From the desk of Steve Drake – Wednesday 14th June 2023

Due to the government’s response to the covid 19 pandemic in 2020 several training dates that had been planned to coincide with the official launch of my first published book 'Blueprints 4 Success' never got off the ground. However, we are going for a relaunch in the summer of 2023. 🚀 This time I am leaning towards the e book route to cut out the extortionate delivery costs. There is a new chapter that is not in the original book and the 'Power of One seminars are right back on the agenda. Exciting times ahead 📅 

You know I don't hide behind a fake email address or any address, and I DO return phone calls (as time permits). And I answer my emails. 

I am currently in the U.K. (Manchester) but plans are in the advanced preparation stage to move out to Thailand. The wait is almost over. I have put together a totally unique package of low tech and high impact team building events incorporating education and entertainment. 

Let me give you a heads up. You have heard me say many times that our brain is the most powerful bio-computer ever created, but unfortunately, it does not come with an operator’s manual.

Let me explain what I mean.

You can't get wet from the word water! The downfall with many Team Building presentations is that people can get inspired by the achievements of others and even feed off the presenter's enthusiasm. However, this enthusiasm often wears off.

The key to having a highly motivated workforce is employees learning how to motivate themselves regardless of the situation or circumstances. If you have been taught through the usual tried old patterns of explanation, demonstration, and drill, then the most important and useful part of your ability to learn has been left out. 

My events are performance targeted and light years away from the standard ‘chalk and talk’ style still so beloved by traditional trainers, This isn't about business theory, and I am really looking forward to sharing the secrets of self motivation in 'The Power of One'. 

If you would like to get a head start on proceeding or more information on personal coaching please email: bp4strainingacademy@gmail.com

Don't limit your challenges challenge your limits.

Have you been busy working on your New Year Resolutions?

…or have you resolved in giving up and never ever going to make a New Year’s resolution ever again…?

If the latter, you’re not alone. So many people get demoralized when, year after year, they make resolutions that they keep for only a few weeks or maybe even just a few days.

Why is this? After all, we all have the best intentions and the timing (new year, new start) couldn’t be better. The problem may lie in the fact that we place a huge amount of pressure on ourselves. During the last week of December and the first week of January, all you hear is, “What are your New Year’s resolutions?” “What are you going to work on this year?”

And the focus is on the “what” not the “how.” When you are more concerned with the goal you set than on the specifics of how you are going to accomplish it, or even whether it is realistic and achievable, you can set yourself up for failure.

So, if you resolve to set successful New Year resolutions, read on. Let’s focus on how, this month, you can set yourself up for a year of achievement!

New Year Resolution Mistakes

There are two common mistakes that people tend to make before they even start to make their New Year resolutions: They think about what they “should” do, rather than what they really want to do. And worse, they think about what they should stop doing, rather than what they actually want to achieve. “What should I do this year?” “What should I stop doing?”, “What do other people suggest I should work on?”

To be successful at any change, you need to really want it. Unless you take time to consider what it is you really want (rather than what you should do or should stop doing) you will invariably end up making a resolution to which you are not entirely committed.

Without commitment, you aren’t motivated and after the first setbacks or obstacles, you may quit. So, the first rule of New Year Resolutions is to only make ones that you are committed to. Don’t make a resolution simply because it is “the thing to do”, or because someone has told you that you should.

The irony of it is that New Year’s resolutions have the potential to be very powerful because they are such a well-recognized practice. Everyone knows that everyone else is setting resolutions. And what a great mutual support network that can provide! This external motivation and support, along with your internal motivation – the desire to succeed –is what can make the difference between success and failure.

Three Rules for New Year’s Resolutions

These easy to follow rules for New Year’s Resolutions will help set you up for success right from the start. Inevitably you will come up against challenges and roadblocks along the way; however, by planning ahead and following these rules, you will be better placed to negotiate these easily, rather than stumble and quit.

Rule 1: Commit to Your Resolution

Successful resolutions start with a strong commitment to making a change. To succeed, you must believe that you can accomplish what you set out to and that belief is bolstered by the unwavering support you give yourself.

