She was a ‘what if’ personality and because of that she never really happened.
Anne Wilson Schaef
For us to be truly living and to feel that aliveness, we must continually invest in ourselves. The quote above reminded me of how much of our lives we live in that “what if” place. Or that “if only” place, or that “someday” place. Lots of us get stuck there and live our entire lives there.
Do you know anyone like that?
In the past I have talked about the GULP factor and what a juicy place that is. This is that scary exhilarated feeling you get when you begin to do something you have never done before. This is the place that when you know you are there, when you feel the GULP, you are investing in you. You are investing in that next step of becoming a player in your bigger game. The GULP is the place where you know you are going to do something you haven’t done before. This is where you begin to invest in yourself.
Investment is about preparing yourself, getting ready for the next step, learning something you didn’t know before. You invest in yourself to give the best of yourself.
It is part of the “doing” of Leadership. It is what will take you out of the “what if”, “if only” and “someday” place. It may be the first step of getting into action.
Some investments you may need to make:
- Talk to others about what you are up to
- Find allies who will help you
- Gather resources
- Develop knowledge or learn new skills
- Give up old habits and develop new ones
- Organize your office or surroundings
- Focus on your fitness and health
- Develop personal competencies
Brian Tracy recommends that you invest three percent of your income in yourself (self-development) in order to guarantee your future. I don’t think it “guarantees” our future, but it does open the path.
“If you want to be truly successful invest in yourself to get the knowledge you need to find your unique factor. When you find it and focus on it and persevere your success will blossom.” ~ Sidney Madwed
Step into leading and play a Bigger Game in your life…don’t wait…model leadership…the World needs us to do this.
Written by Pat Obuchowski