“There’s plenty of room at the top, but there’s no room to sit down.”

“There’s plenty of room at the top, but there’s no room to sit down.”

– Helen Downey (attrib.)

Photo from Flickr by Horasis

Photo from Flickr by Horasis

Look at the people you most admire in your professional and personal life.

How did they reach the top of your list? My guess is because of their values, their character, and the way they take a proactive approach to life.

Exercise:

Where would a “stand up and step forward” attitude help you take your rightful place among the people at the top of their game?

Never Quit

“Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul.”

—Douglas MacArthur, American five-star General and Field Marshal

My Dad, Marvin Demp

My Dad, Marvin Demp

I recently spent some time with my extended family in the Philadelphia area, due to the passing of my brother-in-law Arthur. One benefit of this sad time was the gathering of everyone to celebrate his remarkable life and to reconnect with one another.

During this time we visited with family from the age of one  – little Noah –  to my dad Marvin, age eighty-eight. Some of the discussions we had related to the changing phases in all of our lives, including a few wrinkles, an extra pound or two, and a little more grey hair.

I was delighted to see everyone still fully engaged in life — not a wrinkled soul in the bunch!

Exercise:

How can you stay fully engaged in your life, avoid wrinkles of your soul, and remain forever young – no matter what your age?

no matter where you go, there you are

“And remember, no matter where you go, there you are.”

– Confucius, Chinese philosopher

586

Image from Flickr by docoverachiever

As a positive, optimistic, and upbeat person most of the time, it troubles me to see a lot of negativity in the world. Two related negative traits I observe often are blaming and victimization. When people demonstrate these qualities, the focus is always on others as the cause of a problem, and themselves as innocent victims.

Confucius is suggesting, with this quote, that we are always present in these situations, and if you dig a bit deeper, a part of this current reality puzzle.

Exercise:

How can you take a larger percentage of responsibility for the events and circumstances that make up your world? Where would adjusting your perspective, attitude, or point of view provide a shift in the way that people and events affect you?

Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later

“Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.”

– Og Mandino, 20th Century American motivational author

Image from Flickr by symphony of love.

Image from Flickr by symphony of love.

Asking people to do their best, to seek excellence, on a key project or top priority seems like the ultimate cliché of coaching. Blogs, books, and quotes related to this simple idea abound.

What does doing your best truly mean? For most of us, it often seems impossible, given the image we have in our minds about how our “best” can look.

Consider the idea that we all have a “best continuum,” in which what we’re capable of varies depending on the day or time. Consider, too, that your actions are like planting seeds and tending a garden, where all efforts count and add up.

Exercise:

What does your best effort look like today? Take a moment to acknowledge and appreciate yourself, knowing that the sum total of all your daily bests will bring you the harvest you seek.

#94: “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

– William Shakespeare, playwright

Our ability as humans to interpret the world around us is remarkable. Consider your thoughts about the following pairs of words:

  • life – death
  • win – lose
  • big – small
  • happy – sad
  • right – wrong
  • power – force
  • full – empty
  • leadership – management
  • optimism – pessimism
  • young – old
  • growth – decline
  • success – failure
  • strong – weak
  • natural – artificial

Exercise:

Is there a fundamental “goodness” or “evil” in anything?

How does your thinking about the world and others help you or limit you? How could you expand or shift your thinking to lead a far more fulfilling life?

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 details in the sidebar to the right.