Problem Solving Archives - Building a Winning Mindset

Coach Wheeler’s Formula for Success

This article is a little different from the other ones on this blog. Different in a good way. The topic of Success is probably more related to your career or life in general… and less “basketball specific”. I think you will find that Coach Wheeler’s “Formula for Success” is in the vein of John Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success” that he taught his players at UCLA. If you want to “build a winning mindset”, you will definitely be interested in Coach Wheeler’s “Formula for Success”.

What kind of Formula for Success
are we talking about?

While Wheeler’s Formula for Success is primarily focused on business or career success, it can be applied in other ways. (I am hoping you will leave a comment after reading this article saying how you are going to apply the ideas in your life.) If you are looking for financial success, whether you have a job or a business, you will certainly find this “thinking framework” helpful.

Inspired by…

The top level concept, that your “volume & quality of work” determines your overall success, was inspired by Jordan B. Peterson. He is a clinical psychologist, tenured Professor at University of Toronto and, in general, a pretty smart guy from what I can tell. His knowledge of clinical psychology studies allows him to provide insights that many other “self-help” authors either miss or aren’t backing up with science. To paraphrase the success quote from him that inspired this article, “Success in life is predicted, primarily, by 2 traits: industriousness and intelligence.” (He also has a book out that is called “The 12 Rules for Life” which I have heard a lot about on podcasts so I am hoping to read it soon.)

First Layer of the Formula…

Coach Wheeler's Formula for Success This probably won’t sound earth shattering but it should make immediate sense when you think about it. “The volume and quality of your work determines your [eventual] success in life.” Duh? Right?

If we stopped there, you probably would not get much out of this formula because that statement is common sense. But if we go deeper, you should find more ideas that you can turn into actions which will lead you to more success in your chosen field.

Next Level…

As you can see in the diagram above, I am calling the “volume” side of the formula “Hard Work”. I think we can all agree that putting in more effort and time (the definition of “hard work”?), will result in more output and productivity. If you produce more, your results should (over time) lead to success.

What goes into “Hard Work”?

Hard Work - Formula for Success The Formula for Success has 3 parameters under “Hard Work”. They are (1) Passion, (2) Health and (3) Consciences. Let’s look at each in more depth.

(HW-1) Passion. We all need motivation if we are going to put in the hard work that is needed for success. Developing the skills of self motivation will help you do the work that others (i.e. the competition) won’t. It will also help you go further than the competition as well. The reason it is such common wisdom to say “Live Your Passion” is because it is critical to enjoy the process of “work” … so you will do more than your competitors. Think about it this way, if you are motivated by a passion for your work… is it really HARD work? Probably not. On the other hand, will you be passionate about everything you need to do? No, but we will talk about that in the third element of Hard Work, Consciences.

(HW-2) Health. This should be self-evident and common sense, but if you don’t maintain your health, you won’t be able to produce as much as possible. Letting your health decline will reduce your energy and may even “take you out of the game.” Aside from all the diet guru’s who are giving you weight management advice, Health is actually pretty simple. The three key elements of Health are a) Food, b) Sleep and c) Play.

I use the word “Play” (instead of exercise) on purpose. If you approach exercise as drudgery, you won’t enjoy it and I have heard that the effectiveness will actually decrease. Choose an exercise that you can, on some level, enjoy. It will energize your mind while building up your physical capacity at the same time.

Do we really need to discuss Diet & Sleep? 8 hours of sleep is a good goal but you can tell what works for you. If I could recommend one change to your diet, I would ask you to drink more water (instead of calorie-filled & chemical-filled drinks). We all know that green veggies are your friend… and they will impact your health & work output. Think about it like this… imagine you get a raise at work for every time you have a meal with green vegetables. [It doesn’t really work like that, but isn’t it a neat way to convince yourself to eat better?]

(HW-3) Consciences. This is related to self-discipline as well as self-identity. Are you the type of person who does what needs to be done? Especially WHEN it needs to be done? Author Jocko Willink has a good quote (and book by the same name), “Discipline = Freedom“. This is the one area that you can make the most immediate impact … if you pay attention to your thoughts and take control of your habitual ways of thinking.

