Be what you are

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“Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.”

– St Francis de Sales, Roman Catholic Saint

Envy and jealousy rob us of our power. When we focus on the qualities and characteristics of others, we often pine for what we feel may be missing or lacking in ourselves. Personal appearance, physical abilities, and intellectual capacities are just a few examples.

Instead of wishing to be someone else, what if we fan the flames of our own passions and unique abilities to become our best self?

Exercise:

What if it were all about the journey within – a perfect-fitting life which was intended all along?

What would be possible if you were perfectly yourself?

#24: “Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards.”

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– Vernon Sanders Law, Major League Baseball pitcher

My first career was as a school science teacher in Philadelphia. Those who know me know of my passion for learning. What I found through all my education and the process of educating others, was that very few lessons really stuck unless they were combined with some experience, such as a lab experiment.

When we see and hear, and then act on what we learn, we internalize a lesson and it sticks.

Exercise:

What lessons are there to be learned from the day-to-day test you are taking?

What experiences can you initiate to speed up the learning process?

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#23: “I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour…”

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“…the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.”

– Vince Lombardi

When my daughter Rachel was young, she loved to dance. In fact, she became very good and eventually became a member of one of the top dance studios in the country. Each time I dropped her off for practice, I said, “Do your best, and have fun.” The result was her being on the winning team for the national title during her final three years in high school.

My observation was that, when she did her best and gave her all, regardless of victory, she was a winner.

Exercise:

Where in your work or your personal life could you work your heart out for a cause and realize your finest hour?

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your email address in the sidebar to the right.

make the world a better place

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“If you wanna make the world a better place take a look at yourself, and then make a change.”

– Michael Jackson, the King of Pop

image from runrun.es

image from runrun.es

I have a pet peeve: litter. When people discard trash, they are desecrating our world. But the world is a big place, and I am only one person. What difference can I really make?

Just like the man who throws one of many starfish back into the ocean, the question I like to ponder is: what if everyone did their part? What a difference it would make.

Exercise:

What changes, big or small, can you make within yourself to make your world (and perhaps the whole world) a better place?

Do What you Can

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“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

– Theodore Roosevelt

Image from www.theodore-roosevelt.com

Image from www.theodore-roosevelt.com

Many of us are waiting for the perfect time, the perfect person, for all the stars to align before we take action, and before we will be happy. Even if this were to happen occasionally, it never seems to last. What then?

Roosevelt was both a visionary and a realist, charting the course to a better future while still taking into consideration the reality of our daily lives.

Exercise:

Look at the day ahead of you. What can you do with what you have and where you are?

You may surprise yourself.

The tests of life are not meant to break you, but to make you

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“The tests of life are not meant to break you, but to make you.”

– Norman Vincent Peale

Image of a woman on a dock facing the ocean

Photo from Unsplash by Vlad Chernolyasov

When we engage in sports, we often test our strength, cardiovascular capabilities, and even our flexibility. When we do so, we grow and become fitter.

The way that the coaching process works is related to this: the idea of learning through experience. When we take on a challenge or pass a test, we become stronger and more capable.

Exercise:

What are the personal and professional obstacles and challenges that are facing you and asking you to be better, faster, stronger, smarter, and wiser?

What tests are you facing that will help “make” you?

#19: “The greatest good you can do for another…”

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“…is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.”

– Benjamin Disraeli

I am often asked to share my perspective on the fields of consulting, mentoring, and coaching as a way of supporting others in moving forward. In doing so, I like to distinguish an inside-out contribution from outside-in efforts.

Masterful coaching emphasizes that the majority of the answers and potential lie within the proverbial athlete/client. As we help them discover their own answers and potential, the lessons learned stick far better than any outside-in concept.

Exercise:

In the multiple roles you may play as a parent, friend, colleague, and business person, how can you reveal the riches in others?

Who in your life will do likewise, bringing out the best in you?

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your email address in the sidebar to the right.

All We are Capable of Doing

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“If we were to do all we are capable of doing, we would astonish ourselves.”

– Thomas Edison

Roger Bannister’s historic break of the 4-minute mile.

What are two or three of your greatest personal achievements?

What percent of your total potential did it take for you to breakthrough to those achievements?

Many of us are aware of the story of how Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile. In the following few weeks, dozens of others did the same.

Look at other achievements in our society in entertainment, science, and business, to see what it took for people to reach those.

EXERCISE:

What are your unique abilities and talents and what invisible barriers must you break to astonish yourself?

#17: “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success…”

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“…is knowing how to get along with people.”

– Theodore Roosevelt

What man or woman do you know who truly stood alone and had a successful life? Even the archetype of the rugged individual, John Galt in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, seems to be missing the vital component of community and quality relationships.

Quality relationships at home, work, and in our communities are a vital catalyst in making things work.

Exercise:

What do you observe when people do not have the ability or the desire to get along with others? What specific relationships in your world need your best efforts to create the shared successes you desire?

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your email address in the sidebar to the right.

#16: “Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand…”

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“… The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.”

– Alexander Graham Bell

When I was very young, I remember using a magnifying glass to focus the sun’s rays and burn small holes in a piece of paper. I bet you did too.

With this idea in mind, I began to take interest in the concept that greater focus is also the source of greater achievement.

In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell established that it takes 10,000 hours of focused practice to achieve personal mastery.

Exercise:

What must you do less of (or stop altogether) in your life, so you can start or do more of other focused activities? Think about what matters to you most on your journey to personal and professional excellence.

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your email address in the sidebar to the right.