That’s my gift. I let that negativity roll off me like water off a duck’s back. If it’s not positive, I didn’t hear it. If you can overcome that, fights are easy.

~  George Foreman

Dealing with negative self-talk can be a real challenges.  We all have those little voices in our heads that prevent us from accomplishing our goals.    It’s worse than listening to dream stealers; those people around us that constantly discount our ideas.  The unfortunate thing is that our negative self-talk often comes from our dream stealers.

Do you hear yourself saying any of the following?

• “I can’t do that.”
• “Who am I kidding?”
• “Everyone is going to think I’m crazy.”
• “No one is ever going to buy into that idea.”
• “I’ll never live up to those expectations.”

If you constantly give in to your negative self-talk, you will never accomplish your goals.  Henry Ford was right when he said, “Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.”

When you are consciously aware of the negative self-talk that goes on in your head, you are more likely to be able to change your thoughts into positive ones.  So, what negative self-talk do you hear yourself saying?

My challenge to you is to turn every negative thought in your mind into a positive one.  So, instead of saying, “I can’t do that,” you are going to say, “I have a big challenge ahead of me, and I am going to do everything in my power to make it happen.”

Instead of saying, “No one is ever going to buy into that idea,” you are going to say, “When I find the right person to buy into my idea, it will be a huge success!”  Get the picture?

Happy Thoughts!

Kay Fontana
“The Grandcoach”

Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence. The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning.

~ Denis Waitley

As we start winding down  toward the end of the 2010 Winter Olympics, we are inundated with talk of winning – who’s got the gold, the silver and the bronze, and how many medals each country has earned.  There is an art to winning, and it’s not just athletic ability.  It’s about having the mindset to win.

Many of these athletes have dedicated their lives to reaching the Olympics, and have even stated it was a childhood dream.  It became their passion and their focus.

In order to achieve success, the athletes worked long and hard, as their parents did, driving them miles and miles to attend daily practice, balancing work and family and dedicating their time and money to provide them with opportunity.  That indicates commitment, perseverance and habit.

To overcome defeat, as they all have at one point or another, they had to believe in themselves and continue their work to achieve their ultimate reward.  That shows attitude, belief and discipline.

To continue down the road that led them to Vancouver, B.C., they had to face the ultimate challenge – the results.  Would their scores be good enough to win the Gold, Silver or the Bronze?  That is the truth. In the truth lies the bottom line:

The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.

~ Vince Lombardi

These athletes, whether this was their first Olympics or their third, will continue to strive for success each and every time.  They won’t give up, they won’t quit, and none of them will fail.  They achieve success by continuing to compete regardless of their medal status.  They will refine their technique, practice their craft, visualize their goals and continue to practice daily habits for success.  They may even return to the grand event in 2014.  That is the art of winning.

To all Olympic athletes, present, past and future, and all of your families, I salute you.  You are all winners!

Now I invite you to watch this brief 3 minute video, “212°: The Extra Degree.”   I hope you enjoy!

To Your Success!

Kay L. Fontana “The Grandcoach”

Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragement, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.

~ Thomas Carlyle

As I watch the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C. on our television, I am astounded by the sportsmanship, the talents and the abilities of the athletes.  What is even more amazing is hearing the stories of the trials, tribulations and sacrifices some of them have encountered just to get there.  That is where persistence really pays off.

Like any sporting event, there are heartwarming success stories of the gold, silver and bronze medalists, and there are the shocking disappointments of those who did not win.  It’s unfortunate that it has to be that way, but that’s why they call it competition.

Some of the medalists I have seen have tremendous stories of how they persevered to get to the winter games.  One of the female figure skaters had actually left her home country to seek citizenship in another so she could train with the best trainer in her field.  Her birth country called her a traitor.

Some of the athletes arrived with injuries that could have had prevented them from competing.  However, downhill skier Lindsay Vonn from the United States was persistent in her efforts and earned a gold medal despite her bruised leg.

One of the athletes who has a particularly heartwarming story is Men’s Moguls Gold Medalist, Alexandre Bilodeau of Canada.  In the 2006 Olympics, he finished 11th, but later became the youngest athlete to win a World Cup moguls event.  His inspiration behind his win – his older brother Frederic with cerebral palsy, who is also one of his heroes.  It’s no doubt that persistence was a factor leading to his win.

Many of these athletes, like everyone else, have at some point in their careers suffered injury, financial obstacles, broken families or the illness or loss of a loved one; however, their persistence paid off as they arrived to attend the opening ceremonies last Friday which would mark the beginning of a journey of a lifetime.

