Category: Motivation

Are You Willing to Travel the Road to Success?

In a recent interview, when asked what he does in his spare time, Elon Musk said, “usually it’s work more.” Without a doubt, success is hard work. Most of us are not willing to put in the required work to reach the heights of success like Elon Musk.

Many people I coach have specific goals they want to achieve. Some are held back contained within their comfort zone. Others never test their limits because they just aren’t willing to put in the effort.

Successful people tend to be very focused and intent on achieving their goal. What we look at someone that is highly successful, we sometimes don’t see the  sacrifice they have made. They may have sacrificed time, money, relationships, or hobbies.

Successful people still have those things. But along their journey they gave up something to stay focused on their goal.

We all want success, but there is a limit to how much we are ready to sacrifice. Having a limit is fine. Knowing that sacrifice is required, and our limit, shouldn’t we be able to make better decisions?

The Pace of Success

I have been thinking about the pace of life. If you are like me, when things are moving too fast, you may feel stressed. But if things seem too slow, well you can also feel stress (or boredom, lack of accomplishment, etc). Life seems to have an appropriate pace.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”

Even when we are pushed to go faster in this time of instant gratification, I find that a slower pace when constant usually pays bigger dividends. It is persistence and perseverance that makes a difference.
A slower pace does not mean less work. The settlers that came to the United States over two hundred years ago found success through hard work. Imagine raising and growing your own food, making your own clothes, trading with your neighbors, and cutting wood for heat. The pace of life was much slower, but not easier.

Each of us has a different pace that is right for us. We are forged by our environment, but our environment changes over time. If we are not aware of our own internal pace, we risk losing our sense of grounding that helps us through the stress caused by the pace around us.

What pace is right for you? How do you maximize productivity without increasing stress?

Doing Nothing Is Not Really an Option

Have you ever stood still in a river and felt the water rush by you? The water can be a gentle push against you, or it can be forceful. It can cause you to lean, struggling to stand upright.

There are days when I feel time rushing by like the water in a river. In reality, time is always moving like the Earth is always moving. The Earth is traveling through space at 66,000 miles per hour. And at the same time, the Earth rotates on its axis faster than 1000 miles per hour.

Maybe the fact that life moves so fast has made me love the times when I can just sit and think. I love being able to ignore all the outside activity and demands of daily life.

However, even though we can ignore it, the fast pace never goes away. I have discovered it is important to embrace the pace, the changes, and the obstacles that life throws at us.  They are just as important as the quiet times.

Instead of standing in the river, imagine being in a kayak. No longer are we trying to resist the current. Instead we strive to control our kayak. We paddle. We steer.

We decide to guide our kayak. We cannot stand still. Doing nothing is not an option. Life is moving. We can make every day count.

Are You Sometimes Reluctant to Delegate?

As Ronald Reagan said, “Surround yourself with great people; delegate authority; get out of the way.” But at times, you may find this difficult to do. Here are three key reasons, I have found that people fail to delegate.

1. A desire to maintain control. If a leader tries to maintain control through involvement in all the details, the team will be limited in their success. A leader will be more likely to embrace delegation if they can develop their leadership knowledge and skills. Moving the focus from task success to team success can unleash amazing results.

2.  A belief that the team does not have the required knowledge. This can be a valid reason to stay more involved with a team. But as a leader, you should be focused on getting your team the education they need to be successful. A leader’s worth is not in the knowledge they hold, but in the knowledge they share.

3. A belief that the team does not share your values. This may be the hardest challenge for a leader to overcome. Teams need shared values. However, not all values will be shared. Individual values also play a part in the strength of a team. To overcome this delegation roadblock a leader must be able to identify the difference between key team values, and supporting individual values. A leader will be more successful if they embrace the diversity of individuals within a framework of strong team values.

If you are feeling stress because your team is not achieving to their potential, examine your level of delegation. Is one of these reasons holding you back?