Pedantic & Purposeful Preparation for Switzerland

I use Social Media 2.0 in a variety of active ways. My preferred applications include Twitter, Facebook and Blogspot. I use these tools for learning, sharing and building online and face-to-face relationships. I gratefully appreciate the opportunity to sense and recognize different perspectives from the experiences of others. Seek and ye may find. Ask and you may learn. Apply and you will realize through your experiencing, reflection, genuflection and insights.

In recent weeks, I have interviewed my Ironman friends (Reeves Lim, Neil Franks, Walter Strach III) who completed Ironman Switzerland since 2007. I have learnt that the bike course used to be three loops, and it will be done twice this year. The run course is relatively flat around Lake Zurich.

Most of my questions revolved around the ride, including two climbs known as ‘The Beast’ and ‘Heartbreak Hill’. As such, I have focused on building my riding strength, so as to ensure more resilience during my marathon. To earn my sub-4-hour marathon, I would have to not only improve my run but also to ride strong and not be fatigued. I recall the challenging times and experiences climbing in Ironman Lanzarote in 2008 and 2010. My lack of training and experience riding hills, led me to my longest race rides and a compromised marathon time. I took 4:44 to complete my marathon last year on the Canary Islands.

Running my ass off, for the final sprint into the finisher's chute. A tactical race (and tempo-training run), I had to start near the line and complete first. In terms of nett timings, honorable participant 5240 ran slightly faster than I. However, I placed a position ahead of him. Congratulations, mate! That's the way races go.

The past two weeks, I have earned my personal bests in training and racing. All my races are strategically arranged to allow me to peak on-time, and develop my sense of competition. My A-race is Ironman Switzerland (15 July), and so I need to be in my A-Game, with my A-races supporting my preparation. All the racing and [mostly] solo training will, hopefully, converge to a surprising finish, with memorable milestones throughout the race period. My friend, Dex Tai will be doing three back-to-back Ironmans beginning next weekend. It is part of his Cause and charity of choice, while I will be using my race to promote my Causes. I am grateful for my current fitness, supportive community, and dedicated family for allowing to achieve my performance best.

Another training run, a month ago. I used this race to assess my relative fitness for the 21K. A marathon would have affected my recovery and recuperation. I was pleased for holding this pace and still earn a sub-1:40 finish. My ranking was still top 1-percent of the field!

Leadership Lessons: Do your homework. Research thoroughly, interview comprehensively, and study the course assiduously. Mental rehearsals can help you create a sense of familiarity and déjà vu. Training is the ‘done that’ while your attempt is the ‘been there’. Create simulations to achieve a ‘been there, done that’ sensation. Make your training sessions tough enough without scaring yourself. Enjoy the process/journey.
Photo-credit: Running Kaki

The Tribe Has Spoken

Those infamous words uttered by host of Survivor, Jeff Probst in every episode decides, ultimately, who will be eliminated for the game. In effect, each member of your tribe gets to vote for the one who they think should be banished from their tribe. By a process of secret ballot - in quasi-democratic fashion – one person will be eliminated, much to their consternation.

Tribes was a phrase coined by marketing guru, Seth Godin in his book of the same name. Gather a group, share a cause and spread the word. You will see it in almost every social media tool – share with your friend, retweet, et al.

Tribes can make or break the strength of a cause. Both brickbats and bouquets are tools of mass distraction and destruction. Careless and callous remarks can influence others, as do partial and preferential opinions. Thinking through the issues and challenging our own thoughts are necessary to ensure that new ideas and innovative practices can emerge during doldrums. Tribes can build a new business, or denounce a well-established one. The connections that tribal members build on are forged through time, shared interests, shared values, commitment and involvement. Leverage on this positively and you can magnify you cause astronomically. Lance Armstrong's LiveStrong yellow wrist-bands are a testament of how tribes rally for a personal and shared cause.

Last weekend, I found out that my friends shaved their heads for Hair For Hope. One-Armed Runner, Adam showed me his bald plate before he ran a half-marathon. This amazing fellow runs in almost every race despite being physically challenged.

Leadership Lessons: How often do you promote somebody’s cause? How widely does your word spread? How much weight do your recommendations hold? How active are you in networking your way through a charitable cause?

Should you want to promote your cause via social media and online marketing, this is a piece on how you can promote your website.

Even David Copperfield, the Maestro in Magic has a cheeky sense of humour. Here, he challenges Harry Potter and J K Rowling. Believe it or not!

10 Ways To Get Attention & Action For Your Cause

Do you have a cause that you strongly believe in? What have you done to promote it to a wider audience? With a plethora of Social Media tools readily available, what have you done to harness the power of positive word of mouth marketing, also known as tribes and trending? Have you considered having your communities to sneeze for you?

1)    Ask for help, and you may get it. Seek and ye may find.

2)    Go face-to-face: Have a chat with your colleagues, clients and collaborators about your cause, and why it is important to you.

3)    Text a message: subtle but effective when you have down-time (free time). Turn down-time into up-time! Promote your cause while standing in the train or rain.

4)    Do something in return. As long as you implement your initiative, you have led in the process. Be reciprocal. Attempt to climb a mountain, run a marathon, complete a triathlon, or set a national record – do something in return for the support you receive.

5)    Tweet about it. Small and frequent messaging adds up and increases your odds for success. Tweet before the rooster crows.

