Tag Archives: Future

Are you planting the seeds of future success today?

July 10, 2021 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.”

David Bly

This quote is akin to having a retirement philosophy based on playing the lottery. If you do the math, it just doesn’t work. If you don’t invest, you can’t reap the returns when you need to in the future.  

To be successful means you have to choose to sacrifice. You have to put aside that shallow want and buckle down and do the work. Only then can you begin to think about the harvest.  

Where are you planting the seeds of future success today? I.E., where are you putting in the work?

Is your identity based on where you are going?

July 9, 2021 By in Leadership Tags: , , Leave a comment

“It isn’t where you come from; it’s where you’re going that counts.”

Ella Fitzgerald

So many people choose to live their lives with labels assigned to them by their past instead of creating a new identity. The beauty of life is that we are never merely a collection of experiences and the things we have done. We all have the opportunity to be something more, to become something meaningful. So, where are you going, who do you want to become?

Dreaming is all about the “what if…”

March 4, 2021 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.”

Gloria Steinem

When combined, the two most impactful words in the English language are, “what and if…”

What if this were possible?

What if it works? 

What if my dream comes true?

What if they are all wrong…

What is the future you are building?

January 7, 2021 By in Leadership Tags: , , Leave a comment

“If you want to know the past, to know what has caused you, look at yourself in the PRESENT, for that is the past’s effect. If you want to know your future, then look at yourself in the PRESENT, for that is the cause of the future.”

Majjhima Nikaya

Do you like what you see in the mirror? Do you like your present self? If you could go back in time and tell your past self to do something different, what would it be? We all have the opportunity every single day.

The real question is; what are you going to do about it right now…?

What is failure?

December 28, 2020 By in Leadership Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

“You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.”

Johnny Cash

I love this quote because, for me, it defines the difference between failure and growth. If you do the things listed here, then it isn’t a failure.   It is merely an experience that didn’t turn out the way you wanted.  Then you can learn from it and go forward better and smarter.  

Failure is refusing to learn.  

Failure is blaming someone or something else.  

Failure is quitting.  

Failure is letting the past control you instead of owning the opportunity to do something better based on the first-hand experience of what doesn’t work.

Do you spend your time focused on “as it is,” or “as it should be?”

December 19, 2020 By in Leadership Tags: , , Leave a comment

“When we take people merely as they are, we make them worse; when we treat them as if they were what they should be, we improve them as far as they can be improved.” 

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Do you take this perspective with others? Do you see people as their best and brightest selves? How do your views and interactions change when you intentionally shift your mind from the “as they are” to the “what they should be” viewpoint? What questions would you ask, and what changes would you make when you take the latter view?

What about yourself? Do you spend your time in an “as you are” or “as you should be” mindset? More importantly, when you make the mental shift, what action are you going to take for yourself or others? 

How will you choose to play the cards you are dealt?

November 9, 2020 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“It’s not about the cards you’re dealt, but how you play the hand.”

Randy Pausch

It can be natural to look at the cards in your hand and wish they were different. You can undoubtedly stare at the five of hearts and imagine what it would have been like to get the ace of spades instead. But lamenting what you didn’t get won’t help you with the cards you do hold.

Worrying about what you don’t have only serves to steal joy from the gifts and blessings right under your nose. Learning to appreciate and celebrate those gifts, recognizing to millions of other people the cards you hold are priceless beyond measure, enables you to experience the greatest freedom in life.  

‘And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ‘ Luke 12:25-26 

Through what lens are you choosing to view your life?

September 30, 2020 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“If you do not think about your future, you cannot have one.”

John Galsworthy

Given the unique times we currently live in, where every day feels like groundhog day, it can be hard to think of and be aware of a desired and intentional future. But isn’t this the most important time to be future-oriented? How else can you provide meaning and context to the efforts that you are putting forth on a daily basis?

I am continually amazed by how many people don’t have a plan for their lives. In essence, they don’t have a life plan, they have an “existence plan.” Goals and dreams exist, but none of the hard and intentional work which is required to bring those things into fruition is ever done. I don’t understand this approach to life though I have been guilty of it many many times. It is so easy to get caught up in the here and now and forget all about the future you desire to create.

