One of my elementary school teachers that I most remember is Ms. Selby. She was a good teacher and I learned a lot in her history class. And I actually liked her quite a bit...even though she seemed to be in a sour mood a lot of the time. But what I most remember about Ms. Selby is that she had a thick paddle with holes drilled in it and if you misbehaved badly enough in her class you would likely feel the sting of her swatting your behind with that paddle.

"If we take a risk we might fail. If we don't take a risk we surely will fail. The greatest risk of all is to do nothing." - Unknown

Why would anyone go through the process of setting and planning goals and then not follow through? One possible answer is that the rewards aren't sufficient to motivate you into action. Another probable answer is that procrastination has derailed or stalled you. The inability to act can often be traced to fear, doubt, or the absence of a clear picture of the potential rewards and consequences. Fear, in general, can be defined as False Evidence Appearing Real.

I once worked with the co-owner of a family-owned business who was struggling to accomplish the marketing and sales objectives that we had set out together in a plan. After failing to complete many of the tasks we had outlined in our previous meetings, I asked him two simple questions: "Why did you go into this business?" and "What do you like about it?"

He could not answer either question directly and told me he would have to think about it.

What is "sandbagging"?

Sandbagging is a term most often used in the game of golf. In golf it refers to players who either miss shots on purpose or outright cheat by turning in a higher score than they actually shot. This affects the handicap number that is given to non-professional golfers to help level the playing field. Unfortunately, some golfers lie about their scores and build a higher handicap to deduct from their tournament scores. Then they play better than their handicaps to win the tournaments. This at its base is nothing short of cheating.

Sandbagging occurs off of the golf course, as well. 

Prior to the holidays I asked a friend of mine about his business. He told me that he'd had a pretty good year but felt frustrated. For the third year in a row, he had fallen short of his annual goals but felt complacent since he's still doing okay financially. That complacency has led him to focus less on business development, have fewer client and prospecting meetings than he should, and do less business than he'd like.

What's the biggest killer of business growth?

Ok, ready or not, I'd like to plant a tune and possibly even an image in your head: do you remember Cyndi Lauper's hit "Girls Just Want to Have Fun!" from the early 1980s? The song is so upbeat and infectious that you can't help but feel better while listening to it. The video for the song shows Cyndi and her friends dancing in the streets, having a party, and generally having a great time. Got the picture? That looks like a lot of fun doesn't it? And who doesn't love to have fun (would you admit it if you don't)? But, the key question is: are you having enough fun?

A good friend was running late for an appointment last week as he jumped into his car and turned the key. The nice smooth sound of ignition he was so used to hearing was replaced by the horrible grinding sound of an engine not willing to turn over. He kept turning the key hoping that by some miracle the grinding noise would stop and the engine would start. Instead, it drained what was left in the battery and silence followed. He was dead in the water.

The year was 2006. In April, my father died of prostate cancer after a very tough struggle, and I was having difficulty dealing with him being gone. He was only 70 years old. A month earlier, in March, Mildred, my favorite great-aunt, had also passed away. She was almost 94. As executor of Aunt Mildred's will and estate, I appreciated her trust in bestowing that responsibility upon me, but it was a tremendous amount of extra work for me to take on, especially while grieving for her and for Dad.

Confidence is a critical ingredient to your growth and development. You develop self-confidence by creating success. Through your goals you can provide for frequent successes.

A couple of weeks ago, during a Sunday morning education class at our church, Vicar Shawn told the following story: A Grandfather from the Cherokee Nation was talking with his grandson. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves."