July 2019

Read 10 pages of a good book, listen to an audiobook or podcast (hmm, I have one I can recommend :).
The small daily deposits add up!

Short term goals help you break the “big picture’ down into bite-size pieces. Completing them provide boosts of excitement, reflection, and energy. More importantly, they are additive and have a cumulative effect on helping you reach your long term plan.

There are goal planning sheets here if you need some!

We all have our tendencies. By my very nature, I tend to focus on the “why,” the strategy and how in terms of the pursuit of my passion. Even long after the why and strategy are settled, I can go on and on configuring and reconfiguring the “how.” At the end of the day, plans are great, but in the words of Mike Tyson, everyone has a plan until they get punched.

Once you know that you know what you are in pursuit of, make the decision to do it or not. If you decide the answer is yes, then start. Get out of the safe laboratory of your mind and get your passion out on the road.

In the early 2000s, I was a part of a project team to eliminate paychecks and paper payroll statements at JPMorgan Chase.  It may not sound like a big deal now, but back then, it was for the 60,000 plus people that received them. Further, to our knowledge, no other company had done it at scale.

Concerns, despair and even a bit of controversy began to stir as folks believed that employees were pretty wed to “their paper.”  However, as a team, we stayed focused on “the stars.” We saw the possibilities for the employees and the company, and got it done!

I have learned that as you come face-to-face with challenges, your perspective can make the difference.   You can focus on the crud and despair of the mud or the wonder and possibilities of the stars. That is a choice.

Educational paths serve to prepare you, titles can serve a purpose for a season, but neither can define you.  Keep your long-term journey in front of you, treating “evolution” as if it were your middle name, growing daily.
Your journey towards your passion and purpose are worth it, take inventory.

Last year reading “goodby things” prompted me to take inventory and to ask “additive, neutral or distracting to my journey?”
If distracting, they must go. If neutral, evaluate relative to replacing with something more additive.
Your journey towards your passion and purpose are worth it, take inventory.

Serving others through mentorship doesn’t require a title nor extensive experience.  There is always someone less experienced than you, wishing they were in your shoes, just as you did years before.

Don’t overthink it. Give back joyfully as opportunities arise.

What an internal trifecta!  The question is, can you answer all three in the affirmative?

If not, give thought to what you need to change to make it so.  Once you know the “what,” you can create the “how.”

If it is worth pursuing, it is worth hanging on for your success.  Barriers and challenges are inevitable, tighten your grip and keep after it.

When we venture out of our comfort zones to the unfamiliar, we expand our options and our perspective.