LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"The beginning is the most important part of the work." Plato

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

It's a New Year, and this month we're going to talk about the word BEGINNINGS.

Here's the difference between GIVING UP and STARTING OVER:

• Giving Up is often driven by fear or frustration

• Starting Over is often a conscious choice to launch in a new or better way.

• Giving Up means you're abandoning a direction because you lack the willingness to continue to work towards that goal.

• Starting Over means adjusting your course to find a new way to reach a meaningful objective.

• Giving Up often results in feelings of regret.

• Starting Over often brings a sense of freedom, growth & excitement

Let me clarify.... Giving Up is not always a bad thing. Sometimes we need to just stop doing what we're doing because it's not going to get us where we're going.

When I was 10 years old, my uncle invited me to come and play pee-wee football (tackly football for little kids). I loved baseball and always enjoyed playing every chance I got, but my uncle wanted me to come and give football a chance.

I lived in Southern California, so when at 10 years of age, I showed up for the "football camp" in August, it was really hot, I had never worn the pads and football gear before, and we spent the entire day running. I wasn't having any fun, I didn't really want to play football, so I lasted about 3 days then I told my uncle and my dad that "I wanted to focus on my baseball career"... that from a 10-year old with a clear vision of a future with the Dodgers!

I quit.

No regrets or remorse. No bad feelings. I just quit.

I knew what I wanted, and I definitely knew what I didn't want.

That was the end of my short-lived football career.

*Little did I know that 2 years later I would move to South America where there was no Baseball, no "American Football" and I would dive into the world of basketball and soccer.

For me, STARTING is simply aligning myself up with what I want to pursue, what I want to accomplish and what I want to focus on.

One of the first things I do when I go to start something is to identify things that I can STOP DOING. This gives me the margin, the space and the intentionality to focus on what is truly important.

Think of something you QUIT: Do you have regrets? Do you wish you would have continued to push through it?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"The beginning is the most important part of the work." Plato

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

It's a New Year, and this month we're going to talk about the word BEGINNINGS.

I love the cycle of life: seasons, rhythm, endings and beginnings. I sometimes struggle with endings, but when it comes to beginnings, I love to start fresh.

You can see this in the way I approach a New Year...

• I block out time the first week of the year to ORGANIZE. I go through files, I go through storage, I get rid of stuff, I find things that I've been looking for, but I love to get organized.

• I make lists! Lot's of lists... things I need to do, things I want to focus on, things I've ignored for too long. I just write stuff down, then work on organizing it into a system.

• I "let stuff go". There's always some "unfinished business", some unmet expectations or some regret. I make a conscious decision to just let that go. It does no good to keep carrying that weight.

I like New Beginnings because it's an opportunity to PAUSE, to TAKE A DEEP BREATH, and then START AGAIN!

I don't know how you do with beginnings, but Plato nailed it when he defined beginnings as "the most important part".

If you don't begin well:

• It's difficult to find traction and build momentum

• It's impossible to get a fresh perspective

• You spend more time looking back than looking forward

• It's a lot of work to define goals & objectives

• You end up working "harder" not "smarter"

If you struggle with NEW BEGINNINGS, don't freak out! Below I'll give you some practical suggestions on where to start.

As you look forward, what are you most excited about when it comes to NEW BEGINNINGS?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?" Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Christmas

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

We've been on a journey this year, learning, listening and digging in and now as we come into December let's just PAUSE a little and catch our breath. As the year winds down, it doesn't mean we just stop all that we're doing, but let's change up the pace.

To read past quotes & thoughts.... CLICK HERE.

I'm going to simply share some Christmas Time Quotes this month, and encourage you to reflect, recharge, restore, reconnect, and then restart to the best of your ability!

Today the word is RECONNECT.

Charlie Brown figured this out when Linus broke down the true meaning of Christmas in the classic film, A Charlie Brown Christmas. Watch below...