Choose resolutions that you really want to achieve –and make them positive;

Announce your resolution to everyone around you –they will help hold you accountable;

Develop a ceremony to mark the beginning of your commitment – this makes it more “real” and special for you;

Don’t leave your choice of resolution to the last minute – take time to think about your goals. If you don’t, you risk reacting to your current environment and missing the big picture;

Questions to ask yourself to determine if you can take ownership of your resolution include:

Is this resolution my idea or someone else’s?

Does this resolution motivate and invigorate me?

Is this resolution sit comfortably with other factors in my life such as my values and long-term plans?

Remember that there’s no reason why your New Year’s resolution should take all year to achieve.

Tip: Imagery is a powerful technique to help you own and commit to your goals or resolutions. Try picturing yourself having attained your goal. How do you feel? How do you look? Where you are, what are you doing? How do others react to you? By visualizing yourself in the position you desire, you can bolster your belief that you can do it and strengthen your motivation.

Rule 2: Be Realistic

The key to achieving goals is continued motivation.

If you set the bar too high, you risk failing. Consistently failing at something is profoundly de-motivating (It’s no wonder that after a few dismal attempts some people abandon the idea of New Year’s resolutions altogether!)

Consider carefully before setting the same resolution you set last year. If it didn’t work then, you need to make sure there is good reason to believe you can achieve it this year. What has changed? Do you have more commitment to make it work? (Be careful, or else you will end up with a repeat performance, and another failed resolution);

Aim lower, rather than too high – aim for something that is challenging but that you have a good chance of accomplishing. If there is any doubt, err on the side of caution and expand your goal later if you still want to keep improving; and Don’t bite off more than you can chew. There is no reason to set more than one or two resolutions. Any more than that and you divide your focus and energy and lessen your chances of success in any area.

Rule 3 – Write It Down

A simple but powerful technique for making your goal real is to put your resolution into writing. There is something inside us that creates more commitment and drive when we take the time to do this. Consider writing it down on pieces of card and keeping it where you’ll see it.

Now you are a great position to push beyond your limits and achieve your biggest goals.

The picture below is of my daughter and her university friends who have already achieved there short term goal for 2020

Congratulations to the Groningen Giants Cheerleaders after there success in the NK Cheerleading Prelims.

♫♪♫♪♫♪ We are proud of you, say we are proud of you! ♫♪♫♪♫♪ ♫♪♫♪♫♪ We are proud of you, say we are proud of you! ♫♪♫♪♫♪


🏆 GOOD JOB 🏆

2020 > Leap Year > Olympic Year > Your Year > Are you Ready?

‘Your Date with Destiny’

What's your goal, What are you going to finally tick off that bucket list in 2020?

Blueprints 4 Sucess can help you to turn your dreams into reality









The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.

Final Note: I can actually give you a solid recent example of the process and the results. The step by step process was actually used to create this book.

Make no mistake, it really is a Blueprint 4 Success.






My book is now available from the



P.S.

99.8 and feeling Great.

Some goals are more personal than others.

Just a few days before my 60th Birthday I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and the doctor told me that I have been walking around with this for some time. The good news is that it is reversible, but I needed to lose weight (27Ks) so I immediately set a health goal entitled the 60-day challenge



I knew i had to create some better health habits through better diet and getting back into exercise, and so 60 days is a good chunk of time to springboard myself into it.

My start date was the 1st of February and I weighed in at 115Kgs

Today was the end of my 60-day challenge and I now weigh 99.8Kgs.

I Still, a fair way to go, but my overall target has been reassessed, The Doctors say if I could get under 91 KGs I would be in what they call recessive, and they will see me again in June. I'm on it. Phase two starts now,


This phase two is not going to be as brutal and with the better weather coming eating choices will be much better. To be honest, I am very positive and somewhat motivated by the whole thing, if I can lose half as much in the next 3 month that I have in the last two I will be over the moon.

So hows it going?

NEED ANY HELP?

It's been several weeks since I published the goal setting steps and thought I would drop by and see how everyone is getting along.

Question one is are you still on track> Does your daily actions take you nearer your goal or are you starting to drift off course?



