Last week, my two older boys and I went to camp.  Our daily talks at dinner heading into that weekend were about the cabin, the woods, sleeping bags and s’mores.  Now, being a big outdoorsman/hunter/sportsman, you might think I’m the ultimate camper. Sorry to disappoint you, but, well…no.  There is a huge difference between camping on the ledge of a mountain to chase big game and sleeping in a cold cabin on a three-inch mattress.  One’s a hunt and the other, well, is a (literal) pain in the neck.

I was a bit nervous about the camping weekend and found my anxiety level rising. I didn’t know many people, how my kids would react, and I was unfamiliar with the location.  As a kid, I couldn’t stand summer camp, and many of those memories were clouding my mind.  I was working against my past, and my thoughts were going to less-than-optimal places. Just days before the camp, I decided enough was enough and to let go of the past and create a new exciting reality filled with anticipation, not anxiety.  As I tell all of you, I told myself: create a DO, set your target.  Here is what I came up with:

• Be in the moment with my boys because these times will pass all too soon
• Visualize the amazing time we will have
• Be a leader to my sons and show them the way to adventure
• Cherish the opportunity to love life and new experiences

I’ve looked back and found many moments in my career when I had the same apprehensions: when something is foreign or triggers a bad memory.  In those times, having a Desired Outcome to fall back on keep you moving forward.  It starts with a vision and a target so you can just stay in the hunt and enjoy it.

The next time you face a challenge remind yourself that only you have the power to change your perception and create a great experience.  Every moment is an opportunity for growth and a positive outlook puts you on the right trail to hunt down the life you want. 

On May 5, Michigan voters will be presented the opportunity to make our roads safer for future generations and ourselves by voting yes on Proposal 1, popularly referred to as “Safer Roads Yes!” Proposal 1 is vital to the continued success of our state. We can all agree that our roads are a mess. And it is up to us, the citizens of Michigan, to make the investment.

The current road budget will continue to feed the “slap a patch on it” methodology of road repair that simply leads to worsening conditions year after year. It’s like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound and expecting it to heal. We need a long-term, consistent source of funding to create infrastructure, ensuring safe roads for generations to come.

Each spring, my oldest son and I cannot wait to get out the convertible for his drive to school. Just weeks ago, I asked Hunter if he wanted to ride to school in that car, and he said, “Dad, the roads aren’t ready yet.” When a 7-year old can see the problem, you know things need to change.

Our roads need $1.2 billion dollars annually just to keep them in fair to good condition. A penny on the dollar is a small price to pay to avoid accidents, damage to our vehicles and increased insurance costs. It is equal to the cost of one cracked windshield replacement or wheel damage, which leads to missing work and additional costly fallout. I am not going to pretend it is a clean bill, but we all know how government works. Getting a bipartisan commitment to support a bill of this importance was vital. Making our roads safe is integral to the future of our state.

As a hunter, a businessman and a father, I understand the importance of leaving a clean wake: leaving the path better than I found it. Proposal 1 is not just a good idea; it’s a form of self-preservation – for our families, our businesses, our state and ourselves. Vote “Yes” on Proposal 1 on May 5: Michigan can only move forward on roads constructed to last.

Please watch and support my videos on Proposal 1 and don’t forget to vote on May 5th.

Spring has sprung. And with spring comes even more demands on my time and schedule. I took an incredible, life-changing vacation with my wife and my boys. Taking that week of sunshine and love with a DO of strengthening our family bonds has resulted in two weeks of catch-up, late nights, early mornings and travel for which I am just now paying the mental and physical price.   A price I am more than happy to pay; the memories we made are priceless and beyond compare.

But every once in awhile, even I need to sleep. Even with the demands of a full life, I can run on just five hours a night for months. It’s just how I function. Then suddenly, I hit a wall. The struggle is to keep hunting through the exhaustion. I’ve come up with a list of emergency “I need sleep” weapons to help us all manage our energy, get a full nights’ sleep, and keep hitting our targets.

• Maximize your Peak Activity Window. As hunters, we recognize the part of a day that has us operating at our best. We need to leverage our PAW for decision-making, big thinking, and critical moves.

• Focus on our DO. Narrow ours scopes to the minimum view. Knowing what awaits us when we stay on our desired paths will keep us awake and in the moment.

• Eliminate waste. Unnecessary meetings, non-priority emails, and other time-sucks are the small talk at the cocktail party of life. Prioritize what is most important.

• Leverage our tribes. There is a reason for society: we are stronger together than alone. In these moments, we find assistance is never more than an ask away.

