using. Changes in undergarments, replacement bottom & top in case of spills, and lighter shoes occupied very little carry-on space. No need for anything larger. Adding some outer clothing for unexpected weather conditions to the outside pocket gives fast wardrobe changes as needed.

I discovered a decent hack at the airport when checking in. Airline attendants nearly always offer no fee for checking your carry-on as baggage if checked at the gate. Interestingly, it costs no extra. Normally, checked baggage exceeds $30 for each checked item. You simply leave your carry-on at the plane door for white-glove pick-up. As I discovered, last-on luggage is first-off luggage. By the time I got to the luggage carousel, my bag was already waiting for me.  I loved not having to horst the bag into the overhead bin and down again in a crowd of passengers.

Navigating airports with ease.

Many airports offer wheelchair assistance, pre-boarding, and TSA PreCheck for seniors. Take advantage of these services to make the airport experience less stressful. Additionally, consider bringing an extra pair of comfortable shoes for long walks through the airport.

Arriving two hours before your flight is just good thinking when you know the airport is not your friend. Every airport TSA checkpoint can be different. Shoes off, and laptops out, can be ignored in one place and strictly adhered to in another. Just expect slow-moving lines, and you keeping a watch for the next bathroom, and I suspect you won’t be disappointed.

Choose senior-friendly destinations.

When choosing a destination, look for places that offer easy accessibility, like flat terrain, ramps, and elevators. Consider visiting senior-friendly attractions like museums, botanical gardens, or theaters. Many cities and tourist destinations also offer senior discounts or special packages, so be sure to research these options before you book your trip.

Destination and accommodations are important to me. Creature comforts like room temperature, lots of pillows and towels, and a fridge are essential. I like black-out curtains to facilitate daytime sleep. I love an afternoon nap of one to two hours for no reason whatsoever.

And don’t ask me to wait long for a morning coffee. Wherever I travel, quick access to java is keen on my list of amenities. Room coffee and “Breakfast Included” black lightning leave much to the imagination.

There are places of activity that allow the introvert in me to flourish. Like sitting on the porch and watching the world go by, entertaining with no interaction. Kind of like moving the home screen to room-size and interactive.

I have done theme parks with kids and famous landscapes across the US and Canada. Crowds and long lines leave me exhausted and cranxious, that’s a cross between being cranky and anxious simultaneously. It’s age-related. Like having a hot flash in a soaring 90-degree sun blast and someone asks you to make one more decision.

Stay active.

While traveling, it’s important to stay active to maintain mobility and enjoy the trip to the fullest. Take walks around the destination, do light exercises in your hotel room, or sign up for a senior-friendly exercise class. Staying active can also help alleviate the symptoms of jet lag and keep you energized throughout your trip.

I enjoy being outside, so walks that include nature experiences are calming effects for a quick get-me-out-of-here escape. I like short lines at unusual restaurants and some fun shopping experiences to answer what should I do next. And I especially enjoy a relaxing walk back to the hotel after a grotesquely extravagant meal of multiple flavors where I taste test just to experience the spices and textures.

Staying active also means staying cognizant of stamina and strength. Although I pride myself in regular exercise and flex stretching, trying decades-old moves without warming up can lead to disastrous muscle pain. The lesson here is if you have not gone horseback riding, surfing, or bowling in a long-long time, don’t be surprised the next day when you go to sit down and wonder how that pain happened.

Put it all together.

So, after researching and enjoying the four-day inaugural trip following two years of cabin fever, this is my report. I booked through Expedia to use air miles covering the entire flight and accommodation costs.

Less than a one-and-a-half-hour flight took me to Orlando. Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort is a short rideshare from the airport. Asking nicely at the check-in yielded immediate room access. Within two hours of landing, I was in a darkened room, meditating to freshen my mind for three full days of wonderment.

This hotel is not on the Universal grounds, yet there is a center of activity near one entrance, including great restaurants and shops. There is an easy-level 20–30-minute walk from the hotel through manicured paths overflowing with myriad plants and flowers to reach the fun activities and live cable TV show.

The hotel boasts famous cars from Universal Studio’s early movies and a Fifties theme throughout. With two pools and loads of uncrowded sandy areas with lounge chairs for sunning, taking a few minutes each day near a lunch counter proved inviting.

