Read these great insights from Marshall Goldsmith's blog.
More and more, reality should play a significant role in your business plan. You might say; "of course." But you might be surprised how often emotion plays a part in your forecast/plan.
Let's all ask the tough questions regarding our work-our lives too..
The thought of mistakes can drive some people nuts-I'm one of them. Well, I used to be.
As time has moved on, I've have learned the art of, not only learning, but seeing mistakes as a tool to reinvent. It has served me well in the following ways:
I became a guide long before I became an entrepreneur. That's important because it reveals motivation. Don't get me wrong, I don't deserve an award or a round of applause. But for context purposes I believe it to be important.
When I first began this journey almost 7 years ago, we were living in a different time. People (specifically in the corporate world) were running at a fast clip and hiding. Fast clip in regards to chasing down success, and hiding in regards to thinking success (rewards/outward manifestations) could shield us from having to deal with who we really are.
Then came along the meltdown. The economic stuff caught many off guard and left many facing detours or "road closed ahead" moments. Maybe God was doing us a favor. The quintessential "hey, you need to take off the mask and be who you are" moment. There really is no substitute for authenticity.
But here's the deal; not many coaches, leaders, gurus, consultants, et al. are advising you to pause and look around. Seems like there's just a lot of selling going on. 7 years ago it was how to turn all that fast-track good will into the next big thing, or a seminar on how to retire at 50. Now we've moved to programs on starting your own business now that Fannie Mae has sold us down the river, or how to turn government stimulus funds into a cash-cow.
Maybe you were meant to follow the path described above. But don't go there unless your wiring (your personality, your vision, your talents) is a fit. Don't follow that road because of someone's or something's dogma persuades you to. Life is so brief.
I have a vested (read my book, read my bio, see what others are saying) interest in you following the path that your destiny is screaming for you to follow.
Here are some things to weigh as you decide who you should trust:
This post and mission are all about a matter of trust.
"Without a clear vision, odds are you will come to the end of your life and wonder. Wonder what you could have done-what you should have done. And like so many, you may wonder if your life mattered at all."
-Andy Stanley
In the coming weeks we (Epic Living) will be introducing a program that will guide you to your better future. In your life, in your business, and in your career.
Don't leave your vision behind.
This video clip (courtesy of InsideWork) illustrates how influence works, and how what you want is often paved with pain.
Enjoy!
You never know the leader's true core until the "crushing blow" comes.
The following video from Business Week features a conversation with Jim Collins. He lauds the journey of Steve Jobs. There is much to learn from his observations.
My friend Matthew told me yesterday that it is most important to focus on the "what" and not the "how." It seems to me that people like Steve Jobs get this too.
As I looked at my father's gravesite for the first time today, I couldn't help but think of his ability to just "move on." That's a very valuable tool in life and career.
He had presence, but he always had this sense to know when the game was over. Almost like a coach saying "we're down by twenty and there's only two minutes left…time to accept the loss and prepare for the next one." Knowing that you'd be better for the lesson of losing-no matter how painful.
We live in a time where success (outward wise) and glory matter a lot. Even though there really isn't as much value there as we think. The idea of mistakes/failures do not resonate very well in environments like ours. We'll peek behind the curtain only if no one is looking.
So whether you're responsible for a big project or trying change a behavior at home, you need to allow yourself room for mistakes. For example, when I first started to make running a part of my exercise routine I never considered breathing. I thought my breathing was fine just like always. Wrong! But the mistake (manifested by my lack of energy to finish) drove me to ask questions. Runner's World magazine helped me with the subject of proper breathing and my running got better. See my point?
Here are some ideas to consider, life and career, that will help you learn from your mistakes:
Found this speech, given by Seth Godin, on TED. Seth is a gifted communicator and his ideas are in tune with our current time.
The bigger question is; can a tribe trust you? You know what I mean, are you safe, will you forget about the money when the moment demands it, will you stick with me when no one else will?
This video was somewhat prophetic as I have been processing much these days. Thanks to Marc, Terry, Matthew, and my wife for being a part of the confirmations.
Enjoy the speech!
The following is an article/post that really moved me. It's a story you may know, but the lessons are timeless.
I found a part of myself in Mr. Jackson.
Pain
by Charles R. Swindoll
They called him "Old
Hickory" because of his tenacity and grit. His mother chose "Andrew" on March
15, 1767, when she gave birth to that independent-minded South Carolina rebel.
Wild, quick-tempered, and disinterested in school, Andrew answered the call for
soldiers to resist the British invasion at age thirteen. Shortly thereafter, he
was taken prisoner. Refusing to black an enemy officer's boots, he was struck
with a saber—Andrew's introduction to pain.
Although he bore the
marks of the blow for the rest of his life, Andrew's fiery disposition never
waned. A fighter to the core, he chose to settle arguments in duels and lived
most of his days with two bullets painfully wedged in his body. After he
distinguished himself on the battlefield, his name became a national synonym for
valor and stern persistence. When politics nodded in his direction, "Old
Hickory" accepted the challenge: first the Senate, then nomination for
President. The shadow of pain appeared again in another form as he lost a narrow
race with John Quincy Adams.
Four years later,
however, he ran again . . . and won! But pain accompanied the victory. Two
months before he took office he lost his beloved wife, Rachel. Grief-stricken,
the President-elect pressed on. Even as he was being sworn into office as our
nation's seventh President, he fought the anguish of a raging fever caused by an
abscess in the lung.
Some time later, one
of the bullets within him had to be surgically removed. He endured that
operation—done without anesthetic—in typically courageous fashion. Even his
political career was painful. A nasty scandal split his cabinet, and critics
clawed at him like hungry lions. Although he stood firm for many months, the
telling signs of pain began to manifest themselves. He was one of the few men
who left office, however, more popular than when he came. "For once, the rising
was eclipsed by the setting sun," wrote a contemporary sage. And it was pain,
more than any other single factor, which drew the qualities of greatness out of
Andrew Jackson.
Pain humbles the
proud. It softens the stubborn. It melts the hard. Silently and relentlessly, it
wins battles deep within the lonely soul. The heart alone knows its own sorrow
and not another person can fully share in it. Pain operates alone; it needs no
assistance. It communicates its own message whether to statesman or servant,
preacher or prodigal, mother or child. By staying, it refuses to be ignored. By
hurting, it reduces its victim to profound depths of anguish. And it is at that
anguishing point that the sufferer either submits and learns, developing
maturity and character, or resists and becomes embittered, swamped by self-pity,
smothered by self-will.
I have tried and I
cannot find, either in Scripture or history, a strong-willed individual whom God
used greatly until He allowed him to be hurt deeply.
It was just such a
person who wrote these words for all to read:
Guests
Pain
knocked upon my door and said
That she had come to stay,
And though I
would not welcome her
But bade her go away,
She entered in.
Like my own
shade
She followed after me,
And from her stabbing, stinging sword
No
moment was I free.
And then one day another knocked
Most gently at my
door.
I cried, "No, Pain is living here,
There is not room for
more."
And then I heard His tender voice,
"'Tis I, be not afraid."
And
from the day He entered in,
The difference it made!—Martha Snell
Nicholson
Excerpted from Come Before Winter and Share My Hope, Copyright ©
1985, 1994 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by
permission.