“Life is like a camera. Focus on…”

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“Life is like a camera. Focus on what’s important, capture the good times, develop from the negatives, and if things don’t work out, take another shot.”

—Author Unknown

Photo from Flickr by Martijn van Exel

Photo from Flickr by Martijn van Exel

I like this quote so much as it is that I’m going to skip right to the exercise!

EXERCISE:

  1. What is of such importance today that you will give it your fullest attention and focus?
  2. How can you pace yourself today to fully capture all the good you experience?
  3. How can you embrace the “lessons learned” from any negatives or setbacks that may occur during the day?
  4. Finally, should your picture of things not turn out as you wish, determine how you will refocus your life lenses, add the light of a positive attitude, and take another shot in the direction of your choosing?

“What you do today is important because…”

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“What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.”

—Author Unknown

Photo from Flickr by GotCredit

Photo from Flickr by GotCredit

What is a day worth? If you were to calculate the monetary value of one full revolution of planet Earth, what would the exact value be?

The professional service providers who are my coaching clients often bill out at hourly rates. Just to make the math simple for this example, we’ll assume a rate of $200/hour. One 24-hour day would be worth $4,800.

Add that to the qualitative value you attribute to each day you spend with family, friends, and colleagues, engaged in enjoyable and meaningful pursuits.

EXERCISE:

Based on the scenario above, select a number which represents the value you attribute to a single day. As you look at today and look forward to tomorrow, how will you spend your “life equity” to make the most of this miracle called life?

“The trouble with life in the fast lane…”

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“The trouble with life in the fast lane is that you get to the other end in an awful hurry.”

—Author Unknown

Photo from Flickr by Tristan Schmurr

Photo from Flickr by Tristan Schmurr

At no time in history have we ever been more productive, and achieved more in our professional and personal lives. Who doesn’t find themselves racing through their days to keep up or stay ahead of the pack?

Unfortunately, this increase in achievement and productivity is often associated with considerably more stress and less fulfillment and satisfaction.

Examine the following list of daily activities many people engage in, and notice your own level of urgency to finish them as quickly as possible:

  • Reading email and other forms of written communication.
  • Eating your daily meals.
  • Conversations with friends, family, and colleagues.
  • The number of hours of sleep you get each night.
  • Your driving speed throughout your day.
  • Your propensity to multitask.

EXERCISE:

How and where in your life would a slower pace, taking the time to savor sights, sounds, and tastes bring you greater success and satisfaction throughout the day?

“Whatever you want to do…”

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“Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows.”

—Michael Landon, American actor, writer, director, and producer

Image from Twitter.com

Image from Twitter.com

If you were born today and knew you would live to be 82 years old, you would have approximately 30,000 tomorrows. That you are an adult reading this post means you probably have a fairly large number of yesterdays behind you.

Many of us get caught up in the daily flow of life where weekends and vacations become the primary times we do more of what we want to do. Doing the things we love each and every day of the week, including our vocations, enriches our lives and the world even more, bringing a new level of growth and satisfaction to all of our “tomorrows.”

EXERCISE:

Create a mini professional and personal bucket list just for this week or this month. Take Michael Landon’s coaching and get started immediately.

Feel free to comment on this post or email me with the actions you are taking.

“If you want to gather honey, don’t kick over the beehive.”

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“If you want to gather honey, don’t kick over the beehive.”

—Dale Carnegie, American writer and lecturer

Photo from Flickr by Mini Cooper

Photo from Flickr by Mini Cooper

Few among us have not experienced a bee sting at some point in our lives.

Honey bees are gentle by nature, and can be found in almost all urban and rural environments. Only when we disturb their gentle worlds do we find ourselves at the end of their stingers.

It is in our best interest to care for these important creatures because of their role in our environment and food supplies.

EXERCISE:

How can you gain greater sweetness from life from the people in your professional and personal worlds by taking a more gentle and nurturing approach in your daily interactions?

“Be strong enough to stand alone…”

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“Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it.”

