Uplifting Service

“We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.”_Henry Melvill

Working with others, serving others, and benefiting them, this is what invariably creates true success. We earn success by translating what we love to do into something that other people will love to have. 

No one succeeds alone; great success always involves adding value to people besides ourselves. This is true not only in the world of business but also in personal world of relationships. 

Whether at home, in business, or in the community—remarkable success is largely dependent on meaningful contribution we can make in the lives of others. 

Though individual missions may be different, our core purpose should include making significant, positive impact in the lives of people that surround us. 

This is the basis of a meritorious life as Ron Kaufman, writes in his book, ‘Uplifting Service’: “Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves.” 

You see, whatever we do for another, we also do for ourselves. By diligently serving others, we are indirectly serving ourselves. With this in mind, I encourage you to heed the call of Steve Maraboli, the author of ‘The Five Truths’ who said:

"Don't wait for other people to be loving, giving, compassionate, grateful, forgiving, generous, or friendly... lead the way!" 

So, in your own local community, endeavor to passionately serve other people not just for what you can get in return but for the overall good of the society. 

Never forget, alone, we can do so little, but by serving others dutifully, we can accomplish so much.

Now, I dare you to lead the way in gratitude, to lead the way in compassion, and finally, to lead the way in uplifting service.

Placement: Making Time for What Matters

“Every minute you spend in planning saves 10 minutes in execution; this gives you a 1,000 percent return on energy!” ― Brian Tracy

In today’s experience, many of us spend way too much time on things that are pressing and not enough time on things that are important. If you are one of us who tend to behave this way, then I enjoin you to read on.

For starters, what we need to get out of the busyness trap is clarity about what is truly important and designing a concrete plan to making it happen. That plan is what I call placement, which is, another word I choose to represent creating a schedule to ensure that we get essential things done. 

Dictionary defines placement as ‘the act of placing or arranging something in a position or location, or the fact of being placed or arranged in this way.’ For our purpose in this article, that something is not a physical object, but a mental one, like something we want to do or a skill we want to learn.

In essence, placement is about creating a space for our intentions to live in the world. And the peak performance expert, Anthony Robbins explained the concept this way. He said: “If you talk about it, it is a dream, if you envision it, it’s possible, but if you schedule it, it’s real.”

Gretchen Rubin, the author of the book, ‘Better Than Before, Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives,’ agrees to the power of this strategy in that it forces us to prioritize our lives beforehand instead of living on autopilot as usual. 

She explains that by ‘scheduling’ an activity, we instantly turn something we may do into something we ‘must do.’ And as you may attest, there are many things we want to do, but we never do because we don’t have a concrete plan for doing them. Placement is the strategy for creating such a plan to accomplish those things. 

For example:

If I schedule studying for an hour tonight, the schedule gives studying precedence over everything else I can choose to do with the time.

Placement ensures that we are spending our time with purpose, instead of spending it whimsically.

Putting the Lesson into Practice

Again, the main thing about placement strategy is that it brings absolute clarity on what we want to do, when we want to do it, and the time we decide to spend on the activity. 

So we have to first decide what our highest priority is at each moment in our day and then make a clear plan to getting it done.  Basically, this is called schedule, and the dictionary defines it as “a plan of work to be done, showing the order in which tasks are to be carried out and the amounts of time allocated to them.”

By this approach, not only are we going to ensure we are doing the right thing with the very limited time that we have, we will also ensure we are spending the right amount of time on the activity in mind; neither too much time nor too little time, just the predetermined measure allotted.

Say, for example, I make the following plan: 

Every morning, by 6:00am (specific time), I will study for 20 minutes (precise length) in my library (designated place).

With this level of clarity, it is far more difficult for me to give in to distractions and procrastination when my alarm rings.  Furthermore, the firmly fixed schedule protects me from being sidetracked by random 'emergencies' of life.

Now, if you are serious about making any of your good intentions real, stop thinking about it, stop talking about it; just create a simple schedule that you can sustain and follow it religiously.

