We make assumptions about how and to whom we matter in the world. Those will stem from our own beliefs and perspectives about the contributions we make.

And yet, sometimes what is most impactful about our lives isn’t readily visible to us. We will not always know where we are making the most profound difference.

You see, each of us is a miracle. Each of us comes into this life with our own soul print, and we make a difference every day. Even when we aren’t really conscious of it.

Let me tell you a story that brings this vividly to life. In the 1950’s, two men worked in a factory in northern Ohio. One of them worked the afternoon shift and the other the night shift. They did not know each other. Yet their lives would intersect and create profound change.

The young man working second shift had just finished his tour of duty as a Marine during the Korean War. He and his bride had moved from West Virginia to Ohio in search of better opportunities. He often worked the night shift in addition to his regular hours for extra income. One night, he was doing just that when he was assigned to a machine next to the other man in our story. Bear in mind that this was not mentally taxing work. In fact, boredom was something they continuously contended with, each in their own way.

That night, over the humming of the machines, our young Marine heard a very distinctive voice talking about all of his possibilities and how to reach all of those goals he had set for himself simply by changing his thoughts. It was as if this man were speaking directly to him. And so he went in search of the source and found the other man listening to a portable radio. The man speaking on the radio was Earl Nightingale. It was a life-changing moment.

Immediately, our young Marine was determined! He decided to take on an extra job rather than just extra shifts to earn enough money to buy his own portable radio. He had discovered his mentor even before he knew what a mentor was, and did not want to miss a single opportunity to hear more! That encounter changed his life. That extra job? It was working as an attendant and mechanic at a local gas station. What happened? Ultimately, he didn’t just show up because he worked there as a mechanic. In time, he showed up because he owned the business.

I doubt that the other man in the story, if asked, would tell us that the most important thing he did that day was take his radio to work. He wouldn’t say that he changed lives just by listening to his radio. But for that young Marine, undoubtedly that was the case. It set his life on a different course. And as a result, it did the same for mine. That young Marine was my Dad.

Throughout my life, what I learned most from him, beyond the values of faith and family, was the miracle of personal leadership and development. He defied all of the odds. He surpassed every expectation. A deeply spiritual man, he did it all with quiet grace and humility, a legacy that endures.

There was never a time that he was not reading or later listening to recordings and tapes. In fact, I still have his books and some of those early recordings! From that late-night shift in the factory until his last breath on earth, my Dad lived a life that celebrated learning and growth every day.

My Dad. He never lost sight of who he was. He never lost his vision of who he could become. And he never stopped growing into that man. He lived that legacy every day of his life. As a result, other lives were changed. And his legacy lives on in those lives. Including mine.

Thank you, Dad, for always showing us not only who you were but who we could be. Thank you for being a living example of how to become that person more every day. And thank you to the gentleman who was part of God’s plan for our lives and brought his radio to work so all of this would begin!

We recently crossed off the day on the calendar that was the 46th anniversary of my Dad’s death. In the earlier years, that day always brought some sadness, but over the course of my life, that has changed because I have recognized how everything about him has shaped me, even his death.

And so I share this story with you in memory and honor of him, and as a reminder to us all that while our time here may be brief, it is never without value.

I strive to always remember, as Earl Nightingale taught my Dad and he ultimately taught me:

“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.”

Live today like you want tomorrow to be.

Live well.

The post Take your radio to work day! appeared first on Kathi Laughman.

Welcome to the fifth and final installment of our Personal FAQs series, where we explore questions that can guide us as we continuously recenter, realign, and move forward with clarity throughout our lives.

To make it easier to ask questions that are relevant to where we are and what we need at any juncture, we have been reviewing five FAQs domains.

We move now to our final domain, Growth & Legacy.

The Five Personal FAQ Domains:

1. Identity & Purpose
2. Work & Contribution
3. Decision-Making & Direction
4. Integration & Rhythm
5. Growth & Legacy

Growth & Legacy

Some time ago, I wrote an article that has stayed with me. In fact, it’s one of my favorite pieces of my own writing if I’m allowed to admit that! The title of that message was this: Do Recipes Make You a Better Cook? 
 