Have a look at the cycle of success above

For those of you who require a little extra boost, I have something very special for you.

DNA – Decision / Navigation / Action

This very simple exercise is based on the story called A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

In the story Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge was visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, they came to challenge certain beliefs and attitudes that where having a serious impact on Mr. Scrooge and the people around him.

Use this powerful technique to visit your very own ghosts by doing the following step by step exercise.

First recognize now that there is nothing you can do to change the past, just except all that has happened in your life without regret, judgment or blame. Then realize that even though you’re past thoughts and actions have had a certain influence on who you are today, THE FUTURE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THE SAME AS THE PAST.

Now close your eyes and take a moment to think about the present. Consider the beliefs which could be limiting you from realizing your fullest mental potential.

For example: Consider you may be holding onto a belief such as you have a bad memory, and the older you become the worse it will get, there is no use trying to improve it so why bother, facts just slip your mind and that’s the way it has always been so you except your forgetful and it is just the way you are.

Now as you feel the weight of this negative self-talk reinforcing these limiting beliefs about your mental capacity, ask yourself:

How much has this type of self-talk already cost me in my life? What have I lost and missed out on as a result of these beliefs? In how many ways have I cheated myself and others around me because of my limiting beliefs? What unpleasant emotions do I experience on a daily basis as a direct result of these statements I constantly make to myself (and those around me)? How many things have I not even attempted in my life as a result of these beliefs?

Feeling the full weight of the consequences of holding on to this type of self-talk, I now want you to ask yourself WHAT THESE BELIEFS WILL COST ME IN THE FUTURE.

Now mentally take a step into the future (just as Mr. Scrooge did) and visualize the effects of another whole year telling yourself “I have the worst memory” Think of the challenges you wont attempt, all the people you will shy away from and getting to know, all the stimulation your brain will miss by not trying to take on new challenges. Now consider the cost, the burden of these beliefs affecting your life for another FIVE YEARS. Drag the consequences of your self-limiting beliefs with you five years into the future and ask yourself.

How much more will in cost me in the next five years if I continue to uphold these negative beliefs about my minds limited capability and potential? How many regrets will I have if I don’t change my self-talk? What will I have missed out on? What will I have given up? What will happen to my career in the next five years if I hold on to these beliefs? How will this affect my relationships? My health? What will my children think of me? What kind of role model will I turn out to be?

In your mind I want you to step forward ten years into the future, See, Hear and Feel what life is like for you ten years from now if you don’t change your self-talk or limiting beliefs!

Ask Yourself:

When I look in the mirror ten years from now, how much heavier do you feel as a direct result of these limiting beliefs? How bad do I feel about myself? What are some of the things I haven’t accomplished by not giving up these beliefs?

Now imagine yourself twenty years from now. What profound effect will twenty years of self-talk programming these beliefs into your master computer have had on your life? What will have happened by then? Defeat, failure, disillusionment, despair? Ask yourself now.

How much have I missed out on? How much more could I have accomplished if I had only changed my self-talk twenty years ago? Has my life been an example or has it been a warning to others? Is that what I want?

STOP!

THE GOOD NEWS IS… You can open your eyes … IT IS STILL THE PRESENT! You haven’t reaped the disastrous rewards of twenty years of negative SELF-TALK.

Its Christmas morning. There is plenty to do. As you commit yourself to a new outcome NOW, YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO DETERMINE YOUR OWN DESTINY.

NOW THINK OF ONE YEAR, FIVE YEARS, TEN YEARS, TWENTY YEARS OF SAYING TO YOURSELF AND BELIEVING:

“I have a great mind”

“I have excellent powers of retention”

”I enjoy mental challenges and reaping the rewards”

“I am building my brain power and improving my brain potential day by day”

“I am meeting more people, remembering their names and enjoying the experience”

“I am doing all I can to develop my mental strength and to condition my memory and continuously improve in all areas of my life”

As you consider the future, answer these questions for yourself.