Time is a non-renewable resource and we never truly know how much we have. And while sleep doesn’t always seem like the wisest use of time, burning the candle at both ends almost always results in a missed target or at the very least, a lost arrow. We all need the reminders to stay focused on our desired outcomes and manage our resources on the hunt for a life lived to its fullest.

Do you ever get to the very precipice of a real breakthrough and get stuck? Hanging on to the edge of success is a tough spot. When you need that little extra push, try using your Hunter’s Vision. When we use our minds to imagine a goal coming to fruition, we unleash one of the universe’s great gifts.

Our minds are incredibly powerful. Sometimes, seeing really is believing. Even cavemen understood the importance of visualization; painting cave walls with the vision of their hunt. I have painted the vision for HealthRise on my office walls, not so I have something pretty to look at, but to remind me, daily, in the moment, where this company is headed.

Scientists believe that we may experience real-world and imaginary actions in similar ways. Therefore, the more you practice Hunter’s Vision, the more you train your mind to be open to opportunity.

Use these four tips when creating your vision to take you to the next level on your hunt:

• Use all your senses.
• Be the star.
• Practice.
• Write it down.

The truth is that imagery can’t make you perform beyond your capabilities. But it can help you reach your potential. The potential for greatness lies in all of us; arming yourself with a strong mental vision will give you the advantage you need.

There are several moments in almost every speech I deliver when I get a real, gut reaction from the audience.  I expect it when I bring up hunting and ask who the hunters are or ask them to describe what they think of when they think of hunting.  But the surprising moment is when I bring up leverage.  The general reaction is one of disbelief: using people and relationships to get what you want?  To that, I say “hell, yes!”

Facebook is constantly leveraging its data, users, and finances to move them closer to their goal of connecting the entire world population.  When they lost favor with millennials, Facebook bought Instagram and encouraged posting photos via that app to Facebook and then leveraged their technology and metrics to improve visibility of photos on the network.  This kind of conscious attention to the ever-changing landscape keeps Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook relevant and moving to the next level of success.

Leverage is the power that keeps life moving.  Hunting with leverage simply demands that you look at yourself and your life with clarity and then use what you see to get where you want to go.  Everyone has soft spots; by coming to grips with yours, you’ll be better able to connect with a difficult client, understand an angry teenager, troubleshoot a dysfunctional work process, avoid a bad outcome or propose a better strategy.

Once you have clarity, you can trust yourself and bring intuition in to help guide you.  We have all had moments where we could see how things were going to play out and instinctively knew where the leverage points were.  Intuition takes the combination of experience and observation and adds that indescribable feeling in your gut that points you home.  Feed data into that equation, and now you are ready to leverage others – as well as be leveraged yourself. 

The world is full of leverage points.  Some will work with your values and needs; others won’t.  The more practice you have, the better you will be at spotting and using what works.  And the more effectively you use leverage points – people, events, issues, chance meetings, you name it – the faster you’ll move and the more new ones you will spot.

Because it’s such a critical skill, leverage should be as instinctual to you as breathing.  It’s an act of success and survival.  If you overlook, ignore or refuse to leverage an opportunity, you’re wasting the time and effort you’ve invested in every other aspect of your hunt for success.

I get a lot of grief from some people in my life about my posts on Facebook and Twitter. I’m goofy or intense or sincere or messing around with my kids. I shoot a quick video and boom! There it is.. a peek into the life of one David Farbman. But lately I’ve been considering putting down the phone.

Don’t get me wrong. I love texting and connecting. My favorite thing about social media is the opportunity to share the one thing we all share: LIFE. Our experiences bring us together. My greatest gripe about social media (and my best pal, the iPhone 6) is how it takes us out of the present and puts us in the role of the observer.

The only place we can experience thoughts and emotions is in the present moment. It is the only place we exist. If your goal is to live an authentic life, learning to control your thoughts in the present moment is essential.   We make the biggest wins when we drop the camo and engage with reality. And if you don’t think your phone is camouflage then I have a book you need to read.

Several people in my company are taking the next week off to spend spring break with their families. I am encouraging them and all of you to leave the phone in your pocket. It will let you know if it needs you. You will create more memories sitting on a beach with your loved ones if your hands are building sandcastles or applying sunscreen or holding a cold beer. Your brain and heart can hold your emotions and thoughts so much better than your iPhone 6 can.

Life happens in real time. Before I know it, my boys will be men and on their own. I want them to look back and remember the adventures we went on together, how I held their hands and ran through the sand. I want to spot deer with them and see the excitement on their faces when they find a morel mushroom or catch a fish or simply admire a sunrise. Enjoy your holiday, if it’s home or away, and leave your phone alone. It isn’t making memories with you.