Setting Your Goals and Not Allowing Anything Get in the Way

Goals can become a definition of your life. You set daily goals, month, goals, goals for a couple of years and sometimes for a lifetime. Each goal is a milestone where you have achieved at least one thing you felt was important. The goals you create say something about  who you are and what you value in life. When you are old and grey it will those goals that are the legacy of your life. Make sure you set important goals and don't let anything get in the way.

Those who set goals are more successful than those who don't. You wouldn't believe it if I told you but there are a huge percentage of people out there who have no goals. They have nothing to work toward and really don't want to accomplish much in their lives. Certainly they have some interests they want to achieve but don't have the direction in their lives so they can accomplish them.

Don't be directionless. Your goals should become your focus.  As you wake up each morning and set upon your daily activities you will be distracted by lots of different activities, dramas, people and detours. Those that have goals and focus on them can side step many of the things that would draw people in and continue to work toward some beneficial end.

People who goal set are generally more driven and intelligent than those who don't. They have some purpose in their lives. If the goal is worthwhile, and has a benefit for mankind, then it is helpful to remove distractions. Weigh and balance your other needs in life to ensure you are living a well-rounded life but not allowing less important things to distract you from your destiny.

1. Set goals that are beneficial to yourself, society, your health, and quality of your life.
2. Be willing to adjust goals when necessary but generally maintain their theme within your life.
3. Put most of your energy toward achieving your goals.
4. Avoid distractions from those who do not hold the same goals or do not value your goals.
5. Create life-balance between goal attainment and your personal needs.

Want and Belief Make Better Military Leaders

Leadership is the ultimate group management technique that attracts followers and provides direction to achieve communal goals. Groups without leaders are like mobs that have little purpose other than to simply co-exist and chaotically chase random interests. In the military, leadership is a necessary driver of group performance toward defense objectives. Poor leadership means poor military performance and significant risks to safety and security as appropriate personnel direction is not maximized. Knowing who has the capacity for leadership and who doesn't, can save the military substantial selection and training costs.

Because of the high stakes of selecting proper leaders significant research into personality and its influence on leadership skills has been conducted. It makes sense, in this case, to reduce risks, and avoid those who may not have the intellectual, emotional, or ethical ability to take on leadership positions. To separate of the wheat from the chaff is not a perfect science and newer methods and models are constantly being created.

One of the ways officers are training is through special schools designed to move enlisted members to high performing leadership positions. The Army's Officer Candidate School (OCS) is designed to take high quality military members and bring them to the officer standards so they can compete in a modern military setting.

There are factors that set one candidate apart from another. Potential officers should have a motivation to lead, have self-efficacy, commitment to the military life, high cognitive abilities and a strong personality. When candidates rank high on all of them it is expected that they will perform well in training and move on in their military careers as officers.

Of the 1,200+ officer candidates the researchers found that personality, partially mediated by the desire to become leaders and their belief in becoming leaders, was a crucial factor in those that will be successful in leadership training programs. Those who believed in their abilities were rated higher by their peers and superiors within the program.

This tells us that the simple desire and belief in one's ability makes a big difference in whether someone can actually become an officer. Physically and intellectually all of the officer recruits might be in the same range but the simple belief in one's ability sets them apart. This study can help us understand how belief and self-efficacy are not in the domain of military leadership alone but could be applied to higher education graduation rates, employment success, and entrepreneurship. 

 Allen, et. al. (2014). Predicting leadership performance and potential in the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School (OCS). Military Psychology, 26 (4).

The Questions that Dissertations Answer-Discrimination and Hate

Some of the most ground breaking research conducted is through doctoral studies where students have open questions about life and are seeking answers. Recently, I received an invitation by a journal based in Germany that reviewed my study and offered me the opportunity to publish additional work in their journal. One study often can change perception but is only the beginning for a quest for greater clarity on different facets of its findings.

Certainly I was flattered that someone ready my study on PERCEPTIONS OF IRAQI IMMIGRANT EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION IN THE METRO DETROIT AREA. I would never consider it "ground breaking" research although I have not seen anyone address that issue in that context and in that way. It seems to be more relevant as time goes on and the world discusses our new interconnections and global responsibilities.

What the study taught me as a person is that there are in and out-groups wherever you live. Some will have more opportunities in life while others will have less. Nothing ground-breaking or shattering there. Even those of the same culture and shared backgrounds find some way of discriminating against one another.

Something left over from our pre-modern existence that still influences our tribal perceptions.

However, I also found that while people hold these opinions of others they don't often voice them so they can be challenged or overcome. Instead they are hidden behind the short snubs, candidate selections, pay inequality, and other subtle ways of ensuring the out-group doesn't get the best positions. Buried in political correctness and inability to deal with "pink elephants" effectively allowing them to linger into the future.

More importantly, it has taught me that hate destroys societies and pushes people into camps that schism national cohesion. It could be based on race, class, education, religion, gender or anything else that sets one apart from his/her kinsman. We simply see something different in people who are different than ourselves. It is almost as though we say, "If they are different than us and still have value then we must be less worthy?"

Yet what if ourselves need to change and find a new way of drawing people together? Our society, if it is to survive globalization and increasing diversity, will need to find values in common and begin to rally different types of people around those American principles that make our country unique in a sea of dictators and self-gratifying regimes. Unfortunately, there are not enough thought leaders to sell the idea that we are a nation of shared principles with diverse opinions on how to reach the same ends.

This study's finding led to a conception of how to create a growing economic system based on togetherness. The ability to create interconnected societies of socialization and innovation in a way that minimized inequality and leads to greater investment and national growth. Where people see difference, an economist can often see components whose value were discounted and can be rearranged to greater prosperity of everyone. 

