Axioms

There are a few axioms that I try to live by. This list is not exhaustive by any means but it's a good list.

These are mine; if you like these, adopt them as your own. If you don't like them, change them to fit your understanding of wise living. If you're too lazy to do either, well, don't be surprised by the poor or haphazard results your life produces.

• Rarely is haste the key to success.
• Busy yourself in work so honorably and vigorously that you haven’t time to bother with others’ approval.
• People are more important than projects.
• The pain of discipline or the pain of regret…you will choose.
• Retire when you expire.

You are capable of great things-you are The Uncompromised! If you're to live out that potential, you'll need to get clear about what you know.

What self-evident propostions do you live by?

RR

Compromise is a Slippery Slope

It's easy to eat one more piece of pizza or drink one more glass of wine.

It's easy to bypass today's exercise program or avoid the hard thing on your list.

It's easy to start Monday or prepare to get ready to make a plan.

The problem with compromising what you say you want or what you know you need to do is that it becomes a habit, it indulges a weaker part of you and it tears down the life you could be enjoying.

The benefit of integrity is another good night's sleep, few regrets and a life of fulfillment and maximum positive impact on the world.

Secure the sound footing of integrity. Leave compromise for someone else.

RR

How to Come Out of Hiding

My last post talked about people's proclivity to hideout and avoid working too hard, whether consciously or unconsciously, by doing things that look or even feel important but bear little fruit.

I got a couple of requests from readers asking, "How does somebody come out of hiding?"

Coming out of hiding...

Like most things it's more simple than we make it. So let's not get caught up (or hide) in working too hard to say what we already know.

1. Take a look around and notice what you are doing.
2. Get curious and rigorous; is what you are doing now what you want/need to be doing as you consider your goals?
3. Get help. Ask people for their help in discerning what you need to do to get where you're going.
4. Stop messing around. Whether from the help you received or upon your own review, when you know what you know, DO SOMETHING!
5. Be prepared for failure, learning and more and wiser action.
6. Be prepared for success and the need for more activity.
7. Be aware of nifty-sounding reasons to do something that is more about hiding than going after what you want.
8. Keep moving.

Of course this isn't exhaustive and misses the nuances of your situation but the main points shouldn't be missed. Be honest and willing to see truth, learn and do based on what you know.

Hiding is compromise of you at your best. That's not cool.

Be Good - Don't Compromise,

RR

Oh the Humility!

Sometime in early November 2010 I wrote an email to Chris Brogan, a dude that I like/respect because he seems pretty darn real and yet a big-time rock star in the social media world.

Well, on a whim I decided, "I'm really cool myself. This dude should know who I am!" So I sent him an email; I hoped to create a connection.

Fine.

Well, as this wasn't a concerted action, more of a throw spaghetti against the wall deal, I completely forgot that I sent the email at all.

About two weeks later I received this:

---------

Howdy Ron,

You wrote:

"Son of a...! My email box is so full of your great posts/blogs that I can't keep up. Seriously, your stuff rocks and is so informative, real and immediately helpful. I can't delete one until I've read it and understand what you're saying.

----------

Well I became giddy! I thought something to the effect of, "First of all, this guy sounds just like me when he writes. Dude, thinks my stuff is good!!! Well, my posts are really real and I do try to be helpful. Wow, what cool feedback from a guy who really knows!!!!"

I not only failed to read the part that says, "You wrote:" but also missed the fact that it sounded so much like me because it was me! The "you" in "You wrote" was me!!! I wrote!

I went from puffed up with pride to quite humble...and amused in about .34 seconds!

Lessons? Gosh, I don't know... Read what you're reading? Recognize your own writing?

I don't know what to say except that I'm still laughing at myself...

RR

Hiding in the Inbox

People find 100 different ways to avoid doing what they must do if their lives are to be what they say they want them to be. What are your hideouts?

I remember, when I first got into business for myself, I ate...a lot! I didn't know how to be in business, I didn't know how to be responsible for my time -bottom line: I didn't know what to do and when I did, I lacked the courage to do it. So I ate.

I distinctly remember talking myself into the idea that I had to have a peanut butter sandwich so I had the energy to make some phone calls. As I sat in my kitchen eating, I realized that I was being a poser. I wasn't in business; I was kicking up dust to look like I was handling something necessary in a entrepreneur's day (eating).

I've got a couple important pieces of writing to do today...not to mention a couple of decisions I need to make -off I went to manage some emails! I caught myself pretty quickly and got to thinking how else do I make my actions look good but fail to follow through on what I know I actually have to do to live what I want.

Well I'll think more about that later but now, now I have a few things I've committed to that need my time. And you? What's your hideout?

Be Good - Don't Compromise,

RR

What is it...?

I'm doing a run that will benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in a month in Albany, NY. Nothing too exciting there. There are races that are run all of the time that benefit some worthy organization -as the CFF is.

This run is to the top of the Corning Tower, Albany's tallest building...42 floors and 809 steps. I woke up this morning wondering why I'm doing it. Sure, I generated some money for CFF but that isn't where I was looking this morning.

Why do I, and really many thousands around the world, do such events? The best answer I can come up with is to satisfy my competitive urge. Though I'm only racing me at this point, I guess I want to see what I've got in terms of my physical strength. But more...for me it's a test.

The test is mental. How hard am I willing to work for what I say I want? How much pain physically and more -mental discomfort am I willing to endure as I head toward what I want?

For me these events focus my mind and check my resolve. I know (as I'm sure many of the other competitors do) on the drive home if I did my best or if my sweat and tired walk provide a performance for me -and those who see me- to hide the fact that I didn't really perform when it mattered.

So maybe I race to check that I'm alive and engaged rather than "phoning it in" or posing.

What is your diagnostic tool to check on you?

Be Good - Don't Compromise,

RR