To Your Success!

Kay L. Fontana
“The Grandcoach”

P.S. The death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili in Whistler on Friday was a terrible tragedy and unfortunate accident.  My thoughts and prayers go out to Nodar’s family, friends and fellow athletes.

No great achievement is possible without persistent work.

~ Bertrand Russell

What does persistence mean to you?  The greatest leaders, inventors, scientists, authors, artists, composers and athletes in history were great because they were persistent in their actions and their goals.  They didn’t give up, no matter what others said, or how many failures they had prior to their success.

If Thomas Edison gave up after his first try at the light bulb, credit would have been given to his British counterparts, Frederick de Moleyns and Joseph Wilson Swan who had patents for an incandescent lamp and light bulb respectively.  Edison was persistent and didn’t let his initial failure get in the way of his
success.  In all actuality, his initial attempts were not failures – they were trials that he perfected over time, allowing him credit for the invention of the light bulb.  His persistence paid off.

Many people give up their goals because they have encountered stumbling blocks, obstacles, challenges or failures.  If they had been persistent and moved forward, they may have succeeded in their goals.  They probably would have succeed if they had just pressed on.

One of the challenges people often face, that gets in the way of their persistence, is fear.  Fear (often referred to as False Evidence Appearing Real) creates that self-doubt and negative self-talk that can prevent us from moving forward.  It is self-destructive and serves no purpose.

Think about a time when you were fearful about something and that fear prevented you from moving forward.  If you could have removed all fear, what may have been the outcome?  Would you have achieved a goal?  Would you have succeeded?

My challenge to you is to write down your biggest fears of working toward your goal.  Now, what is the worst thing that could happen as you work toward your goal?  What is the best thing could happen as you work toward your goal?  If the worst thing should happen, what would you do next?  Remember these two quotes:

When life knocks you down you have two choices- stay down or get up.

~ Tom Krause

and

The most essential factor is persistence – the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come.

~ James Whitcomb Riley

To Your Success!

Kay L. Fontana
“The Grandcoach”

The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.

~ Albert Einstein

What does lifelong learning mean to you? Does it mean going to school until you’re 70? Does it mean engaging in regular mental exercises? Does it mean reading the newpaper every morning with your coffee to get up-to-date on current events? Does it mean reading your monthly issue of National Geographic or watching the Discovery Channel?  Each one of these situations involves learning.

Lifelong learning may mean different things to different people.  People are constantly learning new things through their interactions with others and engaging in activities which are provided to them.

Learning is not restricted to the classroom, but encompasses everything we do, see and hear in life.  When you set goals in life, you are learning new ways of achieving success.  If you are an entrepreneur whose goal is to establish a profitable business so that you may someday quit your corporate job, you are learning a whole new skill set in order to become successful in your new endeavors.

However, just like your goals in life, learning is a process.  Not only do you need to plan for learning by seeking the opportunities that will serve your needs, but you need to understand what forms of learning will be most effective for your learning style and personality type.  Once you determine what learning is to take place, you will need to evaluate the process to assess whether or not you are getting the maximum benefit.

There are many activities in which you can engage in order to experience lifelong learning.  I found a wonderful blog post called, “15 Steps to Cultivate Lifelong Learning.”  The author, Scott H. Young, lists 15 strategies that really puts lifelong learning it into perspective.   After reading this post, please come back to share what methods you will use to experience your own lifelong learning.

To your success!

Kay L. Fontana
“The Grandcoach”

We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.  ~Frank Tibolt

As I sat in the dark using a battery operated lantern because of another storm that knocked out our power, I was inspired by the thought of not having electricity. As I sat in the dimly lit room, my imagination started in high gear and my pen started to flow.

We are now at the end of the 3rd week in January, which means that many of you have already lost your motivation to continue on with your New Year’s resolutions.  Goals and New Year’s resolutions often come from an inspiration.  At New Years, you may be inspired at the idea of a new beginning and fresh start.  Sometimes you’re inspired by a negative event, such as the illness of a friend or family member that motivated you to lose weight, exercise or quit smoking.  My husband calls these “wake up calls;” however, they often do not last long.  Sometimes, you’re inspired by mass casualty events, such as the terrorists attack on September 11th, Hurricane Katrina, or the recent earthquake in Haiti, which may have motivated you to be more prepared for disasters, or to donate to a charitable cause.

