The Spark of Celestial Fire Called Conscience

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“Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.”

—George Washington, Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company & Conversation, ca. 1744

Imag of a man with men on each of his hands

Image from crosswalk.com

What do the first President of the United States, Jiminy Cricket from Disney’s Pinocchio, and Marvin Gay of Motown fame have in common?

Washington’s quote may give it away, with his coaching to always let your conscience be your guide. Jiminy Cricket is the voice of conscience for Pinocchio. And for Marvin Gaye fans, it was the debut single released from his first album, The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye.

How often do you recognize the inner voice, or the sense of what is right or wrong in your actions, or the actions of others? Where do the issues of ethics or moral principles influence, guide, or control your thoughts and actions? You may even hear the voices of a parent, teacher, or spiritual guide from years ago.

EXERCISE:

How and in what ways can you use the celestial fires of conscience to make important personal or professional decisions today, and in the future?

Being Frugal

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“Being frugal means having a high Joy-to-Stuff ratio.”

—Vicki Robin, in Your Money or Your Life

Joy-to-stuff ratio image

Image from WordPress

Over six years ago, I wrote my first post for the Quotable Coach series. The initial thought-provoking entries included this one from Art Buchwald:

“The Best Things in Life are not Things.”

For me, the best things are the people, the experiences, the learning moments, and yes, the journey, that makes my life rich.

Regarding “stuff,” though, I am a bit of a minimalist. I look for a high Joy-to-Stuff ratio, which I suppose makes me frugal.

I do, however, own a lot of books, which have brought me much pleasure and delight over the years. One caveat is that I buy more than 75% of my books at a steep discount on either amazon.com, or at half.com, which is my favorite site for slightly older books.

EXERCISE:

What things bring you the greatest joy? Which items in your life have the highest Joy-to-Stuff ratio? How might you pursue more happiness by being more frugal today?

This is It

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“Act with deep understanding that ‘This is It’.”

—Author Unknown

Image of word "Now" with the "O" as a clock face

Image from Spear Education

One of my favorite quotes from the early years of The Quotable Coach series is “Time is the coin of your life,” by Carl Sandburg. The idea that our time on this planet is finite, and that we allocate or spend our life equity is profound.

What if you were something other than human, whose average life span is 79 years? Here are the average life spans of some other earthly creatures:

Mayfly 1 day Worker Ant 6 months
Worker Bee 1 year Queen Bee 5 years
Bull Frog 16 years Bat 24 years
Camel 50 years Galapagos Tortoise 193 years

EXERCISE:

How can and will you make the most of your time by taking a “This is It” perspective?  Who will you choose to spend time with to live each precious moment you have been given?

Feel free to reply with some of the actions you plan or will continue to take.

Friday Review Persistence

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FRIDAY REVIEW: PERSISTENCE

How persistent are you in your pursuits? Here are a few persistence-related posts you may have missed. Click the links to read the full message.

Image of a river full of rocks

 

“In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins – not through strength, but through persistence.”

 

 

Image of Sysiphus pusing a rock up a mountain

 

“Persistence prevails when all else fails.”

 

 

 

Image of sticker stating times in the future

 

“SOMEDAY is not a day of the week.”

Savor the Most Fleeting Delights

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“Savor the most fleeting delights of your days.”

—Author Unknown

Image of a tasty bite in chopsticks

Image from theeatenpath.com

The word “savor” makes me think of appreciating of a fine meal with, perhaps, a glass of excellent wine.

Surely none of us would inhale that meal or guzzle that wine the way we would a burger and soda from a fast food chain!

Unfortunately, many of us race from one activity to another throughout our days, trying to be optimally efficient, and of course, highly productive.

What does running this rat race cost us in terms of our happiness and life satisfaction?

What would be the value and benefit of slowing down to truly savor and appreciate the delights of your day?

EXERCISE:

Consider creating a time log to identify where your time goes in a typical workday or weekend.

How and where will you do less, or stop doing some activities, in order to do more of, or start savoring, the things that delight you?

