The Busy-Bee August 30, 2009

I’ve been really BUSY like a Bee, with establishing my new Online Coaching business (with my partner Les White)…that I sometimes feel that I’m just getting nowhere. Of course we are getting ready and setting up a Good Foundation for the BIG Time…and YES I can envision Maximum Impact Professionals (MIP) going Global Successfully as well!

But the problem is the current situation.You see…the Busyness of Life (involving Work and Personal Life) can sometimes be an “Illusion” that you are Progressing! It can also make you feel you’re “Worth Something”…being involved, being needed, wanted and feeling important. Plus this can of course give you an “Identity” that might set you up for disaster…especially when people Peg their Identity to their Contribution Purely at Work. And in many cases when they lose their jobs, they subsequently also lose their Identity, Self-Worth and worst of all their Reason for Living!

Don’t get me wrong…I’m all for being Busy and being Committed at your Work and Goals in Life…but if these are eating you up at the Core, then it is not worth it! I’ve met and Coached many who were so Busy that they automatically neglected their responsibilities at Home (to their Partner, Spouse, Children, etc). You might say, they dropped the ball. Unfortunately, many of them did not see that coming or happening…and even some were still ignorant to the fact!

Why? It’s because they linked their Importance, their Sole Motivator and their Actions (Mind, Soul and Body) to just One Aspect that gave them Great Results…in this case their Business, Career or Work. We all live in a Results Oriented society and understand that good performance is always tied with Incentives.

What is your Incentive of Life today? To be Rich or to have a Rich Life?

If you are like me…you would also enjoy being Busy, which is Fantastic! But STOP and think, and begin to Align yourself with your Purposes, Motives, Reasons, Results, Goals, Incentives and START thinking “Balance”. That word has helped me and my Clients tremendously!

What is your Balance Today? Do note that something will always have to Give, as there is an Opportunity Cost to wanting Balance.

• Are you willing to sacrifice not to be so successful?
• Are you willing to go against the flow and sometimes stand on your values?
• Are you willing to sacrifice your promotion or bonus this year for the sake of saving your marriage?
• Are you willing to sacrifice your time from work to watch your daughter dance or son kick the footy?

You know, I never ever heard of someone on their dying bed wanting to CLOSE just one more Sales Deal. If that is the case, why wait to near death to only then…want a change?

The Busy-Bee and the Balance-Bee will both die anyway, why reach there faster?

Choose to be the Balance-Bee today…and I guarantee you will see your life transform!…

The Years of a Futile Life…(Part 1) May 29, 2009

I’ve been writing on this blog for 2+ years now…and sometimes I too struggle to put pen-to-paper…or shall I say type-to-blogspace. Funny how over the years, we have gone from having the need for something like pen and paper to a possible close to zero dependency of it…apart from leaving a note or two…or a couple of greeting cards for Christmas.

I don’t really know who reads this blog…but I guess this is my way of expressing my thoughts and heart…(for my own enjoyment) but I guess this might just be for someone out there who wanted (so coincidentally) to hear about this…who knows??!

I was sharing with my students at class (I lecture on business part-time apart from Coaching)…on how we have progressed so much as a modern society…even the need of a ‘Secretary’ has been drastically reduced and in many instances replaced with an answering message on our phone, a laptop, a wi-fi printer and the frequent Coffee (Latte from the express Coffee joint) below our office. Short-hand writing is now an ancient writing called ’scribbles’ on the wall of a caveman or on my kids bedroom wall… ; )

A famous saying goes “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow”…wow! it is profound yet simple and true.

Today’s blog (or shall I say this month’s blog due to my infrequent entry) is about our ‘futile’ life on this little blimp in space called Earth. Yes…good old life on this Blue Planet. Yup the whole cycle of life is just so surreal that all of us face it day by day and yet no one actually stops to think (I think – pun intended)…why the bloody h#%@ are we here for? Is there truly a bigger purpose than just my dad and mum deciding to have unprotected sex?

And so the story enfolds…

We get born, we drink milk, we poo in our diapers, we crawl, we eat gooey food, we drool, we get changed, we cry, we begin to stand up, we fall, we begin to walk, we fall again, we shout, we begin to teeth, we grow and grow…and experience all this in a more mature way, we learn how to ride a bike, we go to school, we make friends, we sit exams, we aspire to be someone our parents dreamt about, we are pushed to follow what society (and every other important institution) says,  we mature (or so we think), we rebel, we get laid for the first time, we get our car license, we drink and binge drink, we fall for each other (in more ways than just sexual), we wake up early for work, we earn money, we buy the things that we want more so than we need, we aspire to make more money, we eat out all the time, we sleep late, we go clubbing, we make/meet  ‘artificial’ friends, we stress, we twitter/facebook each other, we go for holidays and eat exotic foods, we work our butt out, we fail, we learn, we get married, we have kids of our own, we stress a whole lot more and if by now we don’t drop dead and die early (due to our hectic lifestyle)…we would want to live to see our kids get married, have kids of their own (in this sense making us grandparents God forbid!), then we loose our hair, teeth, grow a big belly due to processed food and the unprocessed food from our microwave diets, we loose respect, dignity when we begin to forget, talk and look dumb, dress strangely, lose our spouse and we fall down (physically), get confined on a wheelchair, wear diapers again and dentures, and hmmm even lose our sight (not completely) and get a heart-attack from watching our favourite football club win the League / Cup and say our last good-byes and kick the bucket!

Crazy isn’t it, to state it all so plainly…well at least some parts of the above are and could come true for most of us! Is that what we all aspire to make our life to be? Well for some (depending in what stage of life you are at)…perhaps MONEY is all that you desire! Or maybe…just HAVING FUN with your mates is the High of your life! Whatever it is…Life is still very very very short and extremely futile (or is it?).

We live…and in a few years we die. I heard someone say…why worry just “enjoy life”! I must admit…I too love that phrase and sometimes wished I could have a special time clock that could go back in time (like Back to the Future) or just stop time for that particular season of my life!

I also hear many younger people saying…when I get older I’m going to do this and that…whilst other older ones saying just the opposite…I wished I did this and that…bummer! Life is one BIG Irony. When we were younger…we desired to be older and now being older we wished the opposite. Some say, 40 is the beginning of the end but others say, 40 and beyond are the ages to be…where we have tasted and seen the world and can now truly enjoy life!

But seriously think about it…WHERE ARE YOU AT TODAY…AND WHAT IS LIFE REALLY ABOUT…FOR YOU?

Are you living just because…?

Are you living the life you wanted?

Are you living for others?

Are you living a lie?

Are you living the life as ‘your’ world depicts of you?

Are you living with regrets?

Are you living without loving?

Are you living or barely surviving?

Are you living and celebrating life?

I don’t know how you fared on the above questions…but I guess it is worth questioning. Hmmm but then again in 50+ years time…no one actually cares…we’d all be dead and gone by then! And so…Are your years of life here on earth FUTILE? (till next month…)