The piece-de-resistance is the putter golf and bowling alley attached. Now comes the bowling story. I’m thinking “bowling?”. No problem. So I take a twelve-pound ball and crouch down to release it twenty times in a game. Yeah, one strike. I don’t want to talk about the rest. It had only been over a decade since I did that last time.

So, the next day, I woke up and my hips were sore. From there I remained stiff for over a week. The lesson here is just because you stay mobile for one activity does not mean it is transferable. Plan for new activities before you travel. Practice movements before you go to stave off discomfort on a breakaway.

By following these tips and planning ahead, seniors can navigate airports and find senior-friendly destinations with ease. With a little preparation and an adventurous spirit, traveling as a senior can be a fun and rewarding experience.

For more about making the life you desire, check out more here.

Seventy-Two

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Today I reach the end of my seventy-second year and begin my seventy-third. My best friend and lover sleeps. I habitually write.

My Pop was this age when I was twelve. That’s right. Pop was sixty when I was born. In today’s coronavirus world, he and I could be sacrificed for the survival of younger generations. Times have not only changed, but there is also now a paradigm shift like none other in recent history.

Examining the past to find direction for the future seems to fail to provide answers today. There are those who dwell on the past as if repeatedly revisiting it will somehow bring solace to their anxiety of fear of failure and loss. Especially, in times of crisis, MY go-to for peace of mind is hope for the future and gratitude for the present. How else can you leave the woodpile higher than the way you found it?

I enjoy having huge, scary goals. Especially the ones when I hear some parenting message in my head asking sarcastically, what makes you think you can do that, kind of goals. Putting my focus on where I am headed not only gives me a path to follow, it examples for others the confidence they need to define their vision for their future. As is often announced by elders, be the example you want to see in the world.

Which brings me to this incredible day. Grateful, I am, for having my health, being safe, loved and in love, and other than some inconveniences, having the best days of my life so far.

Indeed, this comes with some reflection and evaluation of the present moment. My last sibling brother passed very recently. My only child was taken by Cystic Fibrosis a couple of years back. That puts this birthday as somewhat special for the memory banks. No immediate family member will ever call to wish me a happy birthday. This is not a lament, simply an observation. By now, I have folks from far off continents remembering and sending birthday greetings out of love and respect, rather than obligation.

Happiness can be so relative. Mostly, the word is associated with an event that brought some feelings of bliss. But how often have you been able to say day after day, I am the happiest I have been in my life? For me, living the dream is not a trite message of contraire. Several times each day I find myself requesting a cosmic pinch to question my reality.

Before you find yourself muttering, lucky you, I remind you of a line by the Rock in a recent movie. His childhood friend remarked that he had been much less physically fit in high school and asked how he had gotten so buff. His answer: I worked out 6 hours a day, seven days a week, for the last thirty years. As we all learn in life, it goes Dream, Struggle, Prize and the Struggles provide the contrast needed to verily give contentment to the prize.

As the world resolves the latest crisis, a previous world will slip into repeated sound bites. Rapid change is inevitable. Bills Gates book 1999, Business at the Speed of Thought comes to mind. The elders who have learned to embrace accelerated change may be the thought leaders of today and as well, the encouragers for the current arriving generation.

Be safe and responsible for yourself and others.

Happy Birthday to me! Seventy-two successful trips around the sun.

Your friend in life.

Escape Pretirement Become a Zoomer

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How I escaped pretirement to become a zoomer at heart began by implementing one of the first commandments recited as a 5-year-old in order to attend kindergarten, “Stop, Look, & Listen, before you cross the street.”

Now, to stop has not been one of my strong suits. I am more often, ready, fire, aim.

Rather than enshrining myself with some label, I accept and encourage my tendency to be easily distracted by shiny objects arising in my field of vision. That has always been my source of wonderment for what might lie just around the next bend in the road. Perhaps it’s part of why some folks don’t care what is on TV, they just want to know what else is on TV.

