Yesteryear, if you told someone you’re busy they may empathize.

Tell people you’re busy today and a little voice in the ether goes, “Uh oh!” 

A respected colleague, Victoria Labalme talks about how bringing up “busy” leads to a series of one-up-manship. 

“How are you?”

“I’m really busy. How are you?”

“Oh, I’m crazy busy. I’ve got busy, on top of busy.”

As Labalme astutely points out, busy is nothing to brag about.

Today, ‘busy’ has become a fading badge oh honor. Much in the same way, admitting “I don’t know how to turn on a computer,” was okay to say until it eventually became a sign of complete ignorance.

Let’s face it. With the quality and proliferation of technological solutions, busy is no longer a positive sign. It is, in fact, a red flag. It is a harbinger for ineffective behavior. A symbol of someone out of control.

This should put sayings like, “If you want to get something done, give it to a busy person,” a cause for pause. 

“If you want to get something done, give it to an efficient person.” Isn't that better (albeit not a play on words)?

Here are Five Signs you’re busyness may be holding you back:

1. You Feel Busy but Don’t Notice Results. 
2. You Admit Busyness and Feel Out of Control.
3. You’re Exhausted From The Weight of Your Commitments.
4. You Can’t Quite Recall What You Did Today.
5. You’ve Given Up Lists for Reactionary Work.

The antidote to busy?

• List Your MITs - List the Peter Thomas, MITs (the most important things you want to get done) at the beginning of each day. 
• Target Specific Results - Target the specific progress or results you want to accomplish each day.
• Attach Emotion to Progress - Emotionally attach your progress to the end game, the ultimate prize you aim to attain. 

Now, don’t panic. It is still relatively acceptable to say you’re busy. But that window of acceptability is rapidly closing. Then, one day, admitting you’re busy will be an outright admission of ignorance. 

Best to get busy on solving busy, before its too late.

Goal-setting is vital in every aspect of life. It will preserve aspirations, dreams, ambitions and hopes that one seeks to reach. Here is how you can help others reach their goals faster.

First, one must look at the bigger snapshot, meaning: What is it the person you're helping seeks to accomplish in their lifetime? Determine what it is that he or she values, and then breakdown how one can get to the finish-line. For example, if money is a motivating factor in daily life, set aside specific time to write out what needs to be accomplished in order to get to the goal.

Second, and just as importantly, one must compose the goal in detail and follow progress. If it's not set-in-stone (tell others, put it on your wall, take a sculpture class and actually chip the words into stone) the goals are not likely to be accomplished.

Third, split goals into steps and immediate action, so one can follow one at a time. Track the triumphs attained. Any goal set ought to be distinct easily measured and important to the goal setter. Set a deadline and work towards that target date.

Fourth, maintaining a Goals Journal is effective, because it's possible to follow the progress and development or regression. As each step is attained, mark it off the journal and reward yourself for that achievement. Reexamine the goal if it is taking too much time to reach.

Impractical goals will become frustrating for the goal setter, and therefore, may cause someone to stop trying after a large amount of effort was put forth.

Fifth and finally, have multiple goals, and prioritize which are the most important. Goals with more meaning are those you are coaching will put more emphasis on.

{Invitation: Take a look at more about setting goals on our home page to navigate towards your goals. www.vinceposcente.com}

When five Down’s syndrome angels dance into your life, pay attention. (This particular motivational keynote speaker did...)

It was a typical travel day in Orlando’s International sensory overload airport. Typical until the Russell Home Dance Team showed up.

90,000 people went in and out of OIA on Monday. Of the 800 flights, 39 airlines were business as usual. One airline, brought in a heartwarming reminder that we could all smile more.

Listen, I’m a dad who pays for dance lessons and watches his kid perform. It makes Isabella happy and that is extremely gratifying. Yes, she’s talented. She just made ‘company’ at Dallas Ballet Center. It is a pre-professional vocation she does 20+ hours per week. For yours truly, admittedly, dance has become a bit of a routine – until Monday.

There were no explanations. No pitch to raise money for the extraordinary, Russell Home. No VP from Southwest Airlines giving a speech about their Southwest's Citizenship campaign. Just five atypical dancers in matching white dresses and pink, slip on dance shoes, smiling so wide they lit up the concourse.

Only a few dozen people watched the troupe in each location at the airport. Roughly 89,900 people completely missed the one song routine. But the audience had very little to do with the reason they were there.

Back in high school I taught swimming. From four year old kids to 40 year old adults. But my favorite lessons were with the Down’s kids who’d come to the Strathcona Pool once a week. Why “favorite?” Joy. Every single stroke, splash and jump was expressed with pure, unfiltered happiness. No agenda. No ego. Just delight!

