
I’ve been working on the idea of a podcast for some time now and finally taken the time to do some planning and organizing to move from ‘idea’ to ‘action’. This isn’t the first time I’ve attempted to do a podcast. In the past, I’d get an episode or three completed but then the hectic schedule of life would come crashing along and that’s where things would end.
No More Tomorrow’s
In Todd Henry’s Book The Brave Habit: A Guide to Courageous Leadership, Henry talks about there being a Coward that lives inside each of us “obsessed with self-preservation, self-protection, avoidance of risk, harm to reputation, failure, self-disappointment, and wishful thinking”. To this list I might also add fear of success. I have suffered all of these. It’s difficult to admit but I have failed to step forward because The Coward took the easy path or what appeared easier. However, I’ve come to see that by allowing The Coward to decide, I have passed on Dreaming Big, Stepping Forward and Using my Voice.
Why the change?
A diagnosis of Prostrate Cancer that shook my world. After recovering from the initial shock and a positive diagnosis, I began to become more deliberate about my decisions. This led to deep reflection about what I was doing and where and to whom I was giving my time.
The Paths to Change
As many things that happen which alter the path one is journeying, the diagnosis made me be much more deliberate about how my time. I started where I had started many times before, with a focus on my habits. I decided to delve into this more deeply, rereading Robin Sharma’s The 5 AM Club, Greg McKeown’s Essentialism, and James Clear’s Atomic Habits. Then, this past Christmas, I picked up and read two books that pushed me further, from reading and thinking about doing, to begin to do – it was time for action.
The first was The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. I’ve seen it referenced so many times but, for whatever reason, didn’t pick it up. Then, during a Black Friday shopping spree of Kindle books, I purchased it and began to read, not stopping until I had finished. As I read, I slowly realized that, along with The Coward, I had given in to the Resistance, allowed it to cast its shadow over me and kept me from stepping forward, from making progress and, as Seth Godin says “from sending my work into the world”.
The second was The ONE Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. As I was reading through this book, I realized I needed to define my values. What drove me to do what I do? Where was my heart and where did I want to focus? So I worked through the Core Values exercise that is discussed in the book. After much thought and self-reflection the following stood out: Courage, Abundance, Discipline. For me, at this point in time, these are the three main values driving me to move forward.
Die Empty – Unleash Your Best Work Every Day – Todd Henry
I have read through this book a few different times. At the start of the book, Todd recounts a conversation he had one day in which there was a discussion about the most valuable land in the world. After much discussion, the friend said:
The most valuable land in the world is the graveyard. In the graveyard are buried all the unwritten novels, the never-launched businesses, the unreconciled relationships, and all the other things that people thought, ‘I’ll get around to that tomorrow.’ One day, however, their tomorrows ran out.
That quote has stuck with me ever since I read that book. And then, three years ago, my mother passed away. For the first time, not having another tomorrow was real. No more hearing her voice, her laugh, or her tell the stories that would make me cringe on the outside but which warmed my heart. No more butter tarts or shortbread cookies. Or Christmas gatherings where she’d direct everyone to do this or that, the head chef of the meal who somehow had figured out how to get all of us to do the work while she told us stories of her childhood.
As I reflected on where I was, where I was going, and how I wanted to move forward, I was deeply affected by the fact that –
There are no more of those tomorrows.
The Next Step?
I opened up my journal. I’ve journaled off and on for years. I began to reread what I had written and was struck by how often the theme of “I should…” was repeated.
All those should’s were still there, waiting.
No more.
Join me on this new path
So as I take my first steps forward, I invite you to join me on this new path. I know already that it will be riddled with sidesteps, backsteps (it’s taken me over a week to write this one post!), and missteps. But, if you are interested in your personal and professional growth, looking for insights and ideas to help you begin your own journey, already dedicated to your continual growth, or just looking for a fresh voice to listen, please join me. This link will take you to Episode 1 of MyPDToday. Enjoy