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Tag: choices

Sacrifice

What are you willing to risk? Those at the top level are there because of sacrifice. Time, attention, family, health, luxury, recognition, security, titles, safety.

Behind every story of beauty lies pain. Success often follows repeated failure. Fortune accompanies perseverance. The stories that are picked up and publicized, the most famous wins are rarely overnight sensations.

If you’re wanting to rise, if you’ve set a goal for yourself that you’re wanting to claim, you must first ask yourself: What am I willing to give?

What will become your sacrifice?

Bonus: Here’s one director’s take on the suffering that often accompanies passion and success.

Build reputation, establish trust

The fastest way to build reputation and trust with the audiences you care about: treat everyone the same.

Granting exceptions to certain people makes your work difficult, and you have to remember who you promised what. Trust is the only way you can make solutions that matter and develop reliable products.

Give the same respect, the same quality of time, the same work effort, the same level of commitment to each one of your clients. What you do and what you say must align in order for any of it to count.

Time management

I have no idea how we’re expected to do everything at once. Or why we feel we must. I only know that setting priorities and saying “no” is the only real chance at any success in this department.
The big decision is what to say “no” to and what earns a “yes.”
These kinds of decisions require some framework of what you want to do. I make lists. I also set aside time each day to center myself and think about nothing (writing, reading for fun, taking long walks). Maybe your thing is running or yoga. What the thing is isn’t as important as scheduled time away from computers, phones and demands on you and your capabilities.
Making time for YOU — your dreams, your passions, your creativity — is essential in order for you to figure out the rest. Time management doesn’t occur overnight and doesn’t happen naturally for most people. But with a little bit of effort, goals will unfold in front of you.
Go get it.

If you feel like giving up

It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been at it: there’s a moment you feel like quitting, throwing in the towel, giving up. Seth Godin penned the journey “The Dip” and believes we too often quit the wrong things at the wrong time. Knowing the difference between staying put and moving on can help us find success both professionally and personally.

The truth is that everything new is always fun: relationships, jobs, projects, cars, clothes, music, movies, towns, school. You name it. Then, over time, it gets boring or hard and you find yourself at a point you can’t be bothered to care at all.

This is when professionals step away from hobbyists: they remain focused, trim off the frayed edges and keep going. And if they do quit, they do it in a way that’s strategic and thoughtful. Champions devote themselves to causes that matter and subscribe to the notion that the bigger the challenge, the bigger the reward.

According to Angela Lee Duckworth, the ability to tough it out and stay put is the closest indicator we have of success. The names we don’t hear about, the people who fail to make an impact, quit too early. They never made it to the intersection of do-or-don’t, or they never found the right problems to solve to begin with.

So, if you’re in a rut and feel like quitting, here are four points to consider before you make any decisions:

Remember when you started.
As a founder, there’s always something to be done. I don’t think I’ve had an empty “to-do list” in over three years. That’s why when I want to hop in a plane back to America, I take a second to recognize how far we’ve come. There was a point I was scrubbing floors and felt a constant film of construction dust on my teeth. Now, our little Learning House is a lively center with classes and students and seminars.

Think about the challenges you’ve overcome to get where you are today and be proud.

Why are you doing this?
We’re all human. God knows I’ve had moments I’ve had to talk myself out of bed and out the door. I’ve gone through weeks of daily internal debates: Am I effective? Should I keep going?

Sometimes, our original goal becomes a blurry dot on the horizon. For whatever reason — projects, donors, grants, social responsibilities — we’ve moved away from that original purpose that gave us meaning, the work that first brought us joy.

Can you remember your original spark? That first flash of inspiration, the smile of someone’s life changed? Ask yourself: the mission you’ve devoted yourself to, is it worth it? If the scale tips in favor, keep going.

Know it won’t always be easy.
When you can accept that grey days are part of the color spectrum, you can relax into rutty moments.
About one year ago, a South Bronx school principal found herself in the Oval office with President Obama. She asked, “When is the time you felt most broken?”

He described his 1999 Congress run. He lost. Bad. He felt old, ineffective, and his relationship with his wife was on the rocks.

“The thing that got me through that moment, and any other time that I’ve felt stuck, is to remind myself that it’s about the work. Because if you’re worrying about yourself — if you’re thinking: ‘Am I succeeding? Am I in the right position? Am I being appreciated?’ then you’re going to end up feeling frustrated and stuck.”
Focus on your work and what needs to be done.

Take a break.
We’re people, not machines. Create space to renew and energize, step away from obligations and responsibilities. Even though you’re a leader doesn’t mean you’re always strong! Watch a movie, go for a long walk, call a friend.
Social work can take an impact on your mental and emotional health. It can be helpful to connect with someone who can empathize with your struggles and keep you on track.

Then, chin up, shoulders back, stand tall. Keep going. The world needs you. We need you.

6 questions to help you find time for anything

I often hear friends complaining about time. No one seems to have enough of it, much less extra to spare on a passion project.

If you find yourself in this category and long for more hours in the day, consider:

  1. How much time do you spend on Facebook?
  2. What do you do during the first hour of your day?
  3. Is there an electronic device in your bedroom?
  4. Do you often perform several tasks at once?
  5. Has a day-planner or calendar become routine?
  6. Do you make lists?

Get honest with yourself and find time to start knocking down some of your goals, ASAP.

Those who can and those who cannot

There is no way to tell who will win.

A participant list doesn’t mean everyone will start the race. Some will wake up feeling under the weather and decide to stay in bed. A few joggers may step up to the line the “day-of,” making the decision to run that morning or even that hour.

Bang, the race is off: A few runners bolt out of the starting gate and lose steam before they are at the halfway mark. Others spent months practicing and pace themselves to conserve energy; they blaze the full course. A cramp or a sprained muscle may cause an athlete or two to drop unexpectedly. A surprising body clocks in, coming in fifteenth in her age category.

We can’t possibly know who is going to cross the finish line. The only certainty is who begins.

Place a sure bet on yourself by taking necessary steps to start.