#87: “The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play…”

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“… his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he’s always doing both.”

– James Michener, author

When I was a young boy, my dad used to tell me that I had to get all my work done before I could go out and play. At that time, work and play were definitely separated. One was hard and difficult; the other was fun and exciting.

When we see adults for whom this distinction does not exist, it helps us make a life-altering shift. Work and play can be one and the same.

Exercise:

How can you play at work and work at play?

What level of life satisfaction would be possible?

How can you be an inspiration to others to do the same?

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The Seeds You Plant

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“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.”

– Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist and poet

image from Flickr by Andrew Shieh

image from Flickr by Andrew Shieh

Harvest time is only a small part of the growing season. My wife and I grew tomatoes last summer, and really enjoyed harvesting them at the end of August.

The process of growing them, though, was a bit more involved and time consuming than we expected. It included purchasing seeds, preparing the soil, watering, providing sunlight, adding plant food, watering, adding more plant food, more watering… you get the idea!

Exercise:

What seeds can you plant today? What care and attention will they need daily, so that you can have a successful harvest in the future?

Make sure you enjoy the process of gardening and not just the sweet fruits of life.

 

#85: “Hardening of the heart ages people faster than hardening of the arteries.”

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– William James, psychologist and philosopher

Do you know anyone in your life who is a grumpy old man or woman? They don’t even need to be chronologically old – they simply act old by:

  • Looking for what’s wrong in things and others
  • Being skeptical and cynical
  • Being overly serious
  • Not smiling enough
  • Not looking for the beauty around them

Exercise:

To clear out your arteries and find your own fountain of youth, try:

  • Finding what’s right and what works
  • Being open and receptive to the thoughts and ideas of others
  • Working on building your funnybone and your sense of humor
  • Smiling and saying “thank you” more often
  • Creating a daily gratitude and/or beauty journal to begin seeing the world with a lighter heart

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#84: “Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.”

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– Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States

I like bargains and two-for-one sales. This quote is a three-for-one! In Ben Franklin’s time, the word “vices” perhaps meant “behaviors that do not better oneself or another.” Today, I suggest we consider the word “habits” instead.

The idea of being a better person points to our ability to learn, grow, and improve as individuals.

Exercise:

What habits/vices will you declare war upon? Which relationships in your life are ones where you will make a stand for peace? In what ways do you intend to be a better person next year, versus today?

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#83: “The most important human endeavor is the striving for morality in our actions…”

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“…Our inner balance, and even our very existence, depends on it. Only morality in our actions can give beauty and dignity to our lives.”

– Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist

Watching the Olympic Games over the past couple of weeks has been a highlight of my summer. Beyond the gold medals and extraordinary human achievement, we all got to see some special human moments of great beauty and dignity.

Did you see them too?

  • Athletes showing tears of joy in respect and honor of their country’s national anthem
  • Athletes thanking a higher power for their gifts and achievements
  • Athletes honoring their team-mates and competitors
  • The world coming together in peace to celebrate the human spirit

Exercise:

How can you bring your highest moral values and actions to each day and to those people around you, to experience greater beauty, balance and dignity in your life?

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#82: “It is inevitable that some defeat will enter even the most victorious life.”

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“…The human spirit is never finished when it is defeated… it is finished when it surrenders.”

– Ben Stein, American writer, actor, economist and lawyer

With the 2012 Olympic Games now complete, we can all be inspired by many highlights. Among them are numerous examples of individuals who came up short in previous games, and returned after 4 – 8 years of work to achieve their goal.

Some examples include:

  • Brittney Reese, who won gold in the women’s long jump, after coming fifth in 2008
  • Sanya Richards-Ross, who won gold in the 400 meters, after winning bronze in 2008
  • Allyson Felix, who won gold in the 200 meters, after winning silver in 2004 and 2008

Someone once shared with me the phrase, “What stops people is that they stop.” In virtually all areas of life, we experience various degrees of defeat. When we surrender or stop in our efforts, our failures are final.

Exercise:

Where in your professional and personal life can you keep going and persist in your efforts, to achieve an even more victorious life?

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#81: “A man’s life is interesting primarily when he has failed…”

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“… I well know. For it’s a sign that he tried to surpass himself.”

– Georges Clemenceau, French journalist, physician and statesman

The 2012 Olympic Games recently ended. Each country, team and individual was highly focused on winning gold. What did it mean to the individuals who did not make it to the Olympics, or who did not make it through the preliminaries, the semi-finals, or stand on the podium with a medal?

This year’s Olympics had about 16,000 athletes for a world that contains over 7 billion people. How many medals were actually won and how many athletes, by the lack of a medal, “failed”?

Consider how many other athletes experience the great, often quiet, victories of achievement – of achieving their personal best.

Exercise:

What would be necessary for you to continually strive to surpass yourself?

What would be involved in achieving a “ten” in living? Or, to put it another way, what would you need to do to achieve a gold medal life?

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#80: “Just do what you do best.”

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– Red Auerbach, American basketball coach

As parents of two children in their mid-20s, my wife and I were always focused on their growth and development. From the moment they were born, “What will they become? How can we support their success?” were questions we often asked ourselves.

I believe that we, as parents, are caretakers of these young souls, for the purposes of both keeping them safe and secure, and exposing them to the world to discover their gifts and their talents through the various experiences and opportunities through their life journey.

Exercise:

To what extent are you and those closest to you doing what you do best?

What efforts can you make to further discover and express these unique abilities in the future?

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#79: “Love the giver more than the gift.”

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– Brigham Young

I read the book The Five Love Languages many years ago, to enhance my relationship with my wife. I often recommend it to my coaching clients, to help them better understand their partners. The gist of the book is that we have different ways of showing love to one another. We almost always choose to show love in the same way that we like to receive it.

By tuning into one another’s offerings of love, we can embrace these gifts in the way they are intended – instead of missing the message because we’re simply not speaking the same love language.

Exercise:

How could you fully love the givers in your life by fully embracing every gift they have to offer, in their language?

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#78: “No one who rises before dawn 360 days a year fails to make his family rich.”

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– Chinese proverb

When I was little, I remember waking up very early on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons. There were no VCRs or DVRs: if you didn’t get up, you missed it! I guess watching cartoons and playing was my “work.” I did this work gladly because it brought me pleasure.

As adults, many people begrudgingly wake up to go to work, in order to earn a living and take care of their families.

Exercise:

What would get you to leap out of bed each morning, with that excitement of youth? What skills could you master and what riches would you attract into your life?

How can you go beyond simply making a living to making your life a masterpiece?

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