I’m not talking about willpower. Willpower is a limited resource and it can “go away” when you are tired at the end of a long day or you have a dip in your motivation. Be sure to build as much of your “need to do” activities into habits and routines that you don’t have to think about. A good book for learning how to do this is “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg.

One more thing about Hard Work…

Before we look at the other side of the formula (Smarts), I should explain one particular part of the Hard Work diagram. Did you notice the words “Goya”, “Goya”, “Goya” where the connector lines lead into the Hard Work bubble? This is taken from a motivational speech by inspirational keynote speaker Croix Sather. GOYA is an acronym for “Get Off Your Ass”. In terms of Coach Wheeler’s formula for success, GOYA is a reminder that you need to TAKE ACTION and not just think about what you should be doing. This is also a great transition into the “Smarts” portion of Coach Wheeler’s Formula for Success… as we keep in mind that thinking alone won’t get you what you want!

Let’s Get Smart!

Smarts-Formula for Success The second major component of Success is “Smarts” or “general intelligence”. Coach Wheeler breaks this down into 3 parts, (1) Knowledge, (2) Social Skills and (3) Problem Solving. Going back to Jordan B. Peterson, he has said that the studies show intelligence, as measured by IQ, is incredibly difficult to improve. On the other hand, Knowledge can continually be accumulated and you can gather facts or ideas that you can use across a wide variety of situations. Coach Wheeler also added Social Skills to his model for success and we will discuss how to build and leverage them more below.

(S-1) Knowledge. As we go through life, we pick up information that we can then apply to solving problems in the future. This increases the value of our output and increases our chances for success. As you learned above, IQ is tough to change but we can “look smart” by simply learning “the tricks” for success in a given situation. There are typically two ways that we learn… independent learning and structured learning.

Independent learning is when we take the initiative and learn on our own. Examples include watching instructional YouTube video or reading books. There is an amazing amount of information out there and we probably have more access to information now than at any other time in history thanks to the internet and search engines. Smart people continue to learn.

Structured learning would include traditional schooling or perhaps one-on-one coaching. One of my favorite sayings about school is “Math = Money”. This means that learning math in school will help you handle money (and grow your wealth) when you get out into the “real world”. Depending on the quality of your teachers, it might be easy to get bored or “zone out” in school. Stay focused and keep asking yourself questions that help you stay engaged. “How will I use this in my life?” is a good one to start.

(S-2) Social Skills. There are many different types of “Smarts” and your ability to work with, and influence, other people is a major consideration when determining the quality of your work. We are not saying that you should try to make everyone happy. Sometimes you need to create conflict to get what you want or solve the problem that you are presented.

Another way to look at social skills is your ability to communicate effectively. On top of that, your leadership skills figure into your eventual success. How do you improve these things? Join Toastmasters. They are a world-wide non-profit organization dedicate to helping their members improve their public speaking and leadership skills. Find a chapter near you by visiting their website… Toastmasters International.

(S-3) Problem Solving. This is typically correlated to the people’s “inherited” qualities of IQ and creativity. Even though much of your qualities may be genetic, there is still a skill that can be developed. If you want more ideas on how to improve your Problem Solving, here is the first article in our series on the topic. To learn when we publish more Problem Solving articles, be sure to sign up for our email notification service (in the right column on this page).

It is a fair statment to say that the quality of your work output is generally tied directly to your ability to solve problems. Brain Power (i.e. IQ) is good to have, especially when you are tackling more complex problems but everyone can learn how to solve problems. If you are motivated and work hard at accumulating the knowledge you need to solve problems in your area of expertise, you will be successful. This is where I tell you that all the parts of Coach Wheeler’s Formula for Success work together to make you successful. But you probably already figured that out, right?

Bottom Line…

Will Coach Wheeler’s Formula For Success work for you? Like they say “The program will work… if you work the program.” I don’t think there is anything too “out there” in this formula. It should be easy to understand… but what are you going to do with it? Can you “up your game” when it comes to Hard Work? What do you need to improve on the “Smarts” side of the Formula for Success? If you don’t change what you do, how can you expect different results? The choice is up to you. You can use the formula… or you can “go with the flow” and take whatever life gives you. Which do you think will turn out the best for you?

Downloadable Bonus !

