10 Goal Success Secrets Hidden Inside Parks & Recreation

While binge-watching Parks & Recreation during my vacation, I noticed how many goal success lessons are hidden inside my favorite shows. This week, I will start sprinkling some of these lessons into my Goal Success by Choice blog series. I will start with 10 of the many lessons hidden in Parks & Recreation.

Amuse Bouche

Before we get to today’s post, I offer you this light “amuse-bouche” to entertain your mind before we get down to business. Like any other amuse-bouche, you may hate my “dad joke,” but it is worth every penny that you paid for it, right?

The inventor of autocorrect died this week. His funeral is scheduled for tomato.

Hello, I am Coach Tony… Welcome to Operation Melt!

My name is Coach Tony, and I am a coach, author and project manager on a mission. I am working to build a world where no goal ever dies of loneliness.

I almost allowed one of my biggest life goals to die without ever being attempted for forty years. My goal almost died, not of failure but of loneliness. But, I took a risk and leveraged a simple, logical process that helped me wildly exceed my goal.

I transformed my life, and you can do the same with the help of Operation Melt.

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10 Goal Success Secrets Hidden Inside Parks & Recreation

One person’s annoying is another’s inspiring and heroic.
Leslie Knope, Parks & Recreation

This week was my annual family vacation at Indian Lake. I spent the week running, reading, soaking up the sunshine, playing lots of games, and enjoying time with the extended family. I also spent some time this week binge-watching some of my favorite shows: The Office, Frasier, Friends, The West Wing, The Simpsons and Parks & Recreation.

During one episode of Parks & Recreation, I heard the lead character, Leslie Knope (played by Amy Pohler), say a line that got my attention. After being elected to the Pawnee city council, Leslie was facing a possible recall, and it was voting day. One of her coworkers mentioned to her that he’d seen a lot of people wearing her buttons at the polls. She responded by saying, “No discussion about the recall election until the polls close at 8:00. Let’s focus on what we can control.”

It occurred to me that this quote is a goal success lesson. When we spend time worrying about what isn’t in our control, we consume energy that could be invested into the things that are within our control.

Then it dawned on me that there may be other such lessons in the show. Then I accidentally told my brain that finding these lessons is important to me, and now I see them everywhere. Seeing these lessons became like my version of how Mel Robbins finds hearts everywhere she looks.

Big ah-ha moment: hidden inside each of my favorite shows (and probably yours too) are valuable goal success lessons and inspiration just waiting to be seen. The choice we can make to help us succeed with our goals is to pay attention to these lessons. Doing so can add a new dimension to these shows and turn them from simple entertainment to poignant, free life coaching.

I want to celebrate this ah-ha by starting to sprinkle in a few posts recapping some of the lessons I have found in these shows. I also welcome you to send me any lessons I may have missed or ones you found in your favorite shows.

This week, I will review 10 lessons I found inside Parks & Recreation. And we will start off with three Ron Swanson quotes.

Lesson #1: Focus On One Priority Goal At A Time

Leslie was busy running for election to city council while still maintaining her job leading the parks department. While splitting her time, her lack of focus was causing her to make mistakes in both. Ron Swanson encouraged her to take a sabbatical from her job to focus on her campaign, but she resisted. Ron told her a hilarious story about attempting to work at a sheet metal factory and a leather tannery while finishing middle school, causing him to make mistakes.

Ron’s advice to Leslie was, “never half-ass two things; whole-ass one thing.”

The lesson here is that multi-tasking doesn’t work. If you are splitting your focus and time between multiple things, you won’t perform as well at any of them. Prioritize your most important goal, focus on it until it is achieved, celebrate success and then move to the next.

Side note: this lesson also encapsulates why so many projects fail in corporate settings, splitting focus across multiple projects / priorities. Corporate project management often says, “you are working 40 hours this week, you can spend 10 hours each on 4 projects.” But, the switching back and forth comes at a cost, and both productivity and project success rates plummet.

Lesson #2: Ignore What’s Not Important to You

If Ron Swanson is anything, it is a stoic, understated, self-confident guy. When presented with a challenge about whose management philosophy is better (his or his boss), he voices his opinion about the outcome of the challenge.

His point of view is, “I don’t want to seem overdramatic but I really don’t care what happens here.”

While this is funny for sure, an interesting goal success strategy is hidden inside this statement. This lesson pairs well with the prior quote from Ron.

As I mentioned in the previous lesson, the recipe for success is to focus on one priority at a time. This means letting go of the other items for a while. You can’t have one foot in and one foot out and hope for success. Either it is your priority, or it is not. If it is not your priority, don’t invest energy in it.

Embrace letting go (or, as Mark Manson explains, Not Giving A F*ck) and say goodbye to the FOMO!

