The butterfly counts not months but moments

Posted on by

“The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.”

—Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature

Close-up image of a butterfly

Image from Unsplash by Boris Smokrovic

The life cycle of a butterfly has four stages: Egg, Caterpillar, Pupa, and Adult.

Surprisingly, most adult butterflies live only one or two weeks, but some species hibernate during the winter and may live several months.

Whether their lives are weeks or months long, time to fulfill their purpose is short for these remarkable and beautiful creatures. They must somehow be conscious to this fact and see the importance and urgency of not wasting a single moment.

EXERCISE:

How can and will you cherish every moment of your life, and take coaching from the butterfly to transform your world?

Heaven is under our feet

Posted on by

“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.”

—Henry David Thoreau

Image of TESS Satellite

Image from NASA.gov

 

NASA has been engaged for many years in the search for exoplanets, with a wide variety of highly sophisticated and expensive instruments. If you care to do a bit of reading, check out these links:

The Spitzer Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope
TESS: Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
The James Webb Space Telescope

Exoplanets orbit stars outside our solar system. Scientists have discovered thousands of them to date, and the numbers continue to grow. Perhaps the biggest question is how many are actually out there, and more importantly, how many have life, or could sustain life?

Although it is guesstimated that there are trillions of exoplanets, and that the sheer number of them adds to the potential that they could harbor life, they are all too far away to visit – even in multiple lifetimes.

EXERCISE:

How and in what ways can and will you honor and cherish our beautiful planet? What can you do to leave it far better than you found it, for the sake of the earthlings and space travelers of the future?

Friday Review Priorities

Posted on by

FRIDAY REVIEW: PRIORITIES

What are your priorities in life? How do you prioritize your priorities? Here are a few priority-related posts you may have missed. Click the link to read the full message.

 

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule but to schedule your priorities.”

 

 

 

 

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”

 

 

 

 

“Dig the well before you are thirsty.”

 

 

 

 

 

You Can’t Grow Yourself Unless You Know Yourself

Posted on by

“You can’t grow yourself unless you know yourself.”

—John Maxwell, American Author on Leadership

Last year was my Big “60.”  I read Daniel Pink’s new book, WHEN: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing recently. Pink points to certain dates, times, and even years in which people tend to embark on the more tectonic shifts in their lives.

My journey and exploration includes books, blogs, podcasts, and a year-long practice of daily meditation. With over 100 hours of quiet reflection, I am seeing more and more opportunities for growth in the hopeful years ahead.

EXERCISE:

What activities and efforts can and will you engage in today and in the years ahead to better “know yourself to grow yourself”?

Work is Better Than Whiskey

Posted on by

“As a cure for worrying, work is better than whiskey.”

—Thomas Edison

Image from lichtstudiohelden

Someone once told me that worry is like running on a treadmill. You get all worked up but don’t actually get anywhere.

With that in mind, consider the thought, “Action eliminates fear.”

Unfortunately, in these challenging days, all too many people are turning to the “whiskeys” of our times for temporary relief or escape from their difficulties, often with considerable consequences.

Using the treadmill metaphor, we can still improve our mood and lighten our loads by shedding a few pounds to lead a happier and healthier life.

EXERCISE:

What other forms of work, professionally or personally, could be just the tonic you need to reduce or eliminate your current worries?

It is easy to sit up and take notice

Posted on by

“It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action.”

—Al Batt (humorist)

image from Unsplash by William Iven

How active are you on social media? How many hours do you spend observing and interacting with the folks in your personal and professional communities?

What percent of your time is spent on content consumption, where you sit up and log into other people’s efforts?

What percent of the time are you getting up and taking action to create content and move the needles in your worlds?

EXERCISE:

Where would shifting the percentages from consumption to production cause others to sit up and notice, perhaps even taking greater action in their own lives?

To Set the World on Fire

Posted on by

“To set the world on fire, warm up to your job.”

—Arnold Glasow, 20th Century American Humor Writer

Image of a match on fire

Image from Jayroeder.com

If time is the “coin of life,” then what we do and who we do it with in our careers has a huge cost.

How satisfied and fulfilled are you in your career?

To what degree do you think and feel it is time well spent?

Unfortunately, 60-70% of the workforce doesn’t leap out of bed every morning. That fire, or even a hint of a spark, is missing.

What if we could rekindle the flames of enthusiasm and passion we had when our careers were just starting, or when we transitioned into a new venture?

EXERCISE:

Examine your current job through a fresh set of eyes. Look for what is working, what can be improved, and what’s possible, to fire up your engagement and fulfillment.

Consider picking up Adam Grant’s book, Originals, to explore many new and innovative approaches to making this important part of life more “toasty.”

Friday Review Possibilities

Posted on by

FRIDAY REVIEW: POSSIBILITIES

What do you consider “impossible” for you? What do you consider possible? Here are a few possibility-related posts you may have missed. Click the links to read the full message.

 

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”

 

 

 

 

 

“What is possible for you is dictated by your hunger, not your history.”

 

 

 

“A great flame follows a little spark.”

 

 

 

Elbow Grease is the Best Polish

Posted on by

“Elbow grease is the best polish.”

—English Proverb

Image of "elbow Grease" tins

When I was a boy, Vaseline was always in our medicine cabinet. This magical goo is simply a brand of petroleum jelly used for cosmetic purposes like removing makeup or soothing dry skin.

We also found that a little dab of Vaseline could put quite a shine on our shoes, and provide a bit of waterproofing as a bonus!

For us Baby Boomers, the term “elbow grease” simply means hard work and doing what it takes to make something good even better.

EXERCISE:

Which current personal or professional project would shine a bit brighter with a bit more elbow grease from you or others?

Who Can You Give the Credit to

Posted on by

“Who can you give the credit to, before you take some for yourself?”

—Michael Bungay Stainer, Founder of Box of Crayons

Image of Jim Collins

Harry S. Truman once said, “You can accomplish anything in life, provided that you do not mind who gets the credit.”

The classic book, Good to Great by Jim Collins supports this idea as a critical characteristic of what he calls Level 5 Leadership. Collins found, through extensive research, that the focus on the success of others rather than on one’s own contributions and accomplishments were key attributes for those who achieved breakthrough results.

EXERCISE:

Who in your professional or personal communities has earned and deserves far more credit than they are currently given? When will you recognize and reward their significant contribution – today, and on an ongoing basis?