Toronto, April 25, 9.30pm

Give Yourself More Time For The-Things-That-Will-Create-More-You

The Main Thing is to do the thing the way the thing is meant to be done. The more skilled you become, the faster you may be able to do the thing. Or not. There is a gestation period for everything. Sometimes the gestation period can be accelerated and sometimes not. If you’re producing another human, no matter how skilled you are, the process is going to take as long as it has always taken. There are ways of doing it better. But there are no ways to do it faster.  On the other hand, if you’re producing a fine wine or a smoky Single Malt, the better you become, the longer it takes. In fact, the producers of these beverages tout the longevity of their processes as proof of their superiority.

The world is full of people who try to accelerate processes that cannot be accelerated. Doing it faster has become an end in itself. They go for the quick win or the short cut. And they usually come short. You can always tell when something has been done faster than it should have been. Something is incomplete. It provokes dissatisfaction. It insults the person for whom it has been done. It says it could have been done better if more time was invested in it. It’s crude when it should have been polished or amateur when it should have been professional or careless when it should have been oh-so-careful.

Here’s my version of the Serenity Prayer:

O Lord, help me understand what can be speeded up.
Give me the patience to understand what cannot.

And give me the wisdom to know the difference.

So take as long as you need to take to do what you do well, but no longer. Trust your instincts, learn from experience and listen to your clients or customers. Resist the siren call to hurry up what haste will destroy. And give yourself the time to do it right even if you think you don’t have any more time. Here is my plea to you:

Give Yourself More Time For The-Things-That-Will-Create-More-You

I making this plea because it will help you start what you need to start and finish what you need to finish.. When so many things are being forced upon us, we are forced to do what we may not want to do. Even worse, we may be forced to do things that are diminishing our personal power. You know what those things are. They are the things that make you want to gag, scream, cry, groan, sigh or run away. And you know what’s even worse than that? The more successful you become, the more you will have to do the things that didn’t make you successful in the first place. They’re also likely to make your success short-lived. It’s called Lipkin’s Curse: Success attracts the Administrivia that eventually destroys it.

Unless you’re a monarch, a magnate or a major bigshot, you’re going have to find a way to manage your administrivia. There’s no way around it. But you’re also going to have find a way to do more of The-Things-That-Will-Create-More-You. Hey, if I can you can. I’m a micro-entrepreneur running a business with two employees and a network of hundreds of partners. I have to master the small-stuff or bad stuff will happen. But I also know that if I don’t do The Main Thing like writing these words, I’ll die. I’ll lose my power, my focus, my clarity, my value-to-others, my vitality, my reason-for-being. I’m not hyperbolizing here. Sharing these words with you is my lifeblood.

So how do I find the time to write when I’m engaged in the 24-7 quest for survival and success? It’s a non-negotiable priority. It’s a night-time, weekend-time, lunch-time, any-spare-time pursuit. Not all the time, but when it needs to be done. Whenever you don’t do what you know you should do, it’s never a matter of ability. It’s always a matter of priority. Once you commit to your priority, you’ll be amazed at how much time will open up for you.

One final comment: Even the most solitary actions are partnerships with others – especially the most-important-others-in-your-life. I began writing this piece and others early this afternoon. It’s now late at night. My wife accepted it. She actually encouraged it. She helped me create the space and the quiet to do it. No fuss. No guilt. No complaints. Help your partner do the same by being that kind of partner for her. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to celebrate the day’s words with my partner. Sweet.

Toronto, April 13 2009, 10.20pm

I won’t lie to you, it’s been a tough few weeks. I’ve questioned myself. I’ve questioned my power. I’ve questioned my business model. I’ve questioned my future. Although about 6.5 billion other people are being impacted by the global economic meltdown, it doesn’t make it any easier for me to know that. This is a struggle that is as individual as it is collective. It’s a struggle that brings us face to face with the doubts and the devil within. No matter what our past success may be, the future holds a special terror for us all.

But like you, I soldiered on. I have people who depend on me. I have people who believe in me. I have people who have already paid me to help them manage their future. Failure is never an option. Giving up is never an option. Breaking down is never an option. Never. That’s not what is at stake here. I will survive. You will survive. Human beings are designed to survive. Survival is a given. Soaring with the eagles is not. Up there is where I belong, gliding in the slipstream of angels. Until last Thursday, my wings felt heavy, waxen and sluggish although you would never have guessed it. I fought the good fight, delivered the good talks and walked the good walk. It was an effort. It was what a professional does in the absence of heartfelt lightness of being. In a way I’m proud of my ability to transcend my inner feelings. But I was also alarmed at the disappearance of my natural joie de vivre and inbred readiness for the crises ahead. Sound familiar? I’m often asked how I stay so motivated all the time. Now you know. I don’t. I suffer and slip and stumble just like you do.

It all changed last Wednesday. It could have been the way my wife kissed me that morning. It could have been the effortless three kilometres I swam at the pool on the 36th floor of The TD Tower in downtown Toronto. It could have been the rise in Dow Jones. It could have been the three engagements I won in quick succession. It could have been the extraordinary conversation I had with my friends, Ken Allen and Christian Roy. It could have been the completion of my new video series. It could have been any of these things. What I believe is that my light returned. Something is stirring. Something spectacular. The energy is resurging. The passion is reflowing. The determination is recharging. And the opportunities are re-multiplying. It’s the beginning of the next phase, whatever that phase is.

We all need a day like last Wednesday. When you’re ready, they will appear. I was ready then. I’m ready now. I’ll be ready tomorrow. And that’s the message of this blog: Be Ready. When your light comes shining, your power will be released.