Author Ryan Holiday says, “For everything you aspire to, ego is the enemy.”
Think about that statement for a second. How powerful -- and true it is.
Have you ever stopped to consider the link between your ego and aspirations?
How does your ego impact your aspirations?
Can you have both an ego and aspirations that are healthy?
A few weeks back, we started talking about the four key environments that you can optimize to increase productivity.
Today, we're concentrating on the third environment -- the technology environment. Your technology has incredible potential to be either a time-saver or a time-sucker. How you leverage it will make all the difference.
A few years back, Daniel Goleman sought out to discover what separated average employees from ones who did exceptional work. After surveying 188 companies, he found something quite intriguing.
Aside from technical skill and cognitive ability, there was one other characteristic that exceptional employees possessed.
I'm talking about your habits. And specifically, where are your habits taking you?
In his classic book, As A Man Thinketh, James Allen once wrote, "The law of harvest is to reap more than you sow. Sow an act, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit, and you reap a character. Sow a character, and you reap a destiny."
If that is true, then your habits are telling the story of your future.
Just last week I conducted a poll on Facebook and LinkedIn to find out what time people get up in the morning and got a huge response. I could tell I hit a nerve.
But how many of us make strategies around this subject?
I’ve learned that if I really want to succeed at what’s most important in life, I have to develop strategies.
How many times have you heard someone say, “Wow! Where has the time gone?” Maybe it was after a great evening with friends or when you watched your child graduate from high school or turned 50 (like me…)?
As November kicks off and I look back over another summer that has come and gone, I find myself asking this question once again.
Your time...whatever your perception of it is, whether dragging along (like my son in school right now) or flying by (like I feel at 51) is your life. Your time IS your life.
Although we cannot control the speed at which life approaches, we CAN control our intentionality to be fully present in each moment.
I had a conversation with a very close friend this past week who longs to be able to have more time with her grandchildren. She felt frustrated that her time with them never seemed enough. I could tell that she was feeling a sense of lost opportunity and regret. I told her, “The reality is you have very little control (because of your unique circumstances in life) over how much time you have with them, but you have total control over making the most of the moments you do have. Just embrace those moments. Let your heart be completely open. Be fully present. Make these moments as intentional as you can and be grateful for every interaction you have with them, even if they are brief.”
There is a life to be lived in each present moment.
Tolstoy said it best in his short story called "Three Questions." He said, “Remember then: there is only one time that is important. Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power.”
If being present in each moment is of utmost importance -- how will you find significance in each moment today?
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