You’d Better Be Running

My son, Adam, is an avid runner who shared this thought with me this morning which is sometimes attributed to Roger Bannister:

“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.  It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed.  Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up.  It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re a lion or a gazelle – when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”

Just Keep Swimming.

- Dory (Finding Nemo)

Stepping Up

One of my favorite lines from the hit Disney movie, “Pirates of the Caribbean” is from a scene where Captain Jack Sparrow is being confronted by two British officers just before he commandeers their ship.  One of them says to Sparrow, “You are the worst pirate I’ve ever heard of.”  To which Jack replies, “Ah, but you HAVE heard of me.”

It is comfortable to remain anonymous, and risky to actually step up and make yourself and your offering to the world known.  As soon as you step up, people WILL form opinions about you.  Don’t worry about all of those who will think you are the worst they have ever heard of.  The people who want and need what you have to offer will never see you if you remain anonymous!

If you don’t want people to rain on your parade, don’t tell them what street it is coming down.

- Michael Towns

Giving

I had a fascinating interview with Dale Jessee this week, who is a contemporary piano performer and composer.  Part of our discussion centered around doing what you love for the people who love what you do.  This season is one in which we focus a bit more on giving.  The fastest and surest way to get what you want out of life is to help other people to get what they want.  Focus more on what you can give, and what you get will enrich your life.

We make a living by what we get.  We make a life by what we give.

- Winston Churchill

Please take some time to listen in on my interview with Dale by clicking this link.

Acceptance, not Apathy

Several of my clients just this week have been concerned that they are becoming “hardened” or “past feeling” because they don’t feel as upset about something in their life as they did a while back.  When we first encounter or anticipate a difficult or painful life circumstance, we may be overcome with fear, dread, shock, or horror.  As we come to terms with these life challenges, we begin to accept them for what they are.  This frees up our mind to actually start working on productive solutions or adaptation.  As you begin to accept things as they are, you become less frantic, and can actually have more influence on potential outcomes.  Acceptance doesn’t mean that you don’t care.

The real voyage of discovery consists not in making new landscapes but in having new eyes.

- Marcel Proust

 

Choices

Decisions, choices, options… Those words delineate freedom and control over various aspects of life. They also strike fear into the heart, mostly because of the chance that your choice will be WRONG! But not making a choice is itself a choice with a full spectrum of consequences. You can’t not choose, so choose wisely. Don’t worry about making a mistake – that just gives you the opportunity to learn something you didn’t know before.

When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice.

- William James

Enough Time

When you say you don’t have enough time you are always lying. Everyone has exactly the same amount of time – 24 hours every day – not a minute more or less. You will spend all of it every day, and then you get a new allotment of 24 hours the next day. The frustration comes in sacrificing things of greater value. If we spend our precious time on things that aren’t really that important to us, we will feel that our time is wasted. Commit to spending your time as carefully as you would spend your money on the things that you really want.

The key is not to prioritize what’s on the schedule, but to schedule your priorities.

- Stephen Covey

Calling all parents! – Register now for Parental Power – http://www.parental-power.com/?page_id=424

Dr. Paul

Integrity

As a child when my parents would take me to church, we used to sing a song – “I Am A Child Of God”.  I believe that we as humans are creators, because we are offspring of the Great Creator.  You are the driver and creator of your own life.  When you get really good at creating what you intend, there is a much shorter distance between your words and what actually happens.  When you say you will be somewhere, you are there.  When you say you will do something, to anyone listening it is as good as done.  This is true integrity – to speak things into existence.
 

I define integrity as the distance between your lips and your life.
- Mark Sanborn

Real or Stuffed

As a youth I was fascinated with the art of taxidermy.  A few days ago I was visiting a neighbor who was showing me two huge fish that he had caught which were now stuffed and mounted on his wall.  I found myself thinking, “Wow, those look real!”  The appearance of a live fish was what the taxidermist was going for, although it was mostly just stuffing.  Sometimes we call our material belongings “stuff”.  Real people have deep and meaningful relationships.  If we get too attached to possessions, perhaps we too have become “stuff”ed.

Until you make peace with who you are, you’ll never be content with what you have.

- Doris Mortman

Diffitunity

My wife posted this thought on my facebook (http://www.facebook.com/drpauljenkins) wall this week:  ….”A pessimist and an optimist approached Goliath. The pessimist thought, ‘He’s so big, I can’t possibly kill him. The optimist thought, ‘He’s so big, I can’t possibly miss!” Mary Ellen Edmunds.

 

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; and optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

- Winston Churchill

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Join me this weekend (September 26th) in Salt Lake City for the official launch of The Women’s Information Network – Vicki and I will be show hosts for this exciting new network for women.  Please register at www.thewinonline.com – hope to see you there.

Keep Moving Forward

Recently I was hiking with a group of boy scouts up a rather steep trail in the mountains near my home. After a few miles, some of the boys were really feeling the strain of the hike, and would occasionally stop on the trail. They would sometimes look forward with a hint of discouragement in their eyes because it seemed as if we would never reach the destination. The only way to get there is to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Keep moving forward!

Constant effort and frequent mistakes are the stepping stones to genius. – Elbert Hubbard

P.S.  I’m excited to let you know of the launch of a fantastic new network called WIN – The Women’s Information Network.  I’ve become a show host for the network, and we’re launching next Saturday in Salt Lake City – Go to http://www.thewinonline.com/ for more and to register for the FREE launch event.  Hope to see you there! DP