Life Is Meant To Be Lived

For ten years I was a high school teacher and for five years I was a college soccer coach. Throw in my own ceremonies and those of my family members and friends and I have attended more than fifty graduations. Every single time the main speaker spoke about dreams and reaching beyond their grasp and going after life like it is an adventure. Every single time it was corny and old-fashioned. And every single time I loved it! Life is meant to be lived. We're supposed to dream and reach beyond where we are today.

During my last year as a teacher I made a rather dumb statement about goals and dreams. I said the key is to identify what the obstacles and parameters are first and then figure out what you need to do to get past them. A great art teacher, Joan Bugnitz, said, "I disagree. I think the key is to remove the parameters and start with the biggest possible dream. I tell my students to start with a really big piece of white paper and just see what emerges." Now that was great advice. Don't focus on your limitations and self-imposed parameters. Instead start with a great big sheet of paper and start writing down what you want to achieve or do. Write down where you want to go and whom you want to meet.

My favorite cinematic moment is in the film, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" starring Harrison Ford. He portrays a high school history teacher and part-time archaeologist named Indiana Jones. Early in the film he decides to pursue his dream of finding the lost ark that contains the original Ten Commandments. After surviving one grueling event after another, he seems to have reached an impossible situation. His partners turn to him and say, "Indy, what are you are going to do now?" Harrison Ford slowly turns his head and says, "I don't know. I'm making this up as I go along." That's the attitude of a person who is going after life.

Don't know about you, but I definitely know that I have no idea what adventures, opportunities, crises and challenges await me over the next five years. Ten years ago that would have been disconcerting for me. It would have worried me. Now it exhilarates me. I have virtually no idea what life will look like for me in five years. And that's ok. Think back to January 1, 2000. Did you ever think that the United States would endure three years of economic stagnation? Did you ever think that the World Trade Center Twin Towers would be gone? No one really knows what the future holds. All we can do is live life every day.

Dream of the possibilities. It is an exhilarating exercise that adds fuel to your life, your career, your groups and your organizations. Don't focus on what supposedly can't be done. Did you ever think that kids would buy 800 page books by the millions? But they do. Whatever dreams you have need to be crystallized and fueled everyday.

Remember, we're making this up as we go. Last night I watched a live, outdoor production of "Cinderella" with my wife, Barb, and our four-year-old daughter, Sarah, and our two-year-old son, Ben. The closing line was, "Impossible dreams happen everyday." How true that it is, but it all starts with having the dream. So take out a really big white piece of paper and start describing things the way you want them. Let your dreams grow. And then go after life everyday. Remember, life is meant to be lived.

Take care and have a great month!

Dan Coughlin

Accelerate Update This section is always current to the current month

I suppose every book changes an author's life to a certain degree. My first book, which was self-published in 1995, was called Inside Out: A Catalyst for Conscious Living. It's out of print now for a number of good reasons. The layout, which yours truly did, looks like something a first grader could do today. And the ideas are very theoretical, which doesn't fit my approach anymore. However, I read the book a few months ago, and I was pleased by how clearly I had explained my early thoughts on improving performance.

My second book, Corporate Catalysts: How to Make Your Company More Successful, Whatever Your Title, Income, or Authority was published in 2005 by Career Press. That book was a step forward in clarifying my ideas on improving performance and understanding how to write a whole book. It's one thing to dream about getting a book contract and another thing to write a 70,000 word manuscript.

My third book, ACCELERATE: 20 Practical Lessons to Boost Momentum, which was published in May 2007 by Kaplan Publishing, has changed my business dramatically. Up until that book was published, I mostly did projects for four companies: McDonald's, Marriott, GSD&M, and Toyota. In the past 12 months, I've worked with business owners, executives, and managers within dozens of small, medium, and massive organizations in more than 20 industries ranging from boats to banks to software to financial services to trucking to lighting to home healthcare to hospitals to optometrists. It's been an exciting adventure.

If you want to see my speaking calendar for 2008, which we'll try to update every two weeks, please click here.

Currently, I have 66 speeches scheduled for 2008. If you would like for me to speak at one of your events in 2008 or 2009, feel free to contact me at dan@thecoughlincompany.com and I will be glad to see if we can make it work.

If you want to see my speaking topics and a video of footage from some of my keynote speeches, please click here.

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