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Posts Tagged ‘Do Great Things’

Aaron Speaks to the U.S. Coast Guard

Friday, June 15th, 2012

Aaron spoke to the U.S. Coast Guard on June 14th, 2012 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Aaron’s company, FTRL Railway, featured by Terry Bradshaw on Today in America

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

FTRL Railway, one of the companies Aaron co-founded, is being featured on Terry Bradshaw’s show Today in America. The show covers FTRL Railway and its role in the rail industry. Both Aaron and his father, Bill Broyles, are interviewed in the segment in addition to one of FTRL Railway’s clients, Gateway Terminals.

The show is currently airing in regional markets across the nation including St. Louis on Charter on CNN Headline News (HLN, channel 39). You can view the show right now on the FTRL Railway website at www.ftrail.com. It airs in St. Louis on the following dates and it will also run nationally on Fox Business sometime later this summer:

Thursday, April 26, 9:54 AM, CNN Headline News Charter Cable
Thursday, April 26, 8:24 PM, CNN Headline News Charter Cable
Friday, April 27, 6:54 AM, CNN Headline News Charter Cable
Saturday, April 28, 6:54 AM, CNN Headline News Charter Cable
Saturday, April 28, 8:24 PM, CNN Headline News Charter Cable
Sunday, April 29, 11:24 AM, CNN Headline News Charter Cable
Sunday, April 29, 3:54 PM, CNN Headline News Charter Cable

Do Great Things Intro Video

Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

Aaron speaks about focusing on the most important

Tuesday, September 20th, 2011

Focus on the most important – Aaron Broyles from Aaron Broyles on Vimeo.

Part 6 – Goal Setting – Document Your Goals and Review Them Daily

Monday, August 8th, 2011

Once you’ve worked through the first 5 steps, you need to document each of your major goals and then review them every day.  I use Outlook calendar on my computer as a means for reviewing my goals.  I set up a recurring appointment on my calendar for every morning at 7 a.m.  I marked it private so that only I can see it, and then I typed all my goals into the appointment.

Every morning I get into the office, and I review my goals.  Another option is to print or write out your goals and place a copy in the glove box of your car or in your planner or some place that will be visible to you on a daily basis.  Whenever you arrive to work or school or wherever you are headed, pull them out and review them.  It takes me about 3 minutes every day to review my major goals.  This is very important because it keeps your top objectives at the front of your mind on a daily basis.

I’ve been using this format of goal setting now for almost 15 years.  In preparation for this blog, I went back and reviewed my goals from years ago.  I was amazed to see that I’ve achieved or exceeded virtually every goal I set for myself.  Goal setting is a powerful process that will change your entire life.

By reviewing your goals daily, you will create the focus necessary that will remind you to take action.  This daily action will set you on a course for doing great things.

Part 4 – Goal Setting – Anticipate The Obstacles

Friday, June 17th, 2011

In my last blog, we covered the components of making the plan.  With every plan that you make, there will be obstacles.  It’s important to identify the obstacles and then be aware of how you will overcome them.  This planning will put you in a proactive posture, and you will not be demoralized when the obstacles come your way.  They will come.  I promise you.  You don’t accomplish great things without obstacles.  So plan and prepare for them.

Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, once said, “When you reach an obstacle, turn it into an opportunity.  You have the choice.  You can overcome and be a winner, or you can allow it to overcome you and be a loser.  The choice is yours and yours alone.”  If you are going to make the choice to overcome the obstacles that are certain to come your way, then make those choices in advance.

One of the reasons the United States special operations forces are so effective is that they spend a lot of time in their preparation for missions by determining all possible obstacles and potential set-backs and then formulating contingency plans.  When a special operations force commences a mission, they usually have a very specific game-plan, however they always have several contingency plans for any obstacles they may encounter.  The benefit is that when obstacles arise in the middle of a mission, they can quickly adapt and make the necessary adjustments.  The absolute worst time to consider contingencies is when you are in the middle of executing a plan.  It is much better if you have considered the possible obstacles in advance and prepared accordingly.

This is a step often overlooked on one side and often over-analyzed on the other.  If you are a “glass half full” person, then your inclination will be to overlook this critical step.  Positive people struggle to consider everything that could go wrong.  This thinking runs counter to the core of their personality.  If this is your predisposition, then force yourself to carry out this exercise.  If you do not, you might be shocked and paralyzed when you reach your first obstacle.  You may find yourself in a defensive posture looking for a quick way out.  The result will not be good.

If you are a “glass half empty” person, then will have no problem at all considering everything that could possibly go wrong.  The danger of this exercise is that you may use all the possible obstacles as reasons to abandon your goal before you ever begin.  The value of listing all the possible obstacles will materialize when you are able to strike a balance between the two extremes.

As you list the potential obstacles, think about your contingency plans and how you will make adjustments.  You will not only be equipped to make the necessary modifications, but you will also dramatically increase your level of confidence and your ability to achieve the goal in your quest to do great things.

