Matt Corker » Great People

Goals, Goals, Goals!

Matt Corker — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:51:11 +0000

This past week was GOAL WEEK online on the lululemon athletica blog. Besides having an awesome goal setting tool online, they also wrote posts with tips on how to set goals and posted videos on the importance of having goals.

I was so stoked to participate in this. I wrote a post about loving your failures and had two awesome goal coaching sessions with some colleagues that have set some inspiring BHAGs (big, hairy, audacious goals).

Today, to cap it off, we did an online goal coaching session on the lululemon Facebook wall. It was amazing! Such awesome questions about how to set goals! I recommend taking a read through the conversations on the wall if you missed it.

However, after telling so many people to write down their goals, share them with great people, and ask for help in achieving them – I need to do the same. My best friends and I had a goal setting session by Lost Lake in Whistler a couple weekends ago where we set our 10 year vision and set goals that would help us get there. But in my notebook they have stayed. Until today.

My goals have been posted. I am sharing them with you, great people. And asking for your help in accomplishing them! I created a new page on my site where you can find the latest edit of them as well.

*sigh. There. That feels better.

From our Whistler goal setting session. Talk about a BHAG!

Pick of the post: Travie McCoy ft Bruno Mars – Billionaire (official music video) – SO appropriate!

From Victory to Defeat: Get SHIFTED

Matt Corker — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:24:36 +0000

Failing is not the problem. Learning nothing from that failure is.

“Learning from other people’s mistakes” is one of the strongest ways to grow. It gives us the opportunity to bypass a potential detour in our own path. This, however, has been traditionally been limited to watching your Dad burn himself on a hot stove or your best friend get stung by a bee after hitting the hive with a rock. (Both, I should note, are good things to avoid!)

But when do we get the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of our role models and community rockstars?
Answer: Now.

Introducing SHIFTED | stories of challenge & choice

5 incredible speakers, including the lovely Danielle LaPorte and influential business leader David Bentall, will share their stories about challenges they’ve faced and the choices they made to achieve success.

Details:
When: Thursday September 9, 2010 – 6 pm
Where: District 319 (319 Main St)
Why: To help people learn. You will learn from the speakers (and other attendees) about different pathways to possibility. Children in Ethiopia will learn through the primary education your FULL ticket price goes to support. Read more about imagine1day and their dream to provide quality primary education to Ethiopian children by 2020.

When you invest in yourself, you are then able to invest in others. This is a perfect example of how that works.

To buy your tickets, check out the SHIFTED website. You can also stay updated on Twitter and Facebook. Can’t wait to see you there!

(PS. Reason #43 for why you should come: I’m the emcee for this event – rocking the mic between the inspirational truth bombs! WOOT!)

Pick of the post: Chromeo – Fancy Footwork (official music video)

Fierce New Tunes

Matt Corker — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:47:55 +0000

This post has been long overdue! It has been waiting in drafts for me for far too long.

I need to share with you these artists: Neu and Two Lions & A Lady.

Neu has been a great addition to my spin class playlists as his beats are deep and melodic. They get me smiling on the bike while my quads are screaming. Plus, who else releases a movie trailer to show-off their new album tunes?!? Rad? Rad! Take a look for yourself:

Neu, Wes, and Lydia also joined forces to create Two Lions & A Lady. They performed live at the Coppertank a couple weeks ago and added so much to the vibe of the night. More on them to come, so keep your eyes peeled for greatness. In the meantime, enjoy their rendition of MGMT’s Kids (with an accordion!):

Introducing my 100 before 100

Matt Corker — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:41:56 +0000

In January, I created a list of 100 things I want to do before I turn 100. They were not goals (as they didn’t provide direction or a deadline), but experiences I thought would be totally rad to have. Experiences that would create ear-to-ear smiles, belly laughs, tears of joy, nostalgic excitement, or all of the above combined. If my goals created the road I was walking on, my 100 before 100 were designed to remind me to have TONS of fun along the way.

After my sister created her bucket list, she gave me a hard time for keeping my 100 before 100 so close to me (or just away from her … I couldn’t tell). But I felt as though this list o’ good times couldn’t just be released to the world at any old time. It has such excitement in it (for me and others!) that it needed a day that could withstand its presence.

So today, on my birthday, I introduce you to my 100 before 100. [Note: I've also created a 100 BEFORE 100 page on my site so you don't have try to find this blog post again as the years go on.]

Hope today makes you smile.

