you will achieve your Vision.
4. You will develop your Leadership Skills so that you become a far more effective leader, even if the only person you lead is yourself!
5. You will develop your Personal Organization so that you make the very best of your 86,400 seconds every day.
6. You will develop your Relationship Skills focusing on the relationship and not just the transaction.
7. You will develop your Key Strengths and learn to manage and delegate your weaknesses so that you dramatically increase your effectiveness within your business.
When you have developed your foundation 1-3-5 Action Plan (1 Vision, 3 Core Objectives and 5 Goals for each Core Objective) and then developed the key skills to maximize the application of your 1-3-5, you will be far more confident, your belief will increase and you will have developed your Unstoppable system.
I remember how I felt when I entered the biggest physical challenge of my life, my first Ultra Endurance Triathlon. I was absolutely terrified. I had never undertaken anything like it before and that scared me. There were times in preparing for this challenge that I doubted I could achieve it. I knew I would only finish it if I was focused and consistent in my preparation.
Just as I faced my Ultra Endurance challenge, I bet you have some challenges you are facing right now. I'm sure that in your life, your work or your business you've thought about those challenges but for some reason you haven't followed through yet.
I imagine something has prevented you from progressing; maybe you didn't know where to start. I know what that feels like, and I know what it feels like to achieve that challenge. It is certainly worth the effort.
Your attitude can dramatically effect the thoughts you have, the feelings you experience and the actions you take.
The way to achieve whatever challenge you are facing is to develop an Unstoppable attitude and implement your Unstoppable system.
This book is split into four main parts. Part One is The Beginning and where you are right now. Its purpose is to set the scene and share with you what is possible when you become Unstoppable.
Part Two is The Foundation and focuses on the 1-3-5 Action Plan and how to create your own so you have a framework to become Unstoppable.
Part Three is all about The Execution Skills. As I've said, having your 1-3-5 Action Plan is not enough; the magic happens when you begin to use it.
Part Four is sharing with you how to have a fantastic next 12 months using your plan and also reviewing the main areas of your life and business.
Throughout the book I will share anecdotal stories about what others, including myself, have done to meet our challenges and how these relate to you. Also, I want to share what you can achieve when you answer the number one important question: ‘If I was the very best version of myself, what could I achieve?'
I have also highlighted some other ‘Key Questions' for you to answer and to get you thinking. In addition to this I will give you ‘Key Development Points' for you to note, which will be your ‘takeaways'.
I am very passionate about you developing your Unstoppable system. I have seen first hand, many times, the difference it makes to people's lives, business and careers. It is very important that you stick with me until we reach the end of the book. It's a bit like a jigsaw that fits together and then you'll see the whole picture.
I've spent years studying strategy stuff. When I was completing my MBA at business school we seemed to explore every conceivable strategy. Now, at the risk of sounding a little controversial and even possibly upsetting some of my clients (I work with a great deal of accountants), in my opinion business plans are not written as ongoing working documents. Most seem to be written with a single purpose in mind at the start but are not referred to during the everyday work on the front line.
What you need then is a simple plan that's easy to follow and easy to stick with. It must be clear about where you are going, what you're going to focus on to get there and what the goals are that can chart your progress and track your actions.
Enter my (and very soon to be your own) 1-3-5 Action Plan. Your 1-3-5 will motivate you to take daily action on the most rewarding and profitable things that will absolutely accelerate your progress. When you create and then ‘live' your 1-3-5 you'll start to achieve more in a week than most drifting (possibly you before) business owners do in a month.
Your 1-3-5 will enable you to achieve better results. I'm not saying it's easy but it's worth it.
Alan Wigham, Director from Safeguard Commercial Finance, completed his Unstoppable system and said:
Pete's programme has made me realize that my Core Objectives and Goals are fundamental in the business and they must be revisited regularly if I am to achieve my Vision, they cannot stay still, as in the current age; to stay still is to go backwards! To summarize, interesting yes, a little uncomfortable yes, challenging yes, but worth it? YES.
So in answer to my opening question and the title of this chapter ‘Why Develop an Unstoppable Attitude?’ , I think it's very clear. You have challenges in your life, business and career that you are facing right now and by becoming Unstoppable you'll meet these challenges and achieve your full potential. Ultimately you'll live the life you deserve!
I bet you are motivated now!
Part Two
The Foundation
Chapter 2
Becoming Effective is All About Your Habits!
Having a solid foundation is critical to the success of your life and business. When I made the decision to complete an Ultra Endurance Triathlon I realized from my experience in business and from business school that I needed a plan. I also realized that I needed a simple plan, one that I could follow. I wanted to set myself up to succeed. Many people start a business without giving enough attention to the foundation upon which it is built. I'm sure you've heard of the phrase ‘built on shifting sand'. Come on, be honest, there's just you and me; how much time have you given to your business foundation?
The Eiffel Tower in Paris is a beautiful site. Standing at the bottom and looking up at its 1063-foot structure is awe inspiring. If you haven't had a meal in its high level restaurant, I would certainly recommend it.
The tower was built by the engineer Gustave Eiffel, and one French mathematics professor thought it would collapse at a height of 748 feet. It was thought also that it would only last 20 years; it's still standing strong over 100 years later.
One of the main reasons the tower is still a beacon of French pride is because of how Eiffel designed its foundation. Gustave intricately designed the tower's foundation, which is composed of cement and stone placed at an exact angle so that each of the four curved piers of the tower with an inward tilt of 54 degrees would maximize wind resistance and exert a perpendicular thrust to its foundation. In addition, the legs of the tower rested on sand boxes and hydraulic jacks during construction so that the metal beams at the tower's first platform could be levelled within one millimetre of the horizontal plane. (Yale Scientific, 12 May 2011, www.yalescientific.org)
So, it is fair to say that the level of focus and detail that Gustave Eiffel displayed in designing the tower is the key reason why it is still standing today. What can we learn from this?