Why Are Boxers are Always in Shape?

Have you ever wondered why boxers are always in shape? Like many of you I have wondered how it is possible to have such low body fat percentages with high levels of muscle tone. There is a point of fitness that moves far beyond what is required of a healthy lifestyle and into the realm of art. Boxers are a type of athlete that lives at a higher metabolic rate that most of us can only dream about.

Part of their success relies in the nature of their sport. Boxers compete by weight class and like their wrestling cousins they are placed in groups based on size (i.e. feather weight and heavy weight). The leaner, and more muscle per pound they have, the higher the advantage in the ring. Incentives to lose weight and keep themselves thin correlate into wins and losses.

Yet that isn't the biggest part of the story. They are thin and muscled because they burn a ton of calories per hour of training. A solid boxing practice with combinations and lots of movement leads to 700 calories burnt per hour. If you work out like this a few hours a day and watch what you eat you don't really have much of an option but to lose weight.

Think about it. If an average man eats 2,500 calories a day and you work out at least an extra 1,400 calories. Then you have a credit of 1,400 calories. Every few days you are going to drop a pound and this will add up over time. Therefore, in the matter of a few months you could be in fairly solid shape if you can maintain the practice.

Now we may also want to add that boxing will get you into that 75-85% percent heart-rate where maximum calories are being burned from fat. Slower workouts will pull from fat as well but at a slower pace than very high heart rates. Over 85% and you are likely burning all the sugars out of your system and foregoing long-term fat depletion.

A few days ago I started to attend boxing in my effort to round out my self-defense practices. I have a little experience with this but it has been limited to the martial arts and self practice. In this case, it was class work and I will have to tell you that I was dripping with sweat. It was one of the best workouts I had in a long time. If you want to get into shape try one of these a few days a week.

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Product Price Drops on Amazon Often Cause Customer Disatisfaction

E-commerce has come to rule the marketing world and understanding how product price changes impact perceived customer value is helpful for strategic planning. A study of a popular e-book reading device found that dropping product pricing has a negative impact on customer perception (Lee, et. al 2016). Before adjusting price you might want to think of how consumers are going to react prior to making major adjustments.

The study found that star rating, review depth, positive & negative emotions are impacted by price decreases product reviews on popular products. When companies lowered their prices there was an immediate reaction to product reviews by customers. Two price drops showed concurrent drops in satisfaction even though the second one was more muted.

Why are product reviews important and why do companies not want to mess with them often? Product reviews changes your ranking in Amazon and can impact what products show up on the first page. It can also change the perception of potential customers who are reviewing these products and evaluating the perceived value. If reviews and star ratings are low there is likely to be fewer purchases.

It probably doesn't matter much if you are a small company selling something that doesn't have a large following. However, it will matter a lot when large companies that sell "hot" items change their prices.  Customers product reviews move downward and seem to be more negative in the process.

This doesn't mean that companies should not drop their price if an adjustment in optimal pricing is needed. If your not making sales then it is necessary to change the price to keep your product competitive among alternatives products. It does mean that price and perceived value are somewhat associated.

Some of these reviews likely come from customers who purchased the product at one price point and then found that it has been lowered. There may be a level of discontent of "overpaying" for the product. It is difficult to provide a review if you haven't actually paid for the product. You may consider providing coupons or discounts to those who recently purchased products to ensure they feel satisfied and less likely to write something negative.

Lee, et. al. (2016). Online consumer's reactions to price decreases: Amazon Kindle 2 Case. Internet Research 26 (4).

Early Morning Kickboxing and Muay Thai

The mornings are the times when people scramble to jump in the shower, put on their business clothing and drag their tired bodies to work. This is a natural part of working life in today's era. There are also those rare times when you wake up a few hours earlier than needed and head to the gym for some crack of dawn kickboxing and Muay Thai. Nothing says "motivation" more than going to bed early and rising before the sun has its chance to illuminate the landscape.

Coffee in hand I walk into a new gym in a state somewhere between sleeping and partially awake. Having never been at that particular gym before I didn't know what to expect. More importantly, I have only limited experience with Muay Thai and a little fearful that I was going to run into 25 year-olds who have been competing since they were 5 years of age.

Sounds like I'm going to get a beating in addition to a work out!

Once I caught a glimpse of the class I realized my fears were unfounded. While I was older than the average, I wasn't the "oldest" in the group, I was still within the range for some a good butt whooping workout. Its nice to know I'm don't have the most wrinkles there. Fear dissipates and I regain some courage to enter. No one noticed I was there and slipped in the back anonymous in the crowd!

The class was tough and demanding. Constant contact with the bags and work with partners practicing kicking and punching left little room for recovery. Combination punches, multiple types of kicks at different speeds and angles with plenty of movement around the floor. Sweat beaded on brows and dripped onto the floor mats.  A few times some negativity crept in such as  "OMG...I am not sure I am going to make it to the end!" but it disappeared after I caught my breath.

After the muscle burn, and feeling the rush of maximum cardio activity, a deep calm sets in. It brings with it a sense of satisfaction and living in the present. For a first class I realized I wasn't that bad, perhaps even a little on the good side when compared to my classmates. Ignoring the 3 or 4 hardcore Muay Thai competitive fighters that were present, I received a few "good jobs" from people walking out.

Lessons Learned:

-Pushing yourself leads to growth.
-Have confidence in the process of learning.
-Social support leads to greater motivation and effort
-Anything you want to do well must take an elevated position in your life. That includes fitness.
-Mornings are the best time to get the cardio out of the way.