Goals 2019 Edition

ANNUAL GOALS POST!

My annual “goals post” is a favorite for many reasons. A benefit of this digital renaissance is that you can use blogs and social media to find out what matters to people. What motivates them? What do they want? This annual post is my personal report card to myself; a meditation on my progress, achievements, goals and ambitions.

Tim Shane 2018

I do appreciate you taking the time to read what I am sharing as being able to articulate the goal is both critical and crucial. More often than not I succeed at what I set out to do and learn some lessons from both the success as well as the failures. However part of this process is putting it out there so you can hold me accountable. I will spare you my goal setting systems that I have been evolving since childhood as they can be found in earlier entries of this blog.

First let us recap the post and accomplishments from last year (2018). I realized 2016 just blended into 2017 in the recap and 2017 was pretty epic. Now that I look back I seem to excel in the odd numbered years. When asked “How are you doing” even if I am at my best I reply with “getting better”. 2018 was good but seems like I was really setting myself up for success in 2019! In each area I will recap then put the 2019 goal.

HEALTH!

Tim Shane Spartan 2018 Medals

This becomes exponentially challenging with each passing year and 2018 had some ups and downs. 2018 was the first year that I wondered about how much better I could be if I made health a priority earlier in my journey. On the upside I am most certainly starting the year more fit and flexible than the past decade and possibly ever. While it seems my energy and endurance where things I may have taken for granted in my younger years, I admit I have to work to keep them from declining in my current state of youth. I explored some diets which led to a healthier lifestyle overall and I certainly find myself free of dependencies on sugar, caffeine, gluten, salt and harmful artificial ingredients. I foolishly intended to retire from Spartan Racing and OCR at the top of my game in 2017. Turned out I was still able to do enough races to keep my Trifecta status and make improvements. It is part of my lifestyle now and I find myself wanting to get out and run, climb, jump, hike, crawl, swing, swim, fly, hang, carry or whatever it takes to overcome the obstacle and I don’t need a medal to do it.

Recovering in the Eisenhower Suite at Rough Creek Lodge 2018

Jo DeSena, the creator of Spartan Race was at Rough Creek Lodge sitting at the same table that I determined I would get much better at Spartan Race 7 years prior. I wanted to ask for a picture with him and compare it to my first race in 2011. (Perhaps I didn’t because I could not back down from however many burpees he would have me do for the picture and it was the eve prior to Race Day). If that opportunity every presents itself again I will not hesitate because I had not realized how far I had come until I went and looked back. Another observation is Spartan Race made health my top priority in these entries since my first race 7 years ago. It has been an amazing journey thus far. Riding horses has had a fantastic impact on my health as well. I rode an average of once a day of 2018 and that also helps keep the weight off and the strength and flexibility up. It helps when you start to gain weight that you are making the job harder on your team mate. It also keeps you going on those hard days when you know you have a partner that loves you and is looking forward to your workout together.

Fire Jump of my Last Beast of 2018

On the other side as I crossed the finish line of my last race of 2018, the Spartan Beast, I could not make it the next few feet to the banana and water station. The next day I could not walk on my feet and seriously thought I would have to be in a wheelchair. That led me to the podiatrist where I learned I have a whole new set of challenges in my feet. I had to wear a boot for a few months and make some changes to my footwear. I thought I was doing so much better as I ended the year with all my toenails and in actually good shape. It was certainly humbling end of 2018.

2019 Health Goals are to maintain my college body weight (under 200 lbs) with increased strength and flexibility and ideal BMI. Remain in optimal shape for my fiance, my horse as most certainly myself. I will keep by Spartan Trifecta Tribe Status and explore the new Trail series. I will continue the streak with annual physical to keep all my levels optimal. I will protect my rest, spirit, recovery and relaxation as part of my overall health.

CAREER GOALS

Tim Shane with Executive Director Max Allen and some photo-bombers

What we do defines us. We may say, think, feel and want good intentions, but in the end it is what we do that impacts our reality. Here is the 2018 Recap. On the new mission to “Boldly Go” as an affiliate of the Dallas Lighthouse For the Blind, to continue the trend of growing and utilizing my skill set all came to fruition. The goal was to not only grow but return to the trend of doubling in size. This was achieved in revenue potential which is my job. However some things I used to feel in control of seemed to have been removed from my plate. (Keeping down expenses, optimizing resources, keep up retention, speedy innovation of new solutions).

