Yesterday I went to Spartanburg, SC to attend the Boy Scout Eagle Award ceremony for my nephew, Sam Mercer, my brother Mitchell’s son.  It was a terrific ceremony and great to see teenage boys applying themselves to learn things and excel and develop great habits that will follow them the rest of their life.

My Dad was there as well.  So it was even nicer when they asked any Eagle Scout to come up to the front and stand with Sam (and his friend Drew who also earned his Eagle).  Both my Dad and I are Eagle Scouts.  This year is the 35th anniversary of my Eagle Scout ceremony, down in Tampa, Troop 22, where I grew up.

On the drive back to Atlanta I got a call asking if I could sub in today for a spin instructor at the YMCA where I also teach a spin class.  I agreed and when I got home, made a really great song list and workout for the 5:45 am spin class.

However, when I got to the Y this morning, there was something wrong with the stereo and sound system, and no music would come out of my iPod.  It worked fine with my ear buds, but nothing with the stereo.  A spin class without great loud music is pretty ugly!

So, I dug into my gym bag and found the 10 or so spin music CD’s that I made about a year ago.  I have been carrying these CD’s around and never using them.  Every now and then I thought about taking them out of the gym bag, but didn’t.

I grabbed one of the CD’s, put it into the CD player of the sound system, and voila, music!  Of course, since I didn’t have a written song list on my spin bike, I had no clue what songs would play.  So, as each song would start, I would quickly make up something for that song, and we had an awesome 75 minute workout!

I told my nephew Sam yesterday that the lessons he learned and skills he developed getting his Eagle would follow him the rest of his life.  Little did I know that my “words of wisdom” to a 16 year old young man would follow me this morning. 

So, like the Boy Scout Motto says, Be Prepared.  I was this morning, but only because I had my backup plan stashed in my gym bag, extra CD’s.  So, today’s updated lesson to remember is, Be Prepared….And Have a Backup Plan!

Everyone has played the Kevin Bacon 6 Degrees of Separation game.  Name any actor or actress, so the story goes, and you can link them via film roles to Kevin Bacon within three to six actors.

Last week I was at a speaking engagement in the Atlanta area.  It was a luncheon meeting and so I was chatting with the participants as they arrived and ate lunch.  Just prior to the start of the meeting, I sat down at one of the tables near the front and started a conversation with the three men sitting there.

One of the men had noticed that I grew up in Tampa (this was published in my bio that the group printed in their program).  He told me that his wife went to Plant High School in Tampa.  “Well, what do you know!”, I told him, “So did I!” 

But, so did Stephen Stills, Wade Boggs, Gallagher and Lauren Hutton!

He paused for a few minutes and it seemed our “connection” was over.  The business portion of the meeting was about to start, lunch was over, and soon I would be delivering my speech.  So I began to get mentally prepared to stand up and start talking.

Just then, Joe leans over one more time and says, “Oh yeah, my sister in law lives in Tampa too.”  He then proceeds to tell me her address.  It sounds very familiar.  I quickly look up MY sister-in-laws address on my Sprint Treo phone.  My sister-in-law and Joe’s sister-in-law are neighbors, separated by probably 4 houses!  They both live on the same street, opposite sides, in South Tampa, on the water, what the locals call the ”fingers”, as the houses are built on dredged up land that stick out into the bay like fingers on a hand.

Here I am in Atlanta, about to stand up and deliver a speech and I meet a man whose sister in law is my sister in laws neighbor.  So, I used that incredible connection as a nice ice breaker for my speech, still shaking my head at our new found “1 Degree of Separation” as I was introduced.

Two lessons, the world is really a pretty small place.  We are more connected than we think we are.  Secondly, I never would have discovered that connection with my new friend if I had not been purposely meeting and greeting people.  Too often, especially with our hand held technology of today, we get so focused on email, voice mail, text mail, that we forget to smile, stick out our hand and say hi!

Start looking up, smiling, talking and asking questions…..Your 1 Degree of Separation may just be at the table having lunch with you! 

This was posted on the white board at the YMCA where I work out.  In that setting it was meant to remind us about changing up our workouts.  Many people do the same workout every time they workout.  I am sure they like the notion of being comfortable with “their” workout.   They have it memorized, they don’t need a cheat sheet to remind them what to do next.  But the body is an amazing thing.  It is easily adaptable.  After a while your body “learns” your favorite workout that you do over and over again and the benefit from that particular workout begins to decrease.  No wonder that a lot of people complain that they are working out but not seeing any gain or benefit, their body weight doesn’t change, or they cannot lift any more weights, or their time in the 5k is not improving.

