Category Archives: Action

hiding in the crowd

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“The world will never discover a person who is hiding in the crowd.”

– Dr. Mardy Grothe, psychologist

520Image from Flickr by Si1very.

When my children were young, we would often play a searching game with them called “Where’s Waldo?” The books in this series consisted of detailed double-spread illustrations depicting dozens or hundreds of people doing amusing things at a given location.

Readers were challenged to find Waldo, a slender, glasses-wearing, nerdy character sporting a red and white striped shirt, bobble hat, and blue trousers.

Unfortunately, most people don’t like taking the time to find the “Waldos” of opportunity in their world. They much prefer opportunities to stand out in the world shouting, “Here I am!”

Exercise:

What special efforts can you make or what goal can you accomplish today that will have you stand out from the crowd?

“There’s always some further action to take.”

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“There’s always some further action to take.”

– Pierre Boulle, French novelist

490Image from Flickr by Celestine Chua.

One of my favorite coaching techniques is called the “pivot point”. It involves three steps:

Step 1: Assessing the current reality of a situation.

Step 2: Identifying and choosing a vision for the future that you (and perhaps others) desire.

Step 3: Selecting and taking the next appropriate action to get you to your desired goal or objective.

Taking Step 1 alone can provide for considerable awareness … but it will leave you right where you are. Taking Step 2 leaves you with only a possible future, or what some may call “wishful thinking”.

By taking the last and final action step, you can make these potential futures real.

Exercise:

Where are you currently stuck at Step 1 or Step 2 in your personal or professional pivots? How can you take the next action step?

“Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day’s work absorb all your interest, energy and enthusiasm.”

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“Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day’s work absorb all your interest, energy and enthusiasm.”

– Sir William Osler, physician and founding professor of John Hopkins Hospital

work

Image from Flickr by Sean MacEntee

In his book Drive, Daniel Pink describes three predominant qualities to life that drive all of us. They include:
  • Autonomy, or the ability to influence our world.
  • Mastery, or the capacity to grow and improve our skills and abilities.
  • Purpose, or a sense of meaning – knowing that our daily efforts are making a difference to our own lives and the lives of others.

Exercise:

Using the three qualities above as a framework for a driven life, how do you plan to focus your interest, energy and enthusiasm today?

“Today is when everything that’s going to happen from now on begins.”

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“Today is when everything that’s going to happen from now on begins.”

– Harvey Firestone Jr., businessman

A considerable number of people who enter into a coaching relationship have a “governor” on their life and career engine that seems to be limiting them from moving forward at the speed they desire.

Their trips down memory lane regarding past accomplishments and setbacks often limit what they’re willing to do at this moment in time.

Exercise:

To minimize these journeys into the past, which may limit your orientation for forward movement, consider creating a number of Post-it notes with the following question. Place them throughout your personal and professional environments.

What is the most important thing I can do at this very moment?

Repeat this question often, to do what you can from where you are.

The price of Anything

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“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”

– Henry David Thoreau, American author, philosopher and transcendentalist

QC #1011b

One of the first quotes I ever shared in The Quotable Coach series was “time is the coin of life” – how we spend our time and who we spend it with literally has a price.

Exercise:

Examine your life domains and ask yourself if each investment of your valuable life equity was worth it.

Consider making a few adjustments by doing more of some things, less of others, and starting a few new and interesting activities – and of course stopping those intolerable ones that you regret the most.

Our Greatest Glory

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“Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

Image from www.imdb.com

Image from www.imdb.com

One of my favorite movies of all time is Rudy,  in which the main character is a small and very feisty football player with a passion for the University of Notre Dame. Through dogged determination, persistence, and a tenacity rarely seen, he takes quite a beating by being a veritable practice dummy for the first team – and eventually rises to glory in the final hours.

Exercise:

What are your passions and commitments to which you give your all, no matter how often you fall?

What inspiring “Rudy” stories have you participated in or observed?

What stories are yet to be written, in which you will experience future glorious moments?

“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

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“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

– Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States

How often do you find yourself on the playing field versus in the stands as a spectator?

As spectators to a sporting event, or even a business interaction, we find ourselves in a relatively safe spot where we risk little or nothing. When we actually suit up and get in the game, we are putting ourselves to the test. Will we win and achieve success, or will we lose and fail?

One sure thing is that without risk, without getting in the game, we will never truly test ourselves, grow fully, and turn our potential for success into glorious triumphs.

Exercise:

Where in your life and career can you shift from being a spectator to getting on the field, so as to experience the excitement of participating – and yes, the potential of defeat.

It’s better to be fully alive on the field than to simply survive in the stand. Live your life; don’t play it so safe that you never go anywhere.

#111: “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”

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– Mark Twain, author

This quote reminds me of the one about climbing the ladders of life: we must be sure that the ladder is leaning against the correct wall.

As true as this may be, we must also be vigilant, placing one foot in front of the other to progress to our goals.

In my many years of coaching, I have seen some people continually set the same goals and objectives, putting in only modest effort and making minimal progress. In our rapidly moving world, an individual or organization that makes little or no progress often gets left behind by their competition.

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.

Exercise:

What booster rockets, high-test fuel and massive action would it take for you to reach your goals faster and amaze yourself?

The Seeds You Plant

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“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.”

– Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist and poet

image from Flickr by Andrew Shieh

image from Flickr by Andrew Shieh

Harvest time is only a small part of the growing season. My wife and I grew tomatoes last summer, and really enjoyed harvesting them at the end of August.

The process of growing them, though, was a bit more involved and time consuming than we expected. It included purchasing seeds, preparing the soil, watering, providing sunlight, adding plant food, watering, adding more plant food, more watering… you get the idea!

Exercise:

What seeds can you plant today? What care and attention will they need daily, so that you can have a successful harvest in the future?

Make sure you enjoy the process of gardening and not just the sweet fruits of life.

 

#60: “Do what you know is right, do the best you can, and let the loose ends drag.”

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– Steve Strickler (attributed)

Life is a journey. It’s a game of progress, not perfection. When we live a life true to our nature and give it our all, perhaps we just need to let the chips fall where they may.

If we let go of the loose ends of life – the small stuff, the minor parts – then we can travel lighter.

Exercise:

Where do you sweat the small stuff, or major in the minors?

How can you simply let the loose ends drag?

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.