Whenever I get captured by the current moment I find it useful to think of my perception of time as a “dual-lens” metaphor.

selective focus photo of magnifying glass

On one side of the continuum you have the magnifying glass. An incredibly powerful and useful tool that allows you to see up close and observe intricate details about where you are right now in life.

gray stainless steel telescope

On the other side of the spectrum you have the telescope. A powerful tool which allows you to see with great clarity those things which are an incredible distance from you.

Being able to switch between a “dual-lens” approach to viewing the world is the key to capturing the future, your future, and then bringing it into the here and now. You have to be able to see over the horizon and then create the specific focus needed TODAY in order to make the future you see reality.

Practice asking yourself this question. “Should I be using my telescope or my magnifying glass today?” Both tools are extremely useful, you just have to use the right one at the right time…

selective focus photo of magnifying glassgray stainless steel telescope

Without vision what is the purpose?

September 27, 2020 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“Vision is a destination – a fixed point to which we focus all effort. Strategy is a route – an adaptable path to get us where we want to go.”

Simon Sinek

This is one of the best statements I have ever seen for codifying the difference between vision and strategy. For example, you might have the personal vision to use your life to positively and permanently impact the lives of others. This vision doesn’t change course dramatically as you move through life, if anything your vision will become more and more refined and perhaps even narrower as you more fully understand your purpose and reason for being.

The strategies you choose to actualize your vision will by necessity change and evolve as the world changes and as you change. Those things which worked 10 years ago to enable your vision might have lost their effectiveness or perhaps are tools and techniques you might have outgrown.

A good friend and mentor reminded me about 7 – 8 months ago of this simple wisdom from the book of Proverbs. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18

Simply put, without a vision, all the effort we put into living our lives is suboptimal to our true calling and capabilities. All the strategies, routes, and plans mean nothing, if you don’t know where you are going…

a writing on the wall
Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Pexels.com

Can you free your dreams with superpowers?

September 23, 2020 By in Leadership Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

“The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious.”

John Scully

There is nothing more joyous than seeing the world through the eyes of your children. The wonder and joy they express when learning something new is simply incredible to witness. Just tonight my three-year-old son’s dinosaur balloon was caught at the top of the ceiling and he asked me to help him get it down. His exact words were “Please Daddy can you get my dinosaur balloon? It’s stuck, can you use your superhero powers to get it for me?”

In his mind, my ability to get the balloon was a superpower. He could see a future where he got his balloon back and figured out a way to make it happen.

Perhaps we all need to be a bit more like children. We should attempt to see the world the way we want it to be and then use or find some superpowers to make it happen…

pexels-photo-1148998.jpeg
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Pexels.com

Don’t be “most people…”

July 27, 2020 By in Leadership Tags: , , Leave a comment

“We have enough people who tell it like it is—now we could use a few who tell it like it can be. ”

Robert Orben

people doing group hand cheer
Photo by Dio Hasbi Saniskoro on Pexels.com

Do you have people in your life who tell you what is wrong with you? What is wrong with your life? What you are missing? Why you aren’t enough? Ignore them! Ignore the shallow souls who will limit what you are and who you can become because of the limits and boundaries they have created around their own lives.

You probably have more than enough people in your life telling you how you should be and how you need to live. Seek out and surround yourself with people who are positively driven and inspire you to be more, do more, become more. Most people aren’t like this. Most people don’t invest the time effort and energy into these thoughts. If you want to become more than most people you have to surround yourself with those who aren’t like most. Find people that are relentlessly focused on being more, helping more, serving more, becoming more, doing more, just more more more.

It always amazes me when seemingly unrelated things come together in a profound and meaningful way. I had one of those moments this morning when I sat down to write this post after having done my morning devotional. The verse I was studying this morning, after I had already chosen my quote for the day, couldn’t be more appropriate or aligned.

‘You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. ‘ Ephesians 4:22-24

Put off your old self, and those who will contain and limit you to a former way of life. Embrace those who will help you define and create your new self and become the person God meant you to be.

Bring the future home…

June 14, 2020 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.”

Alan Lakein

The key here is that you must have put in the time, effort, and energy into thinking about the future you want to create. So often people seem to simply exist through life or react to the world around them and then they get frustrated that their “plans“ haven’t come true.