Congratulations! You have made it all the way to the end of this article. You deserve a reward for your efforts. (Hopefully the article was interesting and not exactly “hard work”.) Your bonus for making it this far is a downloadable copy of Coach Wheeler’s Formula for Success diagram. You are welcome to share it on social media and, ideally provide a link back to this article. Right-Click on the link below and “Save As” to get the downloadable PDF version!
SuccessFormula-download-CoachWheeler

The Problem with Problems – Why Problem Solving doesn’t work.

Everyone has problems. If you are alive, you have problems. They might be big, life-changing problems like a diagnosis of cancer or they could be minor inconveniences like a fly buzzing in your ear. That’s not why problem solving tactics don’t work. Problem solving is easier than you think, but I am getting ahead of myself.

The real problem with problems (and the way most people approach problem solving) is three-fold… and, as you will see, they are inter-related.

(1) Denial River. First, we are too often simply in denial of the problem. “I don’t have any problems” … as you buy the next bigger size of pants to fit your expanding midsection.

(2) Comfortable known vs Uncomfortable unknown. The problems we know are easier to accept compared to the great unknown that might exist if we tried to solve the problem. We get comfortable being sort of uncomfortable… we tell ourselves “it could be worse”. We don’t want to push through additional “discomfort”… so our “comfort zone” becomes a prison. A prison that we hold the key to unlock.

(3) Other people have problems. This is related to the denial we have about problems but it goes one step further. “I don’t have a problem. OTHER People have problems, but I don’t.” It is much easier to recognize other people’s problem than our own. We may be too close to them, in denial or just don’t want to face the work that would be required to fix them. It is so much easier to point out other people’s problems. The grass may be greener on the other side of the fence… but that’s just because that’s where your neighbor’s septic tank is leaking!

So, why am I writing a series about Problem Solving?

Especially when it is clear that most people won’t care enough to read it, much less apply the ideas to solve their problems?

I guess part of it is my own fascination with the topic. I see problem solving as a sort of puzzle. What follows are the tricks I’ve learned over the years to solve these puzzles.

Do I have problems?

Of course I do. As many, or maybe more, than most of you. My commitment, as part of writing this series of articles, is to use my own problems as examples that you might learn from. Ideally, I will solve some of my own problems in the process of thinking through all the steps I will be presenting. At least that is my hope.

The Process of Problem Solving

I have broken the process of Problem Solving into a series of skills or activities. They can tackle everything from the largest, most complex corporate problem at work to the daily nit-picking problems you have at home. As I add articles to the series, I will list them here and provide links. So depending on when you find this article, you may have additional links below. If there are no links or the series is not complete, sign up for our email notification service. Signup box is in the right column on every page of this blog. It is a simple two step process requiring a confirmation email.

Best Problem Solving process… Guaranteed.

My guarantee to you is that if you go through the whole problem solving process, you will find a solution. If you don’t, I will personally work with you. If we can’t solve your problem I will admit that I was beaten by your problem. Then we can see if my readers might offer suggestions that we missed. Got questions? Send Coach Wheeler an email via our Contact page.

10 Ideas to take James Altucher podcast to “Next Level”

I have been listening to the James Altucher podcast for years and read a number of his books including “Choose Yourself” and am more than half way through “The Choose Yourself Guide to Wealth”. In his books, he preaches the gospel of becoming an “idea machine” to build the skill of coming up with ideas. In this post, I have taken his advice and (hopefully) have generated 10 ideas that he can use.

Here is a little more background on the 10 ideas…

In a recent podcast, James interviewed his podcast producer Steve Cohen (who also books his guests). Steve is an interesting guy with a boatload of contacts he has built up over years of booking guests for radio and TV shows. The conversation in the podcast with Steve eventually turned to how they can “take the podcast to the next level”. They didn’t go into a lot of detail. I sensed that it is a topic they discuss quite a bit since they are both committed to making a great podcast and building up their audience. I also saw this as an opportunity to apply the “Idea Machine” skills I learned from James… to come up with 10 ideas FOR James (and Steve).

