August is one of my favorite months of the year. It brings whispers (or straight up screams- GO DAWGS) of football season, cooler weather, deer and dove season, camping weather, and, most importantly to me, the realization that the 4th Quarter of the year is quickly approaching us. And that I need to take FULL advantage of this month to make sure the rest of my year has smooth sailing (if that’s possible).

July was the painful reminder of just how hard creating new habits can be and that sometimes they aren’t even the right habits/goals. I spent a lot of time in the gym, in the sky and not nearly enough time in bed. It made me admit that I was wrong, that I needed to listen more and that, to me, progress lost is more painful that progress made. I took several steps backward in months leading up to July and made it my mission to get back on that horse.

And although I did miss plenty of steps, I did reignite my passion for living this full life. I wrote more, spent more time working on myself mentally and physically, and spent a good deal of time organizing, planning, and preparing for some significant “stuff” on the horizons. I took more time to listen and learn. I decided to take a little time to put things into three categories of professional, personal, and fun. Then to take the time to think about those things, plan, and make goals around them.

July Goals

• Workout 27 times during July! ✅ I hit this one, and it felt great. No excuses, just execution on this one!
• Finish my P2 license for paragliding! ✅ This has been a long-time goal, and it felt AWESOME to get focused and knock this off the list. I flew about 15 flights and spent probably 20 more hours working with my gear and making sure I was comfortable to make the graduation flights! If you want it, go get it!
• Wake up at 6 am every weekday. 🚫 I didn’t hit this one, but I also had the wrong goal. I realized through the journey that I needed to change this goal. And when I did, some remarkable things started to happen. I felt better, had more energy, performed better in all areas. Your body is special and unique, and you need to make sure you are taking care of it the best way possible.

August Goals

• Lose 10 pounds/No bread: I’ve got a BJJ competition at the end of September, and I’m about 10 lbs. above the weight cut-off! I must get it off! To do this, I need to get back on a better diet = no bread.
• Finish all Q4 Marketing plans for our restaurants and have them communicated to our teams. I want to make sure that my whole team continues to get further and further ahead of what their responsibilities. Planning really comes home for me on this one.
• Host a men’s retreat in the mountains to whitewater raft, give some fly fishing and BBQ lessons, and to complete a goal setting exercise with everyone! To get some like-minded individuals together and see what drives them, I figured this would be a great way. I’m always looking to listen and learn from people who know more than me. So what’s a better way to do so than to lock them in a mountain house for three days and make them talk? If you’d like to join in on the next one, let me know!

Thought -> Action.

You see, all of this is taking a thought and creating action. But there’s a huge gap. Why do people often think about stuff, but never act on it? I’m still obsessed with this gap. And for me, the only thing that closes that gap is planning or writing.

Thought -> Plan -> Act. Then Repeat. If you think about it, it’s fundamental. We don’t normally do small things in life without planning, no matter how small they are. We plan what we’re going to wear. We plan what we’re going to eat. We plan what workout we are going to do at the gym. We plan our vacations. But most of the time, or in my case, we don’t plan far enough in advance.

We plan the day of. We plan the night of. Hell, we get to the gym and look at a workout to do that day. If you want to get anything significant done in your life, you have to plan it and make goals around it. It’s just the way it works.

My team and I were sitting around the table today, and we talked about the recent transition we underwent from not having any real goals set (other than week to week) to having Quarterly Goals that all feed up to a Yearly Goal. The struggles that went into that almost killed us. There was arguing, yelling, disappointment, resentment, etc. You name it, and it was there. We were NOT happy for about a month.

But we got the goals set done. And then we refined them. And we got better at it. And then we started to enjoy it. That goal muscle is growing stronger. And now we are beginning to see the lagging indicators of our hard work show. It’s impressive to see. These guys are all now 100% on board. They are implementing them in their lives, not just the business. They are drinking the Kool-Aid, so to say.

Are you ready to get going? Give me a shout! Let me know you need some help. I would love to help you through a goal setting exercise. Everyone that goes through it has gained some MASSIVE traction. That’s what we’re all looking for, right? You deserve that life you want!

GO, DO & GROW!