Complete - Keep your attention on the essential task

Head down, complete the task:

This is the fifth post in my six part series The Four C's that launched churnOn.com and this blog; as well as an ecosystem of social networking tools in just four weeks.

Read part one: The Four C's that launched churnOn.com
Read part two: Create, Connect, Complete, and Churn
Read part three: In corner number one - Create!
Read part four: Connect - It is still a who you know world 

If you have followed this series, you know I am a big Stephen Covey fan and also have drawn inspiration through the years from Jim Loehr and his work at the Human Performance Institute. One of the basic tenets they both teach is that when we are living life from a place of purpose, when we are hitting on all cylinders, we move in and out (in a daily rhythm) of the four capacities that make us human. Here are some of the ways these four capacities can be defined, all listed in this order: mind, heart, body, and soul.

• mind, heart, body, soul;
• mental, social, physical spiritual;
• talents, passions, needs, conscience;
• to learn, to love, to live, to leave a legacy;
• vision, passion, discipline, conscience;
• create, connect, complete, churn; 

Vision Board

We have looked at how I 'created' the website by first using a vision board in order to set the project in motion. Then we studied how the site gained momentum by 'connecting' with those who could cheer me onward, such as my buddies at the Apple store. Now let's look at the third cornerstone in the model, 'complete' (i.e. discipline, needs, physical, body, to live.)

I was recently at the golf course with my daughter Emily. Emily is a junior in high school and a member of the highest ranked 5A girls golf team in Texas. She plays to about an 11 handicap. We are proud of how she has embraced the game and how golf has taught her many life lessons at such a young age. I am also blessed to be able to 'hang out' with my daughter on Saturday and Sunday afternoons at the golf course.

Golf is a game that teaches the importance of completion. One of my favorite 'how to play' the game books is called Conscious Golf: The Three Secrets of Success in Business, Life and Golf by Gay Hendricks. The first secret, and what Hendricks spends over half of the book discussing is: "Keep your attention on the essential process until it's complete."

Here are three keys to completion, using golf as the teacher:

• Keep your eye on the ball
• Head down until the task is completed
• Perfection is the enemy of completion 

Emily has developed an exceptional putting stroke, as well as outstanding chipping, pitching and wedge play skills. When putting, chipping and pitching she understands the importance of finishing the stroke, holding the finish, and slowly turning her head to see the results of the shot. She is always coaching her dad on this very subject.

Yesterday, we were hitting some wedge shots into a flag approximately 40 yards away and directly into a setting sun that was quite bright. Emily hit the first shot and when she turned her head to see the result she was literally blinded by the light. She said: "Dad, don't look up, it will blind you." So I stepped up to the next ball and hit one of the best wedge shots I have ever hit. A beautiful pitch with purpose that landed six feet from the hole, took one bounce and stopped dead cold inside of a foot. I hit a second and third shot with nearly the same result. The blinding sun had literally forced me to stay on task. The blinding sun had taught me the lesson: eye on the ball, head down, don't worry about the result.

This was the same lesson I used when developing churnOn.com. I went underground for four weeks and broke the site up into sections. I would spend a couple of days on each section, head down, only responding to email and phone calls if absolutely necessary. After completing a section, I would review it with family and friends for feedback and then go back to work on a new section, head down and never worrying about perfection. To me, this is one of the key attributes of successful entrepreneurs. Someone who creates, connects, and completes and then puts their product or their ideas out into the world, without fear of rejection and without being paralyzed by perfection.

Can you create? Can you connect? Can you complete?

The series is dedicated to Coach Dean Smith and pays tribute to the four corners offense.

Feel the Steel

Feel the Steel in Chapel Hill:

When Carolina claimed the ACC regular season championship last weekend, with their 81-67 win over Duke, one of the many 'highlights' for UNC fans was the first few minutes of the game. The tradition in Chapel Hill, is the seniors always start on 'Senior Night' and typically play until the first dead ball. In this case, those seniors included several members of the now famous 'Blue Steel'.

"What began as nickname for the six walk-ons in practice has morphed into a cult following, as the players are called Blue Steel by the Smith Center announcer, hear Blue Steel chanted by the student section, have over 4,500 followers on Twitter and are now selling Blue Steel t-shirts for charity." (The Herald Sun)

Check out Blue Steel on Twitter to get the full scoop. A great example of  unintended consequences in marketing and illustrates how strong of a brand that is 'Carolina Basketball' when the end of the bench guys can create an identity that sells t-shirts to help a charity.

They also took it to the Dukies. Final score: Blue Steel 3 - Blue Devils 0! And it could have easily been 7-zip. churnOn Heels!