Making a Big Difference
One of the disturbing attributes I noticed in myself during the lockdown period was that, with all the time that we seemingly had, I did not get done as much as I had hoped or even nearly as much as I intended. This seemed to be echoed across many social media platforms and was rather delightfully captured in this quote posted by a friend, “I used to say I never did house work because I didn’t have the time. Now I have the time, I realise that was not the problem!”
In reflection I know that part of the challenge is that there was so much uncertainty and it took away the clarity of what to aim for. Without a clear forward direction and purpose, it can be very hard to get motivated. One of the boldest steps that we took to counter this was to sign up for a very intensive online program to help us grow and develop our business - basically aiming both to practice what we preach, continue to learn and take ourselves outside of our comfort zone. However even with this clarity and forward pull, I have found making time for the activity that works on our business as well that the activity that works for our business has been a challenge. (Reflecting on the image of the plumber with a leaking tap at home). Brainstorming how to lift our commitment to growing our own business to mirror our capacity to grow our clients’ has been a real focus as Think Right heads forward post-Covid. “What’s the missing factor in this potential growth equation?” has very much been the question on our minds.
I believe I have found the answer.
It came to me in two parts – the first came on Sunday and the second, following a very frank and challenging discussion last night, came to me via an email this morning. It’s not new or revolutionary but is worth sharing for the focus it brought me, and has the potential to bring others.
On Sunday I spoke from a bible passage where the writer encourages people to continuously add positive qualities to their faith. He concludes “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive…”. I have a great desire to be productive and effective and this continual process of growth really stood out.
This morning’s email used the well known, often called the “Doubling Penny”- Question: “Would you rather have a million dollars now or a single cent that doubled in value every day for a month?” The table and graph below show the answer lies in the doubling penny (cent):
So what was the answer that I found?
It is to keep focused on the end outcome and to consistently do what you can with what you have - every day. As my wife often reminds our kids, it is the “little and often” that gets the big results. Little mantras pop to mind even as I type that – Winston Churchill “If you are going through hell, keep going!” and Dory singing “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…” in the movie Finding Nemo. One of my favourites is “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” - Will Durant (paraphrasing Aristotle )
The secret of course, as always, lies in the application. For today, I know that I need to do the next important thing and then the thing after that. Using our time, energy and focus in the pursuit of the important, consistently day in and day out, will lead to an extraordinary life.
Here’s to your success!
