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.

Did you know in Europe it’s rude to ask someone what they do? This is probably because they have a few more centuries experience than North Americans regarding horrible answers. You see, if you don’t answer this question properly, you’ll end up with unintended confusion.

For example, here’s how cynics interpret the answer to, “So, what do you do?”

Answer                                 A Cynic’s Interpretation

To avoid confusion and cynics looking down their disrespective noses at you – take a page out of marketing professionals everywhere. Lead with value!

First – Think of Yourself as a Brand
If a BMW had lips and answered the “So what do you do?” question with, “I’m a car,” how appealing would that be? Instead, your be-lipped BMW would use the tag line, “I am the ultimate driving machine.” That’s better and more valuable to the listener.

Second – Lose Your Features Addiction
Since a speaker, author and consultant wrote what you’re reading, when I see a person put Speaker, Author, and Consultant under his or her name I get nauseous. (Oops… I’m made myself gag.) Do you have any idea how many speakers, authors and consultants put the "Speaker, Author, Consultant" under their names? A gazillion! Lose your addiction to what you do and refocus attention on what you deliver. Question: “So, what do you do?” Answer: “I help companies reach BIG GOALS in half the time.” That’s intriguing value.

Third – Its Only Valuable Memory that Counts
If you said, lawyer, teacher, motivational speaker or any other profession, the chances are your listener will remember you based on their cynical interpretation. Why leave it up to them as to what they remember? Burn an image into their memory that oozes value. Let’s revisit better answers to the question, “So, what do you do?”

Answer 
I help corporations avoid painful lawsuits.
I teach 8th graders how to speak and read in French. 
I open conferences with a Big Goals in Short Order presentations. 
I help people find affordable and dependable cars. 
I help people reach their financial goals.
I help families find the home of their dreams.
I help people achieve simple wealth and simple health.
I am a doctor and I don’t want to check your prostate.

Sure, it’s easier just to answer with __(insert your job here)__. But who needs to give the cynics, or Europeans for that matter, any more ammunition than they already have?

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?

Learning that we had a father-son expedition in the Himalayas, the reaction has been universal, “What a great bonding opportunity.” But “bonding” seems limiting and beyond motivational. Especially with offspring abundantly ready to break free. Let’s wrap our minds around the concept of bonding alongside the rhythm of letting go.

Indeed, an emotional bond was part our journey but we shared so much more. Every second was an onslaught of present-centered focus. This step and the next mattered more than anything else. Each meal was coupled with reflection on the day. Jaw dropping awe trumped exhaustion. A fifty two year-old’s context intersected with a seventeen year-old’s epiphanies. Pride infused routine glances. Quiet conversation was inspiration in the dark. Risk was brushed aside with a smile and a new handhold. 

Parenting, done right, is a climb into the clouds. Uncertainty is the path to perspective. Clarity leads to more questions and discovery. Mountain climbing seemed to be the ideal place for our increasingly rare ‘teachable’ moments. Yet, a mountain in the far reaches of India is not required to have your own tapestry of bonding and letting go.

This tapestry is created by sharing an experience.

An event, a moment, a weekend, a visit, a vista - when shared - leads to bonding. This is easier to do when the “sharee” is your kid who can’t drive off. But come 16, and his newfound wings, the young adult needs to be invited back for an experience.

Memorable experiences sustain an invisible bond. 

Be the architect of shared experience. Creatively craft your experiences.

• Going to a movie isn’t the answer. Making a movie is. 
• Dinner out is too easy. Creating a dinner is deliciously visceral.
• Giving a gift is too one sided. The gift of time lasts forever.
• Playing a board game is okay. Rolling the dice on a new adventure is pure magic.

Dividends from your mutual experience will unfold well after it has passed. 

You secure a bond when letting go is a distant memory.

It’s safe to assume Olympians visualize their performance before hand. BUT... there is a special sequence of imagery to cement peak performance before your own event. 

Watch a figure skater, bobsledder, skier, snowboarder (or any other Olympian for that matter) and you will eventually see them visualizing the way they want to perform. What you may not know is the comprehensive nature of their visualization and imagery.

This three-part approach is what I've used for two decades as an Olympic motivational speaker and what you can use in your quest to be the best at what you do.

