Are you choosing to live a happy, fulfilled life?
That’s right, studies have proven that ninety percent of the factors that make the difference between a happy life and an unhappy life are factors within your control. One life hack proven to help unlock your best life is setting, pursuing, and achieving goals.
Yes, you can choose a happy life, but don’t take my word for it! Here’s an example of how other people – people just like you – are choosing to achieve happiness through their goals.
Amuse-Bouche Before we jump into today's post, I offer you this "dad joke" as a light "amuse-bouche" to entertain your mind before we get serious. Like any other amuse-bouche, you may hate it, but it is worth every penny you paid for it, right? Have you ever tried blindfolded archery? It's so great… you don't know what you're missing!
One Brick at a Time: A Practical Story of Goal Success (Interview)
Welcome to this week’s Interview with a Goal-Crusher. In these interviews, I sit down with someone accomplishing big things by setting and achieving their goals to learn their secrets. Then I share those secrets with you. It’s like free mentoring from someone already on the road to success. Who doesn’t want that?!
As most of my followers know, I am a runner. I started adding a little running to my exercise routine in the fall of 2017, three months and twenty-five pounds into my weight loss journey. Since then, the vast majority of my nearly three thousand running miles have been solo runs – except for my sixty-two races and the occasional run with a friend.
Running exclusively solo wasn’t an intentional choice; it was just something that happened and was driven, in part, by some insecurity. I had tried joining a running club for a few runs, but it wasn’t the most positive experience. I would participate in a club run, but the fast runners would take off, and I was running solo again.
This negative experience was enough to reinforce the natural insecurities of a novice runner. I concluded I wasn’t enough of a runner yet to be part of the club and returned to running by myself.
I apprehensively decided to try another run club in April but quietly expected a similar result. Early one Wednesday morning, I met up with the club and could quickly tell this would be a different experience. The club leader asked all the new people (just me for that run) to introduce themselves before explaining that the club runs together at a “conversational” pace. It wasn’t just talk either; we all stayed together and chatted while running (though I am not so good at talking during a run). After the run, I joined the group for coffee and conversation and was impressed with the diversity within the group.
Since my first run with the German Village Running Club, I have returned for many early Wednesday morning runs. I have never felt like an inferior runner nor found myself running solo during a club run. I have enjoyed my experience with the club so much that it (in part) inspired the running club featured in Seasons of Transformation (make sure you grab a copy).
A few weeks ago, the club had its largest turnout yet, with more than fifty people joining for a Monday evening run. German Village Running Club was an unquestionable success! I wanted to know more about how the club grew from an idea to a robust, fifty-plus-person group. On the two-year anniversary of the German Village Running Club, I sat down with Craig, co-founder of the group, for this month’s Interview with a Goal-Crusher.
Please introduce yourself and tell my readers about you and the German Village Running Club.
I am Craig Kent. Partner to Erin Crotty (co-founder of the German Village Running Club), papa to Henry (14) and Julian (12), ultrarunner, 8-year streak runner, and aspiring human being.
The German Village Running Club is a group that meets on Mondays at 5:45 pm and Wednesdays at 6:45 am. We start our runs at The Sycamore cafe/restaurant in German Village. We run a 3-mile course through German Village at a conversational pace (ranging from 9:45 to 10:30 minutes per mile).
We run as a group.
We encourage and enjoy one another.
We keep each other safe.
What motivated you to start a running club? What was your vision? Can you share some/all of your story?
I have always been a very “run by myself” type of guy, so I never considered starting a running group.
Over dinner at the Sycamore one night, Erin said she wanted to add running to her weekly movement goals. As we discussed how to make this possible, Erin made a comment that I had heard in many conversations with other runners… “I am not a runner like you.”
This statement is one that I hear often. No matter the miles people run, the speed they run at or how long they have been running, people compare themselves against someone else they deem a “runner,” and therefore do not consider themselves worthy of the statement “I am a runner!”
So we started a running club.
We agreed that it would be fun to start a group based on a few guiding principles:
- Encourage every runner, no matter their perceived view of themselves as a “runner”
- Create a safe environment for every runner
- Help runners meet new people
- Have fun
What was the first step you took to get started building the German Village Running Club?
We created a Google form with a few simple questions (name, email, days and times that interested people for runs) and posted it on the Nextdoor app.
We got a few responses and agreed on running Wednesday mornings at 6:45 am, selected the date of the first run, emailed the group (maybe 5 names), and on a cold December morning, met for our inaugural German Village Running Club. The group was cozy…Bill, Maggie, Andrew, Erin and me.