Envision Mission

The Dallas Lighthouse for the Blind merged with a much larger organization named Envision.
On the upside Envision is a non-profit organization with a mission and resources that I have only previously dreamed. This organization has a positive and productive impact for the blind and visually impaired as well as the lives of so many people every day. Fortunately all my experience being able to navigate and embrace change gave me opportunities to shine, landing new clients, some of which setting new records for the largest contracts in history of Bold. This sets the stage for growth despite the chaos going on in the world in 2019. On the downside mergers and acquisitions can bring a great deal of change, stress and fear. As a result many of the core team that were vital to the thriving culture of the early days of Bold are no longer officially part of the team, (although I will always consider them a part of mine). These changes also further inspired my creative and philanthropic roots with Shane-Arts bringing everything together.

The Haunting of Whiskey Ranch

In recent years I have separated the “Creative” innovations from the revenue generating “Development” in my goals. Much of my success can be attributed to my ability to optimize both. We got the “band back together” and returned to Lake Ray Hubbard as well as launched a new venue (TX Whiskey Ranch) in October with some of our original core members and some excellent new talent. In 2019 I plan to bring them back into alignment.

Tim Shane as Sam Diamond at the Haunting of Whiskey Ranch

2019 Career Goals are to seek and secure new revenue generating and mission driven philanthropic opportunities resulting in a minimum of double digit growth (10% or more) for my clients and campaigns and to balance the creative innovations with the developing success.

Horsing Around… more seriously though

Tim Shane and Artful Design at the USDF Regional Championships

2018 was the best year so far, as it was our first full year as a horse and rider team. We progressed all the way to regional championships and have been happy with our two champion and numerous blue ribbons and scores from recognized shows. For the Dallas Dressage Club we took our top 4 scores and averaged them together and it came out in the 70’s. Perhaps my most proud achievement of 2018 was officially making “Artful Design” mine, or me hers depending on your view. The bond and connection we share is amazing and continually rewarding in so many ways.

Success in 2018

2018 was very good to introduce me to the world of “horse show business” making new friends and connections as well as reconnecting with old ones. Germany did not happen and I am scratching that goal for the foreseeable future.

2019 Horse Goals

Excel through the next level and beyond collecting more top ribbons than my debut year. I also plan to explore Freestyle and Eventing as that is what initially attracted me to Dressage. It is my assessment that this is quite an audacious goal as I am at the most competitive level in the region so the odds are against us. It is also important to declare as a goal that I not allow my competitive nature to dominate the winning connection I have with my horse.

PERSONAL and RELATIONSHIP GOALS

2018 had some personal and relationship twists and turns as well.  With my knowledge of digital marketing I will keep some personal, spiritual and relationship goals off line, but they do exist (Having boundaries was a goal I achieved a few years back).  Before the digital world I would still only focus on and grow the positive, and in the digital world so many people only put their best on the internet.  That does not mean there is not loss and struggle.  It seems I am coming of an age where we are losing some crucial people in our lives.  Just within Shane-Arts we lost both Rhiannon McMillen and Ginger Mensik way before their time.  My “family” is growing far more than so many of you have come to know and love over the years.  Some of those goals are not to be “measured” the way I approach my other endeavors, but they are still a priority.

Thank you so much for reading and looking forward to a very good report as we enter the “Roar’n Twenties”!

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The name is BOLD

I have been promising an explanation for leaving my position at the Dallas BBB. Here it is.

They say if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life, and it was no secret I fell in love with working at the Bureau.  Every day presented new challenges and new opportunities.  We fought the good fight every day next to like-minded individuals that believed in not only solving problems, but inspiring and empowering people to do business better.  There was always something new to learn  I looked forward to work every day and could see how my team and I were making a difference.

In the past year I was the leader in bringing in new businesses and promoting trust in the marketplace  using my fundraising and philanthropic skill set in the area of sponsorships.  This was not the kind of environment where you are “micro-managed”, rather the kind where you were inspired by good “leadership”.  There were some changes in that leadership and I was even a candidate for position of Vice President.  Why would I leave?

“You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.” (Zig Ziglar)

A few of those aforementioned inspirational leaders formed a team of brilliant minds and talent within the system and asked me to be included.  They offered me a team and a leadership role that would utilize many of my additional talents while allowing me to bring that leadership and talent to multiple organizations around the U.S. and the world.

Since my arrival I have been able to do more in a week than I used to do in a month, basically doing the same job on a larger scale and it has been keeping me quite busy.  Although I am working with many familiar faces from my post at Dallas and I have brought in some others that I have worked with previously, it is a vital new organization Built On Leadership Development.  The name is BOLD!

My extension is also 0007 (That is 007 with an extra 0 to show I mean business)

True Stories: Leonard the Shoe Doctor

This is a true story about what happened when I did not trust someone that I had been doing business with for over a year.  Trust is always a factor in business, especially after it has been earned.