It is unfortunate that sometimes inspirations can be short-lived, and once the event has subsided and people go on with their lives, many return to the same old bad habits.  They may be inspired to take action, but only for a short while.

So then, how do you stay motivated?  By continuing to pursue your goals and follow your plan.  You see, you must take action in order to create your own inspiration. That action may take form in a variety of ways:

• Getting a coach or mentor to motivate you and inspire you to move forward.
• Finding an accountability buddy, or a friend or family member that will help keep you on track.
• Pursuing continuing education by attending workshops, seminars and teleseminars.
• Joining a Mastermind group and meeting with people who have a common goal.
• Applying for a group coaching program to connect with others, work through issues and inspire you to set goals for success.
• Revising your goals and updating your daily tasks with new and creative ways to achieving the same goal.
• Supporting a cause and becoming involved in a cause that is in line with your goal.
• Helping others by sharing your ideas and inspiring them to move forward.

There are many ways to gain inspiration; however, you must be willing to take action to find that inspiration.  What inspires and motivates one person will not necessarily inspire and motivate someone else.  Therefore, you must seek that which inspires you to achieve your own goals.

Now, I invite you to tell me what inspires you to achieve your goals.  How are you going to stay motivated and achieve your goals?  Please write your responses in the comments below.

For more information about achieving your goals, please go to Powerdrive to Success to see how this may fit into your plan for success.

Warm regards,

Kay L. Fontana
“The Grandcoach”

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. In 1954, he received his PhD and accepted a position as a pastor of a Baptist church in Alabama.  Following the beliefs of his parents to break down the barriers between the races, Dr. King dedicated his life to the Civil Rights Movement.

Dr. King is best known for his “I Have A Dream” speech he gave to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. The following year at the age of 35, he was the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

During his lifetime, Dr. King accomplished a great deal and overcame great obstacles because of his dreams. His dreams were the inspiration behind his work,  his success and the respect he gained from millions of people.  He left a legacy that continues on, and is recognized every year on the 3rd Monday in January to celebrate his birthday.

In honor of Dr. King’s birthday, I want you to answer these questions:

• Do you have a dream that came to you from inspiration?
• Do you have a dream that could benefit mankind?
• Do you have a dream that could help the indigent?
• Do you have a dream of serving your community?
• Do you have a dream that you want to put into a goal?
• Do you have a goal you want to put into action?

I invite you to share that dream in the comments below. Share your thoughts about your dreams and how you are going to turn your dream into a reality.  What do you need to accomplish your dream? What obstacles are standing in your way?  You may also share how Martin Luther King, Jr. has inspired you to have a dream.

Join me in celebrating Martin Luther King Day on Monday, January 18, 2010, and make a plan to turn your dreams into reality.

Warm regards,

Kay L. Fontana
“The Grandcoach”

If you have been following me for any length of time, you will know that my Powerdrive to Success method emphasizes doing something every day toward achieving your goals. Being consistent and developing daily goal setting habits will improve your success of achieving your dreams.

Benjamin Franklin had a strategy for developing new habits over the course of a year. Franklin outlined 13 virtues that he desired and wanted to form each one into a habit.  He committed to one habit a week and documented his progress.  The following week, he would work on the next habit, and so on.  By the end of 13 weeks, he had accomplished all 13 virtues by forming each one into a habit; then, he would start over with number one.  Even though studies show that it takes 21 to 28 days to form a habit, this worked for him because he was still consistently developing new habits.  So what does that have to do with NBC?

If you have watched or read the news, you have probably heard about the uproar at NBC about the late night television program line-up (Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon). Last September, NBC moved Jay Leno to prime time television, moved Conan O’Brien into Leno’s spot on The Tonight Show, and hired Jimmy Fallon to take over late night in O’Brien’s spot.

This weekend, NBC announced they would be moving Jay Leno back to The Tonight Show, pushing Conan O’Brien back to his late show spot, and I’m not sure what’s happening to Jimmy Fallon. It’s very confusing, and you may not have the slightest interest in late night television, but there is a point to this story.

People are creatures of habit, just like brushing their teeth in the morning and before they go to bed. They find television shows they like and stick with them, developing a habit to watch them at the same time week after week, and in some cases, day after day.  I suspect that when networks start switching things around, people get frustrated when their daily and weekly habits are disrupted and can no longer find their favorite shows or people on TV.

