Keen Insight From A Program Participant

Here's an insight from a participant in a Juggling Elephants keynote that we thought was brilliant. It helps explain the value of focusing on purpose in ALL areas of your life:

I attended your recent Juggling Elephants keynote. It was absolutely fantastic! I've known that we all must have balanced lives. I've also known that we all have a purpose here. Without realizing it, I thought that I had to take care of all of the separate areas of my life IN SPITE of my purpose. In the discussion of 'Juggling Elephants' and reviewing the acts to make sure they contribute to the overall purpose of the circus, that's when I realized that all areas of my life are actually connected to my purpose. Truly a light bulb moment for me! It gives meaning to the thousands of daily details called life!!!

-Debbie Morrison, US Navy CNIC

Bravo, Debbie. You get a big standing ovation from us.

Annual Personal Review

I was at the gym exercising and talking with the person next to me on the elliptical machine. She was talking about her 65 hour work week and how stressful her life is right now. As I was wrapping up my workout I wished her a nice day and said that I hoped that she would be able to have a "normal" eight hour day at work. She smiled and said that she was just about finished with her annual employee reviews. She only had two reviews left and thought that she would be about to "cut out early." Two thoughts struck me from this conversation.

Isn't it interesting that we consider ourselves "cutting out early" if we just put in the required number of hours for our job? I find myself regularly putting in 10+ hours each day right now and sometimes do work on the weekends. What is the cost? What are the benefits? The answer is different for everyone. My point in today's blog is to ask you those two questions. What cost are you paying for working overtime? What are the benefits that you are receiving for putting in the extra hours? How are the other two rings (self and relationships) being impacted? If the costs outweigh the benefits, maybe you need to make some adjustments. If you are reaping big benefits from the extra work, make sure you are regularly asking yourself (and others) the benefit/cost questions. The answers can change very quickly and when they do, don't wait very long to make the adjustment.

The second thought I had was about annual employee reviews. Employee reviews, when done correctly, can be a very effective tool. It is a time to review progress, look at strengths, consider weaknesses, show appreciation, and make goals for the next year. What about doing an Annual Personal Review of yourself, by yourself? Cut out a block of time specifically for your personal review. Evaluate your progress. Look at your strengths-list them. Consider your weaknesses and how you can improve-make a specific plan. Show yourself some appreciation-indulge yourself in some kind of celebration. Then make some goals for next year. Just like employee reviews, you should do this at a minimum of once a year-formally! Even better are quarterly reviews with less formal monthly evaluations. Don’t make me call Human Resources!!

Work Hard and Work Smart

Working hard is a key element of success. We see this in sports with athletes but also in the business world. Hamilton Holt said, Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Half effort does not produce half results. It produces no results. Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only way to accomplish results that last.

But what about working "Smart?" As we say in Juggling Elephants, there are no shortages of acts that can be put in our circus. It is easy to fill our day with "stuff" and feel like we were busy all day-but were we productive? Are we being smart about the acts that we are focusing on and how we are executing on those acts?

For example, a salesperson can spend all day plowing through phone numbers and making calls. They read the script and try to make the sale. But, pretty soon it can become canned and very routine for the salesperson and for the person on the other end of the phone. What if they stopped to research a little about the company they are calling? What if they tailored the call to the person they are selling to? What if they asked more questions? They might not be able to make as many calls but they will probably have better quality conversations which ultimately close more sales.

Quality acts versus quantity of acts. That is the ticket! Work hard and work smart.

We Were Wrong!!!

While exhibiting at ASTD (American Society of Training and Development) a gentleman stopped by our Juggling Elephants booth and inquired about our training. As I explained that the concept of "trying to get it all done is like juggling elephants-impossible" he immediately disagreed. "You can juggle elephants," he said. "Oh really?" I replied. "Sure you can," he affirmed, "If given enough time and resources I could come up with a way to juggle elephants. I could create a machine capable of doing it or invent some mechanism that would make it possible. So your premise is wrong."

My response? Simply this-Yes, you are right that if given enough time and resources you might be able to find a way to do it. BUT, what would you lose in the process? What would NOT get done while you were spending all your energy trying to figure it out? And would it be worth losing those things to be successful with this one task. His technical reply was, " I don't know." Aha!

Certainly any of us could put all our energy and resources into accomplishing that mountainous "to do list" at work day after day or achieve those seemingly impossible expectations of ourselves in other areas of our life. However, what would we lose in the process-our health? A healthy relationship with our spouse or children? Our sense of purpose and a sense of peace? Is it worth it? If that's your purpose, I guess it would be. If not... maybe there's a better way.

We think we have one in our book. I gave the gentleman at the show a copy. Let's see what he thinks.

Still The Ringmaster At 82

The Boston Globe recently ran a story about a sweet lady whose name is Marilyn Coyne. At 82 years old her life story is remarkable. According to the Globe, she survived the Depression with little food and no heat in her parents' flat in Portland, Maine. She married and sent four kids to college. She saw her husband and one of their children die. What an incredible lady!

Three years ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer and was recently told by her doctor that she had months to live. Looking at her final moments, she had one request-she wanted to Square Dance one more time. The video is touching.

Stories like this always bring me back to center. What would I do if I found out my time was limited... the truth is, that's the truth. There are opportunities with my time today that if squandered, can never be used again for such a purpose. At a younger age one MAY get the opportunity to do that something meaningful or special-but if we are honest with ourselves, we know there are no guarantees.

Now if you will excuse me, I need to get on the dance floor like Marilyn.