Posts Tagged ‘show up fully’

Set the intention to surpass your mentor

Monday, December 12th, 2022

Everyone needs a mentor. In order to achieve any level of mastery, we have to find mentors in the areas where we need to grow in next. We need to find the kind of people who want to take us on. One thing to recognize as you’re choosing a mentor: don’t hang on forever. We are in that relationship for a period of time to learn a certain thing. And our goal should be to surpass the mentor—that’s the best gift we can give to a mentor.

Now if somebody chooses you as a mentor—first of all, what an honor. But don’t allow the feeling of honor to blunt your usefulness. Remember that the best mentors know how to be abruptly truthful with the mentee. Sometimes we get stuck, and we just need someone to slap us around a little bit—figuratively, of course—to help us understand that there’s something more for us.

Years ago, I had a mentor. And I said something to him. I don’t remember what it was, but I’ll never forget his response. He said, “I’m appalled by your thinking. That’s very pedestrian thinking. That’s not how you think. You need to think at a higher level.”

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Who do I want to be today?

Monday, August 23rd, 2021

What if you started today, and every day, by asking yourself this question: What kind of person would I like to be today?

What one word would describe me? Well, that’s an interesting thought.

Maybe you’re gonna say kind. Well, that would change the way you’d go about your day.

Maybe you’d be innovative. That would change the way you’d go about the day.

Maybe it’d be resourceful. I’ll just figure everything out. That too would shape the choices you made throughout the day.

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Set the intention to surpass your mentor

Monday, April 12th, 2021

Everyone needs a mentor. In order to achieve any level of mastery, we have to find mentors in the areas where we need to grow in next. We need to find the kind of people who want to take us on. One thing to recognize as you’re choosing a mentor: don’t hang on forever. We are in that relationship for a period of time to learn a certain thing. And our goal should be to surpass the mentor—that’s the best gift we can give to a mentor.

Now if somebody chooses you as a mentor—first of all, what an honor. But don’t allow the feeling of honor to blunt your usefulness. Remember that the best mentors know how to be abruptly truthful with the mentee. Sometimes we get stuck, and we just need someone to slap us around a little bit—figuratively, of course—to help us understand that there’s something more for us.

Years ago, I had a mentor. And I said something to him. I don’t remember what it was, but I’ll never forget his response. He said, “I’m appalled by your thinking. That’s very pedestrian thinking. That’s not how you think. You need to think at a higher level.”

(more…)

Who do I want to be today?

Monday, April 5th, 2021

What if you started today, and every day, by asking yourself this question: What kind of person would I like to be today? What one word would describe me? Well, that’s an interesting thought. Maybe you’re gonna say kind. Well, that would change the way you’d go about your day. Or maybe you’d be innovative. That would change the way you’d go about the day. Or maybe it’d be resourceful. I’ll just figure everything out. That too would shape the choices you made throughout the day.

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Show Up Fully And Share Your Limits

Thursday, November 17th, 2016

One of the tragedies of modern life is the way it fragments our attention. We are almost never completely present in anything we do. There are a dozen things on our minds and a bevy of blinking and beeping devices to make sure we stay frazzled and fractured. We bring work home with us, and we bring the concerns of home to work. As a result, everything suffers. Nothing gets our full attention.

Make a pledge to turn that around.

First and foremost, make a pledge to fully show up wherever you are. When you’re at work, be at work—100 percent. When you’re at home, be at home. Both work and home will benefit from your full attention. Schedule “free days” where you do not think about work. You need that restorative time so that you “focus days” at work can create powerful results with limited time.

At work—turn off the cell phone and don’t turn it back on again until after work. Studies show that people who have their cell phones on are 40 percent less productive than those who turn them off.

And when at work—work. Complaining to your teammates that you’re overwhelmed is not work. Stopping to chat with your neighbor is not work. Often people who are overwhelmed are just not focused. Put in a solid day’s work and then go home relaxed knowing you were powerfully productive.

And set definite limits on work done at home. Sometimes bringing work home is unavoidable. But when it becomes a norm to work through the evening, you are sapping your energy and reducing your productivity.

Finally, share your planned limits with those around you. If you’ve decided not to work after 7 pm, tell your spouse and the kids. They’ll hold you to it! It will force you to be more productive prior to that time.