Moving the Needle

A detailed system that will help you achieve your professional and personal goals

Moving the Needle provides both the "kick in the pants" and the game plan many of us need to break out of the rut and get moving to achieve our goals. CEOs, vice presidents, professionals, military personnel, and even college students frequently express frustration at the entrenched status quo, in which initiating progress feels like moving mountains. This book lights a path toward continual improvement, helping readers first find a direction, then make the key transitions that jumpstart forward progress. This highly practical guide outlines a change process that can be applied to professional or personal goals, giving readers a concrete plan for making big things happen. Rather than blindly shooting for the moon, readers will formulate a solid, systematic, actionable plan that can only result in progress.

In today's tenuous business climate, employers and employees alike can be glued to the ground, unsure of the path they should take, or whether they have the freedom to move forward. Moving the Needle helps readers clarify their current position, identify their optimum position, and formulate a workable strategy for getting from here to there.

• Find what "moving forward" means for your career and life
• Shake off the doldrums of routine and establish a culture of innovation
• Improve performance on a consistent basis, at every level
• Break the inertia and get moving in the right direction

Stagnation is diametrically opposed to progress. Moving forward requires a vision, a plan, and the impetus to get things done. Those who sense that big things can happen need to get clear, get free, and start Moving the Needle.

Foreword Dave Winfield xiii

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction Why This Book? xvii

Section I Get Clear

1 When It Comes to Getting Clear, First Get Quiet 3

Our Obsession with Busyness 6

The Sound of Silence 7

Have an End Goal in Mind 8

1. Set Concise and Realistic Goals 8

2. Ask Why—Of Yourself and of Others 9

3. Don’t Wait around for Something to Happen—Take Action 11

4. Manage Momentum 12

5. Secure Support by Building an Army around You 13

6. Last, Be Thinking about Game Changers 13

See All Obstacles in Your Way 13

2 Life Balance and the Life Decision Wheels 17

Another Way to Look at Life Balance 25

Balance or Fulfillment and Satisfaction 26

3 Get Clear with Your Life Mission 31

A Winning Formula 34

Passions 34

Strengths 35

Service to Others 37

The Big Eight Questions 39

1. Why Are You Here? 39

2. Who Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? 40

3. What is Your Life Mission? 40

4. Do You Take Full Responsibility for What Happens in Your Life? 40

5. How Do You Differentiate Yourself from Others? 41

6. How Can You Do a Better Job of Building and Serving the Community You Are a Part Of? 41

7. Will You Take Action to Make Any Necessary Changes? 43

8. Are You Ready to Make Mistakes? 43

Getting There? 43

4 Understanding People’s Needs 47

The Need to Belong 48

The Need for Love 50

Taking Care of Those Closest to You 51

5 Clarity in Differentiating Yourself 55

The Four-Step Process to Differentiating Yourself 58

6 Getting Clear by Creating Your Ideal Day and Ideal Life 64

Planning Your Ideal Week 67

Planning Your Ideal Month 67

Planning Your Ideal Year 69

Planning Your Ideal Life 69

Have, Do, and Be 73

Section II Get Free

7 Get Free by Taking 100 Percent Responsibility 89

A PhD in Entitlement 91

The 200-Year Rule 92

Every Day is a Bonus 95

8 Your Perspective Determines Your Freedom 100

A New Gift of Freedom 101

9 Freedom and the ZAP Concept: Zones, Alignment, and Paradoxes 107

Getting into the Zone 108

Alignment and Freedom 112

Managing the Paradox 113

10 Habits and Getting Free 119

Moving from Unhealthy to Healthy Habits 122

Taking Inventory 125

Staying on the Straight and Narrow 125

Education versus Entertainment Habits 127

Habits of Attitude 129

Habits to Begin and End the Day 130

11 Get Free with Energizing People and Activities 137

The Rule of Three 140

Taking a Look Around 141

12 Get Free with Your Money 147

Dealing with Debt 151

Credit Cards: A Form of Modern-Day Slavery 152

A New Way of Looking at Money 153

Section III Get Going

13 The 5/10/15 Plan 159

The Value of a Great System 161

Making the Right Connections 162

The Plan 163

Get Going on Building Your Client Base 165

The Personal Touch Never Goes out of Style 166

14 Wingmen and Bird Dogs 170

Your Circle of Friends 174

Round Up Your Bird Dogs 177

The Value of Mentors 178

15 Mindstorming Ideas 183

Seeing Results 186

Lawyers, Accountants, and Bankers (LAB) Nights 187

Final Thought 189

16 Differentiating Yourself with the Sweeney 22 193

The Sweeney 22 199

The Wow Factor 200

17 Putting It All Together 204

Conclusion 25 Key Takeaways 213

Notes 219

About the Author 223

Invite Joe Sweeney to Speak to Your Company or Organization 224

The Winning Game Plan 227

Index 229

JOE SWEENEY is the New York Times bestselling author of Networking Is a Contact Sport. Over the course of his 30-year career, Joe has built successful businesses by combining his love of business and his passion for sports.

MIKE YORKEY collaborated with Joe Sweeney on Networking Is a Contact Sport. In addition, he is the author or coauthor of more than 85 books with over 2 million total copies in print.

A portion of the proceeds of this book will be donated to the Navy SEAL Foundation and the transitional programs they support.

“I’m stuck.” Over the course of countless conversations with business clients, top-­performing ­athletes, and students, the author of Moving the Needle found that people from all walks of life ­experience this feeling of being unable to move forward. This book was written as a guide to help in the process of getting unstuck. Readers from all walks of life—recent college grads, transitioning military vets, CEOs, first-time ­entrepreneurs—will appreciate the straight-to-the-point approach that makes this book a life and career “coach” worth getting to know.

This book’s three-part mantra get clear, get free, and get going is also a three-part framework that readers will learn to incorporate into their ­daily lives. By enabling the clarity of purpose and direction, the freedom to make progress, and the motivation to act, Moving the Needle will help you achieve extraordinary results. Joe Sweeney has delivered keynote addresses at General ­Electric, Wells Fargo, Northwestern Mutual, the Navy SEALs, the Minnesota Wild NHL team, numerous universities, and other high-profile ­organizations. Despite the diversity of these audiences, the inspiring message of Moving the Needle has given thousands of lives and careers the jumpstart they needed.

Many of us feel we are on shaky ground in today’s economic climate. Making a big move can seem illadvised, especially if it means branching out from a relatively secure position. But, as the author of Moving the Needle knows, each of us only has one life to live. It is possible to go after and achieve our business and personal goals, but it can be tough to do it alone. The probing questions and illuminating exercises at the end of each chapter of this book can provide the coaching you need to make a confident transition into the next phase of life, and create your winning game plan.

This book brings together decades of coaching insight from the author of the New York Times bestseller Networking Is a Contact Sport. The path outlined in Moving the Needle is not a shortcut, but rather an illuminating journey through which readers can discover what’s holding them back—and learn how to overcome the obstacles with clarity, freedom, and the motivation to get going.