What were your biggest challenges in achieving your goal? How did you overcome them?
This is a really good question.
Many goals have milestones that one can literally measure themselves against… run a 5K/marathon/100K, get a specific job/salary, etc.
The goals of the German Village Running Club are not met by the number of people that attend a run or speed at which we run on a given Monday or Wednesday. The goal is to maintain our guiding principles as the group ebbs and flows through seasons and members.
Maintaining these guiding principles has taken work, and I have learned that the best action is to take action. We have been fortunate to meet some amazing humans through the club. If there is ever a time when we need help with the club (running events when we are out of town, making signs, anything), then we know someone (or many) will help.
What goal success tips and techniques have worked well for you that you would like to share with my readers?
Some things that have worked well for the club include:
- Actively listen to our runners
- Use my voice at the beginning of a run to ground the group in our core beliefs
- Utilize our club email communication to promote our guiding principles through examples I see in the broader running community
- Celebrate our members through email and social media
What else would you like my Operation Melt readers to know about you, the club, running or about goal success in general?
I am just another human being trying to live in a world that can feel overwhelming.
Find something you are passionate about. If you want to be a runner, then start by walking.
If you want to knit a sweater, then…honestly, I have no idea how to do this, so maybe that can be a new goal…time to google “how to start knitting!”
Your goal does not have to be huge; start small and let the goals grow. Start now!
The German Village Running Club is not me, and it is not Erin – the club is our runners. Join us for one run. Join us on a Wednesday morning for a coffee at the Sycamore (around 7:15 am), and I guarantee you will walk (or run) away in a better mood and motivated!
How can people learn more about you?
Instagram is probably the easiest way to learn about our club: @germanvillagerunningclub
You can also sign up for our weekly email at https://forms.gle/XFeweqoeB5RbdhPb8.
Thank you.
I love stories that start with an idea and grow into a phenomenal success. Craig and Erin had an idea and a vision for a running club based on a set of guiding principles. Over the past two years, that vision has grown into one of the premier running clubs in Columbus, Ohio. This success was far from accidental; it was a textbook example of goal-setting, hard work, and discipline.
Here are some highlights about how Craig and Erin used the Project Manage Your Life principles to achieve this success:
- Set SMART Goals: Craig and Erin had a defined goal: to create a running club built around a set of guiding principles.
- Build a plan that works for you: German Village Running Club started with a public invite and a single run. Craig and Erin started small and grew from there. Most importantly, they didn’t ask for someone’s permission to create a running club; they just did it. How often do you find yourself asking, “Who needs to give me permission to do this?” (See Whose permission will you need to chase your big goal? for more.)
- Measure progress every day: with every run, the club participants are reminded about the goals, and Craig and Erin continually evaluate whether the club is still on track. When the group drifts away from those goals, they take the necessary corrective actions.
- Don’t go it alone: as Craig said, “The club is our runners.” By definition, Craig and Erin couldn’t successfully build a running club by themselves. Moreover, they ensure that no club member goes it alone in a club run; everybody runs together.
- Enjoy the journey: Running is Craig’s passion, and he has an eight-year running streak – he loves running. He and his wife built the German Village Running Club to help people with this same passion celebrate it together. He loves the club and enjoys it every day.
Maybe starting a running club isn’t the goal buried deep inside your heart, but there is probably something else in there. What idea have you been kicking around without taking action? Why not follow Craig and Erin’s example and take a step to unleash this goal?
Not sure how to make it happen… follow my six Project Manage Your Life best practices, and your goal will be a reality before you know it:
- Set SMART goals
- Build a plan that works for you
- Measure progress every day
- Expect and plan ahead for problems
- Don’t go it alone
- Enjoy the journey
What are you waiting on?
The life of your dreams is just a few well-executed goals away. You can start building goals that work by downloading my free Goal Success Quick Start Guide eBook.
Need a little help getting started on that path to your dreams? I am a certified Master Life Coach and would be honored to be your GPS to give you turn-by-turn guidance to the life of your dreams.
Let’s talk!
Please visit the Operation Melt coaching page to learn more and submit an inquiry form… let’s chat.
I believe in you; let me help YOU believe in you!
Meet Coach Tony
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.
Operation Melt provides engaging, practical content and hands-on coaching to inspire, motivate and equip project managers and other left-brained high-achievers to pursue and accomplish their biggest goals.
Breathe new life into your goals
Download my free ebook to learn how to create goals that actually work and get the jump-start you need in life!