The Tonight Show has been a late night staple since 1954.  Followers have watched The Tonight Show faithfully because it is a habit. It wasn’t so much of a transition to see Conan O’Brien slip into Jay Leno’s slot since it was still The Tonight Show.  However, followers of Jay Leno who had been in the habit of watching him on The Tonight Show for 17 years, probably had a difficult time transitioning to the prime time slot, which is why Leno’s ratings weren’t as high as NBC may have anticipated.

The Tonight Show has been a success because it has been on at the same time since 1957. When networks move TV shows or personalities into different time slots, people tend to lose interest, just as people lose interest in their goals when they don’t form consistent habits (such as the week after New Year’s).

Lesson learned: television networks can create habits for success and so can you.  The moral of the story: by being consistent, developing daily and weekly habits and sticking to your plan, you can achieve success with your goals and avoid being another canceled show or New Year’s resolution gone awry.

What’s in store for late night on NBC? I don’t know, but they’d better have a plan and stick to it.

To your success!

Kay L. Fontana
“The Grandcoach”

Happy New Year! This is the last blog post for 2009, and I am looking forward to a wonderful 2010!

The New Year means many things to different people. It may mean a fresh start, a time to set goals or resolutions for the future, clearing out the clutter, quitting bad habits or a beginning to daily affirmations and gratitude.

New Year’s Day is a time to get started on your goals and ideas for the future.  It marks the beginning of a calendar year when people begin anew and put their past behind them.

So, what are your goals for the New Year? Do you have big dreams and goals you would like to achieve in 2010, or at least get started on them?  You may have goals such as:

• Adopting a child from another country
• Being more environmentally conscious
• Building a new home
• Building friendships
• Buying a beach house on the coast or summer cabin in the woods
• Buying a new car, boat or RV
• Donating more to charitable organizations
• Finding a new career
• Getting into shape
• Getting more organized
• Going on a cruise or other vacation
• Losing weight
• Owning your own business
• Paying off your credit cards
• Putting your children through college
• Quitting smoking
• Redecorating your home
• Running a marathon
• Saving money for retirement
• Spending more time with your family
• Starting a new hobby
• Starting a new relationship
• Working from home
• Writing your first book

Whatever your dreams may be, it’s important to have a plan to achieve your goals and make this your mantra:

Live a

• Purposeful life by
• Optimizing your time
• Writing down what you want, and
• Empowering yourself to
• Release negative thoughts and fears.
• Dream big, build
• Relationships, take
• Immediate action and
• Visualize success
• Every Day!

Happy New Year!

To Your Success,

Kay L. Fontana
“The Grandcoach”

There are no great people in this world, only great challenges which ordinary people rise to meet.

~ William Frederick Halsey, Jr.

I’m embarrassed, I’m disappointed, and I’ve been deceived.  Yes, that’s me.  For years I have had the utmost respect and admiration for Tiger Woods, the #1 golfer in the world.  I was continuously amazed by his focus on his golf game, his work in helping children get an education, and supposed commitment to his family.  Wow! Who would have ever thought my role model sports figure would turn out to have a secret life?  Not me!  Tiger Woods was the last person I would have suspected.  I was, in fact, a huge fan.

As I am getting over shock of hearing about my golf idol’s admitted “transgressions” over the past few weeks, I started pondering over the lessons I have learned from this disheartening news.  It was a true wake-up call to reality that:

• It’s okay to be inspired by someone’s gifts, talents, skills and achievements to motivate you to move forward.
• It’s okay to learn from their achievements and success, and apply those processes to your own goals.
• It’s okay to model their strategies or blueprints for success.
• It’s okay to set your aim high to achieve the success of those you admire.
• It’s not okay to emulate someone who is lacking ethics, morals and values, which is, unfortunately, not always apparent.
• It’s not okay to put anyone on a pedestal because you “think” they have it all together.

My confessions are that I was looking only at the gifts, talents, skills and achievements of Tiger Woods, and not at the whole picture or the whole person.  Of course, his achievements on the golf course should not be discounted because of his serious errors in judgment.  He is, in fact, a tremendous athlete; however, that doesn’t excuse him from his behavior.

It is important to remember that he, like other people of status, power, fame and fortune, is  just a person who eats, sleeps and goes to the bathroom like everyone else.  But now, he has to face his family, his friends, his fans, his sponsors, the PGA, his fellow athletes, his attorneys and his personal demons that led him astray, much like other high profile people who have put themselves in similar situations.   For that, I do not admire nor want to trade places with him.

I enjoy golf and will continue to follow it.  However, I will do so  in a different light.

Warm regards,

Kay L. Fontana
“The Grandcoach”