A Quick Reminder to Practice What You Preach

Recently, a couple of proverbs really hit home for me. They may not connect with the younger generation, but the message itself will hit home. The proverbs were: 
“The cobbler’s children have no shoes.”
“Every house but the carpenter’s is fixed.”
 
It’s easy to get caught up in what you are doing for others. Helping them to achieve their desired results. Sharing lessons and experiences while coaching or introducing leadership and productivity tools to teams you can find yourself focusing on how these tools can help others and miss out that they are for you as well. 
 
When our mission is to make an external impact, it’s easy to miss out on the internal focus to get us there. In the past few weeks, I have had two situations that made me stop and shake my head, realizing I was not listening to my own words.
 
Failed to Set Expectations
I was participating in a panel discussion and had worked out with the location host to record the session so that I could use it for future promotion and sharing with others.
 
Following the event, I was excited when I found the video recording in my inbox. I was excited with anticipation as I awaited the download, remembering the powerful moments of sharing during the discussion and excited for the amazing clips that I knew would hit home for others.
 
I opened the file and quickly started fast forwarding through the video as the initial formatting was not in line with my expectations. It didn’t take long to realize; this wasn’t going to work.
 
Frustration started to boil inside of me as my head was filled with inappropriate words that cannot be shared here. Then just like that, it was over.
 
I realized that I had not defined what success would look like to the video person. I left it up to interpretation and based upon the conversation I could clearly see why it was recorded the way it was - it was 100% my fault.
 
I teach others to define success. To communicate what Excellence looks like to their teams, yet I failed to do so.  This served as a great reminder that you never arrive, and you must look inward first for clarity.
 
Be Better Today
Last month, I caught myself struggling with focus as I was bouncing around between projects and then completely changing direction into other disparate areas. I was feeling extremely busy but was not feeling productive. 
 
I was not experiencing the outcomes I had hoped for. Essentially, it felt like I was running a race with no finish line in sight.
 
A timely call with my mentor was the wake-up call I needed. My mentor listened, asked the tough questions as only a mentor can. He helped me to focus in on the Power of 3.
 
He asked if the various initiatives I was working on were “rifle shots” or a “shotgun blast.” Basically, do I have a specific target I am going after or am I going fishing to see what I can land?
 
I quickly realized that I was all over the place and while I mentally started to shift my thinking, I stopped short as he pointed out that focusing on 3 rifle shots may not always be the best approach and sometimes a hybrid approach may work best.
 
Shifting gears opened my thinking. I used the Be Better Today Tool to create two targeted Focus Areas and then I added in a broader Focus Area that allowed me room to float and explore.
 
Bang! Clarity and purpose achieved.
 
Some years ago, I wrote about a Coach Willing to be Coached.  Growth is not only for others, but for the teacher as well. I need to take time for my internal focus to continue making an external impact. I must spend time working on my house…making my own shoes. To make an IMPACT Beyond Today.

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