These are the five A’s that will see you survive and succeed in all your professional, personal, business and social undertakings.

Awareness

With your head under the water, there is limited awareness of the happenings around you. Without awareness, everything will come as a surprise and there is little hope for survival let alone success. Being constantly aware of your surroundings will allow you to recognize the opportunities and threats that are around you.

Ambition

Holding your head above the water indicates a desire to go on. Your desire to push on with your education, business, profession, relationships and all other undertakings is a clear demonstration of having great ambition in life. Without this ambition or desire to go on, you are very likely going to fail at everything in life.

Ability

Your ability is a critical factor in determining whether you will hold your head above the water or not. It is therefore very important to relentlessly work towards improving your abilities. Your awareness will show you the what, ambition supplies the why while ability delivers the how.

Application

This is the strategy you choose to apply in keeping your head above the water. The best application or strategies will minimize on exhausting your abilities while taking the greatest advantage of your awareness and being fueled towards success by the ambition in you.

Achievement

The correct mix of awareness, ambition, ability and application will always yield achievement. Your achievement can measured by comparing the final results to the goals set out during the planning process. While it would be ideal for every one of us to have an A in each of the subjects discussed above, the truth is that most people need help in one or more of these areas.

Engaging a reputable and reliable coach is one of the best ways you can use to master each of these areas so as to ensure that your head stays above the water regardless of the seas you are currently navigating through in life.

o This is it
o You’ve met your match
o You’ve reached your limit
o This is as far as you can go

However despite all the signs, you think that there must be other way. Maybe you need to do more back flips. So you live out the rest of the time trying to prove the system wrong. You know that deep down you’ll figure it out and make it work.

Limits are always artificial. I’m not talking about the limits that physics places on us. I’m talking about limits that get defined, not by outside forces, but inside ones.

What defines our limits are our systems, not our efforts. We cannot go beyond the limits of the systems we use. If for example we have a lead management system that consists of scraps of paper placed all over the place, it won’t be long before the information becomes useless. Why? It’s because this system is not organized in a way that supports focus and efficiency.

Most people focus on overcoming their personal limits, and sometimes that is not the case. What if the actual system that you have running your life is at cause?

What happens when the way want to do things interferes with the best way to do things?

Here are 4 steps to help you combat the effect of a bad system:

1. Recognize that the current system is not supporting your efforts.
2. Find or design a system that would be better if used.
3. Identify the behaviors needed to implement this new system.
4. Identify the investment you have in the current system.

Do you see the power in that?

By focusing on what’s really the heart of the matter, and what is actually driving the results, you are able to create something new without breaking a sweat. This is where you step up as the architect in your own life and design what it is that you actually want.
No back flips required.

Let’s tackle lust first.

Lust, in essence, is a craving.

Lust can also be part of an addiction. This is where the bad rap comes in. It can lead us to do things that put us in danger. It’s even made its way into the book of deadly sins!

But what is this craving? Ultimately, it’s a thirst for an unmet need. It’s something that you’ve always wanted but somehow it’s always eluded you. So, you live out your days pining away on the off chance that this dream might come true. You see it, savor it, embody it. But you never actually get it.

That’s the nature of lust. It’s like a game of cat and mouse. It’s like playing hard to get.

The common idea seems to be that if it was easy to achieve, then you wouldn’t lust after it. It no longer has that appeal. That means if you choose to play the game, you’re going to set the stakes really high… And the outcome usually means coming close, but never actually getting it.

What if all of that was a lie that you have been telling yourself?

What if lust was actually a good thing?

Most of us never let ourselves know that we lust something because that’s too scary. We bought into the story of just how taboo it actually is. Or, even worse, you bought into the feeling of actually being undeserving! But what if I would submit the idea that lust is a thread to our total satisfaction? If you dig down deep enough, you’ll see within lust a passion for deep living. It is really a spiritual calling. It is a path to our soul. We all crave to be one with our souls. This is in essence the ultimate destination.

The kind of lust you’re thinking about is only skin deep. I’m inviting you to look at lust as a call to wake up. You might say you’re lusting after that flashy Lamborghini… But that’s just the illusion. What we really want is really at the core of having that car. That’s what you really want.

Think about it this way: It’s like hitting a sleeping tiger over the head.

It’s scary as hell. What will this tiger do?

What will it demand? Will it kill me?

Maybe it will be angry at me for letting it sleep so long. “Oh my God”, what if it is hungry and makes impossible demands on me? It’s tempting to let the tiger sleep, isn’t it? But that is not really a solution! The desire will still be there.

No, we have no choice in the matter. We have to wake up that damn tiger.

Now, what does this have to do with wealth?

Well, here’s the deal. The tiger is the only part of us that has the energy and power to get us what we want. That tiger will explode with energy to move us to where we want to go. Being afraid of the tiger means we let our power sit dormant. Yes, it’s scary to wake up, but that’s because we only see the dangerous part of it. There is the other side too. The other side is that waking up can bring us wealth.

