Building an awesome day.

Cheaper than prozac.

Lately, I have been upgrading my habits a bit, nothing huge,  just tweaking my operating system to a more forty year old friendly interface.Little things like taking my melancholy for a walk rather than out for a Monster Taco, or choosing to acknowledge that I am a little annoyed rather than making threatening remarks to the security camera at the ATM. As part of this retooling, I have started to take myself for a 45 min power walk in the mornings.Not that kind of Power walk, not the Dan Ackroyd penguin waddling to the sounds of DEVO kind.

Too much gold here.

I mean a fast paced walk where I tell the Boss ( not Springsteen but close) how absolutely f-ing stoked I am about being alive, healthy and in an amazing relationship. I get myself all revved up about my life then I remind myself what my goals are and how I will work towards them during the day. It is like spinning up the hyperdrive and then feeding coordinates. It really makes me feel motivated.

So yesterday, as I was walking, I told myself in no uncertain terms that I was going to find or create opportunities to increase my coaching practice. By told I mean, Charlton Heston on the mountain, two tablet holding commanded my subconscious to get off of its sub-ass and help me make something happen.

Thou shalt carry a firearm to church!

I got home took a shower and made one phone call. By the end of the day I had booked a workshop, a monthly parent skills group and a gig at an local event doing hourly group coaching sessions. (Cue the lightening crack and the fleeing toga clad extras)

I had so much momentum that at the grocery store I attempted the dreaded cold approach. For those who don’t know, the cold approach is walking up to an unknown but potential client and giving them your pitch and business card. This can be a very risky maneuver, if handled wrong you can get anything from a defensive glare eye blast to the awkward slow monosyllabic withdraw. I usually don’t try this approach as I get so nervous that they will be offended that I stammer and apologized in advance, like so much Woody Allen.

Not an inspiring parent figure.

But not yesterday, both times (yes twice) the parent was super excited to talk about coaching and took a few of my cards for friends. This is for me is the equivalent of a turnaround jumper from the three point line. The closest I ever came to that was almost sinking one for the other team in seventh grade.

I highly recommend this to my fellow under motivated Gen X adults. I’m not the only 30 to 40 something to have felt the pang of shame when we are referred to as the slacker generation. However, if you look at the top grossing movies made by some of our peers, there seems to be a common story of the grown up child trying to find his or her responsibility. (That’s right Apatow, I’m calling you to the mat) I know for me motivating myself to start a career took having and raising a child.

Think fast Byrd Turd!

I was pretty settled into painting signs and playing videogames until then. But I digress, If you choose to try this routine, I guarantee that you will get a little out of it, my high school gym coach would say, “exactly as much as you put into it.” Then he would throw the basketball at me.