Here is your Five-Bullet Monday for this week
A quote I am pondering:
"If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us." - Jim Rhon
I love this quote from Jim Rhon. In essence, good habits and setting goals have a double benefit – they make sure the essential things get done and, secondly, we get better and stronger in the process. Ultimately the second result is the more valuable because it increases our value which has a lasting result.
A question I am asking myself:
How do I bring extra enthusiasm and energy into my interactions with people?
Enthusiasm is underrated, and I don't think we see enough of it in our workplaces. If we inject genuine enthusiasm into meetings and projects, it lifts the mood, motivates others and makes the time together or the project a lot more enjoyable.
A book I am reading:
The Innovation Stack - Jim McKelvey
Jim Mckelvey, together with Jack Dorsey, of Twitter fame, started the payment company called Square, which enabled millions of small vendors to cost-effectively accept card payments, using the Square reader on their iPhones. The book is a fascinating read and provides valuable insight on how the use of multiple small product and service differentiators made the business unbeatable even when the might of Amazon tried to destroy it through a cheaper competitive product.
My favourite podcast this week:
The Darin Olien Show - #93 Water, Intention and Gratefulness with Tracy Duhs
This podcast dives into the wonders of water, how it works in the body at a cellular level and why not all water is equal. I learnt a lot from the episode and will be thinking about water differently from now on. Even if you think what Tracy Duhs does with her drinking water is over the top, it's still an eye-opener.
My highlights from the prior week
My first personal retreat, from which I have just returned.
I came away with all my Q2 lookback complete and my Q3 targets set for multiple areas. It was an enlightening couple of days, and I plan to do more in the future, probably quarterly. My biggest takeaway, however, was not all my todos but rather who I need to become. There are so many more areas that I need to work on myself, which is an exciting prospect.
My challenge to you for this week
Show your body some appreciation.
I have started the habit (some of you may think me strange) of thanking my body for all it has given me over my 54 years. Yes, it may be minus some head covering. Still, my body has performed superbly well in everything else, staying healthy, fit and strong, despite my frequent and sometimes extended poor food and drink choices and for the sleep I have sacrificed. I now make a point of thanking my body (it is not wrong to think of our body as a temple) and giving it the right fuel and treatment to take me forward a couple more decades. My taste buds are great, but they should not rule, particularly when it comes to sugar.