How much of a load would be lifted if you could get things done in less time and with less effort? How much more effective do you think you might become? I bet you we could help you get a lot more done, in less time, with greater effectiveness … with the added bonus of creating greater harmony.

Did you know that stress can be induced not just by what we think, but by how we think? We literally stress ourselves out by thinking the wrong way! So many times we complicate getting things done with other things, like proving something to ourselves and others, or because we are too stubborn to do it the easy way. Having an agenda other than getting the job done is what we call in Structural Alignment coaching ™, being out of alignment. Being out of alignment creates burdens and stress. What if you removed all unnecessary actions and silent, negative motivations, like proving yourself or insisting the task is done in a particular way? Wouldn’t tasks become less complicated and less stressful? There is a way to achieve more, with less effort, by removing the thought obstacles and fears that complicate your life. There is an easier way to get things done, every time!

Your kitchen needs a truckload of supplies picked up at the local distributor before the lunch rush begins. There’s a stack of business bills that need to be paid, the inventory has been waiting for your attention for a week now, and you’ve got to write up a marketing article for your local newspaper by 12:30.

These are all chores you can’t stand doing. And yet as the owner, you’ve got to do them. These annoying tasks are as inevitable as death and taxes, right?

Well, not really. You may not be in the restaurant business, but you know what we’re talking about here. Most leaders have a stack of tasks on their plate they can’t stand doing, and these tasks seem to take up an inordinate amount of their time.

But think about this for a moment: what if you had the opportunity to only work on things you wanted to during the day? Can you imagine what life would be like if you only focused on tasks and projects that were truly exciting and fulfilling? Can you imagine never having to deal with those chores you hate?

It can be hard to fathom. But, it’s entirely possible, and not nearly as hard as you might think. It’s all in how you work the numbers.

Rating Your Day

The goal with rating your day is to figure out exactly what you can’t stand doing on a regular basis, and then create systems so you don’t have to deal with those tasks anymore.

Step 1: Make a List of Your Responsibilities

Start by sitting down and making a list of everything you have to do on a regular basis. Make sure you include everything, from getting the mail to brainstorming your next marketing campaign.

And, be specific here. Don’t just put “marketing”, “accounting”, or “customer service”. Are you writing your company newsletter? Taking deposits to the bank? Handling customer complaints?

It’s easy to leave stuff out here, so take your time. Picture yourself walking through the door every day. What do you always do first? Go through your day in your mind, imagining your regular tasks.

Also, don’t forget about the “fires” that might often crop up. These emergencies are a sign that a system isn’t in place to handle them. If there is something you have to deal with on a fairly regular basis, it needs to go on the list as well.

Step 2: Rate Each Task From 1-10

Now that you have a complete list of what you’re spending your time doing you need to go through and rate each task from 1-10.

The tasks you can’t stand doing deserve a 1, and the ones you really enjoy and find fulfilling will be awarded a 10. Everything in between, of course, gets a 2-9.

Tip: It’s important to keep in mind that just because something isn’t “role appropriate”, it doesn’t mean you have to give it a low score.

For instance, you might really love walking down to the bank to drop off the deposits. Sure, this could easily be done by someone else, but maybe this trip outside gives you a chance to relax and clear your head.

The point here is that if you like doing it, give it a high score. No matter what it is.

 Step 3: Group Your Tasks

Once you’ve rated everything the next thing to do is group your tasks together. Anything you rated 1-6 needs to go in one column. The things you really like doing, the 7-10s, need to go in another column.

Now, take a look at the 1-6 column. Are there any tasks that you could delegate to someone else?

Remember: many business owners and leaders handle 90% of the responsibilities of their organization. But be holding onto the reigns so tightly you’re not only depriving yourself of a life, you’re also creating a bottleneck for your organization.

Really try to delegate some of these responsibilities. Your goal is to free up your time so you can spend more of it on the stuff you want to do, remember?

Step 4: Start Creating Systems to Replace the Low Scoring Tasks

This is the step that takes time, and it can be easy to get overwhelmed here. But don’t give up!

What we have to do is figure out how to take the tasks you rated 1-6 completely off your plate. Yes, many of these tasks may be important. But, that doesn’t mean you have to do them.

It’s during this step you might discover you could use some help. Creating efficient systems isn’t an overnight task, which is why many leaders hire a business coach to come in and help at this stage.

A skilled business coach can be worth their weight in gold. They can help you identify the most important tasks to start with, and work with you to create a system to get that task off your plate for good.

With their help, you can transform your workday into one that’s actually fun and rewarding.

One Last Word….

Imagine what your days would be like without any of those tasks you rated 1-6. Imagine what it would like to have a life full of nothing but 8, 9 and 10′s. Can’t imagine it? Then you might be lost in a system that’s robbing you of your joy.

Living a life where work is fun and you actually have time to spend with your family may sound too good to be true, but it’s entirely possible with efficient systems in place.