I saw the new Indiana Jones movie this weekend and there was a great line that really struck a chord with me: “So much of human life is wasted in waiting.”
The reference was not about having to wait in line or wait in traffic but about how too often we are wasting our valuable days waiting for the right time, the right situation, or other such excuses. That’s right, excuses.
If you are waiting before acting take a good hard honest look at your reasons for waiting. Are those reasons just excuses because of fear, laziness or whatever illegitimate reason is holding you back from taking action now?
Don’t wait for life, it doesn’t wait for anyone. Take action today, any action no matter how small, on those things you’ve been waiting for, because the wait is over and it is in your hands to accomplish!
By the way, the wait was over a long time ago. Our goals, dreams, ambitions, whatever they may be, are always in our hands and dependent upon us to do something about them or just let them wither away into the oblivion of what could have been.
Archive for the ‘Work-Life Balance’ Category
Why Wait?
Monday, June 2nd, 2008Younger Next Year
Thursday, February 21st, 2008I don’t know about you, but I get older every year. I try to stop the earth from going around the sun, but I can’t. With each trip I make around the sun my waist seems to get a little bigger, my endurance a little shorter and my strength a little weaker. Crap, I’m middle-aged!
While I’m in ok shape for a 46 year old, I know I could be in better shape. At one point in my early twenties I ran three marathons, good luck to me trying to run 5 miles twenty some years later. So, I finally got the ambition fired up to eat better and exercise more. It actually has stuck for just about 12 weeks. That, I am told, is a sign that I have accepted the habit… and I’m ten pounds lighter to boot!
For us folks approaching the geezer years, it is important to truly understand the basics of our physiology and how to exercise and eat in order to live well. I did some digging in the book store, looking for a little inspiration and came across a book that I have now bought 30 copies of and handed out. The title of the book is, “Younger Next Year”. What I really like about it is the authors do not pitch any gimmicks, new age stuff nor sell supplements. I found it to be a great guide.
Now, those of you who have followed this blog for a while know, I do not sell things via my blog. This time I am going to make an exception. I have added a page www.robwaite.com/Younger_Next_Year to my site so that you can the book from Amazon.com. You don’t pay more and I get an affiliate commission. Hey, it takes money to keep this site up and running, so every now and again I will make my exception. What I promise is that I will always disclose it if I am selling something.
Even if you don’t buy it through my Amazon.com link, I would encourage you to buy it, read it, digest it and DO IT!
Here’s to you being younger next year!
Lessons on Business from Jacob Marley’s Ghost
Thursday, December 20th, 2007Ebenezer Scrooge: “But you were always a good man of business, Jacob.”
Marley’s Ghost: “BUSINESS! Mankind was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance and benevolence were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”
These few lines from Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” always affected me. It was a reminder that our work is not all that there is to our lives. And it also makes me think about how I go about my work.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating that a business has to be a give away charity or “nanny state” to its employees. The employee/employer relationship has to be a two-way relationship. After all, if business goes too long without having a positive cash flow and profitable sales, it will fail and be of no service to its employees, customers or suppliers.
What I am advocating is to think about how we go about developing that cash flow and earning our profits. Are we going to do it in a way that pushes people down or in a way that lifts people up?
The Power and Importance of Persistence
Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007I have three things going on in my life that require me to be extremely persistent. Two are uplifting and will have a very positive impact on my life if I do persist. One is just an ugly matter that I would have never imagined would have occurred but I have to deal with nonetheless.
In speaking with a close friend, he reminded me of a quote from Winston Churchill, “Never give in—never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
Powerful words! In my “ugly matter” I really took a hard look in the mirror to make sure I was applying good sense and that I was being honorable in the process. This led to speaking with my friend again. It is important to speak with people who you can trust to tell you when you are wrong or need to improve something. If the people you seek counsel from will only tell you what you want to hear, what good is their counsel?
After being convinced that my thinking was sensible and honorable, in order to perceiver, I had to make up my mind that I would persist in the matter and that I will not give up regardless of the time involved on the enormity of the task.
At first, it felt like a burden, but then I read Tony Dungy’s new book, “Quiet Strength”. Tony’s book is an amazing story of perseverance and sticking to what you know is right to do. One of the important lessons I took away from the book is that applying persistence to an honorable fight will result in being a stronger person and afford you the opportunity to learn and gain wisdom through the battle.
One of the first things I gained from this process was the ability to put it aside and out of my mind when I’m in between activities that I can do/must do in the process. Worrying and replaying the matter in your mind again and again will only sap your strength, cause you anxiety and cloud your thinking. It ain’t easy to do! But vital to endurance and long term perseverance. Plus you have to live your life in all of the other areas of your life.