You don’t really have a plan if you haven’t defined what you want the future to look like. You just have activities. You have energy expended with no defined return…

Define the future you want to create. Plan your work. Work your plan.

Focus on the sowing…

January 23, 2020 By in Leadership Tags: , , Leave a comment

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.”

Robert Louis Stevenson

In today’s world it is so easy to think that we must see the results immediately or the action is wasted. We are a world that is addicted to immediacy. But that is simply not how the world works. Just look at nature to see this brought to life most simply and powerfully.

Life has many seasons. Some are seasons of planting. Some are seasons of harvest. Some are seasons of rest and rejuvenation so that seeds planted later can take root and grow. But most importantly, not every day is harvest day.

Not every conversation is supposed to produce results, at least not immediate results. Not every action will deliver an immediate and measured return.

But every conversation matters. Every action matters. Every interaction is important. Because these are the seeds that you are planting in yourself, in others and in the world. Plant the right seeds with an eye to growth, not harvest. Plant the seeds in a way that they will fall on good soil and grow to produce grain in the future…

Accept and learn…

January 7, 2020 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“If you let your past control your present, then you will never have a future.”

Suzie Davis

“Learn from the past, but don’t live from it” is some advice that a very wise person once gave to me. Easy to say, harder to do day in and day out.

It is easier to let the past define you if you look at the future through the lens of what has been instead of what could be. How do you change this? Learn to accept that what has happened is well and solidly behind you, there is NOTHING that you can do to change it. However that doesn’t mean that you are allowed to forget it or ignore that it happened.

The key to the future you WANT to create is to ask yourself one question every day. “What did I do today, or learn from today, that I can use to build my tomorrow?”

Your past doesn’t define you, unless you let it…

Build a winning tomorrow…

October 4, 2019 By in Leadership Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.”

Lyndon B. Johnson

How easy it is to get lost fighting the battles from our past days. We can get so wrapped up in what did, or didn’t, happen in our lives. I know that I will find myself replaying a conversation in my mind and thinking of better responses or rethinking my actions in response to a certain situation.

I believe this can be a valuable, and extremely beneficial habit to form. But it has to be done with an eye clearly on the future and how one needs to grow and evolve towards building a better self. Taking the time to reflect and learn is a powerful way to grow forward into the next day.

How do you ensure that you don’t get lost in yesterday, forgetting that the time has passed and it doesn’t define your present day or the tomorrow that is yet to come? I find that taking 15 minutes at the end of each day to answer the following questions in a daily journal helps me process the day, and focus on creating wins.

  • What happened in the past day?
  • What were my biggest wins?
  • What lessons did I learn?
  • What am I thankful for right now?
  • How am I feeling right now?
  • What did I read or hear?
  • What stood out from what I read or heard?
  • What do I need to do next to move forward on my goals?

I know these are a lot of questions to run through, and I fully admit that I don’t get to do this every single day. However when I skip a day I find the next morning to be a little less focused, a little less intentionally crafted.

Over the years I have played with the order of these questions, and with different questions, and on occasion I will replace one with a different inquiry to address a specific challenge or need in my life. For example, if I am taking time off with the family I will modify “What were my biggest wins” into “What were my biggest wins as a husband, as a father?” The point isn’t to get stuck on the questions themselves but instead to focus on learning from the day and very specifically shaping what you need to do to create wins tomorrow.

As a side note I do believe the order of the questions is very important. That’s why I end with “what did I learn” and “what do I need to do” questions. Those reset my head and help me focus on tomorrow.

Active Reflection

To ensure that I follow through on my goals of daily reflection I use the journalling app “Day One.” I love that I can capture my thoughts in a simple to use mechanism that is always with me. I have used a paper journal to do this in the past but I found that it was too easy to forget or that it allowed me to create an excuse to not do the practice. There are tons of digital journals out there, so do whatever works for you. The key is to find a method that enables you to process today with a relentless focus on building a better future.

Be ready and mindful that today will be a ‘yesterday’ very very soon. Take the time at the end of the day to reflect and intentionally build a winning tomorrow. You’ll be glad you did.

Today is the foundation of tomorrow…

September 24, 2019 By in Leadership Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

“Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow.”

