Wednesday Words
To Go Where Your VisionPoints, a few inspiration points for you and your business.
Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves—
to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today.
—Stewart B. Johnson
Grow and be well,
Kelly Erickson
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25 June 2008, 5:16 am
Nice writing style. I look forward to reading more in the future.
25 June 2008, 8:09 am
Kelly,
Short and to the point. This is just like a good fitness program – make sure that each time you work out, you do just a little bit more. That’s how we grow.
-Brett
25 June 2008, 8:58 am
Brett,
Oh, darn. I was just going to apply it to business. Now you’ve gone and made me think about crunches and curls.
Kidding. Of course, one of the things I liked about it (besides that it doesn’t ask you to compare yourself to anyone else—right Friar?) is that you can think about it in any area you want to work on.
When I used to run, I’d shout internally, “Just ten more feet!” When reading a horrid book back in college, “Just fifty more pages!” When finishing cleaning up this blog in WP, “Just clean up ten more posts!”
Just pushing myself “a little more” works so well. Glad you like it.
Regards,
Kelly
25 June 2008, 9:14 am
Kelly,
Hey, it’s all linked, right? Health of body, health of mind, leads to health of attitude, health of business…
Ultimately this is the way to think – compare yourself to “you”. We are all capable of greatness, if we accept that as fact. Then we only need to beat ourselves, instead of beating up ourselves.
Thanks for the thoughts today – Brett
Brett Legree’s last blog post…participant.
25 June 2008, 9:22 am
Kelly
Sigh. Once again, I bathe in my own ignorance.
Who is Stewart B. Johnson?
25 June 2008, 11:11 am
Friar,
A British artist, near as I can find out. (Not much out there on him, actually.) I knew you’d be here, asking that very question, yet I did not fully prepare myself. Oops.
But do you like the quotation? I let my daughter choose this week, after I narrowed it down to a few that suited my intent, and when she chose this one I thought, Friar will like it—no rah-rah or overwhelming obstacles in sight.
Until later,
Kelly
25 June 2008, 12:04 pm
Kelly
I like that quote.
Just try to improve yourself, and forget about the others.
FINALLY…something reasonably attainable.
…Because if I read ONE MORE STORY about how little Timmy fell down the well and lost all his arms and legs, and went on to become a Notre Dame Football Champion…and how we should all be like him….I’m gonna puke!
Friar’s last blog post…The Gitchiest Christmas Ever
25 June 2008, 12:50 pm
Friar,
I think the trick with the “Timmy stories” is to not think of it as “look at what Timmy did, let’s all be like Timmy”, but “Timmy improved himself and forgot about everyone else”.
It’s like Oscar Pistorius http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Pistorius – yeah, he’s the guy who has no lower legs and overcame the odds and can run faster than you or I ever will.
The message here is that he kept trying to improve himself, and forgot about the other people who told him he’d never be an Olympic-class sprinter.
At least, that’s how I read those stories. And when I’m done reading them, I say, “what’s my excuse?”
We can all do great things if we put our minds to it and forget everyone else. To do anything less is to let ourselves down.
Here’s a personal example – I have 4 kids, as you know. From time to time I email an old friend from university. And I’ll hear nothing for months.
Then I get a message from them, saying, “sorry I didn’t reply, I didn’t have the time.”
And I think, “huh?”
They have no kids. I call bulldust. They didn’t *make* the time. I’m not important to them.
I’m not superhuman in my ability to make time magically appear. I just choose to make better use of my time, each day, and don’t care what other folks think.
But I certainly don’t think anyone should model themselves directly after me. It wouldn’t work.
You have to figure out what works for you. When you do, you’ll know it.
-Brett
Brett Legree’s last blog post…participant.
25 June 2008, 2:06 pm
I like! Brett’s right, it’s a holistic thing. And Friar’s right too!!
The trick, I guess, is to be patient and forgiving with yourself as you keep pushing.
steph’s last blog post…Writing About It
25 June 2008, 2:28 pm
Hey Friar
Did you hear the one about how Timmy fell down the well? Just kidding.
Oh aren’t I just evil???
Kelly I really like this quote A LOT.
As a runner with asthma and other stuff, I learned early on that the only one in MY race is me.
Otherwise, I’d have to get used to thinking about myself as being last. A big looser. Because I’m never going to win any races.
I don’t want to do that. So I learned to to measure my running goals against my own last time, my own PR ( Previous run)and just tried to keep on improving. When I transfered that into other areas of my life, a lightbulb went on.