Rather than stop, however, the best I can do is slow down. A productive way for me to slow down is to go for a long drive down some back-country roads while I think. I always feel I am accomplishing something while I am conjugating life. Rolling past fields and woods with little traffic while I think releases some creative potential otherwise not seen by sitting in quiet contemplation. This eyes-wide-open meditative state while taking in scenery has led to many aha insight moments that simply astonish me as to their source.

So, before I stepped off to cross the street in this pretirement journey, I drove and thought for hours and hours. I recorded unabashed thoughts on my cell phone and transcribed them. It became a formidable collection of thought snippets, scribbled napkins notes, quotes from books, messages from friends, and at least a gazillion favorite webpages carefully stashed by topic. Add to that, hundreds of created word documents with poignant titles sorted simply by month and year as well as copious journal posts, blogs, letters to myself and messages to friends. Other writers have confided to me that they too cast a cacophony of notes on a wall and then search for some melody of meaning.

The desired outcome was to arrive at a destination with a cadre of recorded history that would outline just how I had gotten to this point in my adventure. I wanted to look back to determine what goal and activity had led to my success that would benefit other baby boomers determined to reroute their potential.

My goal, in the beginning, was to simply look and listen. To look and listen to how I had gotten to this crossroad in my life. Endorsing that my past was merely a part of where I’m headed, while extracting the good and the bad, knowing that it took both to create the journey thus far. The subsequent goal was to then attempt to predict the best direction forward, making this part of the journey the best adventure of my life to date.

Looking back with 20/20 vision, I can now confidently say I have reached a condition in my life that I consider the best I have ever experienced or even imagined.  That comes with some weight because the result I have today is, to a large extent, the payback from the work in applying three words that have formulated much of my life; Clarity, Focus and Concentration.

Initially finding clarity meant deciding what I wanted the next stage of my life to look like. It meant answering the question “what if”. What if the future could start with a clean slate? What if small steps could take me to a destination I had only dreamed of?

I knew for sure I would never find out if I didn’t try. My initial onslaught to a new beginning required taking a break from the daily habits that keep us numb to change. To move forward demands we answer the question, who are you and what do you want?

Have you knowingly stepped off in a totally new direction that required you to identify some part of your potential and then redirect your focus?

Escaped Pretirement to Zoomer

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How I escaped pretirement to become a zoomer at heart has been an evolving process.  It began with a written description of my vision for the future over five years ago. Repeating successful goal setting techniques from the past, I began to take the steps to make the next part of my life-journey the most incredible yet. It is said that if you want to change your life, you must change your life.

The last five years have certainly been life-changing. By the time you reach the seventh decade, change has become a welcome friend whether you like it or not. My perspective on change was highlighted by one life-lesson experience.

Many winters ago, after surviving several hours of white-knuckle, zero-visibility, night driving conditions, I discovered a secluded motel in the mountains of upstate New York that resembled something out of a Psycho vintage movie scene. Of course, like the movie character, I was oblivious to any life-altering moments that might lie ahead. I was finally just able to feel some relief; relax my shoulders, stretch my fingers, and proclaim OK, I’m going to be safe, warm, and dry.

While unpacking only enough to support collapsing into bed exhausted, I ignited the rabbit-eared screen in the corner to glean some local weather conditions. I was amused that the preordained channel happened to be a B&W TV movie.

The scene was a man and woman who had not seen each other in many years. She is saying that he looks the same after all these years and she thinks she has barely changed herself. She then asks if he thinks he has changed. His response was one of those quotes that ring true for all the years to come. He simply said, “Change is the only evidence of life.”

I recall being stuck with the importance of the moment and writing down that message. Since then, I have referred to it repeatedly over the decades and chimed it many times to my kids.

Change is the only evidence of life!

For the first four decades of my life, I welcomed change. I couldn’t wait to grow up, get a driver’s license, get out on my own, travel, have kids, have kids grow up and leave home. The older I got, however, the more rigid I found myself becoming.

I discovered that I had boxes and boxes of “shoulds” tarnishing my thinking. People should think and behave this way. The world should get better. Younger folks should treat older folks a certain way. On and on it went. I found myself reenacting my parent’s mantra of “the good old days”.

