“You don’t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.”

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“You don’t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.”

– Jim Rohn, entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker

551Image from Flickr by teofilo.

We have all heard the phrase, “Time is money”. Yet, how much is your time actually worth?

Explore this scenario I use with many of my clients:

Imagine that you are sitting in a comfortable chair with your eyes closed, and suddenly you feel pieces of paper falling on and all around you. You peek for a second, and notice that this shower of paper is actually money of all denominations, up to $100 bills.

Once this shower stops, you are told you have five minutes to pick up as much money as possible. You can only hold it in your hands – no arms, clothing, bags, etc are allowed.

Exercise:

What will be your strategy to capture the greatest value possible, assuming there is an equal number of bills of all denominations?

How does this exercise relate to the value you create with the time allotted to you each day?

“Fate is a future you didn’t try hard enough to change.”

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“Fate is a future you didn’t try hard enough to change.”

– J.A. Konrath, American novelist

550Image from Flickr by symphony of love.

The term “fate” suggests some source of power controls what happens in the future. It is often seen as inevitable, and is frequently related to negative or adverse outcomes.

I prefer to believe that we all have the capacity to create worlds of our choosing and, in many ways, manifest our own destinies.

Exercise:

Consider the ideas below as you explore, more intentionally, your approach to life:

1. Develop greater trust in your decision-making abilities.

2. Work on developing a more positive and optimistic attitude.

3. Make every effort to enjoy your career and leisure activities.

4. Each week, remove at least one undesirable issue from your life that you have been accepting or tolerating for some time.

5. Limit or eliminate your use of fateful language, to reinforce your own ability to initiate and attract more of what you desire.

Feel free to reply and let me know what happens.

“The more sand [that] has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.”

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“The more sand [that] has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.”

– Jean Paul, German Romantic writer

549Image from Flickr by graymalkn.

Close your eyes and imagine a man or woman of great wisdom. What do they look like? Estimate their approximate age. If you are like most people, you have likely envisaged a somewhat or significantly older individual, with their share of lifelines.

Jean Paul seems to be suggesting that with more and more life experiences, we will gain greater clarity and perspective on the world. I would suggest that we must add the thoughtful acts of self-reflection, objectivity, and open-mindedness to fully realize the daily nuggets of wisdom that are available to enhance our vision.

Exercise:

Purchase an old-fashioned egg-timer, which can represent a mini hourglass, and consider a daily period of self-reflection on your professional and personal efforts.

“Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.”

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“Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.”

– 14th Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhist leader

548Image from Flickr by Llima.

The other day, my wife shared with me the following quote by Rick Jarow: “When one door closes, another opens, but all too often, there is a long hallway in between.”

If the Dalai Lama were to speak with Rick, he would advise him that our values help each of us travel these long hallways.

Exercise:

Where have you had your arms crossed over your chest in an effort to prevent some form of change entering your world?

How would opening your arms, while still holding onto your values, help you to embrace this change, to lead to a more full and satisfying life?

“Throw your heart over the fence and the rest will follow.”

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“Throw your heart over the fence and the rest will follow.”

– Norman Vincent Peale, minister and author

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Image from Flickr by Marco Gomes

In the personal development world, the phrase “breakthrough results” has become a cliché. It reminds me of one of those late-night infomercials for some special non-stick cookware or a Ginsu knife that can cut through a pop can without getting dull.

A key to these claims, as well as the claim of professional and personal breakthroughs, is that the product, system, or method must have the inherent ability or capacity to achieve a result not previously possible by other means.

Peale is suggesting that when our heartfelt commitments are involved, they will inspire and motivate us to scale the highest life fences to realize our sincerest goals.

Exercise:

Select at least one heartfelt professional and/or personal fence you wish to scale, and share this intention with others who are committed to your success.

With their commitment and support, you will find yourself on the other side sooner than you ever imagined.

“Achievement lies in the honest endeavor to do your best under all circumstances.”

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“Achievement lies in the honest endeavor to do your best under all circumstances.”

– Successories.com

546Image from Flickr by Eustace Dauger.

We live in a society that celebrates accomplishment. Just look around at the business world, sports, entertainment, reality TV, and virtually all aspects of life. We are a striving species that values meritocracy and excellence.

What has your professional and personal excellence journey looked like to this point in your life?

Exercise:

What would getting an “A”, a promotion, a gold medal, or a personal Nobel prize for being the best “you” look like, if you simply did your best every day in every way, under all circumstances?

Choice Not Chance

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“It’s choice – not chance – that determines your destiny.”

– Jean Nidetch, co-founder of Weight Watchers

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A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to see Lisa Nichols speak at a coaching conference. Lisa first came to the attention of the personal development world when she was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, due to her involvement in the movie “The Secret” that focused on the Law of Attraction.

Her inspirational journey from poverty to running her own public company was a result of her many courageous choices along the way.

Please check out Lisa at her website www.motivatingthemasses.com. You can see her appearance on Oprah here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zuW_tEbz1Y

Exercise:

Where can you use your own power of choice, not chance, to help determine your professional and personal destiny?

“Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.”

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“Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.”

– Maria Montessori, Italian physician and educator and founder of the Montessori educational method

544Image from Flickr by Dermot O’Halloran.

Have you ever supported a young child with any of the following tasks?

  • Walking
  • Getting dressed
  • Tying their shoelaces
  • Riding a bike
  • Swimming
  • Making a sandwich
  • Making their bed
  • Feeding themselves
  • Potty training
  • Completing a puzzle

What was the learning process like? How much or how little assistance was necessary?

Exercise:

How can you offer others in your professional and personal life (not just young children) only the support they truly require to accomplish their goals, in order to maximize their own experiential learning opportunities?

“The gratification comes in the doing, not in the result.”

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“The gratification comes in the doing, not in the result.”

– James Dean, American actor

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Image from Flickr by Terry Madeley

My son, Dan, is a very special person for many reasons. From the time he was a little boy, he was always fascinated by many forms of mechanical and computer related activities. Dan would literally lose himself in the process of building things with K’nex, Legos, and various other objects or building kits.

He even wrote, illustrated, and self-published his first animal book at age 5. In high school, Dan participated in the robotic club and in college, he was a member of the programming and video game design club, where he would sometimes work 48 hours straight over a weekend to help create a new game.

Today, Dan is a top computer programmer working for one of the most respected health care software development firms in the world.

His vocational and even some avocational software design and programming efforts bring Dan great gratification in the “doing.” This has been and continues to be his passion.

Exercise:

What vocational and avocational activities bring you the greatest gratification and satisfaction in the “doing”, not simply in the result?

How can you do even more of these activities to enhance your professional and personal life?

“In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learn to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.”

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“In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learn to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.”

– Charles Darwin, author of On the Origin of Species

542Image from Flickr by hassanrafeek.

A few weeks ago, I was watching a show about animal intelligence on public television. Highlighted on one of those episodes was the bottle-nosed dolphin. Among their various demonstrations of intelligence was a unique form of innovative and collaborative fishing where one dolphin corrals the fish in a turbulent circle of mud and bubbles, causing the fish to jump into the waiting mouths of the other dolphins.

You can see the clip from the episode here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzfqPQm-ThU

Exercise:

How and where can you maximize your innovative and collaborative efforts to more effectively prevail and achieve your professional and personal goals?

Discuss this exercise with your friends, colleagues, family members, and coaches to take advantage of Darwin’s observation.