Wendi Kelly’s last blog post…Taking Time for Time Out.
25 June 2008, 4:11 pm
Kelly,
I think your spam filter finally ate one of my comments…
^ ^
. .
^
o
Brett Legree’s last blog post…participant.
25 June 2008, 5:41 pm
Brett, those are great examples, But I also get the other side, which is akin (is that a word?) to “Why can’t you be more like your brother/sister the perfect one while you feel like you are never measuring up.
I was that kid. I ( and I do not say this for attention) am the least artisticly talented one in my family. My sister went on to high college, I am a drop out ( twice ) my brother is National Honor Society and I was the one always trying new stuff, failing at it and trying new things or playing paper dolls in the closet. Then in my teen years a major muck-up. After a while I got used to just shrugging my shoulders and saying…cause I’m just a black sheep I guess. Those kind of stories lost their power to motivate me for a long time. The up side- and it took a long time to get an up side is that I learned to motivate myself.
Wendi Kelly’s last blog post…Taking Time for Time Out.
25 June 2008, 5:47 pm
Brett,
If you’ll just stop discussing nudity for a moment… I’ll try to convince the Spam Monster to let go of you.
You know, I like an inspiring story now and again, and I LOVE a good mantra/ bumpersticker, as long as I don’t have to put it on my bumper. At the same time (?), I get a touch of the Inspiration Flu that Friar is so susceptible too, also. I think that’s why this one struck me as good right now.
I am never comparing myself to Brett Legree, because that dude is kinder, more together, more thoughtful, and a lot more superhuman than I will ever be.
Friar,
New tagline for The Deep Friar: Little Timmy Don’t Live Here.
Steph,
Patient and forgiving. You bet. And be PUSHY!
Wendi,
Glad you like. My life path has also been too convoluted, with too many odd obstacles in the way, for comparison to anybody else. A good comparison to myself works wonders.
Until later,
Kelly
25 June 2008, 6:09 pm
@Wendi and Kelly,
Oh, I understand both sides of the coin. I have my down days. Perhaps more than anyone knows. Certainly I’m not superhuman. Merely a man. Capable of all that a man (or woman) can do – if I can find the inner strength. And certainly capable of all of the failings of humankind.
As Steven Covey says, between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In those choices lie our growth and our happiness.
I am all too human, and life can get me down, just as it does everyone. Sometimes I curse. I get upset. I think nasty thoughts about my co-workers involving a soldering iron (seen the movie Joe Dirt?)
Some days I can make that space bigger, and choose a good response. Some days I cannot. (Come spend a month in my household and you’ll see what I mean…)
And for days when I cannot – there is Grand Theft Auto. And extreme heavy metal music. And red wine…
I know what Friar is saying, I know where he is coming from. There is a surplus of “good news stories” on the web, perhaps sometimes it seems like everyone writing it is perfect. They are not. We are not.
At least, not in the traditional sense of the word.
Brett Legree’s last blog post…participant.
25 June 2008, 7:50 pm
Dan,
Thanks and welcome. (Sorry about the spam filter. It’s cranky.)
Brett,
Nope. You’re superhuman. Stop denying it.
Oh, I love that Covey theory about the gap between stimulus and response. That is the place I aim for every day… some days I get close. Covey always has the right kind of inspiration for me.
Until later,
Kelly
25 June 2008, 9:38 pm
@Kelly,
It’s all the coffee. I swear.
I agree – Covey may be one of the oldest, but he’s also one of the best.
-Brett
Brett Legree’s last blog post…participant.
25 June 2008, 9:45 pm
Covey kinda SCARES me.
Don’t get me wrong. I took the course. I saw the videos. I liked it.
He’s very very charismatic and likeable. But BOY, I’d hate to ever get on his bad side.
I have visions of his shiny bald head opening up 180 degrees at his jawline, exposing razor sharp alien teeth, and he’d BITE YOUR HEAD OFF in one clean swoop!
But that’s just me….
(Still, it was a good course….)
Friar’s last blog post…The Gitchiest Christmas Ever
25 June 2008, 9:47 pm
@Friar,
You see, that’s why he’s the best – you’d better believe in the 7 Habits, or he’ll use the 8th Habit on you (he’ll open up a can of whoop a$$)
(I know that’s not the 8th Habit – there’s a book on that too.)
Brett Legree’s last blog post…participant.