Now, I’m a positive guy. My kids refer to me as Mr. Positive, half with respect and a half with OK, DAD. How I managed to hold that outward appearance and feel like an imposter inside is a whole other story. What I came to surmise, however, after I decided to stop “Shouldn” myself, was both enlightening and encouraging.

I came to a fork in the road. One direction was going to take me down a well-known prescribed route that would resemble the archaic pathway many elders advocated.

The other fork would take me to uncharted, I have little to no idea what is going to happen territory. I am so grateful I made the decision to be bold.

What decisions have you made after retirement that have taken bold steps to begin? What one thing can you look back on and say, I am so glad and proud that I did that? It has brought much happiness.

Brian Tracy Interview Outtake 1

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I was introduced to public speaker, author, business and personal development expert  Brian Tracy in 1986. Since then Brian has published some eighty-four books and numerous business courses that have been translated into many languages around the world.

Brian and I sat down in the Boomer to Zoomer studio recently to discuss three broad topics of interest to baby boomers; What Brought You Here? What’s Here Like? Where Are You Going? This is an outtake from that interview that covered such questions as; What part of your youth are you proud of? What would you go back to change? How has resistance been an asset to a lifetime of development?

Leave a comment on how Brian Tracy’s insights have impacted your thinking and any questions you have as a baby boomer wanting to move forward and take new directions in life after normal retirement age, what many are calling “pretirement”.

Weekly 5 Outtakes October 13, 2017

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Weekly 5 Outtakes October 13, 2017

So, hello again, Zoomers. My apologies for the hiatus in posting my Outtakes for the latest week in my latest 90-Day Adventure. I was on an unexpected sabbatical of a whirlwind kind following the passing of my only child, Mary Boleyn. The lessons experienced from such an event for a baby boomer have been profound and life-changing. As I have often said, if you want to change your life, you must change your life. As regularly happens, we don’t get to choose the time and place of high impact life events. We do have a choice, however, in how we will respond to those events.

Many topics passed through my awareness as I attempted to stay in the moment for the events as they unfolded surrounding my daughter’s transition from, and celebration of, this life. I will expound on the observations over time with you as important turning points that have become part of the fabric of my life story and legacy.

And, now, back to the Weekly 5 Outtakes. If you enjoy reading these, please like and share boomertozoomer.com and tag someone who would enjoy reading.

What I am reading

Wicked Problems Workable Solutions – Lessons from a Public Life – by: Daniel Yankelovich

From the dedication: “I dedicate this book to the thinkers who kept my interest in philosophy alive long after I had grown disillusioned with logic as a way of discovering the truths of living.”

Mr. Yankelovich speaks to me when he reiterates that our experiences are beyond the physical dimensions of Aristotelian and Newtonian frameworks. “It is no accident that we humans are most comfortable with storytelling. The story of our lives is a series of answers to the question: “And then what happened?”

What Else I am reading

On Death & Dying – What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy and Their Own Families – by: Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

I read this when I started working at a hospital as a teenager thinking it would help me develop better bed-side-manner. I decided to revisit the updated version following the passing of my only child in July 2017. I am no longer amazed lessons learned still require refreshing and updating. Not only can grieving be repeated for the same event, it can be triggered for so many components of the past that demand we stop and acknowledge that they are human events, which fail to follow a predictable unfaltering sequence.

App I am loving

Recording my thoughts in a useful manner for transcription. I am constantly coming up with ideas that need follow up. I discovered a voice recording on Google Docs that allows me to record quick thoughts directly into text that I can later transcribe to files and label for further research.  This saves me hours of time and reduces losing thought threads of great ideas.

Fiverr Gig I am loving

I use Fiverr for many services that I sub-contract out. I have found Fiverr the best service for transcription, logo creation, and character creation artists. This was a personal character creation that I really liked. Check out all the Gig producers and have fun.

Best Flipboard Article

Boomers: What’s Your American Dream Story? Discover the disparaging differences between the early and late baby boomers. Take a quiz and let me know what opportunity or inequality describes your life adventure.

