Happy Friday!!
What’s Holding You Back? (post by Kirk Weisler)
It was on this week (May the 6th actually) in 1954 that Richard Bannister, a 25-year-old medical student in Oxford, England became the first person recorded to have run a mile in less than four minutes. He finished the mile in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. Until then, many thought the four-minute barrier was impossible to break and some even thought it would overwork the athlete to the point of death. It did not, of course. Bannister didn’t hold the record for long though. After demonstrating that it could be done he broke the psychological barrier for many other athletes who would break the four-minute barrier in his wake. He stands as a testament that the mind can subdue the body into false limitations, but with dedication and focus we can use the mind to our advantage to reach beyond those limitations and into higher strata of achievement.
I don’t personally identify with Roger Bannister ( I can’t imagine myself being the first to knock down significant world record barriers – which is probably a personal problem I need to deal with!) But I can more easily identify with all those guys who broke the 4 minute mile after the mental barrier had been broken. I know I have limits…and I also know that I have rarely if ever come close to reaching them…or realizing my potential. Why? Because of other limits….the ones I have placed on myself or have allowed others to place on me. (Emphasis on “have allowed”).
What’s holding you back?
What limits have you placed on yourself or allowed others to place on you?
What would you do or strive to become if you knew you could not fail?
“If you want to reach a goal, you must ’see the reaching’ in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal” Zig Ziglar
“Seek to become not to acquire” (post by Kirk Weisler)
Today’s T4D was inspired one posted in 2009 titled “Seek to become not to acquire.”
One day as my wife Rebecca was talking to a group of teens she said, ”Seek to become not to acquire.” A strong compliment to her personal philosophy of being a human becoming rather than just a human being.
With a world that seems to encourage the acquisition of more and more things…. we may soon find that instead of owning things …our thing own us. The move towards simplification is also a move towards freedom. (I came across this interesting book… haven’t read it yet.)
“Seek to become not to acquire.” — Just 6 words …. but 6 words that say and suggest so much.
I believe that these 6 words can have great meaning in the corporate context as well. Some seek to acquire power, position, security or influence …. others realize those outcomes as a natural consequence of their personal development and becoming.
In our seeking to become rather than to acquire… we can free ourselves from the clutter of comparison, worry, and insecurity because we have replaced them with knowledge, confidence and strength.
While others go through the motions out of pattern and habit… let us stay in motion to create habits that matter.
Let us choose wisely to not just ”go through the day”… but to grow through the day.
Kirk Out
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Big League Service at a Little League Price (post by Kirk Weisler)
Just returned from the great state of OHIO where I was working with some wonderful people. Even though I was just in town for one night I chose to stay at the Residence Inn (great price and I prefer the Marriott brand). I am so glad I did and the picture above is why. I had never in all my stays at Marriott or any other brand received a package of bubble gum as an in room gift. I have received mints and chocolates on pillows or night stands. Nice, but honestly not that note worthy these days because mints and chocolates have been done for so long they have become invisible.
But when I walked in and saw a pack of BIG LEAGUE CHEW – it certainly caught my attention. Back in the day, when all my high school buddies were chewing real Tobacco…I chewed BIG LEAGUE. But more than just leaving it there – they even placed a note on it that read. “It’s always a home run when you stay with us…” and “Thanks for CHEWSing Us!”
Now that is providing the customer with a BIG LEAGUE EXPERIENCE at a Little League Price.
It’s creativity, innovation, customer service … and bubble gum all wrapped into one little thoughtful package! If they can do it…then we can do it. It doesn’t take a BIG LEAGUE budget to hit a home run with customers or co-workers. Certainly something to chew on.
Make it a great day!
Kirk
IF, How Thinking – Right Elbow to Left Knee (post by Kirk Weisler)
The ‘if’ thinker broods over a difficulty or a setback. The ‘how’ thinker wastes no energy on postmortem when trouble or even disaster hits him. He immediately starts looking for the best solution.” –Norman Vincent Peale
Most of you probably knew this.. about Rodin’s famous statue ”The Thinker” , but I didn’t learn it until age 45. The statue depicts a man whose right elbow is touching his left knee… which ironically, viewed without much thought is meaningless. But when attempted physically this pose feels pretty unnatural. In fact when you try it(and I have)… it’s hard to do….or at least uncomfortable. Like thinking it requires effort…and can be uncomfortable especially when it may be about the things we need to change or do differently. Wonderful symbolism.
Then even hard still – is moving from the thinking stage to the doing stage. Execution….heck that’s like doing YOGA and placing your right ankle behind your left ear. 
A tiny bit more about Rodin’s – The Thinker
Auguste Rodin conceptualized ‘The Thinker’ in 1880, enlarged it between 1902 and 1904, and finally cast it in 1925. It is not only Rodin’s most famed work of art, but possibly also the world’s most recognized statue. ‘The Thinker’ is a breathtaking glimpse in human nature. This muscular, bronze man, sitting atop a large rock, resting his right elbow on his left knee, and leaning his head upon his hand, is undoubtedly thinking. Even if you did not know the title of this piece, you would instantly deduce from his posture, his intense facial expression, and the sculptor’s remarkable technique in producing body language, that the figure is pondering a weighty issue. ‘The Thinker’ leaves a long-lasting impression in every viewer’s mind. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker
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