I came across this quote:
“There comes a special moment in everyone’s life, a moment for which that person was born. That special opportunity, when he seizes it, will fulfill his mission — a mission for which he is uniquely qualified. In that moment, he finds greatness. It is his finest hour.” ~ Winston Churchill
Two people (that I actually have met) really inspire me: Ed Tate and Rory Vaden. These gentlemen are as close as I have come to “celebrities” (except the time I met Steve Forbes, but he doesn’t talk much). Two things about these people inspire me. One, they both worked extremely hard and were rewarded with success. They are models of self-discipline and perseverance. Two, they have never stopped helping other people. Many times I have called Ed to ask a quick question, and we talk for thirty minutes, during which he gives me great advice…advice he normally charges for! Rory, who has a hectic schedule due to a book tour, still takes time to respond to my e-mails personally.
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. How do you achieve success? One step, one decision at a time. I have heard it said that monumental change and influence doesn’t happen at once. It may seem that way to onlookers, but it is created by a series of incremental steps and decisions. Each day, choosing discipline over watching TV or eating the extra piece of pizza is what helps us reach our goals. What did I say “no” to today: responding to the sixty e-mails in my in-box before sitting down with my husband to discuss date night; and turning on Glee while my daughter played. Instead we hung out, TV-free, as a family.
I am loving Cigna Health Care’s new slogan: “Why not today? GO YOU!” I have been thinking about what that means to me. I have come to realize I am failing myself. I do great at pushing myself and maximizing each day at work, but not as much outside of work. Like most people, I have the typical excuses: “I’m tired when I get home”; “I work hard all day, don’t I deserve some relaxation?” Then a famous quote came to mind: “Good is the enemy of great.” When life is good, people tend to become complacent, content with mediocrity. That’s where I am. I make a decent salary at a job I enjoy, I have a husband, a daughter, a house…seems pretty good. But that’s it; it’s just good.
Yesterday I decided I’m going to change that, focusing on five areas of my life: spirituality, being a spouse, motherhood, leadership, and myself. I laid out some high-level milestones and detailed goals for the next year. I’m starting down the road to change.
Why not today? What are you missing out on because you are complacent? GO YOU!
I spoke at the Dallas Breakfast meeting in March on employee engagement. Much to my delight, there was an employee at the hotel helping to set up the meeting and ensuring everyone got their food, and he set the perfect example for my presentation. This man was engaged. I watched him as he offered to bring people food and drinks so they didn’t have to stand and wait for it to be prepared. He even offered to bring people their food into the meeting room so they wouldn’t have to miss any of the presentation. He was energetic; he was engaged. It was a Saturday, and it seemed like this man actually enjoyed being at work. It’s not often you encounter people like this. If more service-based businesses could engage their employees so they were that excited to be at work, profits would increase. I wish I had the opportunity to talk to him and find out what he enjoyed so much about working for that hotel…
I just finished reading Making Managers into Leaders, which should more appropriately have been titled, How to Get Your Project, Your Sales, Your Relationships, Etc. Back on Track. Maybe that’s too long for a title, so they went with Making Managers into Leaders.
I was in my local store, which has a Starbucks. When I walked up to the counter, the Starbucks-trained employee was on the phone, and a store manager was at the register. There were no other customers around. The manager acknowledged me and said that it would be just a minute. I overheard the Starbucks employee, who seemed to be having a personal problem and was very involved in her conversation.
I was in my local Target, wanting to purchase store-brand water. I had been trying to purchase it over the past few weeks, and it never seemed to be in stock. I asked a manager what was going on with the water, and he proceeded to give me a weak answer about the store having high sales in water and that they couldn’t keep it in stock. I found this hard to believe because of my frequency of visiting and the fact that all the other water was in stock.
janaaxline 