We are now entering the time of year I like to call “HARVEST TIME.” Hopefully, we have planted, we have trusted, and now we are ready to HARVEST. As of today / September 22, there are exactly 100 days left in the year 2010. What is your PLAN to HARVEST the next 100 days?!
There is a great phrase … “I have to do it myself but I can’t do it alone.” Through coaching, I am fortunate to often be called upon to help others plant and harvest what they are not able to do on their own – faster, smarter, more efficiently, more effectively.
The next 100 days are critical to reap and harvest what you have planted this year to FINISH STRONG. Or maybe the next 100 days are critical for you to plant (or re-plant) to prepare for a FAST START to next year.
Whatever your situation, I encourage you to set aside 45-60 minutes within the next 7 days to PAUSE and plan/prepare to PLANT | TRUST | HARVEST these final 100 days. There is still time to unfetter.
“If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right,
you will never plant anything and never harvest anything.”
“Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.”
This post is inspired by a similar post by Seth Godin, one of my favorite bloggers (see link to the right). I love the message and I can relate so well because I love biking.
Interesting business lesson learned on a bicycle: it’s very difficult to improve your performance on the downhills.
When I go for a bike ride, I often dread the uphill parts of my ride. On my recumbent bike, they are particularly difficult, and sometimes I must humble myself and get off and walk. I endure the pains and the uphills and look forward to the comfortable, speedy downhill parts or the level parts where I can maintain a steady rhythm.
However, it is primarily on the uphill parts that change and improvement can be made. There is not much “unfettering” that will be done “coasting” downhill. On the uphills, I have a reasonable shot at a gain over last time. The downhills are already maxed out by the laws of physics and safety. I get stronger because of the uphills.
The best time to do great customer service is when a customer is upset. The moment I often earn my keep as a speaker / trainer is when the room isn’t just right or there is a late start or the projector doesn’t work or the audience is tired or distracted. The best time to engage with an employee is when everything falls apart, not when you’re hitting every milestone. The best time to prospect and market is when everyone else is hunkering down and afraid. The optimum time to support your spouse or child is when they had a crummy day.
Your competition is generally spending their days looking forward to those rare moments when everything goes right. Imagine how much leverage you have if you spend your time maximizing those common moments when it doesn’t.
Henry David Thoreau said, “Only that day dawns to which we are awake.” That is what “mindfulness” is all about. This moment is all we really have to work with. This moment is the only time that we have in which to live, grow, feel, and change. One of my favorite sayings is … “in the present moment, there is no stress.” Think about it. Realize that nothing else needs to happen for this moment to be complete. Stress and anxiety come from our focus on the past – what we could have, should have done – or from concerns about the future – what if _____ happens (you fill in the blank), what do I need to get do next (today, tomorrow, this week, etc.).
To find our way, to become “unfettered,” we want to pay more attention to this moment. If we are not fully present for many of those moments, we may not only miss what is most valuable in our lives but also fail to realize the richness and the depth of our possibilities for growth and transformation.
So where can you practice more “mindfulness” in your life? With your spouse, children, clients/customers, God, yourself? Become present in those moments.
Walk into a Starbucks or most any coffee shop and they will ask whether or not you want “room.” Usually I request “no room.” “Room” refers to the amount of room left between the level of coffee in the cup and the top edge of the cup. Typically, if you want to add sugar and/or cream you ask for “room” which results in space in the cup to add either or both. Or, if you simply want a safety margin so as not to spill, you would also ask for “room.” If not, you say “no room” like I frequently do to maximize the coffee.
This is often like my life – and maybe yours. I regularly have “no room” … no room for the unexpected (which I should come to expect), no room for random acts of kindness, no room for taking an extra minute or two with someone, no room to extend a helping hand, no room for patience, no room for …
Life with “no room” is not as sweet or creamy, and a bit unsafe. So go ahead, start your day with your cup of coffee and “leave some room.”