How much more will I have gained by living my life with these new beliefs? How much more will I have been able to learn, grow, know and accomplish as a direct result of this new self-talk? What has been the true benefit of these new beliefs to my children as they look at me as a model of excellence? How has that changed our lives? How grateful, happy, proud do I feel about having cared enough to change those useless, old fashioned beliefs into productive, empowering new beliefs and create the DESTINY I so richly deserve.

I want to end this exercise with a great self-talk statement to remind you about this important principle:

“Simply by making the choice to watch what I say when I talk to myself, the beliefs I hold will instantly improve and my future will be dramatically influenced”

GO FOR IT

Your Date with Destiny

Step 7) finally put today’s date on each of your goals and then the date you aim to achieve your goal(s).



The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.

Write down your goals. Only three percent of people have written goals and only one percent review those written goals daily. Be in that elite one percent. Visualize the attainment of your goals often. Goals are dreams with dates attached. You will only become as great and as happy as the goals you choose.


Let us recap the goal setting steps



Step 1) Write your Goals down in a Journal / Diary.



Step 2) for each one of your goals write a paragraph as to why you want to achieve that goal.



Step 3) Identify the obstacles you need to overcome to reach that goal.



Step 4) Ask what you need to know in order to reach your goal.



Step 5) Identify the people you need to work with in order to achieve your goals.



Step 6) Devise a specific plan of action.



Step 7) finally put today’s date on each of your goals and then the date you aim to achieve your goal(s).



Now focus on the contribution you can make


Ask yourself these three simple questions at the end of each day


1) Did my actions today take me closer to achieving my goal or further away?

2)What was the one positive thing I noticed today?

3)What am I looking forward to tomorrow?


Goal setting techniques are used by top-level athletes, successful business-people and achievers in all fields. They give you long-term vision and short-term motivation. They focus your acquisition of knowledge and help you to organize your time and your resources so that you can make the very most of your life.

By setting sharp, clearly defined goals, you can measure and take pride in the achievement of those goals. You can see forward progress in what might previously have seemed a long pointless grind. By setting goals, you will also raise your self-confidence, as you recognize your ability and competence in achieving the goals that you have set.

If you have followed the goal setting steps may I take this moment to congratulate you and wish you every success in the future.

Devise a specific plan of action.

Quote – “Action speaks louder loader than words.” – Unknown.

Step 6) Devise a specific plan of action.

To create massive outcomes you must take positive action

"Where focus goes energy flows" is a quote used by Tony Robbins in his presentation to highlight why you need to know your outcome and why achieving this is a must.

But many people fail to take the next step. They delay, put off and find many reasons or excuses not to act.

Robbins believes "progress is not automatic" and "action is power". Take action, even if it is the wrong action. He says it is "never a failure if you learn something".

If you have been following this blueprint for success I congratulate you because you already have around 80% of your plan in place, now you just need to make it a little more specific.

This would help if you could step back a little and visualize yourself as if you have already achieved your goals.

What did you see? What could you hear? And how does it feel?

Almost there. The final step is only 24 hours away.

Surround yourself with successful people

Step 5) Identify the people you need to work with in order to achieve your goals.



To be successful you need to surround yourself with successful people!

Many years ago I was told that if you want to be successful at something, find someone who is already successful in that particular area and copy exactly what they do.

Can it really be that simple?

Well look back on your life, what role models or mentors do you admire, everyone who I have known become a success had a plan for it.

There is an old saying, “if you fail to plan – you plan to fail”

The goals procedure is the foundations on your plan, take the time needed to identify to people you need to surround yourself with.

Quote – “The race is not always won by the fastest runner but sometimes by those who just keep running.” – Unknown.

Ask what you need to know.

Step 4) Ask what you need to know in order to reach your goal.







People say that “Knowledge is Power” but I firmly believe it to be only potential power, there is clear evidence to suggest that it is what you do with the knowledge that makes it powerful.

It is our personal knowledge that establishes our individual attitude. It is our attitude that determines both the quantity and the quality of our level of activity. That activity (Action) produces a final and proportionate result, and the result provides the lifestyle that we live.