So with all of that in mind, I am going to persistently and doggedly follow Winston Churchill’s advice.
The Work-Life Balancing Act
Friday, September 14th, 2007Do we work to live or do we live to work? The answer is “both.” We need to work in order to provide for our families and ourselves. We also work for personal fulfillment. All humans need the sense of accomplishment that comes from a job well done.
Things go awry when our personal and working lives go out of balance. Not that it’s possible to maintain a state of equilibrium at all times; sometimes it’s necessary to spend a period of time highly immersed in one area of your life or the other. The operative phrase is a period of time. Let’s face it; the working world is much more demanding than it ever has been. Hours worked per week have been creeping up and days of vacation taken have been shrinking.
So what’s a person to do? To maintain balance, I recommend that you develop specific goals and priorities set around areas of your life that are import to you. Don’t just say, “I want to spend more time with my kids.” You have to be much more specific if you are going to succeed. What are your personal objectives or goals for the day, week, month or year? Are you scheduling time to focus on your family, friends, hobbies and, importantly, your health?
I am the father of three daughters, a husband, executive, author and a public speaker. Time is a precious commodity to me – one that I take care to manage precisely.
So, for example, my wife and I actually sit down to do weekly planning together. After all, my wife depends on me to free up time for her as much as I depend on her to help me – though I have to admit she does most of the heavy lifting for the family. We also plan our two family vacations a year and get them on the calendar in January, if we can.
Sometimes the common sense, the simple approach, can be the best approach. Maintain a weekly/daily to-do list. You can do it on your computer or do it the old fashioned way – hand written on lined notepaper. Better yet, use a journal that will become a permanent time management record.
Creating the list brings some needed discipline and organization to the tricky life-work balancing act. It will become a routine exercise that will allow you to not only organize your time but – and this is important – to prioritize your time commitments. If you find yourself with more than five or six MUST-do items for a given day, chances are they’re not all must do items. As basic as this is, it’s amazing how well it works. I look at my to-do list often and try to remain focused on it. By the end of the day, I usually have the must-do items accomplished.
Keep in mind, however, that quite often your gut instinct can be a more reliable measure of work-life balance than your reasoning mind. Most of us tend to rationalize an imbalance when we look at things from a “logical” perspective. Why? Because we either don’t want to face issues in certain areas of our lives or because we’re doing what we think we should be doing according to some unrealistic standard. It pays to take a few minutes every week to clear your head, review your business and personal lives – and listen to what your gut has to say.
The Choice to be Happy
Wednesday, September 12th, 20075:30am… the alarm blares. My wife groans, shuts it off and shuffles toward the shower. Foggy from the sudden awakening, I slip on sweat pants, tee shirt and that pair of Crocs my wife hates so much and head downstairs for a much needed cup of coffee.
I start the coffee maker and then I open the laundry room so that I can let our two dogs out for their morning “constitutional”. Every morning, all 365 of them each year, those dogs wake up with enthusiasm and are always so happy to greet the day.
While I’m standing out on the porch with my cup of coffee in the fresh air of the new day I wondered if dogs are naturally happy or if they choose to be happy. I figure that they choose to be happy. After all, they have to “do their business” outside rain, snow or cold (I wouldn’t like that), they eat crappy food from semi-clean bowls and we drag them out for a forced march with a chain around their neck daily.
From that perspective, if dogs thought like humans they would probably be depressed and complain about being oppressed, humiliated and having their rights curbed. However, the dog perceives that they are well loved, feed like clock work, free to roam the yard to find just the right spot that makes them happy to do their thing and appreciate being taken on a leash to explore the world.
While our lives are obviously much more complicated than the simple life of a dog, I think there is a lot we can learn from dogs about happiness. Most importantly is that we can CHOOSE to be happy.
My mom taught me from as young as I can remember to smile when I greet people every morning, regardless of how I feel or how I feel about them. She said it will make you feel happy and other people will be happy to be around you. It took me a while to follow her advice, but ultimately I did and it benefited me greatly.
My grandmother also used to say that attitude is everything and that attitude is a choice you make… another wise woman.
If you’re struggling with trying to get some happiness in your life, make the choice to be happy. It takes practice, just like anything worthwhile in life, but you will get good at it after some practice.
Also, like anyone practicing to do anything, it is important to study and measure your progress. At the University of Pennsylvania they have a Positive Psychology Center and you can access their web site at http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/. There are a number of great surveys you can take in order to get a clearer picture of your current base level of happiness and good suggestions on helping you choose how to be a happier person.
And lastly, pet a dog. They’ve got this whole happiness thing figured out.
— Rob Waite, www.robwaite.com
