Leaving a trail for our Son – Page 1095 – Disney Leadership Keynote Speaker

The Real Problem With Leisure?

“The real problem of your leisure is how to keep other people from using it”. — Anonymous

Ain’t it the truth? Most of it is our own fault though. It is for me anyway.

Always trying to do better. Always trying to please others. Never satisfied with the status quo. Over-achiever. Workaholic. Can’t say no. The list goes on and on.

Here’s another truth, that no one wants to admit. We control our choices. Not the outcomes, but our choices.

While the outcomes are in the hands of a power we can’t begin to imagine, our choices are not. Our choices are ours.

You’d think we would have this figured out by mid life. Why is this so difficult to remember?

It Begins With The Father

“It is said to begin with the Father”. — Maxine Kumin

Our models are our parents. And for boys, this is primarily the Father. And if the Father is absent, well, the Father is still the model.

And even when the Father is present, he might still be absent. This makes a compelling case for being a great Father. BFO, right?

And yet, I don’t really recall when my Dad actually sat me down to teach me important stuff.

Maybe Maxine is full of misguided notions. Maybe she’s right on target. This confuses me, scares me, and motivates me. What about you?

Who Gives A Crap?

“He that would govern others, first should be Master of himself”. — Philip Massinger

If this is the case, then there really aren’t too many qualified leaders out there. Are there?

How hard do you work to gain mastery over yourself? Do you even care? Isn’t it an awful lot of work to polish things no one can immediately, if ever, see?

Then why do it? Simply this, you will know. And if you never get to the point where this is important to you, then you will never understand self-mastery. If you never understand this, you will always be frustrated with people, particularly yourself.

Who gives a crap, right? My point exactly.

Mid Life Workaholics Unite

“Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and, instead of bleeding, he sings”. — Ed Gardner

Workaholics rarely have courage for self-confrontation. We’re too busy trying to control things and control life. If we pause long enough to notice the bleeding, we might have to change who we are.

Panic attack, right? When will we take time to:

Rethink
Reprioritize
Recommit

Probably never. Am I wrong?

Or maybe when the phone rings, “Honey, it’s for you, it’s your wake up call”.

Whose Life Is It Anyway?

“Whose life is it anyway”. — Brian Clark

You know what? I’m not sure where to begin on this one. Seriously. The quote is so intriguing, yet so open for interpretation.

If you’ve been in the workplace all your life and now into mid life, you are well aware of how “work” can own you.

Others may understand this, “You either run your business or it runs you”.

Or, no one ever said on their deathbed, “I wish I had spent more time at the office”.

No matter how you think about today’s quote, it certainly does make you think, doesn’t it?

But does it call you to any action?