KNOWLEDGE

ATTITUDE

ACTION

RESULTS

LIFESTYLE


Quote – “The ultimate reason for goal setting is to entice you to become the person it takes to achieve them” – Jim Rohn.

Identify the obstacles you need to overcome to reach that goal.

Quote – “You miss 100% of the shots you never take” – Wayne Gretzky.

Step 3) Identify the obstacles you need to overcome to reach that goal.



Identify any obstacles that may stand in your way, list them, and state how you plan to overcome them. You will have stumbling blocks along the way you need to find them now so you can plan on how to overcome them.

Your Goals can be short-term, mid-term and a couple of them can be long-term however there are three things your goals must be.

I want you to eliminate any goal that does not 100% match the following criteria.

Your Goal has to be – ACHIEVABLE

Your Goal has AGREEBLE

Your Goal has to be – MEASURABLE

Above is the recipe for your success and while I feel I am repeating myself a little here I just can not emphasize enough how important it is for you take as much time as you need to complete step 3.

What we are doing here is breaking down each task into a series of small tasks and start taking action. In the beginning, don’t be too concerned with how you will achieve your goals. With commitment, research and patience, the means will come. Answers materialize when the facts have been collected. Your goals will evolve into a set of action-oriented objectives, which will become a series of to-dos.

No one is choosing you to become successful. You are selecting yourself.

Quote – “The moment of enlightenment is when a person’s dreams of possibilities become images of probabilities” – Vic Braden.


Check back tommorrow for more of your Blueprint 4 Success for 2019.

Commit yourself to quality from day one

Quote – “If we did all the things we were capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves” – Thomas Edison.

Now that you have taken another good look at your list, I want you to ask you this questions, did you miss anything off the list, if you did now is the time to include it.

Before I get you to take the next step, I want you to know that it is my heartfelt desire that the process contained will help you, inspire you, direct you, and motivate you to rise to heights of achievement beyond anything that you have yet experienced.

These Blueprints for Success are simple, time-tested and practical, they have been responsible for guiding countless thousands of ambitious people towards success – and they will work for you.

Step 2) for each one of your goals write a paragraph as to why you want to achieve that goal.

There is something truly magical about putting pen to paper, for example, if I asked you what 100 x 77 – 75 + 50 then divide that number by 25 add another 21 then times that figure by 7 the chances are high that you would not get even close to the correct answer working it out in your head. But if you wrote the question down on paper, you can work it out far more easily, and the chance of you giving me the correct answer is now very high.

Please don’t skip the writing a paragraph process, just like before I want you to take as much time as you need to complete the section, the list you put together was easy, now we need to ask the all-important question why.

Many people tell me they don’t know how to do certain things, I always ask them why they want to do that anyway, the amazing thing is that the more you can clarify why you want something, the easier it is to understand how to do it.

The lesson here is, if you really know why, you will quickly learn how.

Commit yourself to quality from day one it is better to do nothing than to do something badly.

I will be back soon to deliver step number 3. Get writing those all-important paragraphs, you won't regret doing this for yourself.

Success is not about doing extraordinary things, but doing things extraordinary well.

Unless you shape your life, circumstances will shape it for you. You have to work, sacrifice, invest, and persist to get the results you want. Choose them well. You can’t start your planning until you know where you want to go.

`Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'

`That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.

`I don't much care where--' said Alice.

`Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.

`--so long as I get somewhere,' Alice added as an explanation.

`Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, `if you only walk long enough.'

Taken from Alice in Wonderland.

There is one thing which will determine above all else, how successful you are in life.

It has nothing to do with your education, your knowledge, your age or your experience. It has everything to do with your attitude, or to be more precise, YOUR POSITIVE ATTITUDE.

The world is full of people who can give you any number of reasons why something won’t work. And guess what, if you start out with the belief that a particular idea or approach won’t work, then its bound to fail. It is pre-determined. Your only consolation will be that you were right all along!

Likewise, you can pre-determine your success. If you believe you’ll be successful, that it will work, you will act and behave to a certain way to ensure that does work. You were right once again, but this time the overall result is much more to your liking.