Part 3 – Goal Setting – Make a Plan

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

Goal-setting experts report only 3% of the population do any kind of goal setting.  For those few that are setting goals, even less take the time to create a plan for how to achieve the goal.  You have to be able to map the trip from where you are now to where you want to be when the goal is accomplished.

Your plans will change.  It’s alright to modify and adjust your plans.  Your goals, on the other hand, should remain constant.  I have a friend who’s a pilot in the U.S. Air Force.  He says that when you determine your destination, you then create a flight plan.  When the plane gets into the air and heads toward the destination, the pilot is constantly making adjustments.  Every few minutes, adjustments are being made to keep the plane on course to its final destination.

Only in extreme and rare cases does a pilot change the plane’s destination, but it is very common for the pilot to make minor adjustments and modifications to keep the plane on course.  Your goal setting practices should be very similar.  Once you set the goals, they should be locked down.  In some rare cases, you may decide to change a goal, but this should not be a common practice.

Your plans for accomplishing a goal must be specific.  The more specific you can get with your goal planning, the more effective you will be at accomplishing the goal.  For example, what if I told you that I had a very special gift for you, but you would have to meet me in order to get it?  Suppose you are in St. Louis, and I am somewhere in California.  How would you get to me?  You would need specific directions.  What if I only told you that I am in California?  What are the odds that you would ever find me without specific directions?  Slim to none.

The difficulty in being specific is that we don’t always know how to get to the destination we seek, so do not worry about your plans being perfect.  They will not be perfect.  I can promise you an imperfect plan is much more effective than no plan at all.  You will learn from your mistakes and make the necessary adjustments until the plan finally comes together.

Map out the course you intend to take from where you are today to where you intend to be at the completion of the goal, and you will be positioned to do great things.

Part 2 – Goal Setting – Answering the “Why” question

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

In my last blog, I covered the first step to goal setting with the concept of “painting the picture”.  Once you’ve identified your goal and specifically defined it, the next step involves asking why this goal is important to you.  This is one of the most important steps in the entire process, because once you know why you are doing something, you will do whatever it takes to figure out how to accomplish it.  Answering the why question is essential to defining the importance of the particular goal.

If I have a goal of eating healthy and exercising on a regular basis, then I have to know why this goal is important.  Am I setting this goal, because I somehow think it’s what I’m supposed to do?  I might say to myself, “I guess I should be healthy.  Everyone lists that as important, so I guess it should be important to me as well.”  That answer is not an effective “why” answer.

Instead, you need to really define why this goal is so important.  I’ll give you an example.  Health is an important goal for me.  Unfortunately my family struggles with high cholesterol and high blood pressure.  I’ve had several family members suffer from heart attacks at very young ages.

My health is directly tied to my family.  I want to be healthy because I want to live to see my children grow up and have children of their own.  I not only want to be alive, but I want to enjoy it.  I don’t want to be confined to a hospital bed or medical equipment.  I also want to have more energy in my life now.  I have a lot of worthy goals that I’m excited about pursuing, but I can’t do that if I have limited energy and I’m out of shape.

Do you see how I’ve answered the why question?  I’ve given very specific reasons that are important to me.  Answering the why question is one of the greatest secrets to accomplishing great goals. You may have practiced this principle in your own life without even realizing it.

Many years ago, my uncle was in terrible shape.  He ate terrible foods, never exercised, smoked, drank, and he rarely saw the doctor.    In his early 40’s, he had a massive heart attack.  Fortunately he survived, but his life was changed forever.

Once he recovered and was out of the hospital, my uncle was a changed man.  He changed his entire diet.  He started exercising every day.  He quit smoking and drinking, and he never missed regular check-ups with his doctor.  He lost an enormous amount of weight.  He looked great, and you would have never guessed he was so out of shape a few years before.

So what happened to my uncle?  I’ll break it down for you.  He answered the why question.  His goal was to get healthy, but the key to his success was that he knew why.  Once you know why, you’ll do everything you can to figure out how.  Do you see the power of this principle?  Answer the why question, and you’ve got 80% of the goal setting process accomplished to do great things.

Learn Several Powerful Strategies to Goal Setting (Part 1)

Wednesday, December 8th, 2010

Goal setting can be an invaluable exercise that can literally revolutionize your life for the good.  Most of the great entrepreneurs who have accomplished amazing things have been extremely effective at setting goals.  While goal setting is important, it’s effectiveness can increase exponentially if you practice the steps that I will be outlining in the next several blog posts.  You are about to learn several of the great secrets to effective goal setting.

The first step in the goal setting process is getting specific.  It is imperative that you specifically define what your goal is.  Generic goals are ineffective, because they fail to identify what you are really trying to accomplish.  For example, you might have a goal to be healthy.  If that is as specific as you get, then you really haven’t defined it.  What does healthy mean, especially to you?  A better goal would be, “I am going to increase my health by lowering my blood pressure and cholesterol to xyz levels, and I am going to lose 15 pounds.  You might have a goal to become rich.  Again, this is a very generic goal.  Instead, you could have the following goal, “I will become debt free by paying off my house, car, credit card balance and student loan”.