The First Step to Getting Ahead

“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”_Zig Ziglar

Look closely at the most effective people around you, and you will notice that proaction is a key quality they all possess; they take initiative, they get into action, they take the first step even when they can see the whole stairs.

Truly successful leaders always find a way to start. They begin, despite the presence of uncertainty in the future outcome of their quest. They know that once they get started and keep the momentum up, they can somehow get the help they need. 

While everyone is focused on excuses for why the time isn't right to spring into action, the one destined to win will find reasons to take just one step further in the direction of his/her dreams. 

Now, if I am to point at a living heart who embodies the idea of taking positive action in the midst of insecurity, it’s an amazing visionary named Elon Musk. This adventurous soul courageously started series of revolutionary companies, even though he had real concerns regarding the great risks he was taking. 

But Musk is not one to be hindered by the possibility of failure because he knows that there are no failures in the life of a true winner, only learning experiences. And as a result of his daring attempts, he is now regarded as one of the most resourceful people on the planet. 

Musk deeply understands the insight of the philosopher, Lao Tzu who once said that: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

Today, I want to challenge you to take a lesson from Musk, and get started on the big goal that you have been putting off for years. You can’t continue to delay, for in delay, there is no abundance. And time will never be perfect. 

So man up and take the first step without further ado. Work with the tools you have, and as you proceed, better tools will find their ways to your door. Start by doing what is essential, then proceed to what is possible, and before you realize it, you may end up changing the world as we know it now. 

And Steven Pressfield, the best-selling author of ‘the War of Art’ has some words of advice for you here. He says: “Start before you’re ready.” This is one of the secrets of highly successful people. They start before they feel absolutely ready. They know that a little action can stimulate a great deal of momentum. 

In our frenetic world of constant change, the way to achieving our ambition is to stop the analysis paralysis and get going quickly. This is true whether we want to build a business, write a book, raise a family or rebuild our community.

As written in the book, ‘Just Start,’ by the trio, Leonard Schlesinger, Charles Kiefer, and the veteran journalist Paul Brown, you have to “take action now and learn as you go.” Even if your initial actions create new problems, just make sure you don’t lose the lessons and the opportunities embedded in them.

You see, to get ahead in this life, not only do you have to think ahead, you also need to act ahead. And that means taking positive action sooner, rather than later. Never forget, a great idea implemented today is of more value to the world than a perfect idea that may be implemented tomorrow.

The Journey of Mastery

 “Art calls for complete mastery of techniques, developed by reflection within the soul.”_Bruce Lee

Life is not a sprint but a marathon. By the same token, mastery is not an event but a process; mastery is a lifelong journey. 

And more importantly, mastery doesn’t just happen; we have to diligently work to make it happen. That is to say, mastery never happens by accident but, it is always a result of a conscious decision.

In all fields of endeavours, mastery is earned after a lot of time has been devoted to learning and intense practice. So, if we yearn to become an expert in anything of value, we need to commit ourselves to practicing the thing on a continuous basis.

Without exception, remarkable masters have all had to put in years upon years of labour before they are recognized as icons in their fields. In other words, the creams of the crop in all walks of life willingly demonstrate a greater measure of diligence, commitment and consistency than everyone else.

Today, I want to examine the key to the work ethic of masters so that we can learn from them how to improve and get better in any area that we choose.

Master Yourself First: Change Your Identity

“One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself.”_Leonardo da Vinci

From study and experience, I have learnt that consistency of performance is what separates great masters from amateurs like us. As it usually happens for most of us, sometimes, we are on fire to put in the work, and at other times, it is even hard for us to get up and move. 

However, unlike us, virtuosos have learnt to work with regularity and consistency that may seem impossible for many people. For example Milo of Croton became the strongest man in Athens by lifting a calf, every day, until he was lifting a full grown bull. 

Ray Radbury became an icon of literature simply by writing everyday for more than sixty years. Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian by swimming everyday for over 12 years without a single miss.

So to become like the greats, we need to develop the identity of person who is a master at his or her game. We need to develop the identity of a person who doesn’t miss a practice.

