We put it back there on that back burner. That’s where we put things to simmer.
Things can simmer without much attention because simmering takes time.
Once in awhile we peek in. Maybe we give it a gentle stir.
We’ve got other things on the front burner that demand our constant attention. They’re the major projects in our life. They’re burning hotter. Some of them are on a rolling boil.
That front burner item is eventually done. It’s ready to come off the cooktop all together. To make room for that back burner idea.
Ideas and projects have a lifespan. Cooking isn’t always the answer. When something is done, it’s done! Time to remove the heat and get on with the other elements of preparation.
Right now you’ve got something on the back burner that deserves to be moved to the front burner. It’s been back there simmering long enough. Bring the heat. Get it ready for the plate.
It’ll mean you’ve got to remove something, but that’s okay. You’ve got plenty of things that you’ve been thinking of getting off the stove. Get them off today.
It’s a birth and death cycle. Something comes off the front burner to make room for something deserving. Today’s the day to get that back burner idea out front where it can have a chance to fully develop.
Timing may be everything, but there’s no day like today!
Still we read numerous blogs. We spend hours Googling a variety of interesting articles. Stroll over to YouTube and Vimeo and we watch a dozen videos. Cruise on over to iTunes where we download some podcasts for our daily workout.
Still nothing profound. No AHA! moment.
Until it all changes…and we experience what we were looking for all along. Well, we weren’t looking for that exact one, but still we found it. The needle in the haystack!
The AHA! Moment
If I could predict or create the AHA! moment…I’d be the wealthiest man on the planet. I’d surely be the world’s most interesting man.
Sadly, I’m neither. But I am a man in search of an epiphany. I think you are, too. We’re all searching for more AHA! moments. More epiphanies. Those moments feel so terrific when we experience them.
I’m going to tell you why all this “content creation” and “content consumption” is worthwhile, even if it’s not all greatness. Much of what we consume – maybe MOST of what we consume – is not life changing. Still we consume it.
We should. Click play and I’ll tell you why!
Mentioned in today’s show:
• The Radical Leap Re-Energized by Steve Farber (I read the 1st one, but I’ve not yet read this one)
• Daniel Clark of QAQN.com posted a funny message on Facebook that helps prove my point about content.
You guys are all opening my eyes about this episode… I don’t know if there was something in my water yesterday or what, but I think we need a do-over. Think Tank was not without a few flaws – many my own hangups (the ‘bikini’ discussion) – but if the overall impression you’re all getting is that we had a lousy time and Think Tank sucked… that’s not at all how I feel about it. If podcasters are allowed one train wreck of a show, this might be mine.
Nothing I’ve ever done has consumed me like coaching hockey. Nothing even comes close.
When I began I read everything I could get my hands on. I connected with people from any English speaking country who could teach me anything. I was a sponge…driven to learn more so I could help my teams.
I’d long been a student and fan of the game, but I never played. Regularly I’d joke with players that I simply had a hockey Rolodex that would trump anybody they knew. Bulletin boards, forums and every obscure hockey website were regularly visited by me as I made notes and obsessed with things I could pass on to my players.
The roller hockey scene of 20 years ago hit. Warm weather locations like Texas, California and Florida were embracing the sport with grand enthusiasm. I dove headlong into that area of hockey at the time because it was virgin territory and the old head ice hockey guys had a strong prejudice against it. I didn’t.
When USA Hockey in Colorado Springs realized the inline version of the game was an opportunity to expose more young players to a great game – they began to bring order and organization to the sport. The Executive Director at the time recruited me to become a Regional Director, a completely volunteer position that I happily accepted because coaching was that important to me.
Over time I coached countless kids, from 6 year olds to college guys.* And I loved every minute of it, even dealing with obnoxious, idiotic parents. Because I had a bigger purpose. A more important compelling reason. I wanted to impart a little bit of knowledge, a little bit of wisdom and a whole lot of life lessons to the players.
My aim was high. To be memorable by helping them achieve more than they might be able to without my help.
I was fully devoted to them, and to the sport.
