Category Archives: Attention

Gathering the Honey

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“It is not the bee touching the flowers that gathers the honey, but her abiding for a time upon them, and drawing out the sweet.”

—The Mother’s and Young Lady’s Annual, published in 1853

Image of a bee gathering nectar

Image from Unsplash

Pollination and making honey are the two primary jobs of bees. Most of us have seen those nature shows on TV in which the brightly colored flowers put on their spring display to attract these amazing creatures.

Upon close inspection, the journey from flower to flower involves the bee’s hard and enduring work of nectar-gathering. The fortuitous by-product of their efforts – the wonderful honey they produce – is achieved by the flowers passing their stores of pollen to a neighboring blossom.

EXERCISE:

What personal or professional projects are not progressing as you wish due to your less-than-optimal attention and efforts? Where would greater intensity, persistence, and tenacity help you achieve more of the sweet success you seek?

Guests see more in an hour

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“A guest sees more in an hour than the host in a year.”

-Polish Proverb

Image of Barry on the bridge overlooking the Sydney Opera House

Barry and the Sydney Opera House

For my 60th birthday, my wonderful wife Wendy surprised me with a “Bucket List” vacation to Australia and New Zealand. I take adventures such as this with my senses wide open, even though they can be exhausting.

The sights, sounds, tastes, and feelings make experiences like this magical!

Surprisingly, a good number of the people we met who live and work in Australia and New Zealand saw their worlds as “normal,” with only reasonable pleasure and satisfaction in what we, as tourists, experienced as amazingly beautiful and extra-special.

EXERCISE:

How and in what ways can you more fully explore and take greater delight in the world right around you? You may wish to invite a guest, friend, or colleague to visit your home and express what they see and appreciate about your world.

obstacles and dreams

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“In one hand I have a dream, and in the other I have an obstacle. Tell me, which one grabs your attention?”

—Sir Henry Parkes, Member of the Australian Parliament

Image of a dictionary with "focus" highlighted

Image from Flickr by Mark Hunter

Today’s quote reminds me of the saying, “Where your attention goes, your energy flows.” Since energy is what moves the world, it makes sense to heed this advice.

What are the issues that grab your attention, personally and professionally? How is directing your attention there influencing and impacting your life?

EXERCISE:

How and in what ways can you stop focusing on your obstacles and put more time and attention to your most cherished goals and dreams?

Doors Don’t Slam Open

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“Doors don’t slam open.”

—John Shanahan, Director for Defense Intelligence, The Pentagon

Image of an open door in a field

Image from Flickr by My Wave Pictures

When was the last time you heard a door slam shut? What was the cause for this abrupt action? Did it involve you and others in your life?

What relationships or opportunities were perhaps damaged or lost due to this occurrence?

Without question, closed doors and slammed doors are commonplace for people who have a “go for it” approach to life. It can be as simple as someone in your personal or professional world saying “NO” to something you want or desire.

People of courage, initiative, and grit always find new and better doors to open, thus creating their own “YES” and the lives they desire.

EXERCISE:

In what ways can you open more doors and realize the greater possibilities that lie on the other side?

Today will be what you make of it

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“Today will be what you make of it.”

—Author Unknown

Image of "Mindsight" book

I recently learned about a new skill called “Mindsight,” based on the book of the same name by Doctor Daniel Siegel.

Siegel suggests this skill is a kind of focused attention. Mindsight allows us to see the internal workings of our own mind, including our mental processes, without being swept away by them through the autopilots of ignorance and habitual responses.

How often do you notice each day blending into the next? To what degree do you experience a bit of insanity and upset by not seeing better results, and feeling less engaged and alive?

EXERCISE:

How would a greater awareness of your inner thinking and outer efforts help you make more of each day?

Make the Days Count

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“Don’t count the days; make the days count.”

-Muhammad Ali

Image from fearlessmotivation.com

Image from fearlessmotivation.com

We have all heard the adage, “Your days are numbered.” Not many of us fully appreciate the hard reality of that statement. How often do you find yourself—or others you know—looking into the future with the expectancy of an enjoyable weekend, event or vacation?

How often do you look forward to a “someday” when everything will be better than the current moment? Unfortunately, “Someday” is not an actual day of the week!

EXERCISE:

How and in what ways can you make the most of every minute, hour, and day to realize the “present” life can be, making each day count instead of counting the days?

Greatness is Within You

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“Greatness is within you!”

-Author Unknown

Image from conversationswithdoggy-lama.com

Image from conversationswithdoggy-lama.com

Many of us have been told, throughout our lives, that humility is a sign of high character—we should not brag or call excessive attention to ourselves. Many of the Quotable Coach posts point out that focusing on others is a key to success.

Today’s quote, however, is more about your journey to pursue, achieve, and contribute your gifts, talents, and unique abilities—your greatness. Pursuing all that we can be is something we can all do with great passion and purpose. Our efforts contribute and build our characters even more.

EXERCISE:

Request a bit of feedback from those who know you best in your personal and professional worlds.

What good and great qualities and abilities do they say you currently possess that could be even greater if you put your everything into the effort?

In the Real World

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“In the realm of ideas everything depends on enthusiasm. In the real world all rests on perseverance.”

–Johann Wolfgang Goethe, 19th Century German writer and statesman

image from iRuler.net

image from iRuler.net

Who doesn’t admire and become inspired by the enthusiastic leader with a great idea? It is pretty easy to get caught up in the possibilities of some new and better future.

When reality sets in, we all would note that only a very tiny set of these ideas ever come to fruition. Rigorous execution of a great or even good idea is priceless in our world of metrics and quantifiable results.

EXERCISE:

How can you use a “what gets measured gets done” perspective in your personal and professional world? Consider generating the necessary perseverance to have your best and most enthusiastically shared idea become real.

Day of Infinite Length

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“The day is of infinite length for him who knows how to appreciate and use it.”

-Johann Wolfgang Goethe, 19th Century German writer and statesman

Image from www.rottentomatoes.com

Image from www.rottentomatoes.com

In the 2006 movie CLICK starring Adam Sandler, the hero is an overworked architect who neglects his family. He acquires a magical universal remote that enables him to fast forward through unpleasant or outright dull parts of his life. He soon learns that the seeming bad moments he keeps skipping over contain valuable time with his family, and important life lessons.

EXERCISE:

How can you use your own life remote to slow down or pause the passage of time, so you can more fully appreciate each moment of every day?

Seminar in a Sentence

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“A quote can be a seminar in a sentence.”

-Author Unknown

QC #921

About a year ago, I published my first book, based on the Quotable Coach series. It was subtitled “daily nuggets of practical wisdom,” based on the votes and recommendations of our loyal readers.

In our time-crunched lives, the idea of getting a seminar in a sentence has a great deal of appeal to many. I am pleased to report that we now receive over 6,000 monthly hits on the Quotable Coach website, and have well over 1,500 daily subscribers worldwide, because of kind readers like you.

EXERCISE:

Please reply to this post with your favorite “seminar in a sentence,” and feel free to share its value and importance in your life.

Consider purchasing a copy of The Quotable Coach book for yourself or as a holiday gift to others. Thank You!