I dress well in my own signature style and usually have good relationships with tailors, dry-cleaners, groomers and lately Leonard, the Shoe Doctor.

The handle broke on my handcrafted leather bag.  One might say that it was a gift from an ex but I feel that I earned it.  It’s traveled most of the continent and taken a beating.  Clutching it as I fumbled in the rain I saw Leonard, “The Shoe Doctor” as he is known throughout the busy underground of Downtown Dallas.  Executives drop off their shoes, purses and leather goods to him first thing in the morning and he gives them quality care as not to rush your lunch time.  He personally delivers them to the office when ready.  He saw my bag and pretty much started finishing my sentences for me.  Assured the cost would not be much, he could probably have it repaired, cleaned and better than new in no time.  He agreed to meet me at my office so I could empty the contents.

Normally I pay and tip Leonard in cash, and even now I’m not sure he takes anything else.  From his advertised prices and our conversation I was confident the cash I had on me was more than enough.  However we always discuss price on his turf, and now here we were at my office door.  The price he said sounded to me like I could cover it and give a substantial tip.  Leonard looked at me funny and said the prices again and I pulled out the calculator on my phone and showed him what that added up to.  Leonard was still puzzled.  Things were awkward.  He then explained to me the repair price wasn’t the total price, and that I needed 2 repairs.  One for each place the handle connected.  One was broken but the other was literally “hanging by a thread”.

“Be Prepared” is one of many mottos I follow.  As I pulled out my Backup Benjamin I had a feeling that I was being hustled, ironically in front of the big torch of the bureau on my door.  It was my turn to look at Leonard funny in what quite literally was a “moment of truth”.  It was at that moment that I made the decision that I think most people I talk to every day make.  I gave him the money and tried to justify the action to myself.

As I sat back at my desk I realized that many people are not confrontational when they feel they are being scammed or hustled.  They don’t say “STOP!  I don’t trust you.”  People are much more likely to tell someone “I can’t afford it” or “Not right now” than they are to say “I don’t trust you”.  I was pretty sure I was scammed and I started paying extra close attention to my behavior.  I can sum them up in 4 actions that all start with the letter D as in DUH!

DENY  First thing I started doing was justifying it to myself.  “Not me.”  Rationalizing to myself and quite frankly if it was not part of my job to educate people I might have somehow made it my fault or dismissed it as a misunderstanding.

DECLARE:  They say someone that has a bad experience is more likely to talk about it than if they experienced something good.  I did not even realize that I was talking about it, but a colleague asked what was wrong.  Next thing I know people that I did not think could even be listening are sharing their advice on the matter.

DIG:  I start researching comparative costs.  I investigated online and do not find a website, a bbb listing or anything else on him so I walked down to his sign where I take a picture of this published prices with my phone.

DECIDE:  Just as I thought I had all the information I was just hoping to get my bag back and then have to find someone new when I thought “Wait, what do I have to lose by telling him exactly how this went down from my perspective?”  So I decided to give it a try.

Part of my job is educating the business and the public on how to spot a scam and what to do if you find yourself caught up in one.  Every day a business owner swears to me that they do not have such a problem.  It is funny to think that someone would have that awkward conversation of how much they do not trust you..  Typically they just tell you they went in another direction when you follow up and make it as if it were about something else.

So I proceeded to have that awkward conversation with Leonard and in the long run we are both better for it.  Naturally he was initially offended, and I think that anticipated reaction might be why most people shy away from such confrontation.  I presented the scenario and even showed him the pictures of his advertisement and evidence as to why I felt misled.

Leonard explained his side and I had to admit that I might have misunderstood.  When he went into the detail of the process of the repair, cleaning and treating and by the end of it I felt as though I should give him more money.  He also found the advertisement and showed me it was almost 10 years old and he was having the sign updated and until it could be he covered up the parts that were no longer true.

I felt so much better and Leonard says he does too.  He said he stayed up thinking about it and after he explained his side of the story I have so much more respect for the work that he does.  I have a new appreciation for the value and he got some honest feedback that might help him win the trust of clients he may never have known were even needing his services.

A very interesting thing I learned about myself was that even though I like to think of myself as a brave soul who is not afraid to stand up for what is right, I found myself trying to avoid the conflict just like I think many people do.  Also, because one of the things I enjoy most about my job is to helping more and more people do the right thing because after all, if more people lead by example, that many more will follow.

Thank you Leonard for taking care of my shoes, my bag and helping me learn an important lesson in the process.