"Never give up!" and other lessons I learned from Diana Nyad

Diana Nyad

***After you read this post, be sure to visit me at my new home here.***

I will admit I hadn't closely followed Diana Nyad's four previous attempts to swim from Cuba to Florida, but when I saw this news alert on my phone, 

CNN: Diana Nyad, 64, is about 2 miles shy of finishing her swim from Cuba to Florida, a goal she's persued for 35 years.

and I saw messages of encouragement on my Facebook timeline, I knew I needed to tune in.

I tend to stay away from the news, because rarely does it inspire me to be a better person, go for my dreams, or think bigger. This is one news story I can't get enough of, and lessons abound from watching Diana's interviews this morning on The Today Show and CBS.

Here's what I've learned from Diana:

• Age doesn't matter. As I'm enjoying my 40s, I have had some thoughts in the back of my mind that I need to get stuff done now while I'm still able. No more! I jokingly said last summer that I want to do the Ironman in Kona when I turn 70, and my training officially starts tomorrow. Tune in in 2040 or better yet, be waiting at the finish line with some chocolate covered macadamia nuts for me.
• It's always about the team. Diana talked about how her team helped her to avoid dangerous currents, animals and deal with hunger, thirst, and swallowing too much salt water. Without her team, her success wouldn't be possible. It's true, there's no such thing as a self-made person. We all go farther and faster {and have more fun} surrounded by people who help us and cheer us on.
• It's better with music. Diana has a playlist with 85 songs. She sang Neil Young's The Damage Done to herself at 2 a.m. to keep going. Find some tunes that literally rock your world and keep you going when the going gets tough.
• There will be obstacles. Find a way through them. When Willie Geist asked Diana what made the fifth attempt successful, she said, "I resolved to get through the jellyfish. It's their world, but this time I had to get through them." She also had to deal with swallowing lots of salty sea water and sea creatures wondering what the heck was happening in their world. She had to just keep going. It doesn't matter what tries to stop or delay you, you can persevere and succeed.
• You must set your intention and be committed to it, no matter what. Diana had been dreaming of completing this swim for 36 years, and had made four previous attempts. Don't quit until you've reached your objective, completed your dream, and hit the goal.
• Stay focused. Willie noted there were other swimmers with her toward the end, but she didn't notice them ... she was too focused. When you're attempting to achieve a new level of success, or catch the brass ring, you must have blinders on and become oblivious to anything and anyone who can cause you to lose focus.
• There's the yin and the yang. For every thing that didn't go perfectly, there were several things that went great. This time, the current and tide were in Diana's favor and she was so grateful. There will always be some bonus miracles that will happen to let you know you're on the right path.
• Never give up. No matter what. Diana means it. I mean it.

 What did you learn? What would you attempt if you knew for sure you would succeed? Start today.

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Make a Bold Move and Set Yourself Free {Honorée}
Control Your Mental Real Estate {Honorée}
Challenges, Schmallenges {Honorée}

T is for Transforming Your Language

***After you read this post, be sure to visit me at my new home here.***

Transforming your language, specifically using transformative language is one of the more basic and yet amazingly powerful, keys to a successful life, business or relationship.

The language we choose to use is, without a doubt, incredibly powerful. Do you realize you are choosing (intentionally or by default) the language you use, and when you do, you are literally choosing your material circumstances? Your life will look and feel a lot like this:

Let's start with questions: I know from working with successful people that the most successful people have the ability to ask themselves the right questions. Because your mind is a finely-tuned computer and it will answer any question you ask it, if you ask yourself the question: "How can I get this done today?" your brain will come up with an answer. The converse is also true. If you ask, "Why am I so stupid?" your brain will answer that question, too. Your true power lies in the ability to pre-determine the questions you ask, which includes the words you intentionally choose.

The words you choose make up your questions, and as I just mentioned, you get to intentionally choose your words. Pay close attention to how emotionally-charged your words are, such as, do you use highly-charged negative words, such as enraged, irate, depressed? Could you lower their intensity and use irritated, frustrated, or even peeved? The word "peeved" actually causes me to smile, which changes how I'm feeling immediately. Try becoming interested instead of angry. I've taught myself to reserve judgement until I have more information in a situation that is causing my blood-pressure to rise. It doesn't mean that more information doesn't cause me to get angry, I'm just much more careful about using the word angry!

I advise you to lower the intensity of the negative words you're choosing, and raise the intensity of the positive words you're using. I taught my daughter to say "fabulous" when she's asked the question, "How are you?" What's your answer to that question? Do you answer honestly, and by honestly, I mean, "Fine." or even "I'm having the worst day ..."

"I'm depressed" is frankly too much information for anyone other than your spouse, best friend, mom, or therapist. No-one cares about your problems, truly they don't. They may have compassion, but they don't want to hear every single detail about your divorce, bad day at work, or (seriously?) PMS! The side benefit about getting intentional with your words and using transformative language will be that others will be excited to hear what you have to say next. Don't you agree that people are drawn to people who have positive energy? Don't you also agree that when someone talks about their problems, they are the opposite of someone who has positive energy?

All of these pieces fit nicely together to help form your puzzle called success. Spend some time today listening to your language, and the language of others. See what you can notice, and then take action on what could be most effective for you. Choosing your words and questions will go a long way toward transforming your life into just what you want it to be.

Honorée Enterprises, LLC. turns service providers into rainmakers, average producers into rock-stars, and dreams into reality. For more information on how we can specifically help you or your organization, click here. You can read all about Honorée here.

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