Lesson #3: Success Doesn’t Require Luck, It Requires Work

After a coworker Tom, sells his side business, he has money to invest in his next venture. But, he isn’t sure what business opportunity to pursue next, so he plans to construct a focus group of sorts to pitch him some business ideas. When Tom shares this plan with Ron, Ron is supportive and says it sounds like an efficient use of the free market.

To avoid being included in the focus group, Ron wishes Tom well and attempts to go about his day free from a meeting. His supportive message to Tom was, “I’d wish you the best of luck, but I believe luck is a concept created by the weak to explain their failures.”

Well said, Ron!

Success with goals isn’t reserved for the lucky. Goal success requires a proven, efficient process (see my Goal Success Quick Start Guide) and hard work to achieve your goal. No lottery tickets needed!

A healthier perspective on the role of luck was shared by the Roman philosopher Seneca. He believes “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” This means that hard work is required, so you are ready when opportunities present themselves. In other words, we make our own luck!

Lesson #4: You Define YOU, Your Biography Does Not

Ok, that’s enough Ron Swanson for now… he will be back later. Let’s shift gears a bit and take a look at a quote from Leslie Knope.

To help bring attention to her run for City Council, Leslie wrote a book, Pawnee: The greatest town in America. When promoting her book, Leslie appeared on a local television show, Pawnee Today, hoping to get an Oprah-like endorsement of her book from host Joan Callamezzo. But, the appearance backfires, and Joan, in a gotcha-style, declares that the book is factually inaccurate. Joan claims that Leslie is not really from Pawnee at all but from neighboring rival town Eagleton.

Leslie is dumbfounded by the claim as she is the biggest Pawnee lover and advocate around. She later confronts her mother to ask if she was born in Eagleton. Her mom confirms she was because the Pawnee hospital was overrun by raccoons, and she had to go to Eagleton to give birth.

Leslie returns to Pawnee Today and apologizes for her mistake, having learned the truth. She shares something else that she learned, “It’s not where you’re born. It’s where you’re from.” And, nobody is more from Pawnee than Leslie Knope!

Like Leslie, none of us are in control of our biography. Maybe we believe we were born in the wrong town, to the wrong family, at the wrong time or in the wrong circumstances. But, the circumstances of our biographies do not define us. Obviously, we cannot control our past, especially things that happened before we were born, but we can control our future.

How do we break from where we were born and define where we are from? We can start by figuring out our goals in life and why they are important to us and then create a vision for our future (this is what the Goal Success Quick Start Guide and coaching help you do). Once this is done, we simply live every day in alignment with who we want to be and not where we were born.

Tip: we aren’t entirely powerless regarding where we were born or the circumstances of our biographies. The lens through which we view our past and the story we tell ourselves is within our control. Learn more about changing your story in Stories Are Powerful, What Happens When Don’t Love Yours?

Lesson #5: Messy Is Ok

Next up is a quote from Andy Dwyer when talking to Ron. Ron was explaining that he wouldn’t be pursuing a relationship with a woman he had just met and hit it off with because she was not his type. Because she is a single, working mom with kids, he found her life to be messy.

Andy, despite usually being a goof, shared an impactful piece of advice. “Ron, messy is fun, okay? My whole life is a giant mess and I love it. I mean, look at my hair. I have gum in my hair.”

There are an amazing number of important life lessons in this one quote.

First, just because something isn’t easy and smooth sailing doesn’t mean it isn’t worth pursuing. We are all built to be able to do hard things. Messy is ok if you are pursuing something important to you.

Second, there are three stages to every transformation. There is the “before” stage; this is when you feel called to change. There is the “after” stage when you are living in purposeful alignment with who and what you want to be. Then, there is the third stage, when the transformation is happening. This third stage is known as the messy middle of the transformation.

The middle stage of transformation is called the messy middle because things usually feel messy and uncertain when it is happening. Think of a major home remodeling project when you don’t have a kitchen, wires are sticking out of the wall, and dust is everywhere. But, the messy middle is a required step to accomplish something big and is only temporary. Eventually, the mess will normalize and result in the home, or life, that you want. But, you must brave the “mess” if you’re going to achieve the results.

Finally, Andy’s attitude about his messy life is an inspiration and an excellent reminder for us all. No matter where you are in life or how messy, we can choose to enjoy it. Messiness and setbacks are all temporary and will pass in time, but your misery won’t make them pass faster. Embrace my DAMN approach for your setbacks, and then seek gratitude and joy in your life (see Don’t Panic Over Disappointments… See Their Hidden Opportunities Instead).

