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Why

by Walt | May 4, 2023 | Success | 0 Comments

Why?

Why do you run?

I get this question a lot.

Especially when it comes to running long distances.

I could give a George Mallory-like response when asked why he wanted to climb Everest: he said, “Because it’s there.”

“I run because I can,” I might say.

Which, like Mallory’s response, is shallow and stupid.

The real answer is much more complex; and a bit paradoxical.

I run because it draws me into the present moment.

When I’m running trails or in the dark or even dodging traffic along a busy road, I must be wholly present; for if I’m not, I’ll trip on a root or get hit by a car.

I run because it connects me with me: my lungs, my heart, my limbs, my joints. Am I thirsty? Tired? Hungry? What is my body telling me? How shall I care for it?

I run because it connects me with my awesome running partner, my beautiful wife Ann. We’re there in the moment. Just the two of us. We can deconstruct western literature or talk politics or religion or just be quiet. Together.

I run because it grounds me: literally. I am aware that I am connected to the ground. I experience my body running across that ground.

I feel the earth and air and sky. I feel the sting of the cold and the warmth of the sun. The rain, and the wind, and the snow. I see coyote and antelope. I see towering peaks; hear the sea crashing along the shores. I see the stars in the sky; bear witness to the waxing and waning of the moon. I revel in the magnificent dawns; watch the light fade at dusk.

And running connects me to that greater ground. The Ground of All Being.

Source for me.

Spirit. God. Creator.

I experience the “thin places” where the “I and Thou” dissolve.

And Being is all there is.

In all these moments, I remember that I am Alive.

In this precious fleeting gift that is my life.

Howard Thurman once wrote: “Don’t ask what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive. Because what the world needs is people who are alive.”

What makes you come alive?

Running is my jam.

What’s yours?

Push Pause Right Now

by Walt | Apr 27, 2023 | Success | 0 Comments

You get to stop from time to time.

In fact, you need to stop.

Our technology, meant to free us, actually enslaves us. We’re ‘on’ 24/7/365.

There’s no space; no respite.

We’re expected to be at the net ready to volley. We’re expected to react: Immediately.

Forget about consideration; forget about reflection.

Everything is urgent. Everything is now.

Except that it’s not.

You’re not a trauma surgeons. (Well, maybe you are. But the trauma surgeon I trained with to become an emergency medical technician was a pretty chill dude.)

Many of the lawyers I work with exist in a near-constant state of anxiety and stress. Everything appears to be an emergency; everything seems dire. Every day, they feel as if they are fighting a forest fire with a squirt gun.

No doubt, they have some pretty important deadlines to keep in mind. We all do. But for the most part, no one dies if we slow down the pace for ourselves. No one dies if we take the time to give a considered response.

No one dies if you take the time to pause.

But endeavoring to slow down in our culture of overwhelm can be one of our most daunting challenges.

It’s not really in vogue.

In fact, if you’re not ‘busy,’ if you’re not ‘flat out,’ if you don’t have your calendar jammed, if you don’t have stuff scheduled back to back for yourself (and your kids), something’s wrong with you!

But that’s not sustainable. (Would you run your high performance car that way?)

You cannot thrive without a pause. So pause you must.

Create time and space for yourself to think, reflect, create; take the time to decide how you want to impact, who you want to serve, and what you want your legacy to be!

Take the time to consider the beauty and the grandeur of the here and now.

Take the time to nurture and care for yourself.

Take the time to me mindful.

Take the time to be; to just be.

You will enjoy the rewards of a peaceful, grounded, joy-filled life that is productive, resourceful and resilient.

Your life is your masterpiece.

Artur Rubenstein once said, “The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between the notes—ah, that is where the art resides.”

That’s the power of the pause.

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We have a powerful training program, Mindfulness For Peak Performance, that will transform your workplace: Beat back burnout, improve retention and deepen the engagement of your team. We can customize a program to fit your needs. Email me: walt@summit-success.com

A Terrible Cost

by Walt | Apr 20, 2023 | Success | 0 Comments

There’s no way to justify it.

Yet you indulge it in nearly every minute of every day.

Distraction.

Distraction is a thief and a killer.

It robs you of your focus, your attention, and your precious time.

It robs you of the capacity to read, write, and reflect.

It robs you of your ability to be truly present in the most important, yet so fleeting, moments of your life.

Distraction kills your productivity.

It kills your energy.

It kills your capacity to do deep work.

The perpetrators, villains?

All of those who covet, compete and pay vast sums of money for your most precious asset: your attention.

Yet you leave the keys in the car with the engine running; you leave the front door to your house wide open.

Stop it.

Interruption science say that you are interrupted or cause yourself to be interrupted every 3 minutes of the day; and that every interruption in your day has a “cost” in terms of lost focus and productivity. Researchers have measured the cost. It’s between 11 minutes and 25 minutes.

