I started my first company in February of that year. I was so successful that we were operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I had to do something. I decided to automate the digital printing process for CAD (Computer Aided Drafting) files.

I worked 44 hours over 3 days. Literally only stopping to sleep and eat.

44 hours over 3 days. That’s +/- 15 hours a day over a 3-day long weekend.

My friends at the time spent the LONG WEEKEND going out, partying, sleeping in, going to dinner with family, cleaning out the garage, washing their cars, shopping, etc.

I invested in myself and my company. It didn’t kill me (since I am alive to tell the story).

The moral of the story is that I invested 44 hours that weekend and over the next 3 years I sold my ‘SuperCad System’ to over 50 companies across North America that generated more than $500,000 in sales from that ONE WEEKEND OF EFFORT.

7 years after-the-fact I reviewed the SOURCE CODE files and 90% of the files had NEVER BEEN UPDATED = that’s how good the programming was THAT WEEKEND.

What does this mean to you and my friend who is struggling to get a breakthrough?

You are your greatest investment – if you don’t invest in yourself, no one else will. BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE CAN!

If you don’t push yourself, you’ll never do great things.

If you don’t do great things you’ll never get the rewards.

It’s a vicious circle that STARTS AND STOPS WITH YOU.

Now to be crystal clear – I AM NOT ADVOCATING to do this EVERY WEEKEND – God forbid you’d want THAT MUCH SUCCESS…

I am just advocating that if you are struggling with a BIG BREAKTHROUGH, take care of it NOW rather than later and REAP THE REWARDS.

Just in case you thought this was a one-off, it’s not.

I completed my Doctoral Thesis in LESS than 3 months.

By the way, my 500-page thesis included more than 1,200 references, 46 summary tables, 19 figures and a whopping 8 appendices! The file size was so big, Microsoft Word kept crashing forcing me to put the appendices in a separate file! My thesis was reviewed by two International examiners and accepted as-is without a request for any revisions!

3 months.

Now, I was on a sabbatical at the time, but I often worked 36 to 42 hours straight without sleep. I created 110 MAJOR revisions and DOZENS of updates for each one of those revisions, updating and refining it more than 1,000 times.

That was a MONUMENTAL EFFORT is a very short period of time – MOST Ph.D. students spend 2 to 3 YEARS writing their thesis, that’s 24 to 36 months = 8 to 12 times LONGER than I took.

Bottom line: When you COMPRESS your learning, you also IMPROVE your comprehension and SKILL LEVEL.

Think about it.

If you play a sport EVERY DAY for 4 weeks – HOW GOOD do you get? I think you’d agree you’d be a LOT BETTER than playing once every two weeks for a year…

Guess what? That’s about the same amount of TIME, but NOT anywhere the same result.

So what are YOU going to do?

The ONLY person who will ever know if YOU let yourself down is…. you.

Psst!

If you have been to Antony Robbins’ Unleash The Power Within event – that’s a 4-day weekend event that changes lives… Why not change your own life THIS WEEKEND?!?!

It’s available for FREE as a PDF on the Internet although I would recommend you go out and actually buy the book – it’s a source of inspiration that I am sure you’ll agree is worth the investment.

Anyway, today’s topic is about manifesting outcomes and results that you seemingly have no control over.

Today is the day BEFORE the start of the 2008 World Masters Squash Championships and I’ve been here in beautiful Christchurch for the past 2 days to acclimatise myself to the time zone, weather and surroundings.

I know that 2-hour time zones are quite hard for me to adapt to. I’ve been around-the-world more than 10 times and found that the 6 to 8 hour time zones are easier on me than the 2-3 hour ones for some reason.

The point of today’s blog is that I needed to get on the court today and selectively chose to go to the club where I am playing my first match tomorrow. That way I know how long it takes to drive there and I can have a mental image of the courts, changing room, etc. so that I can feel more comfortable tomorrow since it won’t be ‘new’ to me.

I also chose to go WHILE the parade of nations and opening ceremonies took place to increase my chances of getting on the court to have a hit. Yesterday, at another club where the tournament is being hosted, I was told all the courts are booked non-stop until the tournament kicks off on Monday.

When I got to the club – no one was there!

The front door was open, but not a single person was there. They left the door unlocked by mistake…

So I had the whole club to myself to get on EACH court and have a hit to see what the walls, floor and tin are like…

Even I was amazed to have been able to manifest such an outcome!

I was a little concerned about the temperature since it’s cooler here than in Sydney at this time of year, but as it works out, I play on an air conditioned court and that’s more or less equivalent to the conditions in the club which will bet a lot warmer when all the players and spectators are there.

The great thing is that I got to have my hit. The great news is that I was hitting well, confident and relaxed.

Wish me luck tomorrow – I believe in luck! I want all the luck I can get!!!

Onward and upward!
Dr Marc Dussault

Australia’s #1 Exponential Growth Strategist

P.S.

