Successful Blog

TOO Busy? Find Out in Less Than a Minute

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Got Less Than a Minute?

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Sara asked, “Are We Really That Busy?”

Are we?

We seem to have so much to do and so little time.
We don’t even have time to think about the time we don’t have.
It feels dangerous, but if we stop, we’ll never catch up. . . .

Are we TOO busy? Are we squandering the time of our lives?

It’s easy to find out for yourself. Let’s have an experience. It won’t take long, I promise. After all, it’s about being busy. This simple test will only take as long as you’re willing to invest in yourself. You can do it in less than a minute.

Take the Test

Ready? Will you try this? I’ll give you two links. For each link, follow these quick, simple steps.

  1. Read the word that is the link anchor text as you click the link.

  2. Put your dominant hand on your forehead as you look at the site you land on and say the link anchor text word 3 more times.

  3. Leave the site you land on when you feel you’ve gotten what you need from it.

Ready? Here are the links.

Link 1 anchor text: time poor

Link 2 anchor text: time rich

Decide for Yourself

Well, what do you think? Really. After all, as we think, so we are. [that concept predates our calendar The words we choose affect how we think and the way we perceive our lives.

Were you too busy to even click the links? What does that say about how you value your time?

If you did click the links, which made you feel in control of your life?

Are we really that busy?

OR do we only think we are?

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Coffee Cups, People, and Magic

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I've been thinking . . .

about magic.

Last November I found journal on a bookshelf in my hallway. It was 10 years old.

In a short passage, I’d remarked on how I overlook my coffee cup, though I interact with it daily. I thought about the people I overlook in the same way.

I wrote about that last year, about what happens when I remember not to do that.

coffee cup

I listen now. I listen. I’ve learned that magic happens when I listen. That people show me, tell me wonderful things about themselves. It’s as if they wait for someone who values what they say and then, they bring out their gifts and give them freely.

I look at my coffee cup. I used to think it was tool. Now I know it holds what I decide — a magic sweet as life.

This weekend I intend to listen with all my might.

Because I was right. Magic is sweet as life.

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Plan Bs, Worse Case Scenarios and Positive Realities

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Can we Talk about

being prepared for the worst?

rainbow colors

I’m not sure what brought this up. Maybe it’s that life is so good.

I’ve been looking back at the things that haven’t worked out so well, and I realize what a contribution they’ve made to where I am now.

I made an accounting of every major diplomatic incident, dire catastrophe, and house that fell on me. I reviewed it twice, the same way that Santa Claus reviews his list. The conclusion I landed on is stunning.

When I look at what life has handed me, I don’t really need any more Plan Bs and Worse Case Scenarios. I can just pick from the ones in my history . . . I have plenty.

I’m free to concentrate on building the positive realities.

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Personal Integrity: Leadership and Taking Turns

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I've been thinking . . .

about taking turns.

It doesn’t take much experience to know that to be heard, you have to listen. Leaders know that. So do teammates and people who understand human nature. Relationships are an ebb and flow, a “give and get” kind of thing.

From childhood, I learned to take turns at being first, at choosing, at having the lead.

Now, I’m grown up and I’ve been thinking about that “taking turns” rule. It’s automatic. I take my turn and I step back for someone else to move forward. When I don’t I feel the world look at me. Is that best way?

I’ve been wondering for weeks now . . . should a leader stop leading because it’s supposed to be someone else’s turn?

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It's About Real Life

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Yes, And He Had a Son

Russian and rainbow

So you’ve probably figured out. That my husband and I don’t live some high falutin’ city life style. I like to look out my window and see a lake that goes on forever. Yeah, that’s true enough. Whoa. But the rest, it’s about being alive, isn’t it?

The reason I love Chicago is because it’s all heart and soul. It’s all neighborhoods.

So last night when we went to dinner we met a young man, not young to you, young to us — ’cause we’re old. [I’m so smiling to think on it.]

Wow! It was real life. His son is three. He’s living to see his son grow.

How much more can there be?

Every color of the rainbow lives in the eyes of a father talking about his son, in the eyes of a mother talking about her daughter . . .

It reminds me of a song . . . the song is dated and old, the sentiments are timeless.

I hope the Russians love their children too. They do. I know. I know. Go ahead listen.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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Can You See the Future?

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I've been thinking . . .

about the future.

I can see the future. I know where I will be.

It’s not some magic or hocus pocus. It’s knowing who I am and who I will be.

With decades of data on situations I’ve gotten myself into and choice I’ve made, how hard could it be? As time goes by, seeing the future gets easier. Hardly any new decisions come my way. Each new fork in the road looks a lot like one that I’ve stood at some time ago. I’ve got the experience to know which part of the fork is good for me and which part of the fork I will probably take.

So these days I choose my future rather than letting it happen to me. I declare my direction and set off to make my declaration a reality.

I know the bits of myself that make accidents happen. I’ve decided they don’t figure into my future plans. No arguing on that point. They “ain’t” going to happen. It’s my level of commitment that I’m using as my predictor.

Can you see the future? Sure you can. See it. Try it on. Find one that fits your dreams. Then make it happen.

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