The same thing happens outside of the gym in other aspects of your life.  Do you wake up at the same time every day, do you have the same morning routine at home, the same morning routine at work?  Have your work habits become so habitual that you seem to be sleepwalking through them?  If so, look at the results you are getting?  Are sales up?  Is customer satisfaction up?  Are your projects getting done on time?

My email tag line is “You have to be different to make a difference!”  Of course, those of you who know me well probably think that sometimes I am trying to be “different” too hard!  But the fact is, if you don’t change things up, if you don’t create new habits, if you don’t drop some bad habits, if you don’t meet some new people, if you don’t create new processes, YOU WILL KEEP GETTING THE SAME RESULTS!  And that, as Mr. Einstein so eloquently pointed out, leads to Insanity!

So, during this early period in 2008, instead of the typical New Years resolutions, think about just two things:

1)  Doing things differently, not necessarily starting something new or adding a new habit.  Change your schedule.  For example, if you always do email first thing in the morning, don’t check email until 11 am.  Use the first 2-3 hours of your morning to complete projects or make sales calls or have voice to voice conversations with your team.

2)  Stop doing one thing that is negative or getting in the way.  Everyone has lots of things they do that they wish they could stop.  Pick just one and work on that one bad habit or annoying behavior and focus on that until you get rid of it.  Don’t let the rest of the list clutter your mind, just focus on one thing!

Try these two ideas, you should get more productive and effective, and you just might not go INSANE!!!!!!!!!

Right after I had lost 60 pounds in 12 months, my YMCA interviewed me for some publicity involving their Coach Approach program.  One of my comments for a postcard mailer that they did (which you can see at http://martymercer.com/media.html) was that “There is an athlete inside every one of us, the YMCA can help you find it!”

Now, I don’t mean like a professional athlete or even the athlete who wins all of the local races.  I simply mean that every one of us can get into better shape.  Every one of us can keep working until we can run for 30 minutes straight when we couldn’t run more than 5 minutes when we started.  I mean we can all train for a sprint triathlon, and finish with a reasonable time.  I simply meant that we can transform our bodies to the point that when we look in the mirror, we smile at what we see compared to what we used to see!

My brother has been working in Chengung, China, helping set up the quality systems for a new manufacturing plant his firm is building.  I convinced him to start a blog to make it easier to share his experiences while in China.  He was a bit hesitant at first, so I built version 1 of the blog for him.  But once he banged out a blog or two, he re-formatted the blog and took off running.

All of us in the family, all his friends and co-workers have been constantly amazed at the quality and depth of his writing.  It is funny, it is informative, it has been touching.  One blog about an art gallery showing, really stirred the pot with an anonymous person!

Who knew that this Mechanical Engineer from Georgia Tech, turned Quality Systems Engineer from Spartanburg, South Carolina had a hidden travel writer hiding in him?  But twice a week now we all get to see Mitchell’s hidden talent that is now alive and out in the open.  And our days are now better for it.  Check out Mitchell’s blog:  http://mitchellmercer.blogspot.com/

And lastly, here is an amazing story about a cell phone salesman over in the UK, Paul Potts.  Not just a cell phone salesman, but the owner of one of the most incredible voices you will ever hear for a non-professional singer.  Click here to watch the story on You Tube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA

Three examples ranging from finding the hidden athlete in you, bringing out the writer that no one knew about, or allowing your voice to bring tears and shouts of applause from an audience.  Everyone, everyone of us has something of value that can make the world a better place.  Don’t hide it.  Find it, nuture it, develop it and then share it.  It’s in you…..just keep looking!

Today’s comment is a slight change from my normal approach.  No comments about working out or eating or discipline or habits or transforming your life.

Today is about someone who transformed my life 27 years ago when I first met Karen Kieffer on the campus of the University of South Florida in Tampa (before they had football and were good enough to beat Auburn!).

Today Karen Kieffer is Karen Mercer and she turns 50 today!  The most beautiful, good looking 50 year old chick on the planet!  Still hot after 50 years!

The mother of our three beautiful children.  And the woman who has put up with me for 27 years, 25 of which we have been married.  The woman who has allowed me to strike out on my own and build a new business of professional speaking. 

Someone said to me when I told them I was leaving the healthcare information systems sales world of 25 years to start my own business….”You either have some money saved up in the bank or the best wife in the world!”

Well, not sure if the money in my bank account is a lot or not, but I do know I have the best wife in the world!

So, here’s to the beautiful Karen Mercer.  I am looking forward to spending another 50 years with her!

An all time great movie, very funny, ranked in Bravo’s 100 funniest movies is the 1987 film, The Princess Bride.  Lots of great actors and hilarious scenes and memorable lines.  However, there is one scene in particular that has inspired me in my quest to create new habits.

