Newsletter for August 2004:
The Thick of Thin Things
Contents:
- This Months Thought
- The Thick of Thin Things
- Quotes of the Month
- Strictly Business: Think Your Way to the Top!
- Humor: Will Rogers on Growing Older
This Months Thought
Resolve this week to maximize the QUALITY of your life, rather than the quantity of items on your to-do list! Resolve to savor every conversation, and to eliminate at least one unnecessary pressure. Say "no" to a few requests; politely decline a couple of invitations. Smell the roses, notice the sunrise, feel the grass under your feet. Slow down! Slow down enough to enrich the quality of your life.
The Thick of Thin Things
Your neighbor is preparing to go on vacation and you hear all kinds of racket coming from next door as the husband, wife and kids are urgently getting ready to leave. In their hurry to "get away and relax", Dad is angry, the kids are yelling, and Mom is trying to get everyone ready to leave. Not a very relaxing situation, right?
It reminds me of how crazy our lives often are.
We all know the story of the man or woman who works long hours, 7 days a week to provide for their family or save for retirement, only to die far too young, with no chance to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
In the Bible there's a similar story. Luke records that Jesus went to visit two sisters, Mary and Martha. Upon his arrival, Mary chose to listen and take in the wisdom of Jesus' words, while Martha bustled about the house, fixing a dinner to honor their special guest. Eventually, Martha got frustrated and asked for Mary's help, but it seems Jesus was more interested in the conversation and fellowship than in the fancy meal and all the trimmings.
How often have we done the same thing? I remember many visits with friends and loved ones where we got so caught up in the fancy barbeque or trip to the beach (or whatever) that we never had a chance to sit and talk.
I have read material and watched TV biographies of Winston Churchill and what hits me again and again is the time Churchill spent talking with people! Without television and other distractions, they had time for food, for walks, for painting and long talks. Churchill was a man of strong opinions and not everyone appreciated his point of view, but oh! the conversations they must have had!
We will never return to the slow pace of a hundred years ago, but we do not need to spend our lives rushing about like chickens!
Far too often, we get caught up in the "have-to's" of life, and most of those "musts" are, in reality, extremely small, meaningless things. We "have to" see a ball game or run an errand. We rush to meetings or worry about cramming one more day into our vacation schedule. There are so many phone calls, so many emails, so many things we "have to do" that we forget to live our own lives.
O heard a quote somewhere that referred to this as the "thick of thin things" and I love that phrase! Life is to be lived, not rushed through! Life is to be savored, enjoyed, experienced and remembered, but too many of us see only the blur of life passing us by. Remember the old movie, "If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium"? What an awful way to see Europe! Let's not live our lives that way!
Slow down! Slow down enough to enrich the quality of your life. Take time to breath, to laugh, and to listen. Take time to call someone you care about. Do something truly radical - actually take pen and paper and send someone an old-fashioned letter! (Wow! There's a wild idea!)
Give yourself the gift of living the life your truly want instead of the lifestyle of the "madding crowd" around us. You are wiser than that! Listen to your heart, plan your days; match the rhythm of your schedule to the desires of your soul. You'll discover you are richer than you knew!
Resolve this month to maximize the QUALITY of your life, rather than the quantity of items on your to-do list! Resolve to SAVOR every conversation, and to eliminate at least one unnecessary pressure. Say "no" to a few requests; politely decline a couple of invitations. Smell the roses, notice the sunrise, feel the grass under your feet. Take a sandwich for lunch and eat in the park, maybe sharing a few crumbs with the pigeons or the ducks. For a couple of dollars, rent a movie, buy a bottle of wine and spend a quiet evening with someone you care about.
Quotes of the Month
"Better than a thousand useless words is one single word that gives peace." -- The Buddha
"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies." -- Mother Teresa
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment to improve the world." -- Anne Frank
"Nothing happens unless first a dream." -- Carl Sandburg
Strictly Business: Think Your Way to The Top!
The longer I work around and with successful business owners and professionals, the more I see the distinction between those who understand the REAL source of wealth, and those who think merely in terms of sales and profits.
Recently, a television news show did a story about a software company in South Carolina where the owner understands that "my most important assets walk out the door every night (they go home), and my most important job is to be sure they all walk back in tomorrow morning." I love that!
He understood that while plants and equipment and brand recognition and marketing ALL play a critical role, in the end it's our people and how well they THINK that determines our long- term success. High achievers invest in themselves, their training, and in taking time to think clearly.
Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, talked about the need for leaders to "out-think" the competition. Bill Gates takes time away to think, renew and reflect every quarter. So should you! You cannot lead if you do not maintain a clearer vision and a stronger sense of direction than your employees AND your competition! If you are lost in the swamp of daily crises, you will see neither the golden opportunities nor the fatal threats to your success.
You MUST "out-think", out-strategize and out-maneuver both your competition, and the thinking of the past. As we emerge from this economic slow-down, the next boom will NOT be led by the companies or the methods of the past.
Invest in your education, but just importantly, create opportunities to USE what you know in fresh and creative ways. Expand the boundaries and stretch the possibilities!
Humor: Will Rogers on Growing Older
The following are quips from Will Rogers which I think are excellent. Enjoy!
WILL ROGERS ON GROWING OLDER
First, Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.
Second, The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.
Third, Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know "why" I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved.
Fourth, When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra.
Fifth, You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.
Sixth, I don't know how I got over the hill without getting to the top.
Seventh, One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young.
Eighth, One must wait until evening to see how splendid the day has been.
Ninth, Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.
Tenth, Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today it's called golf.
And finally, If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you are old.
Rodger Blaker is a Personal Coach who supports people in their desire to bridge the gap between where they are today and where they want to be! For info on resources for your success, visit: http://www.rodgerblaker.com
GIVE A GIFT TO A FRIEND! Please forward this copy to your friends and colleagues! That's how I grow!