Before we begin something new, it can feel like we are entering a dark tunnel. We are uncertain what lies ahead. We are scared and don’t know if we can do it. But for every BEFORE, there is an AFTER. Every tunnel has two ends. The darkness is in the middle and only lasts for a while. As long as we keep moving along, we will eventually reach the other end.
Recall anything you difficult you ever started or that you were faced with. Eventually you made it through. Like a tunnel you drive through.
Every action defines us. While our intentions may be positive, they count little. People see our actions. They hear our words. And they come to expect patterns from us they have seen in the past. Whether we like it or not – we are defined by the things we do and fail to do. If we want to change who we are, good intentions are not enough. We need to align our actions with our intentions.
A short story offers a powerful message – our old beliefs hold us back. Some of them are so engrained in us, that we don’t even notice how they influence our daily lives. Some of these beliefs are outdated, no longer applicable, and don’t support our new goals. Some are simply not true. Maybe we picked them up long time ago and never questioned them. If we are not making the progress we wish to see, if we don’t accomplish what we set out to do, it may be time to check if we are marching to the drum of old beliefs that restrict us from reaching the next level.
A famous Sufi saying inspired this episode. And it inspired me to think about how many times I have been the source of the problems in my life by inviting the “elephant trainer” into my house – i.e. the person causing all the issues. There is no need to blame these people. They are who they are. The one to blame is us – we need to be clear about our needs and our expectations. Just because a person is good, kind and generous doesn’t mean they meet our needs.
Is there even such a thing as “being ready”? Most of the time, we don’t feel prepared for the important tasks in our life. Yet, when looking back, they almost always worked out. If we went for them. A lot of times, we allow our feelings of not being ready hold us back. In this episode, I don’t suggest to dive in blindly into every opportunity that comes our way. There are a few things we can do to prepare. But eventually, there comes a moment where we have to take that leap and START, even when we don’t feel ready.
When I stumbled across the surrender strategy in The 48 Laws of Power, I had already tried it. After many arguments and fights, trying to win and come out as the smartest, I finally realized – it doesn’t work. And I began playing with the opposite – instead of trying to win, I surrendered. And I realized – it works.
The surrender strategy is a powerful tool we can all use to be more effective in our relationships with others.
I spent a lot of times on airplanes this year already and I did not realize how poor my experiences was each time until I recently flew Southwest. I had a complicated dilemma that resulted in 2 changed flights but thanks to Southwest, I was able to make these change while standing in line for coffee at the airport and without a major financial impact. The power of customer service. Southwest understands it. Most other airlines don’t. Coincidentally, as I was preparing for this episode, I stumbled across the concept of “omotenashi” in a blog post by Seth Godin. I compare it to WOW – wowing the customer – something Southwest did to me the other day, and something we need to do more of. Instead of only looking for the most profitable customer, we should strive to make our customer happy first. Money will then follow – automatically.
We all have talents, strengths, inclinations. But what are we doing with them? In this episode I want to inspire you to begin thinking about your talents and how you can apply them to make a bigger impact in this world.
As an introvert, making friends has always been hard for me. Until I realized that my approach was wrong. I kept looking for friends I can share all aspects of my life with, not realizing how unrealistic this expectation is. As a result I was always searching and never finding. Until I ended the search and simply did what I loved. And suddenly, and unexpectedly, friends arrived. Friends I would have never noticed had I searched them. Friends so different from me, yet friends that are on the same quest to be their best. And those are the best friends because they accept me for who I am while challenging me to become who I want to be.
Have you noticed how seemingly small things can derail your plans in major ways? Like – a texting exchange with someone, that you think you can do on the side while working on your project? And 2 hours later you are still arguing with that person and your project remains unfinished?This or something similar happens more frequently than we think. And if we want to get our important work done, we need to learn to detect these distractions. Lets find out why we even allow them into our life and that then will help us manage them better.
Does it seem challenging to find an inner connection with ourselves? Our world can be noisy, overwhelming and distracting.
Yet, the direction for our life comes from within us.
The Quest For You Podcast is my mission to help you discover who you are. I will help you challenge yourself through daily guidance, motivation and inspiration. I want to help you find your direction.