6)    Send sensible messages about it on Facebook and LinkedIn. Attach a link, so your readers can actively click on it. Remember: call for action. Just do it.

7)    Create a call for action. What do want your readers to do? Arrive in person to volunteer? Send a check? Make a donation on PayPal? Spread the word via their personal or professional networks?

8)    Write your own letter of appeal. Make it personal. Provide comprehensive answers: what, why, when, which, where, who and how. Your letter is your voice, your personal message, and your meaning.

9)    Seek collaborators. Great minds think alike. Liking leads to persuasion. The more diverse the better. Differences can complement the creative output.

10) Enjoy the results. Every response is a victory. Think long term as the benefits return. Every good turn deserves another!

These principles also apply to a new business, product launch, or a seminar you are promoting. Results count!

If you have used but useable running shoes do me a massive favour – clean them up and drop by the race-kit collection site for the Marina21K Run. Help build a sustainable sports community! Thanks to Village Focus International, we can promote running and healthy feet as a global initiative.

Fighting For A Cause

The landmark, HBO-produced fight at Caesar’s Palace in 2003 is worth watching: it was the third and final bout between ‘Irish’ Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti. This trilogy of fights may have led to the WBU champion, Ward establishing a presence strong enough to lead to this biographic film, The Fighter. It is equivalent to Raging Bull, a 1980 biopic about Jake LaMotta  (played by Robert De Niro), although there is more authentic and accurate fight choreography drawn from actual video footage.

Academy Award® Nominees: a completely convincing Mark Wahlberg (The Departed), a marathon-gaunt and chemically-crazed Christian Bale (The Dark Knight) and the believably tough Amy Adams (Doubt) star in this highly watchable film. Based on a true story, two brothers from Lowell, Massachusetts, defy the odds, reunite to train for a historic title bout that reunited their fractured family and give their hard-luck town what it's been waiting for: a sense of pride. Micky Ward (Wahlberg) is a struggling boxer long overshadowed by his cantankerous however medicated, older brother and trainer, Dicky Eklund (Bale), a local legend battling his own demons. Their explosive relationship threatens to take them both down – for the count – but blood ties may be their only chance for redemptive qualities of a flagging pugilistic career.

Sugar Ray Leonard has a cameo as a commentator at a fight; in fact, the real-life Dicky once dropped Sugar Ray at a bout, although it was considered a freak tripping accident. Despite his talent in the ring, though, Micky can't catch a break until he meets Charlene (Amy Adams), a chilli-hot bartender who encourages him to stand up for himself. When Dicky is sent to prison, and Micky takes on a more experienced manager, his fortunes start to improve. However, it isn't in his nature to abandon the people who raised him, so he attempts to unite the various factions in his life before his shot at the world championship slips away.

I watched the film onboard two flights. Incidentally I also caught the documentary of Ward’s third and last fight with Gatti. In true sportsmanship, both fighters congratulated and acknowledged each other for a tough and exciting fight. When a fighter retires, it would be best to see him go full circle and fight his best fight (akin to Rocky Balboa, aka Rocky 6). Both Ward and Gatti had to be hospitalized for the physical injuries incurred during this Fight of The Year (2003). I strongly recommend this film that was nominated for seven Oscars; the Best Supporting Actor award went to Bale. Melissa Leo who plays the mother bagged the Best Supporting Actress award.

*****

When you are down for the count, what goes through your mind? Who is really on your team when you face your adversaries? How much do you value your loyal supporters? Which is the cause that you strongly fight for? 

Leading with a Purpose

It has been an interesting week for me.

I have, so far, raised about NZ$795 for Kids with Cystic Fibrosis (Breath4CF) - the adopted charity of Ironman New Zealand. My business associate has pledged another $1,000 and that means that we have significantly exceeded our initial target. I am so grateful to my sponsors/donors for supporting my cause.

One recent donor/sponsor is Aaron Fleming, author of ‘Purpose’. He suffered a collapsed lung twice, and had an addiction to painkillers. By insurmountable odds, he reframed his life, completed three Ironman triathlons, and is now a speaker to kids about the notion of purpose. He was the ambassador for New Zealand at the Beijing Olympics 2008.

During an evening workshop for accountants, an audience member challenged me, indirectly, by concealing a card from me during my performance of a magic trick. I knew that he was either being cheeky or misunderstood my instruction, however decided to stop my questioning of his integrity prematurely. I watched the body language of members of his table, and calibrated these for his truthfulness. I knew that it was pointless to argue with him, despite the fact that he nearly sabotaged my demonstration. I moved on; it was pointless for anyone to lose face. There was a private time for embarrassment, when there was a lesson to be deliberately taught. The large playing card (12” X 6”) was found on the table later. I said: ‘I knew it was there all along! The question is: How did I know?’

The president of the association commended me at the end of my workshop. He was worried that I would be thrown off balance and be upset – which I never telescoped to my audience. He told me that there were, historically, trainers who were annoyed with audience members, and I wasn’t one of them. I always believed that being professional is about not being personal.

Leadership Lessons: It is important to have purpose in our life. Without a strong sense of purpose, we may become aimless and wander from one distraction to another. Purpose gives us a sense of direction, be it a performance target, sales goal, establishing a new relationship or mending picket fences. Finding a cause, and supporting it also creates a sense of purpose, and our actions that follow reflect it. Go on – create your purpose-driven life!