This blog is not all about me, it’s about my personal experiences – this week my squash competition – and how they can relate to you.

I could have just as easily accepted what the person told me yesterday and NOT gone to the squash club this afternoon. I woud have ‘worried’ about things for nothing – now I feel confident and relaxed.

That’s important when you compete – to be in ‘peak state’.

In your life, your business, it’s the same thing – MANIFEST your results by being convinced they can happen and MAKE THEM HAPPEN.

I know, I know you think this is surreal and impossible – that’s why it won’t work for you.

You have to start SMALL and work your way up…

Baby steps.

I tell people to start with parking spaces. The next time you go shopping, manifest a GREAT parking spot. Even if you don’t know where you will be shopping. THINK POSITIVE and see what happens.

When I was teaching organisational behaviour to MBA students, I challenged all 35 students to get a BETTER parking spot than me – the result: I parked the closest to the front door of the building EACH and EVERY week for 12 weeks in a row. It became the ‘introduction’ to each class as everyone compared to my spot…

The stronger the belief, the better the outcome!

The statistics are shocking. Only 7% of the population knows the OUTCOME they are trying to achieve, leaving a whopping 93% partially or totally clueless.

Add to that the confusion between the OUTCOME and the REWARD.

Recently, I had a conversation with an Internet Marketing enthusiast who when I asked what his OUTCOME was, responded “I want to drive a BMW and fly Business Class”.

That’s the REWARD of the OUTCOME, NOT the OUTCOME he needs to aim for.

The OUTCOME is what you want to achieve, the REWARD is what you end up with ONCE you have achieved it.

That’s a big part of the problem people have – they are focused on the wrong target.

There is no question that focusing on the BMW is motivational, but the REWARD would be a 7 or 8 series instead of a 3 series IF focus actually shifted to the OUTCOME that leads to the REWARD.

For my squash competition, the OUTCOME is for me to play my best and the REWARD is to win games.

In business, I have the OUTCOME to create MORE THAN $20 MILLION in value for my clients and the REWARD will be the profits I take home AFTER my clients have been served and paid me.

Can you see how I wake up in the morning with a completely different mindset?

If your focus is on the REWARD – you’re trying to make as much money as you can and your brain gets confused rather than clear.

You could be confusing your suspects and prospects by offering “Personal training products for 400 pound elite athletes who need to lose weight.”

If you had clarity of OUTCOME, you’d have focus and you’d go full-on with an approach that could be directed toward

• Elite athletes who are looking for that ONE strategy, tip or technique that can improve their performance by 3, 4 or 5% because they know it would be enough to win more points, games, matches or competitions.

OR

• The general public who is overweight, but NOT obese, needing and WANTING to lose 20 to 30 pounds within the next 2-3 months without medical supervision and without resorting to short-term ‘crash diets’ but rather creating long-term health habits that become permanent.

I am sure you’ll agree that either one of these strategies can work to give you the REWARD – the issue is that the OUTCOMES are completely different even though the REWARD is essentially the same!

Yeah I know it’s a “conundrum and dilemma wrapped up in a paradox.”

Onward and upward!
Dr Marc Dussault

Australia’s #1 Exponential Growth Strategist

P.S.

This is not semantics – this stuff is THAT important.

It might take a while, but when you do ‘get it’, it will Unleash The Exponential Potential™ that is within you, waiting to be set free.

If you don’t know your OUTCOME, how can you possibly expect your suspects and prospects to select you and do business with you?!?!

If you are focused on your REWARD – the client has no place in your mind – NONE.

That is one of the reasons you’re not succeeding as much or as quickly as you would like.

I know quite a few of you were wondering when it would happen…

After all I have a Business Mastery Blog an Internet Mastery Blog and a Get The Best Grades With The Least Amount Of Effort Blog…

Why not add the PERSONAL component to triangulate the Exponential Mindset™?

I wasn’t ready until now AND I wanted it to be launched commemorating my entry into the 2008 World Masters Squash Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Yes, if you don’t know, this is my first international competition after winning an Open Men’s B Championship in my very first squash competition in 2005 and my first Master’s State Divisional Championship that same year.

That’s when I decided I wanted to give the international ‘circuit’ a go…

So here I am in Christchurch… Playing in the 45 to 49 age category to see where I rank within the top 100 in the world…

It’s going to be fun. LITERALLY.

This year is all about surveying the terrain, determining where I am within the top 100 to determine where I want to be NEXT YEAR when the Championships are in my home town of Sydney, Australia!

In fact next year it’s the World Masters Games that include ALL the other sports! It’s an event even BIGGER than the Olympics due to the sheer number of competitors.

NEXT YEAR is when I want to ‘peak’. That’s what THIS YEAR is all about -> NEXT YEAR’S COMPETITION.

I hear it all the time in business – everyone wants to make a quick buck TODAY. They rarely think of the consequences, costs and risks of such a short term strategy.