To experience five pure souls perform what they must have spent hours preparing was outright magic. The rapture they felt after their performance was infectious. People who resisted the urge to rush to their gate were wiping away tears. The travelers who walked right by (with a possible unattached glance) missed out.

We each dance through our day, determined to deliver a desired result. The routine turns into a spinning wheel, blurring the meaning behind it all. Yet, do we dance for the pleasure of it or dance through the motions?

Today, focus on the routine you have at work or with what you ‘have’ to do. Find the bliss in this dance of yours.

You may be tempted to lift back a tiny foot in delight.

Moreover, you’ll love the effect it has on the rest of your day.

A number of marketing minds wondering the same thing about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, "How can we create similar success for our cause?" 

The Challenge has raised nearly $42 million to support research into Lou Gehrig’s disease. Heck, there are people doing the challenge without a clue about ALS. Celebrities are looking at creative ways to get on board for a good cause. Grandparents are challenging their grandkids, neighbors are challenging baseball teams.

Below are the elements that have helped make the Ice Bucket Challenge popular. These same elements can be used for a cause you'd like to promote:

• It's Unique, Fun to Watch and Fun to Do. YouTube and Facebook videos continue to experience explosive growth in viewership. Fun is viral. Unique is intriguing. If it's unique, fun to watch and do, then you have triple the probability of it being viral.
• Put a Person in FRONT of a Cause (Not a Cause Before all Else). Last year between July 29 and August 21st the ALS 'Cause' brought in $2.1m. In the same period this year... $41.8 m. Why? One person challenged others. If it were just a cause, the motivational stickiness of the concept is weak. Put a person in front of the cause and you get the motivational ball rolling. 
• People Love to be Noticed. The 'Challenge' is the ultimate selfie. Being relevant and noticed is a central part of the human condition. Look at the power of Yelp. Why would someone want to help or hurt a local business? It ultimately means people want their opinion to matter because they want to matter. Yelp is a magical combination of valuing someone's opinion (of being done right or wrong) and taking notice of who said it.
• When Celebrities Jump In, People Take Extra Notice. Look way, way back in history... to last year. Remember the Harlem Shake? The EDM clip got viral traction in the begining of February 2013, but it went exponentially viral When the Miami Heat did their own video of their Harlem Shake. 
• Celebrities Need to Stay in the Public Eye. Having a good cause made it a short, playful celebrity leap to a 15 second video and a cold bucket of water.

Of course, if going viral was easy, every marketing department would be motivated to get on the same wagon. But the last, and most elusive thing it takes - is to get a little lucky.

This one’s gonna sting. It's about you.

You are naturally wired to avoid doing the things you need to do to succeed. 

If you’re in sales, this ought to cause a tad more than concern. (Oh, and as the saying goes, “If you’re lips are moving, you’re in sales.”)

For those who have a product of service to sell, it’s easier to simply not call. You don’t get up in the morning and seek discomfort. Our natural instinct is to follow that path of least resistance.
Instinct is difficult to overcome. For example, how would you not blink if a beach ball was thrown at your face? Instinct is deeply ingrained into every fiber of your being.

So what’s your antidote to this pesky instinct?

1. Attach Pain to Procrastination – As you instinctively skip down the path to least resistance – use your fertile imagination to immediately play-out all the painful scenarios attached to procrastination. Bring in the 5 senses. Now, add feelings of embarrassment, disappointment, letting others down. Do this right and the pain will be too much to tolerate. You’ll jump to your own rescue.
2. Put an Aikido Move on Least Resistance – Given we instinctively dislike resistance. Use this force of dislike to your advantage. Picture this: Depositing less money in the bank. Getting fired for lack of production. Looking for a new job or new client. Just like a martial arts master uses the momentum of a ‘haymaker’ punch to redirect in a fluid throw to the ground, use the consequences of resistance as a redirect to what you should be doing.
3. Interrupt the Pattern of Least Resistance - When you realize you're slipping into the procrastination pattern, do something so physiologically unusual you psychologically pause for a reset. Example:
   • You get to the office and start arranging paperclips, seeing how many pencils you can hold with your upper lip or poking around on Facebook (same thing as paperclip arranging and lip-pencil holding).
   • Say to yourself, "Uh oh, I'm procrastinating." (with the voice of Rocky Balboa)
   • Pinch your nose with one hand while waving your right arm like a lunatic. Throw in a “whoop, whoop, whoop” as if you’re one of the Three Stooges. You’ve interrupted the pattern. (Feel free to develop your own signature move.)
   • Now, consciously and immediately follow-up this pattern interrupt with the most important thing you need to get done today. 

It’s easier to sleep in. It’s less difficult to turn on the TV than to be proactive on the phone. It’s more relaxing to stay at home than to get in the car and meet a prospect.