Goal Setting

You are the sculptor of your own image. Have others already done what you want to do? Study them and do what they did. Start anywhere, at any time, and persist. Stop worrying about what others think about what you can or can’t do. Believe in yourself and your abilities. Have the self-confidence to challenge your current situation. This is your life to live; it’s day by day and step by step.

Only three percent of people have written goals and only one percent review those written goals daily. With Peak Performance Coaching you will be in that elite one percent. Visualize the attainment of your goals often. Goals are dreams with dates attached. You will only become as great and as happy as the goals you choose.

Rule Number 1

“Don’t expect anything less than you could possibly achieve”

Why don’t people set goals?

There are four basic reasons

1) FEAR

2) POOR SELF IMAGE

3) THEY HAVE NEVER BEEN SOLD

4) DON’T KNOW HOW.

The ultimate reason for goal setting is to entice you to become the person it takes to achieve them.

Blueprint for Success

The purpose of this pre-course course exercise is to provide you with some clear focus on what you really want from your life.

When reading over each section and reflecting on your answer think very carefully and be very specific in your answers, this will give us a clear understanding of your needs.

Take as much time as you need to complete this section, this is the foundation to building your future, make it strong and use your past to chart your future.

Step 1) Write your Goals down in a Journal / Diary.

Your goals can be relationship goals, financial goals, personal goals, family goals,

Social goals or even spiritual goals, the list can be endless, remember rule number one is “Don’t expect anything less than you could possibly achieve”

Once you have your list put it away until morning, then look at it again, did you miss anything off the list, if you did write it in now before you forget.

That is all I need to make a positive start, Do it today not tomorrow, do it now because I want to congratulate you in your wise decision to invest in yourself.

I will deliver step number 2 very shortly.

From Happy New Year to Happy New You.

What is so inviting about the tried and tested advice within Peak Performance Coaching is that the beneficial results are immediate. You don't have to spend a year in University, two days fasting or an hour chanting. Just stop, take a few deep breaths, read for a moment and think. You can change your life for the better in an instant. You can make an immediate decision to become more aware of how you are living your life and recognize your personal choice to be happy.

Guided by your awareness and focus on Peak Performance, you can act. You can listen more, smile more, be more patient and volunteer more often. You can take the lead and be in control.

You can choose to be a better partner, parent, friend, mother, daughter, employer, employee and citizen.

In short, you have the inner power to choose a life of self-improvement and a commitment to helping yourself and others. And, no one can take this power from you. You can live an active life and be successful, happy and at peace.

The tone of my Peak Performance Coaching is motivational. These coaching tips are for you, a self-reliant take-charge person of action willing to study and work hard for yourself, your family and the larger community.

Peak Performance Coaching is not presented as religious principles but rather as ideas common to all major religions. The coaching advice is not commandments but inspirational guides to reinforce your own value system. The intent is to challenge and stimulate your thinking as you create your own independent success philosophy formalized in your daily action plans, your to-do list.

Give the Peak Performance Coaching the true gift of your attention every morning, commit a few minutes to read and reflect upon each day's focus step. Challenge yourself and challenge others to be their best!

With the habit of reviewing your Peak Performance each day, you will become the beneficiary of both tangible benefits like more money, a better job and improved health and intangible benefits like love, respect, friendship and peace of mind. As you begin to fulfill your own personal and financial goals, you will find that you will have the resources, time and peace of mind to share your good fortune and positive attitude with others. You will have created success to share. Your life will evolve from just making a living to making a difference. Achievement by achievement, better day by better day, with persistence, you will continue to find that your potential is almost unlimited.

No one is choosing you to become successful. You are selecting yourself. Most people will not be able to see the power contained in the simplicity of these words. They will read them with casual interest and move on. You can choose to be different. You can choose to be extraordinary. In this defining moment, you can choose to make Peak Performance your future.


Fasten your seatbelt.

Stephen Drake

P.S.Success and happiness are not accidents that just happen to some people and not others - they are predictable results created by deliberate ways of thinking and acting, let me congratulate you on your recent thinking and action that helped you make a great decision to follow my Peak Performance Coaching Programme.

Make sure to look back in soon, we are about to get started.