Tag Archives: Barry Demp

The voyage of discovery

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“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”

– Marcel Proust, novelist

Imagine seeing life from the perspective of:

  • An infant, toddler, fifth-grader, or teenager
  • A millennial
  • A Gen-X-er
  • A Boomer
  • A senior citizen
  • A person of the opposite sex
  • A person of a different religion, race, or cultural background
  • The eyes of a more analytic, or more creative, person

… you get the idea!

Exercise:

What expanded value do you discover when shifting your perspective?
How can you continue to look at the world through many sets of eyes in the future, to expand and enhance your life?

Meet The Quotable Coach [Video]

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In this 7 minute video you’ll learn some interesting facts about Barry Demp (The Quotable Coach), including:

  • What my dream job would be … if I wasn’t a coach. 🙂
  • What my favorite quote is, and what it means to me.
  • How I started my first business at the age of eleven.
  • Why I left a Fortune 500 company to become a coach, 22 years ago.

To find out more about my coaching, you can visit my site Barry Demp Coaching.

“Of all knowledge, the wise and good seek most to know themselves.”

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“Of all knowledge, the wise and good seek most to know themselves.”

—William Shakespeare

Image from Unsplash by NeONBRAND

The pursuit of knowledge is a never-ending journey. Whether we wish to win the national spelling bee or master our own vocation, the inner journey to amass the necessary amount of information is daunting.

The journey within oneself can be mysterious and enlightening.

Commit to a personal journey of inner discovery and self-awareness. Discover your strengths. If you are not sure what they are, ask those close to you. Discover your unique abilities and talents. Discover your core values and fundamental beliefs.

Exercise:

Consider creating a daily self-discovery journal or log to capture your observations once a week. Share those observations with a close colleague or family member.

Quality of Life

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“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”

– Vince Lombardi, American football coach

Image from www.transformation-catalysts.com

Image from www.transformation-catalysts.com

I have had the honor of coaching over 1,000 individuals over the past 19 years.

The pursuit of excellence in all areas of their lives is a common characteristic. I even named my six-month coaching program “Personal Excellence Training,” where each person gets to plan and execute their own personal excellence journey.

Exercise:

List five to ten of the most important areas of your life.

The list may include family, career, health, finances, community, faith, relationships, education, service, leadership, sports, skills, hobbies, travel, or other things.

Answer the following question for each area you listed:

What would I accomplish if I fully pursued personal excellence in this area of my life?

“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.

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?

 

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision

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“Teamwork is the ability to direct individual accomplishment toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”

– Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-American industrialist

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

Let’s face it: when it comes down to it, we’re all a bit selfish. Who hasn’t thought “What’s in it for me?” from time to time? People rarely will do something if there’s little or no personal pay off.

It seems that all truly great teams understand this, and add this special factor of shared accomplishment to their own individual success. Even the acronym TEAM has been described as “Together, Everyone Achieves More.”

Exercise:

How can you tap into the individual and collective motives of your personal and professional communities to obtain the uncommon results you desire?

#113: “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the little extra.”

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“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the little extra.”

– Jimmy Johnson, football coach and broadcaster

Image from news.com.au

Many years ago, I read a book called The Slight Edge, with the fundamental premise that the little extra makes a big difference in life.

In golf, it can be one stroke over the course of a four day tournament that wins the match. In a race, it can be a single step or fraction of a second that makes the difference. And in a horse race, we have all heard the phrase “winning by a nose.”

Exercise:

Where in your professional and personal life can you put forth that extra effort, to realize the extraordinary?

Choose this area now and tell someone close to you, so that you will receive the extra support you may need.

“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.”

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“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.”

—Proverbs 12:15, The Bible

Image of a man listening with ear buds

Photo from Unsplash by Alex Blăjan

Have you ever had someone say, “I know” when you share something with them? Doesn’t that just drive you crazy?

Or, worse, how often do others interrupt you to fill in the remainder of what they were expecting you to say?

Both of these situations indicate that others are not listening – or that they’re simply far more interested in listening to their own favorite subject: themselves.

When we fully listen to others and truly consider their ideas, we expand our world view beyond our individual perspectives.

Exercise:

Where in your life can you develop greater wisdom, by listening more fully to others?