You and I have set some challenging goals for 2009. We’ve got a focus plan and we’re ready to hit the ground running. Only problem is, we haven’t set up the racetrack to win. There are some hurdles ahead that we’re aware of and it will slow us down or knock us out of the race. I’ve realized that I need to take those hurdles out before I start the race.
Financial Hurdle
I’ve met some folks recently that said their goal was to become financially independent and abolish their credit card debt in 2009. The first thing I asked was how many credit cards are you now carrying - one person said 8!!! Are you kidding me?! Talk about a serious hurdle, you’re on break and browsing through a shopping mall, you find a great sale on some shoes you’ve really wanted - do you think you can really stop yourself from buying if you have 8 credit cards available to you?? Remove the hurdle, cut those credit cards and see if it’s not easier to reach your goals.
Junk Food Hurdle
Another crazy story - a friend of mine wants to start eating healthy. He offers me ice-cream at his home and I notice in his freezer he’s got several frozen pizzas in there. I appreciate the ice-cream, but are you kidding?? How are you supposed to eat healthy, if everytime you open the freezer, you’re reminded of pizza and ice cream? If you set the goal, get rid of the hurdles as your first step. Throw all that crap out and never buy it again.
Exercise Hurdle
I did something similarly stupid a while back, I set a goal of exercising 3 times a week. I then negotiated a great deal with a gym not near enough to my house because it was a great deal. Sure enough, I just wasn’t that motivated to drive 10 minutes to work out and then drive 10 minutes back. If I went with the gym that was within walking distance, I would have used it much more often. That would have removed a barrier to my exercise regimen.
Urgent Hurdle
One executive that I met with set a goal to focus and prioritize on important issues and not urgent issues. I love this idea, how often are we caught up doing a lot of urgent work only to end the day wondering what the heck did we accomplish? If we control the important issues and get that done, won’t we accomplish more and not be driven mad? So, how did this executive remove hurdles to focusing on important issues? He unplugged email and phone until the last hour of the day. That’s right, no incoming emails and no incoming calls until the end of the day! He knew if he had his inbox open during the day, his mind would wander often and he’ll focus on the urgent issue of the day rather than the important issues that he set out to accomplish. That is taking the time to not only think about what the hurdles are, but also taking the time to remove them no matter how hard it is!
Job Hurdle
If your goal is to start a company in 2009 and you’re currently in a cushy job, what do you think your hurdle is? I’ll leave that up to you.
Remove Hurdles
Reaching goals are so much easier if we do our pre-planning to remove hurdles to our success. We know what they are, but we try to use our will-power to power through it without removing them, and it’s too hard. Thus, we give up.
Do you know what your hurdles are? Please share them below and how you plan on taking those hurdles out.
Great post, Andy!
The idea of removing hurdles, or, in many cases, just the pure temptation to get into deeper debt or deep crust frozen pizza, are very important in keeping yourself from getting in too deep. (I guess this comment was brought to you today by the word “deep”)
I just wanted to let readers know something very specific in regards to what you said about credit cards… and cutting them up. If you do so, make sure you do not CANCEL the cards! You’ll damage your credit score quite a bit if you do. The best thing to do is put them somewhere safe, in case you do need access to credit, and to do yourself the favor of asking your banks for a credit increase.
Why a credit increase? Because, if you actually do STOP spending on your credit cards and keep your balances going down, instead of up, a higher credit limit will reduce your debt ratio. This will automatically help to bring your three Credit Scores up and make you financially better off. Heck, you might eventually be able to combine all those 8 card balances into a debt consolidation loan at a low interest rate with your primary banking institution.
That’s right, a LOAN, not a line of credit. You pay off your cards, stop using them, and then pay back your bank on a loan that doesn’t allow you to charge more onto the loan.
Michael - thanks for the comment and your thoughts on credit.
I am the only hurdle. I am the only achiever. I have to decide what I want.
we definitely are our own hurdle - good point.
Great post! Not too sure about your “Job Hurdle” - i’d like to start a company in 2009. And right now I have a good job. But i dont think it is a hurdle you can remove. I’m sure you can start a company in your own time, and build it up, before quitting your main source of cash?
my personal opinion is that when you don’t give yourself an out you’re more likely to run through walls to make it successful. my one piece of advice is to be prepared for difficult times in the startup, and give yourself 2 years. it’s too easy to give up if you have a good job already in play. good luck and start that company!
I would also love to hear your thoughts about the ’starting a company’ example.
there are definitely big hurdles to starting a company, it may or may not be your current job. but, that’s a good place to start.
Wow, your post has got me thinking. I’d say that my bouts of laziness are my current hurdle. I spend a lot of free time messing around playing video games when I could be doing something more constructive. It’s probably just a matter of dedicating myself to something I’m really passionate for.
great! make it happen!
Hurdles are a big issue in everyday life. One thing we have learned, “it’s not what you are going through but how you go through it.” The best way to jump over a hurdle is to first know that it is there, if not you will run right into it. lol, Our hurdle that we have identified is that is our team has a lot of distractions whyll working at home. We are putting our foot forward and going to get a reasonable office space later on this month. Our company is very excited and moving forward.