Eat an avocado smoothie after a morning of surfing with Jason Mraz
Host a talk show
Show up at the airport and buy a ticket for the next flight that day
Attend a 10 day silent meditation retreat
Complete an adventure race
Row a single in False Creek
Be the creative director for a music video
Design a house
Invite my entire family to an all-inclusive vacation/reunion (on me!)
Get married – and throw one heck of a celebration to go with it
Drink tea in Nepal
Bungee jump
Experience the Northern Lights
Learn a dance taught by Mia Michaels (or any SYTYCD choreographer)
Help run an overnight camp for the summer
Eat only raw food for 40 days
Host a Mr. Vanier 10 year reunion
Design a line of vests for men
Ride a camel in Egypt
Complete a Masters degree in change management
Teach my kids to fish
Give a keynote presentation at a leadership conference
Take my nephews on their dream vacation
Release a CD – co-starring my friends and family
Party on a houseboat
Create an inspiring leadership development program for my company’s staff team
Sunbathe naked
Watch the sunrise from the top of a mountain
Eat Dim Sum in Hong Kong completed April, 2010
Author a book
Emcee a friend’s wedding
Take up a sport my kid really loves – just so I can help my kid practice
Bike the Vancouver Ferry loop (North Van – Richmond – Victoria – Nanaimo and back)
Learn to play the ukulele
Sing on a worship team
Dance with Ellen
Be in a “4 generations of Corkers” picture
Take my dog camping
Hike the West Coast Trail
Create a piece of art with Christine Paige
Open my leadership facility – the perfect place for offsite retreats and inspiring foresight
Surf in Hawaii
Make a homemade ice cream cake for a friend’s birthday
Fly in a float plane with my Dad
Raise $3 million for a charity making a difference
Walk the red carpet at a movie premiere with my Mom
Ride an elephant
Name a star for someone
Go white water rafting
Have an art gallery in my house – featuring my friends’ masterpieces
Kiss the Blarney Stone in Cork, Ireland
Drive across Canada in a VW Jetta
Make smores with my sister (and our families) at CampFire Point at Fair Glen
Become a Big Brother
Host a dinner for all my mentors (whoa – talk about a power meal!)
Travel to an Olympic Games as part of the Canadian Olympic Team
Ride in a hot air balloon
Crash a wedding with Andrew Haas
Eat Chinese Food on Christmas Eve with Adam in Calgary
Walk on fire / hot coals
After all these years, have a beer with Mike Bonici
Donate blood
Read my kids my favourite childhood stories (e.g. Robert Munch, Eric Carle)
Milk a cow
Experience St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland
Try my hand (/feet?) at grape-stomping
Sleep outside in a hammock
Go on a bro vacation – just Doug and I
Tour with a band
Create a “Corker Cookbook” filled with family recipes
Write for a collaborative online publication
Scuba-dive in the Great Barrier Reef
Help my sister cross of 10 items on her bucket list
Teach a spin class completed June, 2010
Have a romantic dinner on a rooftop patio – reserved for two
Dine with Seth Godin over breakfast
Find a kangaroo-rat
Be part of a nude photoshoot
Own an entire outfit that was put together by “one for one” businesses. (i.e. Shoes by TOMS, tie by FIGS, etc)
Go on a roadtrip with Wesley George, Ryan Ferguson, and Andrew Haas. (It won’t matter to where)
Get colourful at a Holi festival celebration in India
Cold beer + Sarah Topa + Ontario cottage country. Need I say more? Pull me up some lakeside patio please.
Jump around doing Parkour
Do yoga for 80 consecutive days
Make chocolate by hand
Party in the Greek Islands
Take a tap dance class
Play a full round of golf with my Dad and James
Bike across Confederation Bridge
Experience a zero-gravity flight (on purpose)
Pay for a random couple’s meal. It would make for a great (first) date!
Walk under/shower in a waterfall
Attend at least one high school reunion
Find the Corker totem pole on Vancouver Island
Read the Bible cover to cover
Create a time capsule with my kids and open it 20 years later
Go on a wine tour by scooter
Visit a huge amusement park with my friends
Give out free hugs overseas
Leave the world better than when I found it

Pick of the Post: Asher Roth – G.R.I.N.D. (Get Ready, It’s a New Day) (unofficial music video)

Using Words That Change Minds

Matt Corker — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:03:47 +0000

How you frame your idea is key. By selecting the right words to use, you can either enroll your audience in what you’re saying, or leave them disengaged and unmotivated to take action. In Shelle Rose Charvet’s book “Words That Change Minds: Mastering the language of influence,” she suggests each other of us has motivation traits (how our interest is triggered) and working traits (how we handle information, people, decisions, etc).

One motivation trait that stood out for me was direction. Carvet defines direction as a person’s motivational energy centered on goals or problems to be dealt with or avoided.

Carvet groups people into three categories for this trait: Toward people (40%), Away From people (40%), Equally Toward and Away From people (20%). Towards people are motivated and inspired to achieve or attain goals. They have trouble recognizing problems, but are very good at managing priorities. Away From people, on the other hand, focus on what may be and is going wrong. They are motivated to solve problems and may have difficulty managing priorities because whatever is wrong will attract most of their attention. Note: At the extreme, Away From people are often perceived as jaded or cynical – especially by Toward people, who are perceived as naive by Away From people.

How do you identify a Toward/Away From person? Listen to what they say after the word because. It will either be a Toward or Away From statement.
Example: “I want a promotion because I would get more money and more influential work” (Toward) vs. “I want a promotion because I would not have all this routine work and debt” (Away From).