—Author Unknown

Photo from Flickr by stollerdos

Photo from Flickr by stollerdos

Most people would acknowledge that strength, intelligence and bravery are all admirable qualities. The beauty of today’s quote is in the delicate balance between the three, based on the situations and circumstances we face.

Knowing the right amount of each is critical to optimal success. Too much of one or the other can sometimes backfire.

EXERCISE:

Examine some of your highest priority commitments and projects to see whether success is dependent on your strength to stand your ground or the wisdom and bravery to invite others along to achieve a collective victory. Perhaps some blending of all three in various amounts would be even more optimal.

You Cannot Master

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“Though you can love what you do not master, you cannot master what you do not love.”

—Mokokoma Mokhonoana, South African Philosopher and Social Critic

Photo from makesafetyfun.com

Photo from makesafetyfun.com

Generally, the people who experience the greatest success and fulfillment in their professional lives demonstrated three key factors:

  1. They are enthusiastic and passionate about their work. Many would engage in whatever it is they do even if the monetary rewards were more modest.
  2. Because they love what they do, they commit massive amounts of time to the practice, and eventual mastery, of the skills involved.
  3. The final piece that accompanies this love and mastery is often the value ascribed to it by the meritocracy in which we live, and the rewards we often receive. How much is it worth in dollars and cents?

EXERCISE:

How and in what ways can doing more of what you love lead you toward a life of greater mastery and success? Consider reading one or more of these books, which speak in one form or another, to the spirit of today’s quote:

What to Do When it’s Your Turn by Seth Godin
Linchpin by Seth Godin
Happier  by Tal Ben-Shahar
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Ruben

“You can be the ripest…”

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“You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there’s still going to be somebody who hates peaches.”

—Author Unknown

Image from Flickr by SkySeeker

Image from Flickr by SkySeeker

We live in a world of astounding abundance and variety. Consider the number of choices we have these days in the following areas:

  • Food choices in your local market
  • Television stations offered by your cable or satellite provider
  • Beverage choices at the coffee shop
  • Menu options at your favorite restaurant
  • Mobile apps and social media sites
  • The vehicles we choose to drive

EXERCISE:

How can you spend more of your professional and personal life with the “peach lovers” instead of driving yourself crazy trying to please everyone?

“Life is like a road trip…”

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“Life is like a road trip. Enjoy each day, and don’t carry too much baggage.”

-Author Unknown

Photo from Flickr by Georg Sander

Photo from Flickr by Georg Sander

When I first met my wife Wendy almost forty years go, she would often tell me stories of her family’s famous road trips. Her mom, dad, and two sisters would spontaneously jump into their station wagon and head off to places unknown. Each passenger had their turn at directing the driver, telling them to continue on the current road, or to turn right or left.

When they got hungry, they would discover places to eat. When they got tired, they found places to rest. They often traveled with only the clothes on their backs, and little else.

EXERCISE:

How can you live today as if you were on a road trip?  What can you do to enjoy it to the max, taking little or no real or mental baggage along for the ride?

“Teach your daughters to worry…”

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“Teach your daughters to worry less about fitting into glass slippers and more about shattering glass ceilings.”

—Melissa Marchonna, Digital Marketer for the New York Jets

Photo from Boulder Writers Workshop

Photo from Boulder Writers Workshop

A few weeks ago my wife Wendy and I had a movie marathon. We saw four moves over the course of one weekend. One was Disney’s new, and I would say highly improved, Cinderella.

The theme of the new Cinderella was to have courage and be kind, not simply to marry the handsome prince and live “happily ever after.”

This advice is all the more timely given the fact that women still earn only 78% of what their male counterparts earn. They still hold only a modest percentage of leadership roles within the business world.

EXERCISE:

Where in your professional and personal worlds could you encourage and support your daughters, sons, friends, and colleagues to have more courage and be kinder in their efforts? What can you do to help them shatter the “glass ceilings” they may encounter, so they can live a more accomplished and satisfying life?