You do the thing .. then you get the energy to do the thing
Nov 22, 2016‘What are you doing your story on today?’ Susan asked me at about 5pm UK time today.
‘I’m not sure’ I said, ‘I have two possible ideas, I thought I’d do one today and one tomorrow.’
‘You’re not doing one tomorrow, it’s ThanksGiving this week!’ she said. ‘You’ve got to send everyone a gift tomorrow.’
‘What do you mean?! What sort of gift?’ (I am a planner, and a preparer .. I can't properly express how alarming this idea was to me today!!!)
‘I’m not sure yet, something personal. Something that you create specially for them, but something that is relevant to everyone.’ she said.
‘Like what?’
‘I don’t know, but you’ll think of something!’ she said smiling.
About 10 minutes later I said ‘How about a PowerNap MindPowerment MP3, I’ve been wanting to do a Powernap series for ages.’
‘No, something everyone might use.’ she said dismissively.
‘Everyone can use it.’ I said. ‘Some of the greatest minds in history have had a siesta everyday in the afternoon, but not everyone can do it, they need a little help in letting go and switching off for 15 minutes.’
By the time I’d got Susan to agree that it was a good idea it was just after 6pm UK time and I was now tired!
‘Maybe we should just give them an existing program as a gift?’ I said hopefully.
‘No, it’s Thanks Giving, you’re supposed to make an effort for others!’ she said. ’I will put the kids to bed, you go to the studio and get to work.’
So I dutifully made my way to the freezing cold recording studio. I have to say, I really did not have the energy to start a new project at that time of night and my marvellous mind was coming up with reason after reason why I didn’t have to do it. It was coming up with escape hatch after escape hatch!
Then Amelie Skyped me and asked me to come back and light them a fire in the sitting room. For a moment, I pictured myself watching a Pixar movie with the kids with my feet up in front of a roaring fire.
But I went back, and after making them a nice warm fire and slunk back to the freezing cold studio!
4 hours later I sent the finished MP3 to Susan for her to test out.
I have to say, I was very pleased with it in the end. And actually, as soon as I started recording I got a new lease of life, a second wind.
It’ s funny how that happens isn’t it?
Good old Zig said you do the thing and then you get the energy to do the thing. It’s so true. How often we need someone else to make us do it though! Even though we know it will be there when we get there - if we don’t feel like starting, we too often don’t. I wonder how many of our dreams and goals are filed under 'not started yet' / 'I am too tired today' / maybe I'll do that awesome thing tomorrow or just in the general 'miscellaneous abandoned' cabinet.
What could you do today, a step in the right direction, that tomorrow you will be proud of, and give your future self a pat on the back for?
(And thanks babe, for holding my feet to the fire.)
She is lying on the bed with her earphones in taking a test PowerNap! If she’s happy with it, we will send it to you tomorrow to say HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! We appreciate you more than you could know.
Until next time ..
Don't miss my new Speaking360º weekly newsletter!
Communicating is not just about words. We need to think about our body language, tone, and pacing. How we feel impacts the way we speak. Struggling to find the right content makes us ineffective. Great speakers know that becoming an exceptional speaker isn't just an art - it's a process with many essential elements.
Every Sunday evening Roddy sends out his Speaking360º newsletter, an action packed and inspirational article filled with tip + tricks you can start to use right away!
We hate SPAM. We will never sell your information, for any reason.
Author + Owner of SpeakerPro.com
