Escaped Death 3 Times
I Escaped Death 3 Times
This is how I celebrated my first Independence Day in the United States this year and how I lived to tell…
Press play below to hear the story.
What’s this have to do with your goals?
As I paddled for my life on the Weeki Wachee River, a few interesting ideas came to mind that I thought would help you with your goals and plans this year so that you can get those goals done once and for all.
1. Be Successful Before the World Wakes Up
I have spoken about this before, but use the first few hours of your day to accomplish really important things that matter to you. This is an amazing time to do things before the rest of the world wakes up and starts beating on your door or calling your phone or piling in the email or text messages into your inbox. This is your time. How will you use it?
I decided to get out on the water before 8AM so that I wouldn’t be interrupted by all the recreational kayaking and canoeing folks with their beer in hand floating by. This made a big difference for me and it can for you.
2. Do the most difficult with high energy
Some people will tell you to do the hardest thing on your plate or list first. This is wrong. You need to do these demanding efforts when your strength and energy is best. For me, going upstream first was best because I was fresh physically and mentally prepared to crush the task. I’m glad I did so because as the story goes above, I needed every ounce of strength that I had.
What is your big demanding task?
Where in your day can you fit it in so that you take full advantage of your strength?
3. Create a simple plan
I made a simple goal for myself. The goal was to go upstream to the head and back in 2 to 2.5 hours. Simple.
Often your goals are too complex and riddled with thousands of steps that crushes you from taking the first simple step toward getting your goals done. I suggest taking your current goal and cutting it in half. Then rework the first 50% of your original goal to make a much easier and doable plan for you to start on.
Need more help on your goals? Checkout Your Best 90-Day Plan.
4. Start paddling
There is much power in the start. Often times, starting is the hardest thing to do. But once you start, amazing things happen to you. You begin to increase your focus on the goal. Then as your focus gets smaller and more refined, your results start growing. Then you begin to learn things that will be helpful to you getting your goal done. You’ll meet people who can help you get your goal done faster and easier because of their intellectual knowledge from having done it themselves.
Action creates momentum. Momentum creates results. Results are merely points of feedback. With feedback, you can determine what changes or improvements you can make to get better and faster results.
5. Measure everything
For my little near death adventure above, I took one critical measurement device with me…my MIO Drive heart rate monitor. I use the MIO to track my time on the water so that I could keep pace with my goal. The MIO also counts calories which on that fateful day, I burnt 2,460 calories (that’s the equivalent to a lot of workouts).
But the monitor also helped me keep track of how long it took me to right the kayak and get out the quick mud as I told in the video above. This one handy little device also told me that it took me 3 hours and 50 minutes to complete the journey. Not bad considering that I stopped for about 23 minutes just to deal with the roll and water moccasin that I had to deal with.
6. Persevere through the tough stuff
You might be thinking, yeah I’ve heard that before. But it’s real. I had a choice to give up after I escaped death the first time from drowning. I could have turned around and went home after the fight with the snake. That would have been okay too. But I decided to go for the whole goal since I was already 67% of the way there.
You have a choice too everyday… Keep going or Quit?
KEEP GOING always.
Because I kept going, I burnt a bunch of calories, had an amazing workout doing something fun and exciting and I walked away with an amazing story that I will never forget.
7. Evaluate your progress & success
Each point along the river, I was tracking my progress.
Did I fail?
I ended at 3 hours and 50 minutes. Sure this was far off my original goal of 2.5 hours. But for me it was a huge win. I did something that only one other kayaker attempted that day. From a conversation with staff of the adventure company, they say that there are several hundred boats on the river on a busy day. It comes back to that 1% theory again.
No I didn’t fail.
Nor does the person who sets out to lose 50 pounds in year fail if they only lose 37 pounds. They are in a better place than they were when they started the goal plan and you will be too when you know your numbers and track your progress each day along your plan.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts as to how I escaped death 3 times. Keep up the daily execution of your goals so that you can go from planning to celebrating your wins!
Domo Arigato.
About the Author Shane Fielder
I am a grower of human capability and a business builder. The best part of my life is helping people become stronger and develop their skills, talents and character in order to lead powerful lives. I have had the great privilege to study under some of the greatest minds of business, leadership, health and fitness along with the most talented Martial Arts instructors. My passion is helping people to become even more powerful in life than they already are.
