Wayne Gretzky, a star hockey player said: “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be”. And while we’re at it, Seth Godin an author and star change agent said: “You can’t be remarkable by following someone else who is remarkable.”

We can’t all be Wayne Gretskys or Seth Godins, but we certainly can think about ourselves and our work in greater terms than we typically do.

My job as a coach requires me to help clients see their own abilities, have the courage to think more creatively and to believe in their own talent.

The biggest- and scariest – thing is to take a risk. There is no Great anything or anybody without risk. Now we can’t all be Gretskys or Godins, but we certainly can think about a bigger, better, not-there-yet-but-will-be place for what we offer.

I have taken risks all my life (adult life, certainly), and some have paid off, others failed. From selling cars to making movies – I traveled to countries where I knew no one; I entered into professional arenas where I didn’t have experience. What I always knew, was that I was taking a risk, I would do it anyway, and I would learn lots. I wouldn’t trade a single one of them – not the successes nor the failures.

I believe we have our own universe in which we have expertise, our own roulette wheel, our own GPS, and our own hockey stick. We have to go where the puck is going to be if we want to be a star in the universe of others. What about you? Are you using the stuff in your universe to get where the Puck is going to be?

Strategic thinking is a way to examine the choices you have when trying to achieve what you want. It means being prepared whether the outcome is positive or negative. It is a process that allows you to think more deeply about what you really want, how you need to achieve it, and most important of all – what happens if you don’t get it. Being prepared for a success is one thing, being prepared for a negative response is another. “What do I do if…?” should be asked before action is taken because an honest answer may require that you rethink everything else.

Once you know your objective, here are three key questions that will help you think about it more strategically.

1. What does a successful outcome look like?

2. Who will be affected by this change?

3. Am I prepared to LOSE?

When you have examined the possibilities, you will be better prepared to handle push-back, argument, or to fall back and regroup.

I wasn’t present when GM and the others came back to Congress with a “strategic” restructuring plan. But I would wager they did not think strategically enough, as in, what happens if the say “no”?

What your mom taught you is still true. To be truly successful, the values you hold in your personal life have to be consistent with the values you hold in your professional life. It’s my experience that the most successful coaching clients are those who integrate their personal beliefs with their professional pursuits. Here are seven (and I’m sure there are more) important beliefs and practices that really do help us achieve whatever we’re chasing.

Honesty – Primarily about yourself. If you are, you will be honest with others .

Hope – This doesn’t mean you sit around and hope for something to happen. It means you are hopeful, and positive that when you are doing everything you can to make things happen, they will.

Caring – Not judgmental – about your family, clients, customers, and those who need your help.

Courage – To move forward, face the challenges, and make the changes you need to make.

Clarity – The will to be focused, forceful, and faithful to what you say you want.

Trust – In your own abilities, in those whom you seek to help you, and in the integrity of your own pursuit.

Awe – Genuine gratitude for the successes you realize and for those who helped you get it.

When you are defining your dream, clarifying your intention, and shoring up your courage, think of yourself in designer clothes – not off the rack. You don’t want your vision to look like someone else’s. And you don’t want to get lost in the crowd of good ideas. If you’re a female, think of yourself in the little black dress designed by Donna Karan. If your male, the blazer by Armani.

It’s more than the cliché, “dress the part”. It has to do with seeing yourself as worthy of your vision, having the goods to make it happen, and the confidence to move forward. When you think beyond the ordinary, you will naturally be more creative in your efforts and tactics. Courage and clarity come in bigger packages when you believe you’re looking in the right direction, and dressed for the occasion.

No matter how hip you make your presentations, no matter what media you use, no matter how skillfully you craft your presentation, one fact remains:

YOU ARE THE MESSAGE

It is so easy now to make an interesting, fun, presentation even out of the most boring of topics.  You can use all sorts of tools available on the web.  You can embed YouTube videos into your slide show, you can use Clouds to punch up the punch lines.

But at the end of the day, the audience needs two things:

1. They need to know that you know what you’re talking about

You need to be the person with the answers, the one who puts everyone at ease.  You need to be the one who says, “let me answer  your questions”.  You CAN send them to a screen for the answers, but you need to be the guide, the one with the in-depth answers.

2.  They need to make a personal connection with you

People like to connect with the presenter. The best way to do that is to tell a story.  One where you have revealed something about yourself that others can relate to.

As an Executive Coach, I’m often asked by my clients how to tap into personal stories.  They just can’t think of any.  If you have that problem, here is an exercise to help you:

Make three columns with headings such as:  courage; failure; winning.  Write out any experience you’ve had – it can be when you were a child or adult – that addresses the particular heading.  Soon you will have a series of stories you can tell.  One that will connect with the audience because we’ve all been there.

Humorous stories work really well, but if you are not humorous naturally, don’t force it.  That will be worse than never telling a story.

One of the best presenters out there is Steve Jobs.  He steps out onto the stage with a myriad of hi-tech visuals.  But who are they looking at, whose words are they hanging on – his.  Not the screen.  Using the technology to underscore your message, to make it interesting, to light it up, is great.  But it will never take the place of YOU.

You need to know your message inside and out and you need to be secure in your knowledge of the detail.  The audience may be momentarily blinded by the bright lights, but they will quickly get their bearings and they don’t take kindly to giving up their time to someone who doesn’t know their stuff or whom they don’t like.  Making a personal connection is the most important of the two.  Because if the technology fails, you still have YOU.