“A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.”

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“A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.”

– Walter Bagehot, businessman and essayist

In your day to day life, how often do you see people being critical or diminishing others with phrases such as “That will never work,” “You can’t do that,” “Why bother trying?” “It’s too difficult,” “There’s no use in trying.”

How often do statements such as these stop you in your tracks? Perhaps instead, as is the case with this quote, they generate the thoughts of “Oh yeah?” “Yes, I can, I’ll show you.” “Your thinking just makes me want it more.”

Exercise:

Where are your colleagues at work, family members, and even people who you call friends placing their limiting beliefs on you?

What will it take to exceed these limits, achieve your objectives, and tell yourself “I knew I had it in me all along!”

“Our chief want in life is somebody who will make us do what we can.”

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“Our chief want in life is somebody who will make us do what we can.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson, leader of the Transcendentalist movement

When I begin a coaching assignment, I include a core value exercise. A high percent of the time, my clients include the values of “personal growth” and “realizing their potential” on their list.

My personal journey into the world of coaching began when I watched the 1992 Barcelona Olympic games, where there were approximately 2,000 coaches supporting 5,000 athletes. It seemed that Olympic levels of achievement were highly correlated with the support of a coach to help each individual achieve their best performance.

Exercise:

What percent of your fullest potential have you realized, professional and personally?

Who are the people in your life that encourage and stretch you to do all you can?

“It’s what you learn after you know it all, that counts.”

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“It’s what you learn after you know it all, that counts.”

– John Wooden, basketball coach

Image of today's quote

When you hear a person say the phrase “I know,” it means that they have stopped listening. When a cup is full, it is impossible to fill it any further.

Consider the possibility that knowledge and wisdom are vital fluids that fill your life’s cup. What if the richness of life could only be held in your cupped hands? What a waste to limit yourself in this way.

Exercise:

How can you dramatically increase the size of your learning vessel, to allow greater knowledge and wisdom in?

How can you, as a scholar of life, have more of a beginner’s mind – and make your life count even more?

“Well done is better than well said.”

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“Well done is better than well said.”

– Ben Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers

Do you walk your talk? Based on this quote, Ben Franklin must have spent some time in Missouri, the “show-me” state.

We have all heard the phrase that “talk is cheap” and we all know that thoughts only become things when acted upon.

Exercise:

Get out three or four brightly colored Post-it notes and write the following on each of them: What is the most important thing to do now?

Place these Post-it notes in strategic places in your world, to increase your propensity for action.

“Be more concerned about making others feel good about themselves than you are making them feel good about you.”

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“Be more concerned about making others feel good about themselves than you are making them feel good about you.”

– Dan Reiland, pastor and pastor’s coach

I know of few more profound truths than this, to support both personal and professional success.

When you focus on others, show genuine interest, and let them express themselves freely, magic happens. Look for the value in their ideas and stop interrupting them to share your next brilliant thought.

It’s amazing that when people feel great about themselves in your presence, they feel a greater affinity for you as a source of this feeling.

Exercise:

Send me an email with the subject “Communication Toolbox” and I will send you a free copy of six simple and powerful techniques to take your personal and professional relationships to the next level.

Trust Yourself Test Your Limits

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“To trust yourself, to test your limits. That is the courage to succeed.”

– Bernard Edmonds, writer

How often do you test your limits?

How often do you bump up against your comfort zone and stop right there in relative safety?

Is there a secret to realizing our dreams? Archimedes said that if you had a long enough lever, you could move the world.

I’d like you to consider the idea that your commitments are your levers. By using your mind to envision a better future, and then by mobilizing your strength and courage, you can move beyond your self-imposed limits.

Exercise:

List three to five of your highest-priority commitments that are essential for you to consider your life a success.

What can you do today to fulfill these commitments and exceed your limits?

“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.”

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“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.”

– William A. Foster (attrib.)

Six Sigma, TQM and Lean Manufacturing are processes that many organizations use to build quality into their products and services. These programs, when successfully implemented, meet all the attributes of high intentionality, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skilful execution.

But what about the rest of us, who may not work in the world of manufacturing?

Exercise:

How can you apply these characteristics to build strong relationships, a rewarding career, and an outstanding life?

What wise choices will you make today and into the future to do just that?

Character is like a tree

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“Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”

– Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States

Who are you and how do you behave when no one is watching? Are your values expressed in your deeds at all times, or only when you are on display for others to see?

Golf is a sport of great character, where the participants actually call penalties on themselves, even when their playing partners rarely, if ever, see these penalties.

Exercise:

What are your daily standards for living a life of honor and integrity? To what values do you hold true, so that you always live in this manner, regardless of whether an audience is there to observe?

What changes will you make to focus on your character, rather than your reputation?

 

“Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

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“Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

– John Wooden, basketball coach

John Wooden is considered by many one of the most successful college-level coaches of all time. His record of championships and the number of superstar players coached by him are legendary.

Two of the primary gifts he imparted on his players were his great attitude and his work ethic. He always focused himself and his players on making the most of each situation – resulting in exemplary individual and team performances.

Exercise:

To what degree do you make the best of the way things turn out?

What adjustments can you make to your behavior and attitude, in order to win your own championships?

#116: “Most great men and women are not perfectly rounded in their personalities…”

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“…but are instead people whose one driving enthusiasm is so great it makes their faults seem insignificant.”

– Charles A. Cerami, author

Many years ago, I read an article in a magazine entitled “Life Balance is Bunk!”

When I work with clients, many indicate that living a balanced life is one of their primary objectives. But if you study the world of personal and professional high achievement, you’ll find two things.

First, high achievers lead very imbalanced lives. Second, they are very happy and have actually chosen this imbalance at this point in their lives.

Exercise:

Rebalance your life by adding more of some things and reducing – or even stopping – certain other activities. If you do this exercise often, you will find that you too will have a somewhat unbalanced but happier life.

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