Today happens to be my birthday. 46 years ago today, I started my journey. At the same time Neil Armstrong was preparing for his walk on the moon, Everyday People by Sly & the Family Stone topped the Billboard charts, The Godfather was first published, a gallon of gas was 30 cents, a six pack was $1.75 and the turbulent decade of the 60s was coming to an end.
I’ve been thinking of what I wanted to write about this day for quite some time. I wanted it to be a celebration of what I’ve been blessed with over the years as well as an invitation for you to think about the same.
To honor this event, I’ve decided to keep it short and share with you some of my favorite Quarter Turns that seem to keep appearing in my sessions, seminars and coaching calls over and over again. Much like myself, while they are getting a bit older, they have a great message and still clean up pretty well!
If you’d like to give me a great birthday present, please post a comment and weigh in on your own favorite Quarter Turns and let me know how they have impacted you in your life or your business.
Here goes!
-Life will hand you the same lesson (or the same person) over and over again until you figure out how you are going to deal with it.
-People don’t do things to you, they do things for themselves.
-SHUT UP! And ask another question. Be interested instead of interesting.
-Success is not an accident and leaves many clues, are you paying attention?
-You create an experience for everyone you come into contact with. As a result of this experience, do those people tend to feel better or worse?
-What is your personal brand? Would you buy it, or pass for a better value?
-Is it more important for you to be right, or get the right outcome? Can you give up your need to be right, even if you are, in order to keep moving forward?
-Are you superimposing your own values, beliefs and the way you would do something onto those around you. If so, how’s that working for you?
-Is this the hill I want to die on today?
-Stop confusing motion with progress.
-What is the outcome I really want, and is my behavior moving me closer to that goal or pushing me further from it?
-Most leaders are willing to offer help when it’s needed. Ask yourself – are you willing to accept help when it’s offered to you?
-Remember to unplug from the matrix on a regular basis.
-Feedback is a gift, not a punishment. Make sure you thank those who are willing to tell you what you need to hear instead of only what you want to hear.
These are just a few that come to mind as I sit here and reflect on the past year. I hope My Quarter Turns has had the impact on you that they have had on me.
Thanks for continuing to read, engage and become part of my story. Here’s to the next 46 years, one Quarter Turn at a Time!
Looking forward to our next conversation.
Hello Tim,
Thank you for your continued efforts to expand our perception of ourselves and those around us. I won’t comment on a specific quarter turn because so many of them are truly great. You do a wonderful job investing in each one, making it meaningful and impactful. You enable at least myself to be able to associate with your quarter turns very easily… thank you for that! And we actually publish your set of quotes to our entire company (spreading them out through the month) on our company TVs that we have… so at least the spirt of your quarter turns gets shared to everyone here!
Happy Birthday and again, thank you for all you do for us as we try to navigate this journey we call life:-)
-Russell
Thanks Russell, you are more than welcome
Looking forward to working with your group again sometime this year!
Shut up and ask another question! My all time favorite! Happy Birthday! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Always been and always will be one of my favorites as well! Great to hear from you my friend
My favorite is still remembering to unplug. When I read that quarter turn I was very stressed and my body was starting to tell me I had taken on too much. I had heard these words before, something about how you shared it really connected with me and allowed me to let things go, not answer every email every minute and allowed me to reclaim my weekends as mine to spend as I wanted instead of doting over work.
Thanks Linnea, I am planning to unplug here in about 30 minutes, hope you do as well!
Happy Birthday!! You are exactly 1 month older then me 🙂
I look forward to Adam sharing your quarter turns………
Thank you.
Jennifer
Happy Birthday! I hope it’s a great one. Enjoy spending time with your boys. The time goes by so quickly. Thank you for all your positive feedback and support. The Quarter Turns put a smile on my face and make reflect, am I listening and doing?
Thanks Jill
Glad to hear that you are still out there listening!
Happy Birthday!
“Stop confusing motion with progress” is mine. I’m very good at this one until all of a sudden I decide to really make the progress happen.
Well said Sandy!
Thanks for the reply
First and foremost, Happy Birthday Tim! I would say that I have to remind myself constantly of “-Is it more important for you to be right, or get the right outcome? Can you give up your need to be right, even if you are, in order to keep moving forward?
This is still very hard for me, I have a husband who IS almost always right. I find myself tryig to prove him wrong and only making the situation worse, because 9 times out of 10 he is right so I have to eat crow and own up to it. I am trying and will continue to try to just let it go.
There are two of the above lessons that have benefitted me most and they are: -Most leaders are willing to offer help when it’s needed. Ask yourself – are you willing to accept help when it’s offered to you? I have always had a hard time letting go and let someone help me when needed. I am not sure why I was that way, just afraid of things not being done correctly or maybe I was afraid that people would think that I could not do my job if I couldn’t do everything asked of me. I now find that life is so much better and have not as near the stress, because now things are done on time and correctly. It is ok to ask for help!
The next lesson that I have benefitted from is -Feedback is a gift, not a punishment. Make sure you thank those who are willing to tell you what you need to hear instead of only what you want to hear.
By receiving feedback it has helped me to grow, not just in my job, but also in my personal life. I now know what my fellow employees and people that I deal with on a regular basis expects from me. Before I was just playing a guessing game and assuming that I was doing the best I could. That is another lesson learned, we all always have room to improve and grow.
Thanks Theresa
You have come so far since I met you, I hope you can appreciate all the work you have done to get to where you are. Recognizing and using those lessons is what will keep you moving in the right direction. See you next week at Four Winds!
Happy Birthday, Tim. I appreciate all the Quarter Turns. It is always nice to be gifted your gentle nudge reminders – especially “Remember to unplug from the matrix on a regular basis.” Enjoy your birthday!!
Thanks Tina
Hope all is going well with the integration. I was out there this week with the Marketing Team, hope to see you there soon!
Happy Birthday Tim! I enjoy reading your Quarter Turns as it allows me a moment in my busy day to reflect.
There are three issues that really stood out: 1) the 2014 list of 40 Quarter Turns; 2) the Post a New You – New objectives may require new approaches, and a new approach may very well demand a new photo; and 3) Leadership is about doing what’s right and keeping your word even when it may seem inconvenient (the one about U of M’s Coach John Beilein and his promise to Austin Hatch, who was both orphaned and injured after a plane crash). The last one really moved me!
May your birthday and every day be a reminder how lucky we are to live every day and how blessed we truly are to have the gift of the present.
Thanks so much for you reply Cheryl. I glad you have found some value in these Quarter Turns, I do feel lucky that I have such a strong community of people like yourself that are out there listening!
Happy Birthday Tim, I hope you have at least 46 more. Thanks for all your help and words of encouragement they are greatly appreciated and anticipated. SHUT UP! And ask another question. Be interested instead of interesting. I use this every day, I didn’t use to but learned along the way this is the better path to take.
You create an experience for everyone you come into contact with. As a result of this experience, do those people tend to feel better or worse? Now this one was taught to me by my father many years ago, long before he passed away. He always taught my three brothers and I that we can learn something from everyone we meet and to make sure we thanked them for teaching us something along the way.
Thanks Tom
Great lessons learned
Hope the integration is treating
You kindly
Happy Birthday Tim!
Nothing more than a year to the wiser. I can honestly say that you have made a profound impact on not only my professional growth but personal growth as well and I will be forever grateful. “Stop confusing motion with progress”‘ …..my favorite from this list!
My favorite: Is this the hill I want to die on today?