Robert Kiyosaki

Maybe tomorrow will be the right time to start that project, but not today, I’m too busy…

Next week will be a better time to tackle that tough conversation head on, but not today, I just don’t have the energy to deal with it…

I’ll start reading that book on breaking bad habits next month, but not right now, there is just too much going on and I don’t have time…

I’ll start spending more time with my family when I get through this busy season at work, but I can’t right now, they’ll understand that I am doing this for them anyway…

It is amazing how many excuses we can create to put off or delay work that will make the biggest difference in our lives. In our “instant gratification” society it seems that all that matters is living in the moment. The easy things we embrace, but the hard things we put off or ignore. But if we want to create a tomorrow that we will be able to live in fully and completely, we have to do the work today.

Yesterday can’t be changed, fixed or undone. Tomorrow is just a dream. Today is the only day that matters if you want to make your visions come true. Live it fully and completely and do the work that will be the foundation for your future.

Be happy…

August 22, 2019 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so, wants nothing.” 

Seneca

Every day our world and society demands us to want more things. That we should covet more stuff, more experiences, all those things that others have and we don’t. It can feel like the entire world is aimed at helping us focus on what we don’t have RIGHT NOW and thus seeding discontentment and disappointment.

Now there is nothing wrong with dreams and goals. Nothing wrong with desiring to do and be more in our one “wild and precious life.” Obviously I have written about the power of goals many times. The disconnect occurs when those things are all that one thinks about, worries about, stresses over or devotes themselves to becoming.

Living for the future is to neglect the incredible gifts and blessings we have been given TODAY. I personally fight this battle constantly, and it has been a constant battle through my life. It is a daily struggle to put down the focus on tomorrow and to simply be in the moment today. But when I do it, and shift my energy to being fully present with gratitude for exactly where I am TODAY all the seeds of discontentment and anxiety disappear as if blown away by a strong wind.

Ask yourself this question: What is it today that I am most grateful for in my life? I have found that answering this question has an amazing way of pulling one back to the present moment and focusing energy on where one is. It keeps the distractions of life at bay and for those, like me, who have a tendency to live in and for the future, it puts me solidly in the present moment. Try it out, write it down every morning and see what happens. You might find yourself happier than you have ever been.

What is the forecast today?

August 12, 2019 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”

Alan Kay

What do you want your future to look like? Can you imagine it? Taste it? See it so clearly that it is almost real? Does it feel like a prediction or a just a dream?

There is a big difference between those that predict their future and those that only dream about it. Dreamers might see their dreams come true, but only after they step forward into creating the necessary effort to make it possible. Once a person makes that critical step they move from dreaming into the world of prediction. Prediction says “I believe this will happen based on my knowledge, experience and the action I am taking.”

Does this guarantee every prediction will come true? Of course not. Sometimes things just don’t work out the way we think they will. Sometimes this is for the very best. Because it allows us to recenter, dream again and predict a new and even better future. We control our own forecast through the choices and predictions we make.

What is your forecast today?

Learn from the past, focus on the future…

July 31, 2019 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.”

Pope John XXIII

Why do we let “the past,” which is only a memory in our minds, get in the way of what is possible in the future? Unfortunately it is human nature to get wrapped up in what didn’t work or what went wrong and we lose focus on what is yet to come. The key is to focus on learning from the failures with the intent to use that knowledge to get better.

If you value every experience as an opportunity to grow and improve then you will be able to learn from the past but focus on the future.

Today will be the foundation…

July 29, 2019 By in Leadership Tags: , , Leave a comment

“My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life.”

Miles Davis

Today might be the day that one day you will look back on and realize was the foundation of everything. Since that is the case what will you be doing today to make sure it is one that you are proud of?

Don’t be the boat anchor…

July 7, 2019 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“We have enough people who tell it like it is—now we could use a few who tell it like it can be.”

Robert Orben

We all know people that are eternal optimists. They find the good in every situation, every circumstance, every opportunity. The challenge with these folks sometimes is that they can’t see always see when they need to make a change to adjust to a changing situation.

The perpetual pessimist is on the opposite end of the continuum. This is the person that is cynical and negative 100% of the time. These types are the boat anchors of progress and will standing in the way of change and progress through their constant negativity.

What is the right type? I would argue that the ideal is a person that lives on the optimistic side of the spectrum but isn’t so far out on the continuum that they can’t and won’t listen to reality. These are the folks that see the future for what it can be and have the ability to look past the current state without being blind to the challenges ahead.