In this scene, two characters are sword fighting on top of a cliff.  At this point in the movie, you don’t know who is the hero and who is the villian (they both turn out to be hero’s).  Both characters feel as if they are the world’s greatest sword fighter.  Suddenly one of the fighters smiles and pauses which causes the other to ask him why he is smiling.  He replies, “I know something you do not!”  To which his opponent asks, “What is that?”  And the reply is, “I am not left handed” and he quickly throws his sword into his right hand and attacks his opponent even harder.  Of course his opponent is now very concerned, since he thought his foe was doing quite well with just his left hand!

Like many of us, I have a very dominant side, my right.  I cannot do anything with my left hand or leg.  So the other day I decided that I would try to teach myself to brush my teeth with my left hand.  It’s safer than sword fighting with your left hand!  My thought was that if I could very slowly over time get good at using my left hand on a very simple task, that was not seen by anyone but myself (except perhaps my wife at times), it would be a great reminder for the rest of the day to try and create other new habits as well.

In fact, in this example, not only do I have to train my mind to remember every morning to brush with my left hand, but I have to train a whole new set of muscles in my left hand that have never had to work in this manner.  And, since this new habit is hidden from the public view (and you are probably happy about that!), I can just keep plugging away in private until I get it perfect.

Now some of you reading this may think this is silly, not useful, not relevant.  But try it the next time you brush your teeth, if you are only half as dominant on your dominant hand as I am, you will find this a difficult assignment.  But as you brush your teeth with the opposite hand, think about some other more valuable habits you would like to create, or bad habits you would like to stop.  Use this teeth brushing with your opposite hand exercise as just that, an exercise in training your mind that you can try and do new things. 

Once you master the left handed teeth brushing trick, move on to something you have been thinking about trying, or considering stopping, and now you will have some energy and experience that says You Can Do It!

Oh yeah, and the other great thing about this trick, the next time someone says what a great smile you have, you can reply….”I know something you don’t, I’m not left handed!”

The idea of creating new “good” habits or stopping “bad” habits has been around for as long as Adam and Eve and snakes have been on earth!.  Whether the habits are in your personal, business, fitness, relationship, or spiritual life, many people are trying to create new good habits or stop old, bad habits.

Many people struggle with this.  Stopping smoking, stopping drinking, eating less, eating better, getting up earlier, going to bed earlier, reading more, cutting out time wasters, reducing mindless surfing of the internet….the list could go on and on. 

Too often the word habit gets associated with negative concepts, as in….”drug habit” or “bad habit”, and so it seems people don’t want to talk about “habits”.

The other problem is that when you decide you want to stop some bad habits and create some good ones, there seems to be a tendency of all or nothing.  Meaning, “Today, I am going to stop ALL of my bad habits, and replace them ALL with good habits…..and complete this by midnight tonight!”  Of course, when the person fails to do this, they reinforce to themselves that trying to create new good habits and replacing old bad habits was just a bad idea!

My suggestion, which worked for me when I lost 60 pounds in one year, is to pick just one or two things at a time and work only on those new habits. 

I was reading an article in Fast Company about Adam Werbach, who is a green activist and his efforts to help turn WalMart into a green organization.  They have over 1 million employees, so his strategy is to focus on Nano Practices.

Nano practices.  Making small changes one step at a time.  If the change is small enough, it is something you can do, and by continuing to make that small change consistently every day, you begin to build new practices.  This feeds on itself as you see yourself making the change, realizing the positive impact, you reinforce to yourself that it was a good idea.  That positive feeling can help you stay focused and eventually once you master that first nano practice, you are ready to attack the next one.  Keep doing this every day, and soon your nano practices become macro practices, or, new good habits!

So, take your challenges, pick just one or two, forget the rest for a while, break them down into small steps or nano practices, and focus only on these new nano practices until they become second nature.  Then pick a new one.  Pretty soon, you will become someone new, and all your friends and co-workers will be asking you for advice!

What Can You Learn While Running Around the World?

Life Lessons Each of Us Can Use– By Mike Kramer and Joe Hale 

Polio is a disease that most of us never think much about anymore. Thanks to heroic breakthroughs of the mid 20th century, the disease is more ancient history than current news. But polio is on Joe Hale’s mind every single day. While Joe’s mother was pregnant with him, she contracted polio and was paralyzed from the neck down. As he says, “her first visitor was a representative from the March of Dimes.” The group provided support, paid for rehabilitation, and helped her regain use of her upper body.   This memory drives Joe every day. And recently, it drove him to raise money and awareness for the March of Dimes in a very unique, dedicated way—by running (get ready for this…) 7 marathons in 7 months on 7 continents! He called it the 7in7on7. Traveling the world and running has helped him spread the word about the March of Dimes and their mission of promoting healthy pregnancies.  He just finished this monstrous undertaking, returning home with 8 marathons under his belt and more than $150,000 in donations for the March of Dimes. He also returned a little wiser than when he started. Below are some of the lessons he learned during his journey of love. If we all take these lessons to heart, we can improve our lives, reach our goals, and enrich the lives of everyone around us. Just like Joe. More heroic breakthroughs may be just over the horizon for you. 

