Tag Archives: Demp Coaching

Your Judgement Will Be Surer

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“Every now and then go away. For when you come back to your work your judgement will be surer.”

—Leonardo DaVinci

Image of Leonard DaVinci

Image from Playbuzz

Leonardo DaVinci was one of history’s best know inventors. Some of his most famous inventions include:

  • The Anemometer: An instrument to measure wind speed
  • The flying machine
  • The helicopter
  • The parachute
  • The armored car
  • The giant crossbow
  • A more accurate clock
  • The triple barrel cannon
  • The self-propelled cart
  • SCUBA gear
  • The revolving bridge

EXERCISE:

Given DaVinci’s prolific productivity, how would his coaching help you to step away, then come back, and see your work or your life differently?

Your Worst Humiliation

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“Your worst humiliation is only someone else’s momentary entertainment.”

—Attributed to Karen Crockett

Image of a silly man laughing

Image for The Science Channel

With the advent of social media, YouTube, shows like America’s Funniest Home Videos, and one of my favorites, Outrageous Acts of Science, we all get to see and share a wide variety of life moments. Many of us find the clips entertaining, often at the expense of the people in the clip who might feel embarrassed, shamed, or humiliated.

The reality is that most people move on to the next viral piece of entertainment quite quickly, and dismiss or forget what they saw just moments ago.

Unfortunately, some of us hang on to our embarrassing moments, and wear them as a badge of dishonor – a permanent Scarlet Letter that torments us and sticks around for years.

EXERCISE:

What embarrassing or humiliating event has occurred in your life? How can you move on or let go?  How can you see humor in the situation, to free yourself to live a happier life?

 

The Head of the Table

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“Wherever I sit is the head of the table.”

—Henry Louis Mencken, 20th Century American Journalist

Image of a formal table

Image from Unsplash by rawpixel.com

Typically, the position at the head of a table is one of respect and honor. Where have the guests of honor or those with highest authority been seated at personal and professional events you have attended?

Today’s quote is about honoring oneself. Not out of arrogance, but to say that each of us is the key leader in our own lives. We each get to articulate our own visions for the future, and charge forth to realize our unique destiny.  We don’t need to be given permission by anyone else, or wait to be chosen.

We get to choose ourselves always, every day.

EXERCISE:

How can you dignify and honor yourself more today, and in the future, to assume your rightful place at the head of your table?

Friday Review: Expectations

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FRIDAY REVIEW: EXPECTATIONS

What are your expectations for the various aspects of your life? Here are a few expectation-related posts you may have missed. Click the link to read the full message.

 

“As your consciousness expands, your level of expectation will grow. Keep asking yourself, am I selling myself short? Most of us are.”

 

 

 

“I would like to travel the world with you twice. Once, to see the world. Twice, to see the way you see the world.”

 

 

 

“Inspect what you expect.”

 

 

 

 

There are no speed limits on the road to success

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There are no speed limits on the road to success.”

—David W. Johnson, Social Psychologist

Image of a jet breaking the sound barrier

Image from Business Insider

What is the only known speed limit in the universe?

If you answered 186,000 miles per second (the speed of light) you would be correct!

In our cyberspace society, companies are beginning to use this concept as a strategic advantage in relationship to our planet’s geography, to achieve micro-second advantages over their competitors. Think of placing communication devices, such as cell towers, closer together so signals travel shorter distances, in less time.

Many people are not interested in living 24 hours a day in a speed-of-light world, or for that matter, breaking the sound barrier (340.29 miles per second). Their internal clocks and daily rhythms flow at a more modest pace.

The take-away for me here is that we all get to chose the optimal speed at which we travel our success journey, be we tortoise or hare.

EXERCISE:

In what areas in your life is it appropriate to speed up, slow down, or maybe even stop to achieve the level of life success you desire?

Your Best Day at Work

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“What does your best day at work look like?”

—Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook

Image of a woman with a laptop and some papers

What do you typically say when someone asks, “How was your day?”

I usually hear phrases such as, “Not Bad,” “it was OK,” “Pretty Good,” “Awful, Stressful, Chaotic.”

From time to time I also hear from those super-positive, optimistic, people glowing with excitement and enthusiasm about how great their day has been.

How often do you actually believe those folks?

Today’s quote asks us to visualize our best days so we have a benchmark or a beacon of what is possible for the activity in which we spend most of our waking hours.

EXERCISE:

Identify what frustrates you and exacerbates your workdays.

Identify the parts of your day in which you feel energized and strong, when you may even lose track of time.

Given your answers, how can you modify or redesign your day to include less of the first and more of the second?

Applying this exercise on a daily basis for yourself and those in your company can be critical to both individual and organizational success, and a more fulfilling life.

A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats

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“A rising tide lifts all boats.”

—Author Unknown

Image of the new Panama Canal

Image from The Daily Mail

I recently watched a program about the building of the new Panama Canal. This engineering marvel permits the new mega-container ships to pass through the canal, no longer having to spend ten days to two weeks going all the way around South America.

For a single vessel to make this short journey costs nearly one million dollars. Given that time is money, it must be worth it, not to mention the savings on fuel and potential cargo spoilage.

Perhaps most remarkable is the engineering feat of lifting these massive ships through the power of water displacement. In nature, the gravitational effect of the moon and sun are the primary forces that pull our oceans, causing low and high tides.

EXERCISE:

What if all the people you cared about were actually boats? What methods could you employ to raise them up, or better help them and yourself navigate the waterways of life?

Worries are like Birds

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“Worries and tensions are like birds. We cannot stop them from flying near us, but we can certainly stop them from making a nest in our minds.”

—Rishika Jain, rishikajain.com

Image of a woman walking among birds

Image from Unsplash by Ben White

When I think of a “nest,” I think of home, safety, comfort, security, and peace. What other words come to mind for you?

Consider the visitors you invite into your home, and those whom you would never allow past your welcome mat. We all want to keep the good stuff in and the undesirable things out of our homes.

How much does the inner world of your mind act as a sanctuary – a safe and secure nest? How often do worry or tension-related intruders find their way in, disrupting your world?

EXERCISE:

What are some of your most effective strategies for preventing, or at least limiting, worry and tension from making a nest in your mind?

Please reply to this post and share your most effective techniques. Invite others in your communities to also share their most helpful methods.

Friday Review Determination

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FRIDAY REVIEW: DETERMINATION

What is the basis for your determination in life? Here are a few determination-related posts you may have missed. Click to read the full message.

 

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

 

 

 

 

“If you take another step, and another, you will be surprised to know how far you can go from the point you thought was the end.”

 

 

 

“Hustle and heart will set you apart.”

 

 

 

 

The Chain of Destiny

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“It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.”

—Sir Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Image of a gold link chain

Image from Unsplash by Mike Alonzo

My wife Wendy and I have been watching a National Geographic series titled, “Year Million.”

Standing in the middle of year 2017, we can take an historical perspective of man’s place on earth. The concept of “Year Million” – that very distant future – could hold either great promise or considerable trepidation in what lies ahead for the human race.

I am currently reading Thomas Friedman’s book, “Thank You for Being Late,” subtitled “An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations.” The book pulls me back from Year Million to the last 10-30 years. Friedman points out that societal changes and adaptation seem to be lagging behind the wide variety of technological and environmental changes we now experience regularly.

EXERCISE:

Rather than being fearful of, or overwhelmed by our eventual future, how might you embrace Churchill’s strategy to create your own destiny one day at a time?