So, let’s do a conservative calculation: An interruption every 3 minutes would be 20 interruptions an hour x a 10 hour day x 11 minutes of cost = A lost 2,200 minutes of productivity each day! (Yes, friends, that more than 36 hours. No wonder it feels like you can never get caught up. You never really can.)

Annie Dillard wrote, “How you spend your days is, of course, how you spend your life. What you do with this hour, and that one, is what you are doing.”

Don’t do distraction.

This isn’t a polemic against smartphones or tech.

It’s a rallying cry: Take back what is yours.

Your time.

This moment.

This one and only precious moment.

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I have a free gift for you. An e-version of my book, The Power Principles of Time Mastery: Do Less, Make More, Have Fun. You can get it right HERE.

This Is Not A Job

by Walt | Apr 13, 2023 | Success | 0 Comments

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But being a social media influencer is not a job.

Even though a recent U.S. survey found 54% of 13- to 38-year-olds want to become social media influencers; even though you can buy a bunch of books about it; and even though you can enroll in a program to “become” one; it’s NOT a job!

That’s not to say that you can’t be an influencer. Or won’t be one. Likely you will be an influencer (in one way or another). And hopefully a good one!

But being an influencer is the result of the work you do in the world, who you are in the world; how you are in the world.

You influence by your words and example.

Ann and I had the privilege of studying with the great Les Brown, a legend in the public speaking arena. People often refer to him as a “motivational speaker.” But at lunch one day, Les said, “No one hires a motivational speaker. Organizations hire speakers to help solve a problem that their members are experiencing. Or, said a different way, organizations hire speakers to help motivate their audience so they can become more effective with respect to a certain certain challenge or opportunity. Les, himself, in his early work, motivated sales professionals to be better sales people.

Just being “motivational” is insufficient.

Motivate to do what?

Being an influencer is insufficient.

Influence others to do what?

To influence, one must possess hard-won experience, understanding, and wisdom.

Compassion, empathy and a servant’s heart are helpful ingredients.

And a willingness to share.

In the work we do helping entrepreneurs and professionals to harness their knowledge so that they can create businesses that will set them free, we focus deeply on problem and solution: Solve an urgent problem for another person or entity and you will be successful.

Do it enough times, you might even become an influencer.

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We can help you create an extraordinary business that will give you impact and help you influence others, and make you a ton of money in the process. Email me and we’ll set up a discovery call: walt@summit-success.com

And visit us at: https://summit-success.com/

Lost With No Clear Way

by Walt | Apr 6, 2023 | Success | 0 Comments

In the middle of the journey of our life, I found myself in a dark wood with no clear way out.

So begins Dante’s Inferno.

Lost in the woods. No clear way out.

That was certainly true for me.

And it’s true for many of the really powerful professionals with whom I have the privilege of working.

They’ve done all the right things. Made the right moves. They have all of the outward hallmarks of success… nice incomes… nice cars… nice homes…

And yet, many still want more…

But… not more stuff.

More meaning.

It’s like the lights have gone out for them.

They feel as if they’ve lost the way…

In Dante’s dark wood…

With no clear way out.

Happily there is a way out…

I found it… and now, having helped so many others find the way, I know that there’s a path.

But if you are feeling lost… especially now in these wearisome times…I want you to know that you’re not alone.

It actually goes back to your Psychology 101… back to Maslow’s pyramid… Maslow’s hierarchy of meaning…

After you have all of your basic needs met… after you have enough stuff… at the top of that pyramid, you crave meaning and purpose.

I do.

You do.

We all do.

Brendon Burchard suggests that there will be three questions that you ask at the end of your life: Did I live… really live? Did I love? Did I matter?

You want to make an impact.

You want your life to matter.

You want to leave a mark – your mark – on the world.

I was thinking about this the other day as I was reading a piece in The New York Times… about an archeological find… out in the White Sands National Park… footprints in the sand… from more than 12,000 years ago….

12,000 years.

You want to leave footprints.

And the question of course, is: how to do that?

How can you make that impact, leave that mark?

Simply asking the question sets you on the path.
Being fully you, fully self-expressed, really matters.
Being completely present… showing up completely in your own life… and being completely present to others… really matters.
Spending time with those you love really matters.
Being grateful matters.
Seeking out solitude and space to connect with your spirit and divine grace; and to steep in the beauty and the grandeur of our world. These simple acts really matter.
Finding the work that allows you to share your gifts and talents with the world really, really matters.

Howard Thurman writes, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

And from place, that place of aliveness, love with all your heart.

Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.

Those footprints in the sand? There were actually two sets…. Every now and then, a small set of prints… a child… a mom or dad putting the toddler down… walking side by side.

12,000 years ago.

Make footprints.

If you’re feeling lost, you’ll find yourself again.

I’m sure of it.

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I help mid-career professionals pivot into the work and the life they really love. If you’re feeling a bit lost and want a sounding board, let’s connect for a discovery call. Email me: walt@walthampton.com.

And, stop by for a visit at: https://summit-success.com/