Lesson #6: Conquer Your Imposter Syndrome

While Andy was generally positive, he isn’t immune to the same self-doubt as we all feel from time to time. After getting a new job in England, Andy briefly returned to Pawnee and told his wife April that he didn’t want to go back. He was scared to return to his job because he was overwhelmed and felt like he had no idea what he was doing. Andy was suffering from imposter syndrome.

April comforted Andy with some advice that is valuable for all of us. “I’m gonna tell you a secret about everyone else’s job…. No one knows what they’re doing…. Deep down, everyone is just faking it until they figure it out. And you will too, because you are awesome and everyone else sucks.”

We all have occasional imposter syndrome when we feel like we have no idea what we are doing and will be found out at any time. But, this is just a sign that you are trying something new and haven’t mastered it yet. It is perfectly normal, and the best strategy to conquer imposter syndrome is to remember that you are an expert learner and have mastered hard things before. You will this time too.

A second good reminder in this quote is that we should each remember that we are awesome, and anybody who doesn’t see our awesomeness sucks!

Lesson #7: Don’t Go It Alone

One person who always knows that she is awesome is Leslie; like you, she can accomplish anything.

For example, Leslie was in charge of a major fundraiser event for the parks department. Just then, the Pawnee government was surprised by a state disaster preparedness drill. The drill would require all the government leaders to be sequestered, taking her away from everything she still had to do to make the fundraiser a success.

Leslie’s coworkers and friends came together and finished the preparations despite many significant challenges so the fundraiser could go on. At the event, Leslie announced that the event had achieved its goal, and she thanked the team, saying, “no one achieves anything alone.”

This quote reminds us that we shouldn’t, and can’t, go alone with our goals. Having partners who we can rely on to help us through our journeys can make the difference between success and failure. Find an accountability partner, build your team of experts and get started on your road to transformation.

Lesson #8: Embrace Failure And Always Fail Forward

I mentioned earlier that Tom had sold his business and was talking to Ron about what to do next. That is when Tom confided in Ron that he felt like his business was a failure. This feeling was causing him to be a little gun-shy about taking the next step because he didn’t want to fail again.

That’s when Ron shared his view of failure, “there’s no shame in failure if you gave it an honest effort.”

We can’t fear failure and expect to accomplish our biggest transformational goals. Failure is a necessary step in the process of succeeding. A failure is something to learn from that can help you be more successful in the future. That is, of course, assuming that you did your best to succeed.

The only true failure is not trying; that’s how your goals die of loneliness.

Lesson #9: Be Proud Of Your Accomplishments

After Leslie was successfully elected to a role on the Pawnee city council, she moved into her new office. She was giving her friend, Anne, a tour of her newly decorated council office, including her “wall of inspirational women.” Anne noticed that the wall included a picture of Leslie herself. When Anne asked her about the photo, that’s when Leslie shared the next quote.

She said, “I am big enough to admit that I am often an inspiration to myself.”

Shouldn’t we all have a wall of inspirational people that features a picture of ourselves? Think about all of the progress we have each made since we were born. From simple things like learning to walk to our present-day lives, we have accomplished a lot. Pretty damn inspirational, right?

Reflecting on these inspirational accomplishments is a great way to measure your progress and success in life. As I explained in Don’t Panic Over Disappointments… See Their Hidden Opportunities Instead, measuring success against what you have accomplished instead of some future ideal state is the recipe for happiness.

Reflect on your accomplishments, be proud of them and go ahead and carve your own face on your personal Mount Rushmore. You are a badass!

Lesson #10: Be Confident In Yourself

Spending time reflecting on what you have accomplished so far is a good way to build confidence in your ability to do anything in the future. This is the basis for the final lesson I want to share today.

April walked into Ron’s office, and he was sitting perfectly stationary in his chair. The next day he was sitting in the same spot. That’s when April learned that Ron had a hernia and couldn’t move. She offered to take him to the hospital, and he said yes. But, having ridden her bike to work that day, she had to go home and get her car.

When April returned, she asked Ron if he was ready, and he responded, “I was born ready. I’m Ron f%$king Swanson.”

Ron’s reply was a good example of the confidence we should each have in ourselves. We are each amazing and can accomplish anything we set our minds to. If we embrace this amazingness and let ourselves show a little self-confident swagger, we can be unstoppable.

Remember who you are… then,

Set a big, SMART goal
Build a plan that works for you
Track and celebrate progress every day
Plan ahead for setbacks, so they don’t knock you off your game
Don’t go it alone
And, always enjoy your journey

I believe in you and hope that you believe in you. If you need a little help, look me up, and I will help get you to the finish line. I know that I can help because I am Tony F%$king Weaver!

So What

Need some help finding the lessons in your favorite show, look me up!

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