Be inspired...

...and inspire others

Two weeks ago, when I was doing some writing for another purpose, I stumbled on this quote:

If you always hurt people with intimidations instead of encouraging them with inspirations, the world will change, but you will not be the reason for it.*

"Good enough" is not good enough...

Welcome to the last quarter of the year.

This is usually the time some of us start to look back on the past months/passing year and assess our performance - if we don't, our Managers definitely do.

Consequently, I felt it imperative to share on "Good enough is not good enough...

Too many times people give themselves what I'd call "a good reason" not to be or do their best. Actually it's an excuse and as we know in our personal and professional lives, excuses never take you very far. 

In my opinion, the reason why "good enough is not good enough" is because "The enemy of 'best' is not 'worst,' it is 'good enough'." "Good enough" is the phrase that keeps us from stretching ourselves. In fact is it is the phrase (excuse) that we come up with when we start comparing ourselves to others instead of comparing ourselves to ourselves. The only person you MUST always compare yourself to and be better than is yourself.  You must take personal responsibility for yourself as Galatians 6:4-5 says:

⁴ Each person should judge [examine; test] his own actions [or achievements; work] and not compare himself with others. Then he can be proud for what he himself has done. ⁵ Each person must be responsible for himself [will carry their own load]. (italics mine, Expanded Bible)

We are each responsible for ourselves - so focus on going beyond "good enough" and be your best self ever. God, not the sky, is your limit.

 

Have an impactful 4th Quarter.

 

A-B-C-D

What comes to mind when you hear the letters ABCD?

For most of us it will be "Above & Beyond the Call of Duty" - and rightly so too. However, the letters ABC popped in my mind as all we need to excel in our careers - "D" was added later.

So for this post, ABCD stand for Attitude, Brains, Connectedness, Determination.

A lot has been said & written about our attitudes and how they impact the rest of our lives. I even shared a few Attitude quotes over 3 years ago* When I think about "attitude" my favourite quote is:

"Your attitude, not your aptitude,

determines your altitude."**

Walter Scott's opinion is that: "For success, attitude is equally as important as ability." I believe Attitude is more important because attitude is about your perspective and response to people and things around you. It's good to have aptitude/ability (aka brains), but best to have a great attitude. A great attitude is what makes you humble enough to learn from others what you don't know - which leads us to "B."

B stands for Brains. To excel in your chosen career/job, you need to know and grow in your knowledge too. Having some knowledge is a good starting point...gaining more knowledge and skills is making progress. Anyone who wants to rely on all they knew...and don't want to know more/new things (pun intended), is already regressing because others will continue to progress. One way to progress/advance our knowledge and skill base is by the connections we have. So let's move to "C."

Connectedness is the wise realization that "no (wo)man is an island." We all need at least 1 other person in order to progress in life. It's one thing to stretch out your hand to connect with another person and another to know which outstretched hands you want to take a hold of.

It takes both discretion (using our brains) and Determination to stay connected with the right people. We also need determination to focus on self-improvement, despite the challenges we face, in order to advance your career.

So as you think about your career, think ABCD...and you'll experience success.

References:
* http://empowered-women-excel.blogspot.ca/2012/05/about-attitudes.html
** Zig Ziglar

Who helped up...who can you help up?

 

5 quotes for you to think about, take to heart and "take to act"

 

 

Which of these quotes resonate the most with you?

Focus on your feathers...

I'm reading a really interesting book by Valorie Burton - one I recommend to you too. One of the things she stresses is the importance of knowing and focusing on your strengths versus being drained by your weaknesses - or areas for improvement - as we now like to refer to them. In her words, "...both Scripture and research show that when you focus on building on your innate strengths rather than fixing your weaknesses, success flows more easily and authentically."*
Thinking about strengths, the peacock comes to mind. I cannot remember if (or where) I heard this or whether it was dropped in my heart. It went something like "The peacock is proud about it's feathers until it sees its feet." Now that speaks to remaining grounded and humble - as we should all be - but the peacock's feet don't ever stop it from spreading out it feathers.

