This personal development blog is written by an experienced Life Coach to equip, encourage and inspire people to take meaningful action and make a positive difference in the world.
“The boss won’t let me.”
“That’s not what they taught me at university.”
“I don’t have the time.”
“No-one will choose me.”
“I’m not one of the lucky ones.”
“I don’t have permission yet.”
“I’m just waiting for the perfect opportunity.”
Here’s the deal with these statements, they’re delaying tactics and excuses used by the mind to stop you from doing what you are meant to do with your life.
Your boss may never let you, so either start without their permission or get a new boss.
It’s a well known reality among farmers that not every seed they plant will germinate and turn into a plant that is useful for harvesting.
But of course, they can’t necessarily know which seeds will be successful and which ones won’t, so they prepare the ground, sow a lot of seeds, water them all and see what happens.
They don’t plant a single seed, get frustrated when nothing happens and then just give up.
I don’t know what your situation is or what your aspirations are, but if you’re depending on a single action to get you the breakthrough that you’re looking for, you’re probably going to be very disappointed.
You want to do great things with your life?
You want to develop world-class skills?
You want to maximise the capabilities that you’ve been given?
You want to transform the world?
You want to be the best parent/partner/boss/entrepreneur/speaker/tradesperson/artist you can be?
The Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore once wrote:
“Spring has passed.
Summer has gone.
Winter is here…
and the song that I meant to sing remains unsung.
For I have spent my days stringing and unstringing my instrument.”
What a wonderful, sober description of a life not lived.
Ibrahim Hamadtou displaying his remarkable skill and tenacity
One of the more remarkable stories from the Rio Paralympics is Egyptian table tennis player, Ibrahim Hamadtou.
At the age of 10, Ibrahim lost both of his arms in a train accident, so you would think that table tennis is an odd choice of sport.
But this extraordinary man was not to be daunted, holding the paddle with his teeth and serving by throwing the ball into the air with his toes.
Yes, you read that right.
Tom and Dwyer were on one of their regular walks when they came across a pond.
At the time, they were discussing Tom’s efforts to make a bigger impact with his work, when Tom bent down and picked up a small pebble.
He threw it into the water and watched the ripples spread.
“See?” he said to his mentor, “I want to do something that spreads, that influences a lot of people.”
Dwyer smiled, “You’ll need something bigger than that pebble if you really want to make a splash.”
The tallest peak in the world, Mount Everest is 8,848 metres above sea level according to official records.
However, due to movements in tectonic plates, it is estimated that Everest continues to grow by about 4 mm each year.
It’s extraordinary to think that the tallest mountain in the world is still growing and in a few generations will need to be measured again.
So, how tall is Mount Everest?
Karen and I celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary this December.
It goes without saying that we wouldn’t have made it this far if I made a habit of flirting with other women (let’s assume for the sake of this post that I have the ability to flirt, which I don’t, but I digress).
If I was distracted from my beloved, spent excessive time with other women or focused on meeting their needs and not Karen’s, then we wouldn’t have a very successful marriage.
I don’t just want to have a successful marriage, but I want to be successful at everything I do.
As a parent, a speaker, a business owner, a writer.
It’s tempting sometimes to flirt with mediocrity.
If you hear nothing else today, please know this:
You are valuable.
You are valued.
You have a unique set of skills and you can do things that no-one else can do.
You are created in the image of God.
And He has a plan for your life.
If you stop now…
You’ll never get there.
You’ll always wonder, “What if…?”
You’ll be more inclined to make excuses to stop again in the future.
You’ll prove your critics right.
You’ll regret it forever.