Walking with Giants

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“A man has dreams of walking with giants. To carve his niche in the edifice of time.”

—Mr. Banks, in Disney’s Mary Poppins

Image of Mary Poppins flying over the city

I first saw Mary Poppins in 1964. I was seven years old. It was a cold, snowy day. Mom and I took several buses into downtown Philadelphia, to stand in line for the big event.

This technicolor miracle of Disney magic had people buzzing for weeks. Beyond the special effects was a heartfelt story of exceptional characters. Today’s quote by George Banks, the family patriarch in the film, is powerful coaching for young boys and girls, as well as the older generation.

EXERCISE:

What are your dreams? What niches are you carving? What giants do you walk with? How will you leave your mark on the edifice of time?

What efforts can and will you make in the years ahead to make an even bigger impact on the edifice of time?

A Pessimistic General

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“I never saw a pessimistic General win a battle.”

—Dwight D. Eisenhower 34th President of the United States

Image of Dwight D. Eisenhower

What battles are you fighting in your personal or professional lives? Along with optimal training and the best equipment possible, Eisenhower advises us to bring a “Can Do,” optimistic attitude to win the day.

All students of leadership would agree that articulating a hopeful and positive future is essential to engender the buy-in and alignment of our troops, family, and teams.

If the phrase, “What we think about comes about” is true, who would ever follow a reluctant, half-hearted, pessimistic leader anywhere? After all, they aren’t even sure they want to go themselves.

EXERCISE:

Where and in what ways can you be an optimistic “General,” leading yourself and others within your communities to a better future?

When Your Mind is Completely Open

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“When your mind is completely open and ‘unfurnished,’ you will have plenty of space for creative thoughts.”

—Barbara Ann Kipfer, author of Self Meditations

Image of a broom leaning against a blank wall

Image from Oprah.com

It’s spring. Time to do some cleaning and uncluttering. With the warmer, longer days, by all means open the windows, get out your cleaning tools, and go for it!

Beyond your closets, garage, basement, and junk drawers, spend some time examining the issues, challenges, worries, and upsets that create congestion in your mind. Cleaning them out will allow room for greater creativity, enhanced well-being, and happiness.

EXERCISE:

Here are a few uncluttering techniques you can try. I have found many to be helpful:

    • Discussions with a close friend or trusted advisor
    • Conducting a “brain dump” exercise to identify and capture on paper the issues running through your mind
    • Meditation to enhance mindfulness and self-awareness
    • Prayer and/or discussions with a spiritual advisor

Actual uncluttering and giving things away helps a bunch as well!

Friday Review Greatness

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FRIDAY REVIEW: GREATNESS

How do you define greatness in yourself and others? Here are a few greatness-related posts you may have missed. Click the links to read the full message.

 

“Your greatness is measured by your horizons.”

 

 

 

 

“The seeds of greatness grow faster in the hearts of those doing work they love.”

 

 

 

“We discover greatness within once we learn to cultivate and celebrate it in others.”

 

 

 

Peace is not made at the council table

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“Peace is not made at the council table or by treaties, but in the hearts of men.”

—Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States

Image from Flickr by Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan

Image from Flickr by Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan

In the movie, Miss Congeniality (2000), Sandra Bullock plays an undercover FBI Agent posing as a contestant when terrorists threaten to bomb the Miss United States beauty pageant. Bullock’s character, Gracie, is the only female FBI agent who can “look the part” despite her complete lack of refinement and femininity. She prides herself in being “just one of the boys” and is horrified at the idea of becoming a girly girl.

Since the film was a comedy, the audience wasn’t alarmed. We all happily watched all the interplay of contestants and other characters. In one scene, the contestants were asked about their personal goals and aspirations. Almost every contestant mentioned world peace at some point in their response.

In today’s dynamic and often violent world, we sure could use more people working on world peace in their personal and professional lives. If all of us did our part, we would never need a council table or treaty, which as President Hoover points out, rarely works.

EXERCISE:

What heartfelt attitudes and actions can you share in your communities to bring about greater peace on earth?