Coaching hockey has, for years, been the barometer for me whenever I’m looking at my own passions and trying to answer today’s question. Maybe there’s something in your life that serves you like that. I’d love to report that it has helped me clarify things, but it hasn’t. Some days it only serves to confuse me further. And for a guy like me, confusion comes easily so I don’t need any more help in that department.
Look deeply into your life. Look into your past. Carefully consider today’s question. There are three more coming behind it. My hope is that we can work through these questions and learn more about ourselves. Along the way perhaps we can figure out some ways to earn more money because money is the fuel that helps us maintain our passions, and our causes. We need money to support the causes we care most about.
Question 1: What Do You Care Most About?
* Note: The photo was taken of me coaching the roller team of the University of Texas at Arlington during a college national championship tournament. I coached this UTA team for four years. They were, deservedly, the last team I ever coached.
The fog of adversity and sorrow rolls in on us all.
Live out loud. Be loud and proud.
Over 20 years ago Jeffrey Gitomer would open a sales training seminar much like he does today. He’d ask a room full of salespeople, “Who is the most important person in the world?” In unison the room would answer, “The customer!”
Gitomer would then ask, “Let me put it another way. There are two people left on the planet – you and the customer. One of you must die. Who’s it gonna be?” Again, in unison the room would answer, “The customer!” Exactly.
Gitomer’s point was well made. We all think we’re the most important person in the world.
We know what our problems are, even though others may not have a clue.
Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.
We might be surprised at the trouble others have seen.
Mentioned in today’s show are two books (they’re both old):
It’s a new week. Go make it a better week for somebody else. It’s the best way I know to make it a good week for yourself. Oh, and one more thing. Don’t tell anybody.
Talk to many highly-accomplished executives, and they will often point out that a key to their success comes from surrounding themselves with good people to consult and bounce ideas off of.
I’d like to crowdsource some information by asking you to leave me a comment here. Here are some of the things I’m hoping you’ll share:
• Do you surround yourself with good people?
• How do you find or determine who “good people” are?
• Do you talk with them regularly, or only when you feel you need their specific expertise?
• What suggestions do you have for the rest of us?
Maybe it's on the other side of this door, "Somewhere beyond your comfort zone."
No, it’s not on the Lance Burton stage in Las Vegas. Well, not this kind of magic. This magic is what some call flow, or epiphany, or a breakthrough. It’s some moment of stellar performance or spectacular accomplishment. I suppose it could be some magical solution to a problem.
It crosses into all areas of life: sports, education, business, science, technology, family, relationships, personal development and any other area of human endeavor.
Most often the answer I get is, “Somewhere beyond your comfort zone!”
The assumption is that as long as you’re pushing the boundaries of where you’re comfortable, then you’re making progress. And if you’re not pushing that boundary, then you’ll never find magic. Is that true?
I’m uncomfortable at heights. Being on the ground feels safe, secure and comfortable. Confidence eludes me at heights. My hands get sweaty. Anxiety soars. Unless magic is defined as being so nervous you pee your pants, then heights aren’t where magic happens for me.
Alex Honnold experiences magic at heights. Hailed as the world’s greatest free climber (that means he’s crazy), Alex enjoys climbing the sheerest sides of rock with nothing more than his hands and feet. No tethers. Oh, and he’s insanely fast about it.
Which one of us is right about where magic happens?
Alex is comfortable at heights. What’s he afraid of? I don’t know, but we’re all afraid of something.
Should he discard his love of free climbing and pursue something else? Or does the fact that he’s world-class at what he does change things?
Consider a few things:
• Magic isn’t always associated with a comfort zone – either being in it or out of it.
• Magic most often occurs when people are pursuing their natural abilities.
• Circumstances and opportunities impact magic, but a person may be able to alter both.
• Magic has no formula because magic has no quantifiable definition.
• Magic for one may be failure for another.
• Magic isn’t permanent, any more than failure.
• Magic is more likely to find those who actively seek it most. Emphasis on “actively.”
• Magic occurs in every endeavor and every pursuit. For somebody. Sometimes.
• Magic is elusive.
• Magic is tough to hold on to.
• Complacency is the enemy of magic.
• Another enemy is the assumption you can maintain it.
What once produced magic may not produce it again.
• Magic respects no one.