Stop being a creature of least resistance. Engage in the three rewiring tactics above and you’ll create an end-game of an easier life. Isn’t that 'easier life' what your instinct wanted all along?

Adversity is the wellspring of wisdom.

It’s the foundation of character.

Without adversity, your inner power atrophies

and your moral compass can lose true north.

Our team of 13 Westerners set out to follow the steps of devout Hindus who, over the centuries, have set out to climb Shrikhand Mahadev (17,195 ft). Noted as one of the toughest pilgrimages in the world – it became evident how adversity would help us expand possibility.

The thin air of the Himalayas combined with the dramatic terrain coupled for a classic journey of “one step at a time.”

It took three travel days plus three tough climbing days to get to base camp. Well above the tree-line we planned a rest day to assimilate our systems to the 14,000+ altitude.

The day of the climb we were nervous and excited. There were a number of massive glaciers on unforgiving angles which required walking crampons to secure our footing.

As mentioned, pilgrims and holy Sadhus also made the journey. With flimsy shoes and rudimentary walking sticks. Their faith drove them past physical and rational limitations of what seemed possible.

At every turn and 'false' peak, a new height revealed itself. At any given time, it seemed like we were close to the summit but another incline pushed its challenge in our faces.

Finally, we came over another 60+ degree climb to see the summit of Shrikhand Mahadev. When the peak was in view – the final push was on.

At 17,195 feet our guides and our team were greeted by a Sadhu who lit incense and chanted a Hindu blessing.

Together, Max and I celebrated reaching the summit. We thank all our team who supported us. HOPE was our fuel.

Our descent was easier than the climb, but going down was no less treacherous. Each careful step was clouded by exhaustion and some dehydration. We took longer than we expected to summit and descend. This meant we ran out of water and had to finish the 4,000 foot vertical round trip with nothing to drink. The day took over 11 hours. The last of our team descended after 12 and ½ hours.

On the way back through the Kullu valley we came across sheep herders and more pilgrims.

A small town visit was like climbing into a time capsule – straight into the middle ages. Curious heads popped out of windows and doors to see a rare sighting of a Westerner. The question we were asked most often? "What are you doing here?" That was indeed, a profound question. Impossible to answer in just a few words. Although, adversity was thematic in every day we explored.

Most of our team pictured here.

Max and Vince Poscente feeling grateful for an extraordinary experience into the heart of India’s Himalayas.

We experienced the 'right' amount of adversity to grow as son and father, as adventurers and as part of a historic pilgrimage. It was the trek of a lifetime - one we will always share in the corner of our memories.

Thank you for joining us!

Max reporting from The Himalayan Queen

We left this ‘hill station’ travelling on the Himalayan Queen – a UNESCO World Heritage Train. We connected through Shatabadi to Delhi. Is was a long day but we were all in high spirits. At night we celebrated our success and friendship with an amazing Indian meal.

We reflected on the age-old traditions of the Kullu Valley. We talked about the Kullu Oracle for our blessings to climb the mountain. We smiled as we talked about the holy pilgrims and cultural evenings we encountered. Most of all we were grateful for a once in a life time experience.

Max reporting on the road again...

To complete our mountain climbing expedition we have transitioned into Jeeps which took us from Nirmand to Shimla. We travelled on the beautiful Hindustan Road. Shimla is described as the queen of hill stations and was the summer capital of the British Empire. It is now the administrative and political capital of Himachal Pradesh. We stayed in an actual hotel. The shower was the single best shower I have ever had!!!

Report from Max Poscente:

Last night we camped in Thachru. A pristine jewel of the Himalayas. 

Today we hiked to Nirmand village. There were amazing temples as we camped beside the beautiful village. At a campfire we bid farewell to the porters and trekking staff who had been with us this past eleven days. We leave the trail behind us.

Our porters' beautiful smiles and kind ways complement their amazing strength and stamina. These amazing people would break camp for us as we hiked ahead. They would pass us and have camp ready when we arrived. They are humble, strong, gentle and kind. It was a fond farewell to brothers living across the world.

Did we make it or not? Why not tell you now. One reason, our theme of this climb was based on a Sir Edmund Hillary quote, "It is not the mountain we conquer. But ourselves." I will let you know. In the meantime, I will personally reflect on what I have learned. We Americans put so much emphasis on reaching the top that we forget the importance of our inner journey as well.

Max Poscente reporting:

Every step down is a step into more oxygen. We leave behind us raw and unforgiving nature as we return to civilization.

It is amazing to live without all the comforts we become used to. Electricity. Toasters. WIFI. Board games. Our expedition leader, Jeff Salz (pictured above) told us, “Nature is the lazy teachers’ classroom.” What an education it was – and continues to be!