Five Things

I had the privilege of hearing John Maxwell present at my company’s yearly convention last month. I’ve read John’s books and seen several simulcasts but this was the first time I saw him in person. I was impressed, to say the least. I took 5 pages of notes during his hour presentation. He had no PowerPoint, no handout, no outline, no flashy videos or #’s. He just sat at a table on the stage, got up and down a few times, but mostly just talked to the 9,000 member audience like he was in each of our living rooms…proof that you don’t need to be flashy and technologically impressive to be relevant and cutting edge. But that’s another blog ;)

Of all the things he said, one concept struck me in a deeper way. He knows he is supposed to write books. Since he was 21 years old, he’s done the same Five Things every day that support this goal. He explained them very simply:

“I read. I write. I think. I file. I ask questions.”

Every day.

Every holiday.

Every weekend.

Every birthday.

Every day.

He said sometimes he writes twenty words and sometimes he writes twenty pages but every day, he writes - the same for the other four.

The point is to be consistent with daily behaviors that champion your own personal goals. In this blog, I’ve discussed the importance of small, daily steps required to attain big goals. This is exactly what John was touching on - 5 simple things he does every day that support his goals. He said this, “The secret to success is doing today right. You exaggerate yesterday, you over-emphasize tomorrow, but you under-estimate today.” He said he has material for more books than he could ever write because he has been collecting it every day for the last 16,000 days straight. That blows my mind.

This is called discipline – that’s why so few people do it.

I’ve been thinking for the last several weeks about what my Five Things are. What 5 little things can I do each day to help me become what I know I’m called to be? I have big goals – what are the daily disciplines I need to prioritize in order to make them a reality?

What are yours?

Lean forward,

Bekka