It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
Greetings to you!
Each week I send out a short leadership blog that's called "Tuesday at 2:00pm". The purpose of this is simply to provide a brief thought on leadership that you can read and think about in just a few minutes. I send it out every week at 2:00pm (PST) and encourage you to make an appointment with yourself to pause and think about the thing I'm writing about.
Russ...
LEADERSHIP QUOTE:
"Life's not about how hard of a hit you can give... it's about how many you can take, and still keep moving forward." Rocky Balboa/Sylvester Stallone
What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.
A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:
It's summer and I thought I would go a little "lighter" with some quotes over the next few months, and I'll continue with some thoughts from Rocky Balboa aka Sylvester Stallone this month.
I remember watching the movie Rocky in 1976. It's a classic comeback movie, but I remember the people in the theatre cheering for this fighter as he came from nowhere to standing in the ring with the World Champion.
The classic Rocky theme was him just taking hit after hit. Sometimes he would even taunt his opponent to hit him again. His strategy was to just keep taking it and to stay in the fight one more round.
While boxing isn't my experience, the idea of facing obstacles and facing obstacles, yet to not give up and to keep going, that's a leadership theme.
Leadership is tough, and there are days and "seasons" where you feel that if you can just keep going a little longer, you'll get through everything that is coming at you.
I used to call them "seasons", but usually one season rolled into another season, and I realized it was just the way life and leadership worked..
However, fixing your eyes on something to keep you focused, keep you grounded, and to remind you of hope is critical to being able to get up time and time again, especially when it's the last thing you want to do.
What motivates you to keep going? To get up again after facing challenge after challenge? What is it?
DEEPER STILL:
I wouldn't call myself a mountain climber, but I've climbed some mountains.
I remember climbing Mount Whitney in California when I was 10 years old. The mountain is 14,505 feet, and it was tough. I was climbing with my dad and a Boy Scout Troop, and while whining about the never-ender switchbacks on the way up the front side, my dad kept telling me to take a few steps at a time, and to keep looking up to where we were going.
I remember counting 10 steps, then stopping to breath again, and I have no idea how we made it, but we made it up the mountain 10 steps at a time. Years later I climbed that mountain again and I was able to really enjoy the climb, however I also used the "10 step method" to make my way back to the top.
When I turned 40, I had a dream of climbing Cotopaxi, a 19,347 foot volcano in Ecuador. My friend Rick "dragged" me up that mountain in a storm, and after doing countless "10 steps at a time" we stood at the summit in a complete whiteout and turned around to get back down.
That was the last big mountain I climbed, and most likely the last. (No Regrets) but remember, I'm not a mountain climber, but was able to summit these and a number of other mountains in my lifetime.
How did I do it? "10 Steps at a Time".
When I feel life is throwing some punches and I keep getting hit, I wait for the theme music to start growing slowly, and I do some things:
What's My Goal? Why am I doing this in the first place?
Where Is My Target? Where is the finish line? What is success?
What's Important Now? What do I need to do now, today, to begin the process of getting there?
When Is My Next Break? When can I stop to catch my breath?
This is how I navigate through these "seasons", much like climbing a mountain, or if I was a boxer, "going the distance".
In Hebrews 12 the way we're challenged to make it through is by "keeping our eyes on Jesus", and we do that by studying His life and learning from how He ran the race that was before him.
What's going to help you to Keep Going today, in the face of challenges, obstacles and adversity?
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
Gina and I support Hope Ventures as an organization that is aligned with our passion as they train entrepreneurs around the world as a way to help people change their future. These business communities are changing lives. Join us for a Live Zoom Fundraiser this Thursday Evening and learn more about what Hope Ventures is doing. Hope Ventures Virtual Around the World
4th of July included a bike ride with Gina to the Doho Cafe down at Doheny State Beach. Great food, and we were joined by the rest of Orange County on this glorious moring!
We enjoyed a walk at the Dana Point Harbor with my cousins family and Rheanna & grandson Perrin. Beautiful water and ocean breeze!
OK, I'll admit that my wife's love of Real Estate Shows is creeping into my life! We started watching Owning Manhattan with Ryan Serhant.
I've been enjoying a morning workout at a 24 Hour Fitness near my home that I can walk to! The walk there is lovely... the walk home sometimes is a little long!
A long-standing playlist I have on Apple is The Commitments Soundtrack from the original film. Great music all the way from 1991.