The secret of getting ahead, wrote Mark Twain, is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small, manageable tasks and then start on the first one.
He was right. It’s the first step that is the most important… and the hardest. You can do all the research, put together a comprehensive business plan, but you can’t build a business without laying the first brick.
Something to keep in mind as you are putting your plans together for 2015.
Never for the sake of peace and quiet deny your own experience or your own convictions. Dag Hammarskjold
Have you ever found yourself quizically starring into the bathroom mirror one morning wondering, “who is this person?”
Or sitting at 35,000 feet, on the way to a conference or a holiday, quietly looking out the window thinking, “Do I have this picture right?”
Could it be that you have outgrown your present situation? That you are in a personal growth spurt? Is it time to move on, to devote your time and energy to something more meaningful, something that would really make a difference?
You’re not alone. Fed up, stressed out, and tired of all the pretence many today are considering or re-considering their options, searching not only for more meaning but rather what Joseph Campbell described as the feeling of being alive.
It’s not without risk, it’s true, but it is equally true that being willing to break from the past doesn’t always mean giving up “the good life” and all that for which you have worked so hard. Nor does it mean you can’t be consistent with your entrepreneurial, money making instincts and skills.
What it is has everything to do with is your attitude, your willingness to believe in your innate talent and trust yourself; to be open to change, eager to explore, curious and confident.
Letting go of the familiar isn’t for everyone, but if you feel in your gut that the future is beckoning, there isn’t a better time than today. Our world is changing, bringing with it new opportunities and broader horizons open to those willing to look up and see them.
For every minute you remain angry, you give up 60 seconds of peace. Ralph Waldo Emerson
I don’t know what it is but the number of positive thinking, happy people I meet on a daily basis I can usually count on one hand. So many seem to spend their day finding fault and focused on the negative.
So when I happen across an exception I always make a point to tell her or him how refreshing they are. I ran across an example yesterday when I approached the concierge at condominium residence in downtown Toronto.
I commented on how pleasant he was as he replied to my inquiry.
“It’s simple,” he said. “I live each day according to what I call the 3 big E’s.”
“Let me guess, I said, Energy….”
With a smile, he finished the sentence for me. “Empathy and Enthusiasm.”
Energy, empathy and enthusiasm. Can you imagine what our days would look like if everyone subscribed to this simple philosophy?
Try it. It’s infectious. I’ll bet you’re smiling… even now, as you read this.
One reason why people spend a lot of time thinking about, researching and working on a particular challenge or new project to find a breakthrough idea more often than anyone else is because they have failed more often than everyone else. They have had lots of practice.
Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging. Joseph Campbell.
These certainly are challenging times. So what else is new?
When the wind’s blowing up a gale maybe you can’t alter the direction but you can adjust your sails to reach your objective. What you can’t do is give up on it.
As the old “saw” goes, when the going gets tough… the tough get going.