1. Experien-tualize it. This is a new word to better describe visualization and imagery. Just seeing something in your mind's eye is not nearly effective as adding the other five senses of sound, touch, taste and smell. Bring in all the senses to the imagination and the subconscious is imprinted at a more profound level. If you are about to go on an important sale or a pressure situation - experience every detail in your fertile imagination.
2. Outcomes not ideas. What are the outcomes you seek? As you experien-tualize your performance, be clear on the outcomes. Who will be impacted? What are the benefits therein? Where will you end up? Why will this feel good? When will everything happen the way you want it to? Simply having an idea of what you want is weak. Being deliberate about the outcomes further enhances the performance you are asking from your subconscious mind.
3. Before, During & After. Don't just experien-tualize the performance. Run through the exact experience you want before your peak performance, your optimum self during and the exact results after crossing the metaphorical finish line. Athletes who don't visualize after the run crash more than those who see themselves crossing the finish line safely and strongly. 

In summary, experien-tualize the outcomes you want before, during and after your performance and you will reach your goals fast -- just like your Olympic heroes competing in Sochi.

If you've never attended an Olympic Games as a tourist, host city resident or as an athlete, you can only imagine the sense of community this event creates. None of us in 1992 could have imagined the power of connection social media would do to reconnect our significant friendships.

As odd as it may seem, your event only lasts a relatively brief period - in some cases, seconds. All that training, all the tribulations and mountains of preparation. Yet the climb is infused with cherished memories of friendships and brother/sister-hood.

Some of our best friends were on the other teams on the world cup circuit. Yes, we each belonged to a team leading up to race or game day. Individual athletes competed for personal excellence and to summit the medal podium - if possible. But after every event we were a family. We broke bread together, we shared rides, toasted local beer, and even, exchanged competitive insights (but not the best advice ;-)

If you found your way to an Olympic Games as a tourist you will generate fodder for flashbacks. As I write I have dozens. Here are a few I have as a tourist from 1988 in Seoul:

• Chatting with a Hungarian weightlifter on the subway (his frame took up 1.5 seats)  
• An unforgettable night at the Lufthansa House
• Celebrating with a Danish Olympian after the closing ceremonies

Etienne was 10 years old at the time. His parents were never around. He was confident, self sufficient and absolutely stuck to my side every time I walked around the Olympic speed skiing venue. Although he's 32 years old today you have to wonder what impression was made at the Olympics then... and what kinds of impressions are being left on young minds today.

At this very moment, a Russian boy or girl is following an Olympian somewhere in Sochi. The dynamic is heartwarming. The power of the Olympic movement plays out on both highlight reels and in chance encounters at the Games themselves.

Etienne only spoke French. I used to think I spoke pretty good Francais, but alas, every time I would speak to Etienne he would raise an eyebrow, shrug his facial features and then nod. He was shy and reserved. 

After the speed skiing competition, Etienne knew I was disappointed. He grabbed my hand, gushed a flurry of empathetic commentary and he locked his eyes with quiet assurance. The roles of reverence were flipped. 

On the day before I would leave Albertville, Etienne showed up again. I had been accumulating a bag of pins. It took this young French lad both hands to receive this unexpected gift. His mouth dropped open. He stood motionless. 

Knowing this would be the last time I'd see the youngster, but wanting to keep it light, I said, "à bientôt mon ami." (I'll see you later my friend.) Tears welled in his eyes but he held his head up to keep eye contact. 

You and I... we make decisions in life at times of emotional intensity.

The first impression of the Olympics I can remember were the Opening Ceremonies at the Summer Games in 1976. Even though Montreal was 2,000 miles away and the march of the athletes was coming across a small television... the energy was visceral. It was captivating for a 14-year-old boy to be struck by the emotion of the moment.

As an Olympic keynote speaker, I sometimes relate the story of my own emotional buzz moment. It was two years later, at 16 years old, as I was experiencing the opening ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games. My mom still reminds me of how I was pumping my hands in the air saying, "I love this. I love this. I love this."

Think back in your youth and identify what impressions you had from influencers in your past.

• How did they impact you? 
• What did they say and do that stays with you today?
• Just as important, what impressions are you making to those around you?

You never know when an Etienne will cross your path - or what impact you will have. You may never know. But are your actions held to the highest standard - an Olympic standard?

One of the principles of the modern Olympic Games supports international understanding.

In Sochi and across the globe, this is happening one child at a time.