More mistakes to make

When we accomplish our goals and get to be “successful”, it is foolish to think that we are done making mistakes.  Now we are at a new level where we are an amateur again, and there are new mistakes to make.

Pay close enough attention and you can see a mistake as it is happening and course-correct before too much damage is done.   Mistakes are here to teach us.  No mistake, no lesson.

Learn quickly.

How do you make the world different?

This is a question not just for these times, but for all times.

At the end of this day, how will the world be affected by your existence?

How are you contributing?

There's no down time

How do you contribute to others and add value?  The more value you create, the more successful you will be.

Out of work right now due to the crisis?  It’s not downtime.  It’s time to get a clear vision of how you will create value when it’s over and skill up now.  

What do you need to learn to do better?

Being Alone/Solitude

Lately, many people have been spending time in solitude at home.  Being alone with yourself is a very different experience than what most of us are used to.  Here are some quotes on the subject.

“In solitude, we are liberated to be the person we truly are.” – Alexandra Stoddard

“Certain springs are tapped only when we are alone.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

“We hear voices in solitude we never hear in the hurry and turmoil of life; we receive counsels and comforts we get under no other condition.”  -Amelia E. Barr

While solitude can be satisfying for some, for others it can feel like torture.

“To a heart formed for friendship and affection, the charms of solitude are very short-lived.” – Fanny Burney

“All humans are frightened of their own solitude.  Yet only in solitude can man learn to know himself, learn to handle his own eternity of aloneness.” -Hans Suyin 

“It’s not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and…it is not possible to find it elsewhere.” – Agnes Repplier

How do you see you?

“Until you close your eyes and see yourself with a different vision, the vision you have with your eyes open won’t change.” – Larry Dunnigan

You’ll never outperform your own expectations.

Change your thoughts, change your life.

"I don't have time"

You have time.  You just have prioritized other things.

What is most important to do now so tomorrow can be better?

Hope

I love hope.  We need hope.  It’s believing that tomorrow can be better than today. Here are some quotes on hope – 

“Hope is being able to see the light despite all the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu

“A single thread of hope is still a very powerful thing.”

“Once you choose hope, anything is possible.”

This all sounds great, right?  And I agree, hope is necessary for us to move forward.

However, hope is not a strategy.  You can hope all you want, but if you don’t do anything to make your ideal outcome happen, it most likely won’t.

Have hope AND a smart strategy. 

Hope – Think – Do something. 

Doubt will vanquish dreams

“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will” – Suzy Kassen

Don’t doubt.

Believe in your dreams. 

Own it.  Be it.

The Bitter Truth

When a bitter truth shows up, we have a choice.  We can immediately accept it, but that is very rare.  More commonly we attempt to refute the evidence or deny its validity (and sometimes its existence).  In other cases, we sidestep, dodge, distract or evade.

Finally, we can decide to look more closely into the issue.  This is the most mature approach. – Dr. Mardy 

“Truth is cruel, but it can be loved, and it makes free those who have loved it.” – George Santayana

One more chance…

The sun came up.  We woke up.

God, in His infinite wisdom, has given us one more chance.