What I am working on

Working with young adults this week gave me hope that the future will have bright minds to overcome the challenges of our planet’s stewardship. I had the distinct opportunity to share with high school students some of the soft skills that I feel are important in developing before applying for their first job. The number one soft skill should be to learn how to set goals. Unfortunately, these skills are not being taught in our school systems. I asked how many students had been asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”. The response was 100%. I then asked how many have been asked, “What do you want your life to look like when you grow up?”. The response was zero. As my mom said, the emphasis is on the wrong syllable. Visit: boomertozoomer.com for more details on goal setting for young adult job seekers.

Job Hunting for Young Adults – Five Hacks to Make the Most Money.

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Job Hunting for Young Adults

Five hacks to make the most money.

Using:

Kindergarten Circles and Third-grade Math.

I want to talk to you about the most important job you will ever have in your life, You Inc.

  • How many of you think you work for yourself? Either you will work for your goals, or you will work for somebody else’s goals.
  • How many of you think you are in sales? How many want to drive your parent’s car? How many of you want your own car? How many want to stay out later than your parents allow? How many have ever asked for a date? Then you are in sales. Sales is the transfer of your belief in yourself to someone else.
  • By working for You Inc, you are the product. You are the president. You decide on the business plan for your success. You decide on the job description. You decide on the bonuses.

I want you to treat goal achievement like your most important job in your life and take it seriously.

The reason I know that these will help you earn more income and have a happier supervisor or boss is because I had to learn these hacks on my own in high school and used them to reach my goals. I was forced to develop these because I started in the half of the class that made the top half possible. Even if you are not now, you can still finish high school in the top 10% by applying these simple techniques and hacks.

Dreams without goals are simply wishes. It is the burning desire that changes a wish into a goal. As a teenager, I didn’t want to be in a classroom. I wanted practical knowledge that would earn money. Money meant freedom to me. Freedom meant that I could come and go as I pleased. It meant owning a car. It meant I did not have to ask my parents for money.

In my junior and senior year, I finished school each day at noon. I owned my car. I always had money in my pocket. I always had gas money to take my friends places in my car, so we could play see and be seen. I worked nights in a hospital that gave me three credits each year towards graduation and I got paid for it. You see, that was my dream and I achieved it through setting goals and developing the hacks to make my goals materialize.

Goals

Webster says a goal is: “the end result toward which effort is directed”

Most people have three top goals:

  1. Health goal – not to run longer, sleep less, but to look better, feel better, be lighter, have bigger muscles, to not have skin problems and to look good in clothes.
  2. Money goal – Most young adults want to earn enough to buy a car, have a new phone or a fashion watch, cool shoes, cool hair, money to flash on a date. I wanted to live on my own, without my parents, brothers and sisters.
  3. Relationship goal – Is your goal to have; a girlfriend, boyfriend, any friend, respect from others, your parents to express that they love you? Most teenagers often just wish someone would love them.

Action Circle

Keep goal achievement as simple as possible. It starts with drawing a kindergarten circle.

Action Circle: GAREW

Why are you doing what you want to do?

What are your Goals to reach your why?

What Action steps are you going to take?

What are the Results from your Actions?

Evaluate your Results to achieve your Why

To begin the process, break into the circle at the Why. What do you want tomorrow to look like when you wake up? What does your bedroom look like? Your bathroom? Your kitchen? Your car? Your house? Your yard? Your office? Your bank accounts? What are you wearing? Who are your friends? Your spouse?

The Trilogy of goal success.

Brian Tracy, best-selling author when it comes to goal achievement repeatedly writes that the trilogy of goal success is found in Clarity, Focus, and Concentration.

Here is why.

  • You must take responsibility to make your own goals. No one knows enough about you to decide other than you. Only you can be clear on what you want.
  • Remember the importance of words. Words are concepts. Clarity of concepts provides clarity of words. Words provide the clarity for focus and concentration.
  • Clarity provides measurable results. What gets measured gets done and improved.
  • Clarity helps you decide which of the 50,000 thoughts per day that go through your mind are the important ones.
  • You have only so many attention units or bandwidth with which to deal with daily events. Clarity reduces stress of not knowing what to do next.
  • Taking responsibility gives you focus on what needs to be done each day. You are the president of your own company: You Inc. The buck stops at you. You may hire yourself out to the highest bidder. If you want to earn more income, make yourself more valuable by offering better service. Learn more, learn faster, and make a lot of money.
  • Once you have clarity and focus, concentrate on the next thing that needs to be done today and do not do anything else until that is complete. Either you achieve your own goals or you work for someone who has you achieving their goals.