To our continued success,
Trigeia Twinz
http://www.trigeia.com
i think you’ve hit it on the head. thanks for sharing and do let me know how it goes after you get your office up and running.
Frequently these hurdles are subconscious ways of avoiding your goal
it’s time to get out of the subconscious and make some real changes.
Work hard, Be Creative and be consistent and without a doubt remove the Job Hurdle…..
ruben - right on!
Andy, what do you think of this:
The only person stopping you from success, is yourself, so get out of the way!
This means that you create your own barriers (hurdles) that keep getting in your way. It is up to us to remove the things that are holding us back. We are in charge of our success and failure, not someone else. Until one understands that, there will be one hurdle after another.
AJ Kumar
absolutely - we have to take responsibility!
Very well said, AJ. I would however rephrase it this way - “The only person stopping you from success, is yourself, so get out of YOUR way!”
Trigeia Twinz is totally on the money with practice of noticing hurdles.
Jeff’s point about hurdles being unconscious ways to avoid achieving goals is also spot on.
In my work with entrepreneurs, the 1 thing that most people find extremely useful is an accountability partner. Whether this is a coach, friend, or family member, this is somebody who truly believes in you and is willing to tell you the truth. They ask the question, “how’s it going?” without judgement. This frees you to find out what hurdles you’re facing or stay in motion successfully.
great comment - accountability is powerful. don’t do things alone.
Can school be a hurdle?
I have a scholarship to live on campus, so I have to eat cafeteria food, which isn’t always the healthiest. I also have to work a lot on homework, and don’t dedicate enough time to long term personal goals.
Can school be a hurdle? Yes and No and in your situation of eating cafeteria food. Not sure, are you wanting to eat healthier? Homework, If you are in school to use it as a stepping stone to accomplish your long term goals, then yes do the homework. If not, then perhaps you are in school for the wrong reasons.
We have to say that in response to our last post that hurdles are good. Those hurdles are what seperates the ones that will find their passion and those that will not. Its all determined on who gets up after they fall. Therefore, If we did not have hurdles we would not have the opprotunity to grow. So lets not all be so quick to want our hurdles to disappear.
Find your passion and you will find success.
Trigeia.com
Excellent post Andy..!!
You really got me thinking.. I just star my blog, and Im still trying to identify my own hurdles… I have a lot a work to do amigo..! The Job Hurdle, well maybe this is the big one.
Sometime you have to acept your own limitations, and be realistic, work every day on your goals, identified your hurdles and definitely remove them. As AJ Kumar comment, The only person stopping you from success, is yourself, so get out of the way! Huge truth.
Thanks Andy.
Wow, your post is right on man. I was in the process of adding you as a link to my site and started reading your post.
Your first line under the Financial hurdle is exactly what I am doing - starting a company in 2009 to try and be financially self-sufficient. I tried removing the “no time to start a company” hurdle by getting up 2 hours earlier each morning and allocating that time to MY company.
Although I would disagree with the “do not cancel your cards” reply from above - if you have 8 cards you can certainly cancel several and I don’t believe it will hurt your score. I had 5 or 6 at one time and now have 2 - I cancelled the others and the “hurt your credit score” is exactly what the credit card people told me when I tried to cancel. I have seen no ill-effects from doing so. At one point I had a card that expired and wasn’t even activated yet (it just sat in my drawer for a couple years).
I do agree w/ consolidating them into 1 low interest loan though. Most credit cards are putting floors on their interest rates and a loan could be below those floors.
great pic.. and great post
Love the track analogy… Sometimes the quickest way to the finish line is to take two steps backwards and one step forward. The easiest way to avoid the hurdles you create is to look at your self as other would or even better yet yet other for opinions.
Great post and great picture you got there,
You are absolutely right about the need to get rid of hurdles. Like you mentioned, one of the biggest hurdles in the road to success is when people spend MAJOR time on MINOR issues. That’s a sure way to failure. Instead, like Jim Rohn and many of the other great motivational speakers have advised, we should spend MAJOR TIME on MAJOR issues and minor time on minor issues, not the other way around. Thanks once again for a great post, Andy.
Yeah you can remove the hurdles but then track becomes boring and predictable. With some hurdles you can at least get some excitement, or just laugh at the person who falls into the hurdle.
Good post. I’m in the process of removing the “eating healthy” hurdles right now. I’m glad to see you’ve bumped up your font size on comments too
Much easier to read now. Were you at Affiliate Summit? I just got back.
Great this post reminds of a very good quote by Randy Pausch “Brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want things.”
Is removing hurdles not the easy way, and won’t you fall back in your old patterns as soon as these hurdles reappear in some form? Isn’t it more important to learn to jump the hurdle, than to remove it? Otherwise we never get good on the track.
As rolls swell in the recession, workers find firms are contesting claims by alleging wrongdoing or quitting in a bid to not pay benefits.
I find the “cushy job” resonates with me most. I’m 20 and would like to enter the entrepreneurship world and stop being answerable to someone else, but, when I think of the struggles and the months of possible no income.. I worry. Deep down, I know its my comfortable and plentiful pay that’s really setting me back. No kids, no rent, no monthly bills, i might as well take the leap!
A post on mentorship would be great!