No matter what, don’t be the person known as the boat anchor!

Giving more is an investment…

April 30, 2019 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

 “My father taught me to always do more than you get paid for as an investment in your future.”

Jim Rohn

My Dad had a very similar life lesson that he preached to my brother and myself. His lesson was “do whatever it takes to get the job done, no matter what, and then do a little more.” That has been a principle I have followed my entire life. No matter what it takes, get the job done, and do a little bit more.

I really like how this quote frames out very specifically that you should always do more than you are paid, because you are making an investment. Investments have returns and if you keep making them those returns will continue to grow. It isn’t just a money thing either, this wisdom could apply to life and how you treat others, how you serve others and how you spend your time. Always give more than expected…

What are you doing today that will matter in the future?

January 30, 2019 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“The future depends on what we do in the present.”

Mahatma Gandhi

Ten years ago what were your dreams for the future? Did you achieve them? What future did you want to create? How did you make it happen? 2009 doesn’t seem like it was all that long ago, yet a lot has happened over the past ten years. Did those years build up to create what you expected and desired? How will it look over the next 10 years?

Was there anything you did today that will create the future you want in five years? Ten years? Sometimes it might be the big things, others just the small things but the focus has to be on doing the right things today that will be meaningful in the future that you want to create.

Best & Worst…

January 4, 2019 By in Leadership, Priorities Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“We can not predict what will happen tomorrow, but we can prepare ourselves to face it.”

Ophelia Callens

What is the best, and worst, that can happen? When you think about life in these extremes you can begin to prepare for a future that might become reality, but isn’t guaranteed.

Sometimes being prepared is all the difference needed to turn a worst into a best instead…

Time to start the new year!

January 1, 2019 By in Leadership Tags: , , 2 Comments

“What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven’t even happened yet.”

Anne Frank

I love this quote when thinking about the new year. Too often we get mired in where we have been, and forget about where we are going and, more importantly, who we are going to spend time with.

I am very goal driven so it is easy for me to get locked into a regimen of objectives and tasks and forget to focus on the people I am blessed to have in my life. One of my goals for 2019 is to capture the special moments each week involving the people I love and journal about them so I can capture those moments and not lose them in a sea of forgotten memories. Who knows, maybe some of those moments will be the best days of my life!

I hope you have a blessed and Happy New Year!

The future is now…

November 11, 2018 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment
“When you do the things in the present that you can see, you are shaping the future that you are yet to see.”
 
Idowu Koyenikan

The future is made today, one focused action at a time.

Sometimes it is really hard to know exactly what the future is going to hold. But you can see today, and what needs to be done today.

It’s easy to get lost in the dreams of tomorrow but without hard work and focus on what is in the here and now, the future, no matter how well conceived and envisioned, will never happen.

What do you need to do today to make the future possible?

Asking good questions is the key to the future…

August 29, 2018 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.”

Albert Einstein

I recently finished reading a biography on Einstein,  (Einstein: His Life & Universe by Walter Isaacson) that was a fascinating look inside the mind and accomplishments of one of histories great thinkers.  He had an insatiable curiosity and hated conformity throughout his life which framed his ability to question everything.  He was flawed as a human, as we all are, but is a truly fascinating study and this book is a very worthwhile read.  

I tend to think about the world in a slightly different order than outlined in the quote above.  For me it is Future, Past, Present.   For example, taking some time regularly to think about questions framed out in this way: 

Questions for tomorrow: What is truly important?  What do I hope and dream about?  Why does this stir my soul?  What is my purpose?  How can I live that authentically? 

Questions for the past: What did I learn?  Why did this happen?  What could/should I have done differently?  What was my greatest regret?  Greatest joy?

Questions for today: What should I be doing differently right now?  Given what I know about the past, and where I want to go in the future, what is my focus for today?  How am I actually living versus how I desire to live?   What will I need to do today to make this happen? 

There are tons of other questions to ask yourself in each of these buckets.  Ultimately our ability to grow is based on asking great questions, learning from the answers, and implementing changes today based on those answers.  

I firmly believe that if we ever stop asking questions, we stop growing.  The potential future self that is locked inside all of us dies with those unasked questions…

 

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