The measurement of success is how well prepared to win you are, not your desire to win.

  1. Clear goals give you focus

Applying effort to an unclear goal is like aiming an arrow with your eyes closed. Even if you are prepared and apply the best effort the chances of hitting your target are very low if you do not have a clear target. It becomes pointless and uses up attention units for no results. You can have all the potential required and still end up frustrated.

  1. Clear goals are measurable

Happiness is the progressive realization of a worthwhile goal. To determine success, we need to measure the progress. How far away is the goal? How close are we to completion? Some goals are measured in dollars, some in time, some in a level of contentment. A journey of a thousand miles in twenty hours means going fifty miles an hour. Each hour means we are getting closer. If you had no watch or speedometer, you would have no idea if you had time to stop for fuel or food. So rather than panicking every minute, measure the time and distance to be prepared for all the things that life can throw at you to distract and disrupt your accomplishment. Having a measurement gives you options and choices.

3.Clear goals avoid distractions

It is called the shiny object syndrome. Have you ever seen a fishing show where they film the fish looking at a lure and about to strike when suddenly the fish is presented with another lure just slightly off in another direction? What happens is this fish stops and become indecisive. It does not know which one to go after. I once had an Army supervisor give me instructions on what he needed to have done. Shortly after I started, he returned to say stop working on that project and start working on this project, so I did. Several minutes later he came back in and gave instructions to work on a third project. I simply put down all the projects and waited. It wasn’t long before he returned with the newest instructions. He realized he had sown confusion and said, wait until I get clear directions and then I will be able to give you clear instructions. Once the goal was clarified, I could apply focus and concentration to complete the assignment in record time. Like the fish, my mind could not complete the tasks until it was clear from distractions of all the other things that could be done but were not the most important. Setting clear goals with focus gives you mental boundaries.

  1. Clear goals motivates to get started now

When you look at two tasks, your mind will automatically be attracted to the one that looks easiest. When all the ducks are in a row it takes less effort to start. Less effort means easier to get started, which means less procrastination. So, the task for the goal that is clear and in focus, will get started sooner. Clear goals defeat procrastination. Goals need to have a daily “most important think”. In other words, what you think about gets done. When you have a daily “MIT”, it is more enjoyable and you finish faster, and, have a better feeling for your accomplishment. Each accomplishment builds higher self-esteem and leads to more tasks being completed in a day. Use the affirmation: What’s the best use of my time, right now?

  1. Clear goals supply the force for motivation

All goals need to be tied to reasons. Without a reason, you are in for a season, some say. The results of your action on a goal need to be measured against the reason, or objective, or value that you want to achieve. A game needs a goal post. That post in life are the values you hold most dear to your mind and heart. The reason provides the motivation. It is the discipline that takes the effort.

Hack Exercises:

  1. What do you want? Exercise for students. What do you want? What do you really, really, want?
  • Write down every single idea you have, no matter how big or small.
  • Always carry a notebook.
  • Find a list method that works for you. Doodles, bullet-points, charts, send yourself a text or email, record your thoughts, what suits you best?
  1. Make a list of small, manageable tasks to complete every day
  • Mark off every completed task you’ll find making each tick very satisfying – The feel-good dopamine hormone is released every time you complete a task and check it off your list. Make it a habit of creating and checking off items on a list.
  • Make your goals measurable so you know if your plans are working
  • Set far off, outlandish goals. What do you want to have achieved by 2020? How about 2050?
  • Include personal goals in your lists, not just business or career
  • Share your goals only with others who can aid in your achievement. You can help inspire each other further. Do not share with those who ridicule or discount your goals. You have enough negative thoughts in your own head. You do not need any help criticizing your ambitions.
  • Find positive role models – peers-plus. Find those who have done what you want to do and learn from their steps.
  1. Take Action!
  • Any action! You just need an idea to act upon. A journey starts with a single step.
  • Are you moving in the direction of your goal, or the opposite direction?
  1. Measure results
  • Celebrate your successes then make new lists of new goals as you measure against what you wanted.
  • Continue your education. Learn from what did not go the way you expected. Try another direction, rather than give up. Remember; goals in concrete, plans in sand.
  1. Set new goals
  • What do you want to see from this job; training, advancement, stepping stone, leadership?
  • Ask your boss for input as to how to provide the best service to them and the company, that is in alignment with your goals? Give them a report of what you have accomplished each week and ask for help in areas you think need improvement.
  • Make sure all goals aline with your values and ideals.

