“In Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol, Scrooge, when forced to look at his past, saw all the missed opportunity for love and said “I cannot bear it”. Imagine that your Ghost of Christmas Past is saying to you today, “take a moment and look squarely in the face of moments of missed loving. Look at them square in the face”. It is never too late to begin loving. “
– Rev Mary Manin Morrissey
… First, some background:
… what is most amazing is that all these accomplishments represent the part-time effort of a couple of dozen elderly men living and working together mostly in silence. They attend church services six times a day and spend hours in solitary prayer, contemplation and sacred reading. Because their mission is to live a life of silent contemplative prayer, they work only part time.
All too often our organizations fail to reach their potential because people spend too much time looking over their shoulders. What is so striking about Mepkin is that the monks are never looking over their shoulders. They are passionately committed and totally focused on the task at hand, and they know that their brothers are doing the same. As a result, they are highly efficient and get an enormous amount done in the four hours a day they dedicate to earning their living.
Yet if we allow ourselves to be impressed by the monks because they manage to accomplish so much despite their single-minded dedication to their mission, we make a common but cardinal error. It is because of their focus on mission that they operate a multimillion-dollar business with a degree of frictionless efficiency that would drive most profit-driven executives to distraction with envy. And if we are willing to learn from the monks, our secular corporations can do the same.
Read the whole article by Augie Turak at www.forbes.com
“May every soul that touches mine, be it the slightest contact, get therefrom some good, some little glance, one kindly thought, one aspiration yet unfelt, one bit of courage for the darkening sky. One gleam of faith to brave the thickening ills of life, one glimpse of brighter skies beyond the gathering mists to make this life worthwhile.”
– George Eliot
Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see the beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they lead.
— Louisa May Alcott
Contrary to popular belief, we don’t know much. As individuals, as a species, our information isn’t great and there is so much out there that isn’t clearly understood. And all those who state otherwise, or who never admit to having their own shortcomings, shouldn’t be taken seriously. My information isn’t perfect, yours isn’t perfect, your neighbours and friends isn’t perfect.
But that’s the beauty of it all – all that’s out there to discover, to invest ourselves in new knowledge and discovery, and creating new and better ways of doing things. As we progress, we easily understand that yesterday’s thinking was perhaps foolish, or short-sighted, or simply flat out wrong. Our fast-paced society has no time for yesterday, and the best practices spread around the world like wildfire. We learn, we grow, and we move on.
So why share this? Because knowing our weaknesses, knowing our areas for improvement, is the quickest and best way to our personal and professional development. As clearly demonstrated by this recent economic turmoil, businesses don’t have a great understanding of how the world works. If they did, and their information was perfect, our world wouldn’t be going through such turbulent times. So it’s the businesses, and best leaders, that develop new business models, dedicate themselves to innovation and experiment, and pursue their ideas at a frantic pace that will find the best success.
Here’s the lesson: personally or professionally, what you don’t know could be your biggest strength. Starting tomorrow morning, and for the next 7 days, dedicate 30 to 60 minutes (your Holy Hour) to thinking retrospectively, uncovering your business’ limitations and areas for improvement in your personal and professional life. And be remarkably honest with yourself.
By knowing these limitations, you’ll be able to move forward with greater clarity, passion, and awareness. You’ll see new areas for improvement, increased focus on your goals and where to ideate, and new best practices for leveraging opportunities. Remember, this exercise might not be comfortable at first, it might be confusing, but it could be the single best practice you complete this year.
In Leadership,
Robin
Leadership Questions for this Month
1. What is your biggest limitation to personal and professional success?
How will you overcome this and transform it as an opportunity?
2. Have you truly evolved your thinking and belief systems to reflect the current times?
3. What 2 influential and remarkable books will you read this month?
4. Does your weekly schedule reflect your priorities? Remember, what doesn’t get scheduled doesn’t get done.
5. Are you dedicating yourself to a cause larger than yourself?
To do the useful thing, to say the courageous thing, to contemplate the beautiful thing: that is enough for one man’s life.
— T. S. Eliot