Do the WORK
2020 was one to remember. The Covid-19 surfaced all blind spots and inefficiencies, ineffectiveness we have as a society, as a business, and also as individuals.
One thing is sure: we cannot enter 2021 expecting to get back to normal (which is no longer there), or everything is improved significantly immediately.
There are new and unforeseen realities that require us to think and do differently.
I don't know about you, my way of priming my mind to think and do differently includes having an eye-opening chat with a "smart and wise' person. If that is not available, then read a book written by a 'smart and wise' person.
Well, as a book junkie - I read over 100 books in 2020. Those really good ones are the ones I can remember one line or two after many years.
Here are the top 10 quotes I have been using with my clients since the start of 2021, when talking about change, development, leadership, and making a difference:
“We’re not broken, just bent.” – Pink
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” – Ian MacLaren
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” – Upton Sinclair
It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” – Josh Billings
“When people make their problem our problem, we aren’t helping them; we’re enabling them. - Greg Mckeown
“Intuitions come first, strategic reasoning second.” - Jonathan Haidt
“Success emerges from the quality of the decisions we make and the quantity of luck we receive. We can’t control luck, but we can control the way we make choices.” - Chip and Dan Heath
“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.” - Matthew Syed
“Turn toward that self-critical part of you with kindness and compassion. Thank her for the hard work she has done to help you survive” - Amelia Nagoski
"Any act that rejects immediate gratification in favour of long-term growth, health, or integrity" - Steven Pressfield
Running a successful business or leading a fulfilling life, is a LONG game!
Personal lives filled with joy and meaning and work lives rich with a purpose and vision don’t happen by accident. They’re built on the small decisions we make about how we show up, where our time and energy is spent and how we respond to the bullshit we’ll encounter every day.
When you make your small, daily decisions an obvious demonstration of your intention and values, your LONG game will take care of itself.
As we start a new year, What would be the work you choose to do that enables you to think and feel and act differently in 2021?
Make 2021 your year of choosing wisely, doing the work and keeping your 2021 on a growth trajectory!
