Archive for category self-discipline
Where Are You Looking
Posted by DaveOlson in creativity, leadership, personal growth, ramblings, self-discipline on May 20, 2010
Seek and you will find.
We’ve all heard that before. It’s been a rally cry for perseverance. If you search long enough and don’t give up you’ll find what you are looking for.
WRONG!
No matter how long you search you won’t find anything unless you are looking in the right place. Thebreward for seeking comes to the persistant but to the one who persists in the right place.
The other day we were in Madrid and decided to go on one of those double decker tour buses. We paid the person at our hotel reception and got directions. I understood that the pickup point was near the bullring we had visited the night before. So off we went map in hand looking for the double decker MadridVision bus.
The problem was I misread the map and turned left toward the bullring instead of right. We waited for the bus for thirty minutes. I asked a couple of people where the bus stop was but my limited Spanish gave very little help.
In the end I reviewed a street map for quite awhile until I realized we were in a completely different part of the city than where the bus stops were. So after walking another twenty minutes we finally found the right bus stop.
My point is this: it didn’t matter how long we searched for the bus we couldn’t find it because we were in the wrong place. We could have persisted all day and never found the bus.
So many people do the same thing in life. They look for answers in all the wrong places. They ask for advice from people who are no farther ahead than they are. They want someone to confirm what they already think not challenge them. If you want to find the solutions in life you need to ask someone who has already found some solutions.
Before you start searching, consider where you will look.
What do you think?
Just a Thought
Posted by DaveOlson in Quote of the Week, personal growth, relationships, self-discipline on May 13, 2010
If you rehearse the mistakes of the past you will repeat the mistakes of the past.
Often we tell ourselves we could have done something differently. Or we could have done more but in reality, we probably did everything we knew to do.
Memories can be torturous. If only we had acted differently. But we didn’t because we didn’t know how to. Can’t change that. Just because we would act differently now doesn’t matter.
Now here’s the kicker. If you keep going over your past mistakes in your mind you are destined to repeat them. Learn from them yes, but don’t keep rehearsing them.
The past is the past. It’s best leave it there since it rarely has any place in your future.
What do you think?
Trim Your Life
Posted by DaveOlson in business development, leadership, productivity, self-discipline on Mar 10, 2009
John 15:1-2 (New International Version) “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
Lean is better.
Too many things going on causes clutter and reduces fruitfulness.
Fruitfulness is the litmus test of activity. What does it produce?
If an activity produces nothing measurable, perhaps it should be eliminated.
If a program produces limited results, perhaps it should be cut back.
Allowing all of your passion to flow in singleminded purpose results in the greatest fruitfulness.
Too much time is wasted trying to resurrect dead branches, dead works and dead activities and programs. Cut them off!
Don’t confuse efficiency with effectiveness.
Put your energy into fruitful activity.
Consider the ROI of your business ventures. Don’t keep pouring good money after bad.
It is a strength to know when to prune. It is a skill that you can develop.
Trim your life and you’ll be more productive and fruitful.