Month: May 2022 (Page 1 of 4)

It can be challenging for me to continue to invest in delayed-reward tasks on a consistent day to day basis not seeing the results until much farther down the road.

This takes a discipline that on my weakest days is extremely hard for me to execute.

These are the moments when I have to remind myself of the compounding effects of making the right choices. I have to talk myself through it.

That’s fine with me. Whatever it takes. I understand the process and I’m not ashamed to use every tool at my digression.

As long as I get the results I’m looking for.

If someone calls you and leaves a message in your voicemail, I read you have 48 hours to return the call in a timely and professional manner. That was over 20 years ago and I’m not sure with today’s technology if that still flies. My instincts tell me it works.

What doesn’t work in both the professional and personal arena is not returning a call at all. Unless of course, your intention is to ghost them.

It may sound like common sense, but getting back to a client, friend or even family member without delay can reveal much about how you conduct not only your business but your personal life. More importantly, not getting back to them might even speaker louder. Can someone count on you? Are you reliable? Do you respect my time? Your time?

To be honest, I always felt a bit disrespected when I didn’t hear back from someone, after leaving repeated messages from me. Maybe they don’t want my business. That’s fine, but after 2 excuses for not returning my call, shame on me.

It has been my experience that when I fly by the seat of my pants day after day without proper preparation I can miss out on the details I find important to get right.

This is why I find getting out in front of what I’m about to face by preparing helps in more ways than one. This can happen for me by physically getting the list of items needed out the night before or it can involve me running through a mental checklist.

First, I’m not as stressed out scrambling to put the pieces together. Secondly, I can do the quality of work I want to do by making sure there are no elements missing. And maybe most importantly, I can find pleasure in the task at hand because I’m able to focus my mind in the moment without being distracted.

Getting ahead of yourself in this case is your greatest ally. She’s the best part of you helping you be better by being your bodyguard and blazing a trail through the raucous crowd as you breeze through untouched to the main event.

I’m saddened when I hear about all the pain and suffering that goes on around our world today. I’m especially brokenhearted because of the choices people in our country – especially young folks – choosing violence against others and themselves as some sort of twisted “solution” to their problems. Maybe they don’t view it as a solution, but as “payback” for all the pain they’re going through.

My gut tells me there are no quick solutions (obviously) – through politics, changing of laws or prescription of medicines and/or blaming others. This seems to run much deeper than those “fast grab” talking points.

What is the answer, I’m not sure. It probably entails all of those things as well as a half dozen more. But, in the meantime I’m hoping for more Love in the world. More patience with others. Empathy and kindness and whole lot of listening. A whole lot of listening.

We can do this. I truly believe we can.

It can be as easy as slipping into a warm bath, death scrolling for hours on end or getting lost in a “binge worthy” series for days at a time. But, instead of “zoning out” we believe running around like a crazy person will bring us results. It’s called busy work. It’s time spent spinning your wheels and creating a dust storm because we believe the bigger the plume the more we’re accomplishing.

However, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. We need the moments to stop and reflect. To think. To plan and to work smarter. To evaluate our intentions and goals and to get clear on what we’re working towards. To stand still and assess.

The frivolous activity without the stillness in between is equivalent to a hamster running on a wheel. I know I don’t want to be there. And I’m almost positive you don’t either.

Let’s find ways to work smarter and not harder. After all, we want to have enough energy for other activities in our lives as well.