In my case, this is an ‘open draw’ which means the luck of the draw will determine who I play. I can end up playing 5 players who are way, way better than me. I have no ‘say’ in that whatsoever. That’s just the way it happens.

NEXT year it’s ‘divisional’ which means the draw is set according to ability, so unless someone outright cheats, players of ‘equal’ ability compete to win their ‘division’.

That’s what I plan to do – determine where I am NOW in the top 100 and set my sights on X positions higher NEXT YEAR.

In business it’s no different. If you plan to try to win ‘NOW’ and don’t know the rules in play, how can you possibly EXPECT TO WIN? If you just took a little longer to analyse the situation and ask a DIFFERENT QUESTION, you’d get a different ANSWER.

In my case, my ultimate outcome is that I want to get to play my BEST squash before I turn 50.

Why? Because.

Once the DECISION has been made (WHAT), then and only then do I figure out HOW I am going to achieve that.

I need ‘match experience’ and I also need to know how good the top 100 really are. I need to get on the court and slug it out to see where my strengths and weaknesses are WITH players my age – back home, everyone I play is younger and fitter than I am, with one exception (more about him later).

There is NO SUBSTITUTE to being here.

But I am not here to WIN – I am here to PLAY MY ABSOLUTE BEST.

Yes there is a difference.

You know what I’m talking about consciously or subconsciously.

I want to PLAY MY BEST so that I know what to IMPROVE for next year.

If I came here just to win, I would have reinforced really bad habits that might have worked to improve my chances to win NOW, but would reduce my chances to ‘peak’ next year.

I’ll give you an example. I do what’s called ‘breaking my wrist’ on my backhand swing. It reduces the power I can get from the stroke. If I just wanted to ‘win now’, I would keep breaking it and would be playing ‘better’ right now. By not breaking my wrist, I am not as ‘good’ right now as I could be, but by NOT doing it I will have SOLVED the problem by the time next year’s competition comes around. If I kept breaking it NOW, it would take me MONTHS of practice to undo the accumulated ‘muscle memory’.

Does that make sense?

In business the same thing applies. Often, I really, really want to help someone, but their bad habits are so ingrained that after 10, 20, 30 or even 40 years that they are too hard to change and he/she doesn’t have the discipline to create a NEW, BETTER HABIT.

In reality it’s not as much about discipline as it is VISION – seeing beyond TODAY to lay the foundation of a BETTER tomorrow. I call it a decision-making horizon.

So there you have it – the FIRST POST of my Personal Mastery Blog. Two years in the planning, it’s finally here!

The final point I want to make for today – I mentioned it earlier, is that SUCCESS, any success is all about the OUTCOME…

Mine is to PEAK at playing squash before I am 50. There are several reasons for this.

1. I learnt to play squash in my mid to late thirties when I came to Australia in 2000. I had played some tennis and racquetball in my twenties, but neither competitively.
2. Squash is a very unforgiving sport. The second bounce of the ball happens VERY, VERY quickly REGARDLESS of age. In fact the older the players, the LESS they WANT to run and the MORE they place the ball where you’re not. Experience is actually rewarded by skill, patience and strategy.
3. Playing at the international level requires the penultimate level of dedication. I was not willing to make that investment for this year’s competition, but plan to make it NEXT year. As I often teach, there are only 168 hours in a week and EACH HOUR has a VALUE. Squash was NEAR the top, but NEXT YEAR it has to be at the very top, otherwise I won’t ‘peak’ and get to be my ‘best’. The opportunity cost factors into the equation – more on this in a future blog post.
4. I know that traditionally, 50 is a milestone that adversely affects squash skills: reduced peripheral vision, focus and other eye sight related symptoms, mobility and of course endurance and stamina. YES I KNOW that many/most of these can be counter-acted, but they are forces of nature that still need to be respected for what they are.
5. 50 is another milestone for me. It’s when I plan to become a ‘global citizen of the world’ living and traveling with Monica while working on multiple continents – my training regimen will be adversely affected, but the VARIETY of people I will play will compensate for it. So if I have peaked by then, as I plan to, I will be able to extend that ‘competence/capability’ for several years – It’s called getting past the Vortex of Mediocrity™, one of the many concepts that I will be exploring in this Personal Mastery Blog.

I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I will have fun writing it. It will truly be a labour of love for me as I know that there are a lot of people like me out there who want to ‘get into the mind of a champion’…

With your permission, I will invite you into this world as I continue to push…

Onward and upward!
Dr Marc Dussault

Australia’s #1 Exponential Growth Strategist

P.S.

If you want to wish me luck, please ‘Dussault’ by adding comments to this blog as the DAILY entries are posted. That will totally make my day and my experience that much more special!

Throughout the week, channel positive thoughts and energy to me – squash, like many other sports requires luck. All the shots that are up count even when they are hit off the frame… I need and want ALL THE LUCK you can send me!