 

We need to shift our focus away from the goals (outcomes) that we actually want to achieve. And redirect our attention to the systems that we can sustain, to the processes that we can follow, not just on our best days, but even on our worst.

In your own life, your new goal is to become the type of person who doesn’t miss a day; the type of person who always shows up to work. Since you now understand that mastery is not an event but a process, your new primary goal is no longer the prize but the consistency of your delivery.

With this in mind, you think less about how you are performing now. And you don’t bother if the work is subpar at the moment. By this approach, know that you have achieved something— however little— by just showing up today.

By shifting your focus away from the ultimate outcome that you desire, you're giving yourself a chance to change and improve. You are giving yourself an opportunity to build momentum and resolve through a slow but steady process.

Certainly, mastery happens through sheer consistency of good performance.  If we practice our craft regularly, we can easily make ourselves better in reasonable time.

Mastering the fundamentals of a skill may be a long journey but we can make it less demanding by redirecting our mindset from outcome orientation to the identity of person who loves showing up to practice, day after day.

All Is Well That Ends Well

“Without ambition, one starts nothing. Without work, one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Irrespective of how great the start is—whatever it is you are working on—know that the main thing lies in how you finish. 

Therefore, I ask:  Are you going to finish strong? 

In the book, ‘Good to Great,’ Jim Collins profiled a high school cross country running team that had won two consecutive state championships. He narrated that in a moment of reflection, one of the coaches asked the head coach the following straightforward question: 

“Why are we so successful, when we are not necessarily working harder than the other teams?” 

The answer from the head coach was simple but powerful. He replied: “The reason for our success is that we run best at the end of races; we run best at the end of the season.” 

They won because they performed most excellently, not at the beginning but at the end of their games. Evidently, spectacular success is largely about finishing strong!

If for any reason you've been trampled by the inexorable stride of time, this short piece is meant to inspire you to finish strong nonetheless. 

Be reminded that the ultimate human weakness is the tendency to put things off, especially when we feel the need to ease up a bit, during the course of our hunt.

But now is not the time to ease off a bit. This is the time of vigorous attack. Therefore, fight off laziness with a blast of constructive self-talk. Instead of saying, ‘I am too tired now, moreover I can get to it later,’ say, ‘I will do it now and relax later,’ or ‘I will pay my full due now and play better later.’

Or imagine the great rewards awaiting you after completing a demanding project.

Think ahead to visualize how your life will change for the better if you persevere to follow through till the end. 

To apply this for real, remember the words of Hal Higdon, the four-time winner of World Masters Championships who said: “The pride in finishing a marathon is much greater than all the pain endured during the marathon.”

It Is Not Over Until It Is Over

In sports as in life, fabulous prizes are never awarded at the beginning. The biggest rewards are delayed till the very end. 

You see, it is not those who start great that get the windfalls of life but those who finish; the most valuable rewards go to the courageous few who choose to complete what they started.

So, I challenge you to bring forth your best at this stage of your game; this is how to join the ranks of the accomplished. Now ponder over what the great American inventor, Thomas Edison has to teach us in this regards. He said:

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” To finish strong, you need to keep this in mind.

Know that if you don’t induce yourself to finish what you started, you won’t experience the rich rewards of an all-out commitment: the bliss of seeing the fruits of your toil.

There are millions of starters in this life but it is the few who have the courage to finish that history will honour. This is what took a motivational author, Eric Thomas a while to discover. He said: “I realized the secret to success is finishing! And not just finishing, but finishing strong!”

Again, it doesn't matter what has happened before. It matters what you'll do now. And the better you get at finishing things, the more confidence you'll earn, the more skills you will develop, the more opportunities you’ll have.

Therefore, renew your decision to overcome your struggles. Allow yourself to sprint powerfully across the finish line. Finish with class, finish with guts. Keep going and finish strong!

Finally, to make this important lesson a lifelong habit, I enjoin you to always keep the words of John Heywood, on top of your mind: “All's well that ends well.”