10 Ideas Disclaimer…

Here are 10 Ideas (with one bonus) but there is no guarantee that they are great (or even good) ideas. In fact, they are probably ideas that James and/or Steve have already considered. On the other hand… maybe one of the ideas presented here will help James double his audience! Or not… but let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Here are the 10 ideas (click on the image below to see it Full Size and right side up)…

10 Ideas to Take James Altucher's podcast to the Next Level

In case the image above does not look clear enough, here is a brief (text) synopsis of the 10 ideas.

(1) Auction off books signed by guests who are promoting their books. Since I heard that James reads most books on his Kindle, if he comes across a hard copy of the book, he may want to get rid of it and an eBay auction of a copy signed by both James and the author could provide additional promotion for the podcast.

(2) Create a sub-segment within the podcast called “Steve Cohen QuoteMaster” where Steve adds two or three quotes that apply to the topic being discussed with the guest. With Steve’s encyclopedic knowledge of quotes, he is probably more likely to pick up on any quotes the guests might offer and may be able to take it “to the Next Level”.

(3) Expand the Distribution of the Content. One way would be via a YouTube Channel. This would, eventually, require adding some more visually interesting aspects to the podcast but it could be worthwhile since YouTube is such a powerful search engine. Another way to expand distribution would be to re-purpose the content based on topic, sort of like Tim Ferris has done or Jerry Seinfeld did when he took his Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee show and edited it into “Shots” format.

(4) Create Tie-ins to… NYC events, SXSW (like Tim Ferriss), United Nations, Sports (relying on Steve’s sports knowledge), Financial / Wall Street.

(5) [Topic Specific] Panel Discussions. With an audio-only format, it is sometimes difficult to identify specific voices but James has a unique voice so this might be possible. It might work better on video.

(6) Add Sound Effects. I learned from James that not all 10 ideas have to be good. This is one of my “throw-aways” but maybe it will spur ideas for someone else… someone who maybe has experience making old-tyme radio shows!

(7) Serialized Content. If each podcast (in a series) were to end on a teaser or cliffhanger, it could increase the likelihood of listeners anticipating the next podcast. One thought on the current end-teasers… The audio clips are often very interesting but without the name of the guest, I don’t know which podcast to look for. Since podcasts are not necessarily listened upon release, it would help to identify who the guest is on the teaser clip.

(8) Promote “Special Episodes”. For example, if someone like Richard Branson (a ‘big name”) or a Specific Topic (e.g. #me too) or even an Extra Long podcast is coming up, it could be worthwhile to do some paid promotion, press releases or even appearances on (NY based) TV shows.

(9) Partner with… Starbucks, Book Publisher(s), Airlines, Trains, Sponsors, Car Manufacturers, Health Clubs. It is assumed that many podcasts are listened to while traveling so it might be worthwhile to even give away [cheap?] MP3 players with the JA podcast pre-loaded. If a new car has a hard drive, why not deliver it with all of James’ podcasts pre-loaded? Maybe gyms could loan MP3 players to patrons so they could listen while they work out too.

(10) Take it On The Road. If you took the show on the road, it could tap into a whole new set of listeners and guests. Imagine if the show was recorded in Chicago? Paris? London? Maybe you could talk about meditation in India. The “adventure” could also be documented (for YouTube channel) to provide a glimpse into the life of a podcast. It could also show James interacting with the guests in new ways (“behind the scenes”). Maybe James does standup all around the world!

(bonus #11) Ask guests and listeners to recommend books or potential guests they would like to have on the podcast. With Steve’s networking skill and a recommendation from a listener, he may be able to get some amazing guests. Maybe even some that are a little “off the radar” of most podcasts.

Coach Wheeler’s reward for everyone who has read all 10 ideas…

If you have made it all the way to the end of this post… here is your reward. These 10 ideas are just one small part of Coach Wheeler’s series on the topic of Problem Solving (you can read more here). The series starts with a post titled “The Problem with Problems”. It continues on with articles on Idea Generation, Problem Solution Methods and much more. I hope you check it out. It would be great if you are able to solve one of your own problems or something that is challenging someone you know. To get an email notification when new articles are posted, just sign up for our email list. (See signup box in the right margin). It is a two-step process requiring you to confirm your signup. Simply click on the link in the email we send you right after you sign up.

What kind of Formula for Success are we talking about?