Likewise, we must never allow what seem like weaknesses or shortcomings hold us back from fully expressing our strengths and succeeding. What we need to do is pay attention to is improving our strengths...and where necessary, reach out to others who can complement us. Valorie puts it this way: "Leverage your strengths and the strengths of others."** Marilyn vos Savant who once had the highest recorded IQ per the Guinness Book of Records, puts it this way:

"Success is achieved by developing our strengths,

not by eliminating our weaknesses."





Moving that to "Feather-phrase," the peacock doesn't (and can't even succeed, if it tried to) do away with its feet otherwise it will not be grounded... so it just chooses to focus on it's feathers. One more thing to note when focusing on your feathers is that the quality of a bird's feathers plays a critical role in if and how well or even how high it can fly - if it's a bird that can fly. So to successfully focus on your feathers, strengthen your strengths & success will come more naturally. I know because it's worked for me.

References:  

* Successful Women think differently by Valorie Burton, page 74.

** Successful Women think differently by Valorie Burton, page 98.

Impactful investment

As we aspire to advance in our professional and personal lives, it is imperative to look beyond the money can or feel we should make.

I was chatting about a few colleagues about how people decide on who to vote for. One colleague shard a story about how a few years earlier, she'd decided on who not to vote for. According to her, a well-respected female leader was approached to give a talk to some young girls. The intention of the organizers was to get a leader to inspire the girls to follow their dreams and put in the hard work to make them come true.

When one of the organizers approached this female leader and asked her if she'd be available to speak to the young girls, she said that evening was free and also told them what her "speaking fee" was. Thoroughly shocked the representative shared the outcome of the meeting with the other organizers. Needless to say, the rest is history - especially the fact that that female leader lost the opportunity to make history herself.

Now I'm not saying that not speaking for free, rather than for a fee, was what made her lose the election - but I'm sure it contributed to it. How do I know? People pass on the story...that's the only way I got to know. I'm deliberately being vague about some details so I don't inadvertently pass on the story. For me there's a bigger lesson here.

Whoever said this - which I got from the internet - is spot on. Imagine for a moment if this lady took the time to speak to this impressionable young girls and even went further to donate her speaking fee (from her own funds) to the NFP organization. Yes Wow! What an impactful investment of time that would have been.                                                                              As we aspire to be better and get more in life...spend as much time, if not more, thinking about how you can give back - investing your time to empower others - girls and boys alike. Although we may not all be mothers, most women have a natural nurturing instinct and the best of us, nurture and empower those around us. Strive to be one of the best.

The stairs

When I stumbled on this quote I smiled and decided to share it because I agree with it.
I know that there may be a few people who have gotten to the top very quickly and in some cases, time has shown that "speed kills."

After reading this, I looked up the benefits of stair climbing and found a few that have some relevance to career advancement and even success in other areas of life.

1. Stair climbing strengthens your lungs and heart. Stronger lungs allow you to take in more oxygen. A stronger heart allows you to rapidly deliver the oxygen-enriched blood to your muscle fibers. As a result, you’ll feel better. A more efficient body has greater immunity, so you may not get colds as often, and your likelihood for developing chronic health problems such as Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure will be significantly diminished.* EWE: Talking about success, when your success or elevation is gradual, you develop stronger emotional muscles and the chances of your being easily discouraged reduces.
2. Every time you climb a flight of stairs, your body releases chemical endorphins, a type of neurotransmitter, making you feel happy and calm. Over time, your ability to focus and concentrate will improve, and you will feel less stressed out. Your self-esteem and self-confidence will improve as you successfully meet your fitness goals, become more toned and muscular, and are less distracted by physical fatigue.* EWE: Again, taking the stairs to success helps you develop and deepen your stress management skills. Taking the stairs to success has a way of grounding you so that you're not easily (re)moved.

Taking the stairs are about personal effort - except someone carries you up the stairs. That personal effort makes you appreciate the challenges others face and make your more compassionate and willing to support them. The power has to be in you in order to take the stairs, so then you are in-powered to empower others. Enjoy the stairs...

 

 

Source:

*Excerpted from http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/health-benefits-walking-up-stairs-8315.html