If you have questions, leave a comment. I will respond.

Weekly 5 Outtakes July 12, 2017

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Weekly 5 Outtakes July 12, 2017

What I am reading

Find Your Balance Point: Clarify Your Priorities, Simplify Your Life, and Achieve More – by Brian Tracy and Christine Stein

We all struggle, occasionally, with the overwhelming feeling of having more chores to do than can be completed in the hours left in the day. Whether it’s career or family deadlines, stress results in less than perfect outcomes and we feel inadequate. All the items on the to-do list seem like the most important things at any one time. How we organize our thinking first will result in the best outcomes and leave us with a feeling of contentment. Brian and his daughter explore the questions, regarding career and family, and provide answers as to how to achieve more in less time, and feel good about it.

Not all 90-Day Adventures turn out the same

Many personal and business development icons suggest taking the next 90-100 days to focus on our most immediate goals. Three months is regarded as significant for several reasons as I share in this video.

Being an adventure means that we never know how each ninety-day journey is going to turn out, what results we will discover. For me, that is most exciting. The joy in life is the journey. As goal setting organisms, we tend to compare the current results with past results. I contend that each individual adventure has its own merits and consequences. Taking time to compare current results with past results consumes valuable time and provides little improvement. Take each adventure as it comes and enjoy the ride.

Best Flipboard Article.

Dawn of the pre-tiree – What to call the time of life between work and old age? The Harvard Grant Study, a 75-year longitudinal study of 268 Harvard sophomores from classes of 1939 to 1944, discusses new stages of aging in later years between career and retirement. I agree with terming this time Pretirement. Baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, are starting many new businesses as a means of a second career. As 10,000 baby boomers are reaching and surpassing 65, more and more agencies are researching to determine the requirements of the largest cohort to exist to this time in history. It behooves all of us to stay current on the impact they will have on our future. Share your accomplishments from new adventures taken after ending your working career.

What I am working on

On August 1, I am sitting down with Brian Tracy in the Boomer to Zoomer studio to discuss his views and outtakes on being out in front of the baby boomer generation. This will be the first time Brian will give his personal interpretation on aging and how to take advantage of the current technology to create a life of significance after reaching pretirement. The resulting video and book will be published as Force of Purpose – Driven Against All Odds. The documentary video will be submitted to the Telly Awards and Legacy Film Festival on Aging 2018. Producers for the documentary will be honored with being recognized as film producers in the credits, along with press releases and posters. Contributors to Gofundme will have their names included as well.

Shout Out

Shout out to one of my biggest inspirations, Laura Eiman for earning her speaker’s award from the Bill Gove Speaking Workshop. Laura has made it her commitment to inspire, educate and encourage baby boomers to be all they can be. Watch for our follow-up podcast after she won the Gold Medal for Weightlifting at the recent Masters Pan Am Games. I look forward to attending her next speaking engagement. You may follow her at fb Laura Eiman.

What I am loving

Zoomers want to leave nothing on the playing field. Consequently, we often ignore the tell-tale signs of burnout. I remind myself each day to stop and smell the roses. In my case, the “roses” are often deer in my yard watching me watch them, hummingbirds at the feeder who buzz by me often as I traverse the yard, Mallards, and Canadian Geese as they grace the banks of my NC secluded lake, and Carolina Wren babies that guest the nests their parents build close to the house. They each help remind me of my connection to nature and our co-existence requirements.

Hyco Lake Magazine

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Having both time and money has been a major focus of my business career. The reason being is that I love to sit in an Adirondack chair on the bank of a lake and enjoy the clouds passing by. A recent article, written by Meredith Bernard, describes the life purposes that can materialize from being able to relax and think about one’s future.