Do you want to make each day memorable?
How do you define success…? The reason I’m asking is that there is a national conversation going on redefining success and what it means for each person.
I was privileged to attend a conference which took on this subject for us as modern business professionals, and wanted to share some thought provoking gems.
Arianna Huffington (CEO of Huffington Post) and Mika Brzezinski (Host of Morning Joe) hosted a conference called “The Third Metric: Redefining Success Beyond Money & Power” The day focused on redefining success – instead of the current “male-dominated model of success, which equates success with sleep deprivation and driving ourselves into the ground and isn’t working for women, or men” to a new definition that includes “well-being, wisdom, our ability to wonder and our ability to make a difference in the world.”
I’ll share with you some quotes that may serve as inspiration, and help you take actions to create the life you want:
1) Senator Claire McCaskill: “The days you remember are the days you do something memorable”
Even though she had meetings starting at 8am on the day of the conference, Senator McCaskill talked about spending the early morning watching “Sex in the City” reruns with her daughter in a hotel room — that was memorable for her! She also told how her daughters gifted her a calendar with each month reflecting one of their favorite ‘moments’ growing up in the family (hint: Mothers Day or Fathers Day gift idea for any of you!) Make even mundane moments memorable.
2) Arianna Huffington: “No is a complete sentence”
Whenever we are asked to do something we always feel that we have to give a truthful, justifiable backstory explaining the important reasons that give you practically no choice but to say no! And we apologize for it. We feel guilty, or rude.
Good for you that you care about the requester and want to help them.
However, did you know that research on young children shows that the single best predictor of a child’s behavior is its mother’s (or parent’s) mental health? It’s not an indulgence to take care of yourself!
Ask yourself, what early warning signs signal you need start saying ‘no?’ When do you need to stay home and get into bed to read a book rather than go out to another event? When do you need uninterrupted time to think and advance your biggest project rather than get bogged down giving minor input into a lot of other people’s projects?
I too want to do it all. We all do. Life is an exciting playground these days. If you really want to make a contribution (and earn handsomely as you do) then you must narrow your choices to one or two initiatives that will best benefit from your unique gifts. And then dig deep into making a difference in those very few places or with those people.
3. Katie Couric (News Anchor): “Why didn’t I know this person better?”
We discussed how we are all so distracted and how hard it is to connect at a deeper level when technology is so seductive. Katie Couric revealed that if she is doing a story on someone wonderful who had died, she might ask herself: “why didn’t I know this person better?” And it makes her reflect on how she’s spending her time and what she really wants to be doing with her time. What’s your version of “Why didn’t I know this person better?”
4. John Mackey (CEO of Whole Foods, the popular healthy foods mega-store): “The company was unable to evolve until I evolved”
He talked about changing his approach from being a ‘bottom line’ kind of business person to a leader focused on the ‘triple bottom line of people, planet, profits’ and became more service-oriented in the process. So, a pearl of wisdom for you to reflect on: If you think about the results you want to get in your business or on your team… how might your own personal level of development be standing in the way? How might you need to evolve as a person in order to create the results you want? Make a short list of your intuitive answers. Do one a day to make each day memorable.
How can you make each day memorable? How do you need to evolve? What can you do to ‘know this person better?” Share your response via the comments below.