Top 10 Things I Learned During 7in7on7! 
-By Joe Hale

The older I get, the more I realize that the important things in life are the same things my parents told me were important when I was growing up. I just didn’t believe it at the time. Running seven marathons in seven months on seven continents allowed me the opportunity to experience the truth of those early lessons in amazingly vivid and profound ways. With heartfelt thanks to my mother and father for their wisdom and patience, here are the top ten things I re-learned during “7in7on7.” 

1.  Make up your own mind (or at least get a second opinion).  I celebrated fellow-runner George from California’s 79th birthday with him in Beijing at the Great Wall Marathon. Twenty-five years ago, George’s doctor told him to stop running. George found another doctor. As he put it, “If I’d listened to the first guy, I would have missed out on the best 25 years of my life.”  2.  It’s better to give than receive (and a lot more fun).  There was no more poignant moment than when the American runners noticed the deplorable condition of the Tanzanian runners and began taking off their own running shoes to offer them to the Africans.  3.  Eat right and get plenty of exercise. (Yeah, I know, but it’s true!)  I met a lot of runners who used to be overweight and out of shape. Most said they weren’t unhappy that way, but all of them said they’re much happier now. I’m going to write a new diet book for Americans and it’ll contain four words: eat less, exercise more. Is there a correlation between the fact that there are 16 million bicycles in Holland and 16 million people and you don’t notice many overweight people? Is there a correlation between the fact that we have shuttles that pick us up at amusement parks in the US to take us to the front gate where we’re met with funnel cake and corn dog stands? I think so.  4.  Always keep a hand for the ship. (Whatever you do, be careful!)  Learned this one on the way to Antarctica on the Russian icebreaker Ioffee. The Captain said, “If you fall overboard, swim for the bottom. Drowning hurts less than freezing to death, and you’re going to do one or other if you go in the water.”  5.  Listen to what other people have to say (you just might learn something new).  I met people from every walk of life from nearly every country in the world. Each one I spoke with had a fascinating story to tell. If you give a person the gift of your time and attention, the result is a blessing for both of you. Like Ruth from Alabama—65 years old in 1995 and never been out of the state. She decided she’d raised her kids and now it was time for her self. She banked a year’s worth of vacation and on January 1, 2000 got on a bike and rode it around the world, visiting 47 countries. She now runs marathons at 74 and kicked my butt in Antarctica. 

6.  Keep busy. (You only retire from the job—not from life.)  If you stop giving, you stop receiving; it’s as simple as that. The “retirees” I met have lives that are fuller and more rewarding than when they worked. Community service, they said, is the reason why. As one man told me, “Retirement is like marriage; it’s not the end of something—it’s the beginning.” Retirement in the traditional sense is a pretty selfish act.  7.  One person can always make a difference. (Be a good ambassador, wherever you are.)  It is possible to change the world (and change the perception of America abroad) by performing one small humble act of kindness. I saw it happen a hundred times. One was the occasion I mentioned above, when we gave our running shoes to our (much faster) African counterparts. America made some friends that day.  8.  There’s no place like home (and your family is your home).My friends know about my Blackberry addiction. (Linda: “Only Joey emails from Mt. Kilimanjaro.”) I felt at home when I shared my experiences with my wife and children, even though I was 5,000 miles away. Even better was when my son, Grant, joined me to run the Australian Marathon. He also reminded me that the best present a parent can give a child is a look of pride after a job well done.  9.  God exists.  All the pain, suffering, and unhappiness around the world can occasionally make you question His existence. But there is so much natural beauty, joy, and kindness out there too, that you can’t deny there’s a divine agent behind it all somewhere. There is a harmony and balance that isn’t accidental. It’s His work and ours, and we have much left to do.  10.  You DON’T always need to use sunscreen (even in Africa in the summer).  OK, our parents were wrong on this one. In freezing rain at 19,500 feet on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, sunscreen is totally unnecessary. Warm milk, however, would have been nice—just like Mom said.

To learn more about Joe Hale’s “7in7on7” or to donate to his campaign, visit www.RunJoeHaleRun.com.The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. To learn more, visit www.MarchOfDimes.com.