The specifics outline exactly what you are talking about, and this step forces you to really think about what you want to achieve.

Once you’ve specifically outlined the goal, then you need to burn the image of that goal into your brain by using the strategy of “painting the picture”.  Most people are visual, and it’s amazing how powerful a picture can be.  Imagine you are planning a vacation to Hawaii, and you are trying to select which resort you will stay at.  Would you rather have a written description of the resort or pictures?  While the description is very important to identify the amenities, etc., the pictures are what move you emotionally.

You need to visualize exactly what accomplishing your goal would mean to you.  It’s critical to see it in your mind as if it has already been achieved.  Meditate for a moment on the completion of the goal.  What does it feel like?  Can you see it?  Can you taste it?  Imagine the rush of accomplishing this goal.  Now find a picture that represents the goal.  It can be something cut from a magazine or a picture that you have taken.  This picture should instantly take your mind to the place of accomplishment.  If you have a goal to spend better quality time with your children, then you might consider using a picture of you playing with your children.

Finally, you need to place your picture and goal in a place that you will see it every day.  The daily reminder and visual impact of the goal will keep your focus on the task at hand.  Many people will set goals and then quickly forget in the busyness of their lives.  Painting the picture by itself is not enough.  You have to look at that picture on a daily basis, so that you start internalize the value and importance of the goal.  In the process of reviewing and visualizing your goal, you will start to focus.  Focus is the secret ingredient that actualizes the efficacy of the goal setting process.  As you continually focus on the goal at hand, your mind will commence a process of determining how to achieve it.  In the next blog, we will cover the next essential step – answering the why question, and you will be further equipped to go out and do great things.

Learn the secret to asking powerful questions

Saturday, November 13th, 2010

The questions that you ask yourself on a regular basis can have a profound effect on you.  You are always asking yourself questions, whether you know it or not.  In every situation, your brain is using questions to evaluate what’s happening.  Think about this for a moment and see if it is true.  If you are in a dangerous situation, what are you saying to yourself?  Am I going to be alright?  Should I run?  Should I fight?  What’s going to happen next?

As we ask ourselves questions, our brain operates like a super human computer designed to deliver an answer.  God provided us with this mechanism, and it is the means for how we evaluate things.

We use questions to evaluate situations and circumstances.  The problem is when we start asking ourselves bad questions that inflict damage instead of empowering us.

You might be asking yourself questions like the following:

-Why do I always screw everything up?

-Why do people hate me?

-Why am I so stupid?

-Why can’t I be successful?

As you ask yourself these disempowering questions, your brain is programmed to deliver answers.  Of course you will not receive very empowering answers when you are asking questions like the ones above.  If you ask the wrong question, you get the wrong answer.  Many of these limiting questions carry an implied meaning in the very nature of the question itself.

For example, “why do people hate me?” presupposes that people hate you.  You have already assumed that people hate you.   You are now simply asking why that is the case.  That’s a terrible question to ask.  Your brain may provide an answer that’s damaging, because it’s presupposing that people hate you and there must be a reason for it.

I challenge you to start asking empowering questions.  If you ask yourself the right question, your brain will go to work and provide an answer.  A powerful, creative question will yield a powerful, creative answer.

For example, instead of asking why people hate you, you could ask the following questions:

-What things could I be doing to make new friends?

-What can I do to be a better friend?

-How can I become a person that attracts good friends?

Think about those questions for a moment.  Do you see the difference?  These questions have the potential to empower you and put your mind in a position to provide an answer that gives you real options.  Your brain will go to work and it will provide answers that you never thought possible.

Take a moment and list three questions that you are asking yourself right now that are disempowering.  Once you list those questions, I want you to determine how those questions are affecting you?  How are they limiting you?  How are they damaging you?

Now I would like you to create three questions that will empower you.  Once you create these questions, I want you to start asking yourself these questions every day.

Below are some examples of great questions that you could be asking yourself:

-How can I build my relationship with God in a way that is exciting and fresh?

-What can I do to become a better husband/wife/father/mother/friend?

-What can I do to get into shape and also have fun at the same time?

-What things could I be doing to be a more effective employee/manager/boss/entrepreneur?

-What things could I start doing to enjoy the process of learning?

-How could I change my life to become more disciplined and hard-working while still being   spontaneous and exciting?

Now it’s your turn.  Start creating amazing and powerful questions that you can ask yourself.  Remember that the more creative questions will yield the most creative results. I have personally found this process to be surprising.  My mind has generated some amazing responses to some well-designed questions.  I use this process on a regular basis in my businesses.  As an entrepreneur, you have to create options and solutions that are outside the box of conventional thinking.  Why not use this same approach in your personal life?  It will create an environment for you to do great things.