How do you change their mind? Use specific words that will trigger their Toward or Away From mindset in that context.
Towards people are motivated by words like: gain, attain, have, obtain, include, get, achieve
Away From people are motivated by words like: avoid, steer clear of, not have, get rid of, exclude, away from, unwanted
Example: “This new technology will help us to achieve our goal of being more efficient” (Toward) vs. “This new technology will help us get rid of the inefficiencies we currently have” (Away From).

Same goal. Same problem. Two different directions. Inspiring someone to take action on starts with how you frame it.

Pick of the Post: Brandon Flowers – Crossfire (official music video)

[Spoiler Alert] Ellen DeGeneres dances on SYTYCD

Matt Corker — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:24:48 +0000

For the season’s finale of So You Think You Can Dance, the judges select their favourite dances from the season to be performed one more time. It is amazing to revisit how far the dancers have come and be reminded of how incredibly talented they all are.

The most memorable dance of the season was the hip hop dance between Alex Wong (a ballet dancer) and tWitch (an all-star hip hop dancer). Twitch teaches Alex how to push ballet “outta his mind” as they light up the stage in a NAPPYTAPS routine. Check out the video if you need a reminder of how great it was.

But, the week after this epic dance was performed, Alex injured himself and was sent into surgery and off the show. Devastating! The up-side? For the season’s finale, Ellen DeGeneres decided to step up and take Alex’s place. I have never loved a season’s finale more! Take a look at the video below to have a great start to your day:

Pick of the post: K’Naan – Take a Minute (official music video)

Corporate Culture Too Soft?

Matt Corker — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:58:53 +0000

Soft corporate cultures allow you to be mediocre. They coddle and focus on the weakest team members. They put policies before people. Their leaders want people to get the work done the way it’s always been done. They protect inefficiencies. Their visions and strategies are riddled with buzz words that their own employees don’t understand (if they have a vision or strategy at all). People blame others for why they themselves aren’t great. Everyone is welcome.

Hard cultures push you towards greatness. They challenge, challenge, challenge, and then support their people. There is no room for excuses. They encourage the relentless pursuit towards goals (especially BHAGs). Leaders continually look for new creations and re-inventions of processes and products. They are quick, tech-savy, and smart. Their visions are bold and easily understood by all stakeholders. People take responsibility for their own lives and decisions – without any ego. Only those striving to be great are welcome.

Pros and cons exist for both types of cultures, so what is “better” is really what resonates with you more on a personal level. Are you looking to be protected or pushed? Do you want to make a difference or make money, or both? Are you content being in the mundane, or do you feel drawn to people striving for something more?

Pick of the Post: Shawn Desman – Shiver (official music video)

Your Family’s Influence on Your Leadership Style

Creating Art Collaboratively

Matt Corker — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 20:49:41 +0000

If you are looking to get into writing, acting, singing, or producing – you should probably watch this video. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is bringing a collaborative production company to the masses and calling it hitRECord. If this is how new movies, television programs, songs, and art will be made in the future … I can’t frickin wait! (Thanks SuperForest for the great find.)

Pick of the post: Leona Lewis & Jennifer Hudson – Love is Your Colour

The Freedom To Try

Matt Corker — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:43:21 +0000

My friend Lindsey got me hooked on a website called tinybuddha. While the content on their site is great (“simple wisdom for complex lives”), the additional musings they add for their e-mail subscribers is what always makes me sit back and think. For example, a few weeks ago my inbox smiled when they sent me this:

Let’s call a spade a spade: there are some things you cannot do, even if you think you can.

Despite delusions of grandeur, none of us can grow wings and fly, teleport across the planet, or walk on water. That being said, there’s something to this idea, also stated eloquently by Henry Ford as “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.”

Your beliefs can either limit you or allow you to flourish.

If you don’t think you can run a marathon, you won’t even start training. If you don’t think you can start a business, you won’t even consider doing initial research. Instead, you’ll stuff your dreams under a pile of can’t happen, and spend your hours in self-imposed mediocrity.

The belief itself can’t create your future, but it gives you the freedom to try – and as long as you’re trying, there’s no reason to believe you won’t keep learning, growing, and impressing yourself.

*oh snap!

Pick of the Post: Carl Henry – Dim the Lights

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True Friends > Ice Cream

Matt Corker — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:45:06 +0000

Sometimes we feel lonely, unloved, and ugly.

We get overwhelmed in busy schedules. We feel out of control. We put off making decisions because we’re scared.

And then – along comes a friend. You know the one I’m referring to. The one that makes you feel like you belong somewhere, that gives you warm hugs, and tells you you look dapper. They create time for you to use and push you a little further to your edge (because they know you can fly). They remind you of how great you can be. They listen. They surprise.

Yet, we struggle in saying thank you. Mainly because those two words don’t hold enough magnitude to fully express how grateful we are to have them in our life. Or, in this case, we just don’t know who to thank…

Dear Friend(s) Who Left A Note In My Freezer,
Creating a grocery shopping list has never been complimented by a more delightful surprise. Your note has now hangs on my fridge – and is the perfect thing to wake up to as I reach for my cereal’s milk.
“Thank you”

Pick of the Post: Adam Lambert – If I Had You (official music video)