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 Some of these beliefs are outdated, no longer applicable, and don’t support our new goals.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.
This is the last activity that I review this week in our series of 3 things to add to our day that will make a significant difference. Even if these are not on your to-do list and you are struggling to get everything else done, I believe, reading, stillness and setting an intention for the day are 3 small changes that will help us be more successful with everything else we are doing.An intention sets the course for the day. It provides direction of where you want to go during the day. Instead of falling into the day haphazardly, and letting yourself be directed here and there by your events, you, subconsciously, have decided what matters most. And by doing so, you will find that you are staying more in line of your purpose, and waste less energy on the things that don’t matter as much.
This week I am focusing on 3 small daily routines that will have a significant impact on our lives if we include them. We already covered Reading as a practice to grow our minds. Stillness allows our minds to rest and relax. In this overly wired world, we need to give our brain breaks so it has time to digest all the outside stimulation. Stillness can bring surprising new insights as all the information settles and organizes itself. Its in the quietness that we discover who we are and where we need to go.
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.