As I was thinking about writing this final chapter of our FAQ series, I realized that while we’re discussing a specific domain, we’re also covering everything we’ve been reviewing together, because these FAQs culminate in two very specific outcomes. Growth and Legacy. They are stretching us, and in doing that, they are helping us leave our mark.
 
In that article, I shared the story of Chef Daniel Patterson. But the first question wasn’t about recipes. It was about GPS guidance systems. You see, Chef Patterson had gotten a new car, and it came with the then-default feature of GPS and navigation assistance. Initially, he resisted using it.
 
Then the day came when he decided to go ahead and take advantage of the technology. Before long, he recognized, like many of us, he had become dependent on it. Even when he went to places he frequented, he found himself relying on it. He was blindly following directions with no notice of his surroundings or where he was going.
 
When he realized what was happening, it startled him, and he began asking himself where else in life he (we) might be doing the same thing. Since he’s a chef, he naturally looked first at his world. Hence, the next question is whether recipes make us better cooks.
 
In fact, he himself wrote an entire article about it. It’s an excellent piece, and I encourage you to read it.

These words from that article were what inspired my own and brought it back to mind for this week’s message and wrapping up our series:
 
“Part of the problem with recipes today is that they seem to be predicated on the idea that a good recipe should eliminate the possibility of mistakes. But here’s a secret: Good cooks make mistakes all the time. They take wrong turns and end up in strange places. Their attention sharpens as they try to figure out where they are and how they got there. Eventually, they either reach their original destination or discover that wherever they stumbled into is really the best place to be. Sometimes it’s important to get lost.” 

Here’s what I wrote in my essay:
 
We are faced every day with “recipes.” Use these methods, these tools. Take each step in this order. Make sure you don’t substitute anything. In other words, if you want it to work, don’t change anything. In life and our work, I’m sure you recognize and hear the message as much as I do.

But what if that’s not right? What if the best result comes from using the recipe as a starting point rather than a rulebook? What if we start experimenting and venturing forward as creators and find our own results? That has far more appeal for me.
 
I want to encourage you to see the concept of FAQs or any guidance questions in this way. They are not meant to be prescriptive. They are meant, in fact, to help you get a little lost so that you can, in turn, find your way. They are simply a starting point. Experiment with them and venture out as the creator of your own, over and over again.
 
Remember that growth and legacy are the culmination of everything we’ve been exploring together. Identity, work, decisions, and rhythm set the stage, but growth is what keeps it alive, and legacy is what ensures it outlives us.

Why It Matters

Without growth and legacy, our questions risk being self-contained. Useful perhaps, but limited. When we add this domain, we stretch our perspective forward and outward. We begin to see that what we learn, contribute, and embody is not only for ourselves, but also for those who come after us.
 
This domain asks us to think about continuity.
 
What carries forward because we were here?

What are we making possible?

What to Look For

You’ll know it’s time to pay attention to this domain when: 

• Old answers start to feel too small for who you’re becoming.
• Others have started asking you for guidance, wisdom, or stories from your own journey.
• You’re unsure whether you are investing your time and energy in things that will last beyond your life or even this season.
• You begin to see traces of your influence showing up in the work, words, or choices of others.
• You want to shift your focus from what you’re achieving to the idea of impact.

Growth and Legacy FAQs

Remember that these FAQs aren’t about grand revelations. They are about grounding. They are prompts designed to invite honesty and curiosity about our current and future state. Only choose those that resonate with you for the season you are in.

Here are a few starting points for the domain of Growth & Legacy: 

• What can I be learning now that future-me will thank me for?
• How can I grow in ways that expand what’s possible for others?
• What do I want to grow with me, and what do I want to grow beyond me?
• How can I be intentional about the influence my choices create?
• How can I define and live my legacy right now through achievement, relationships, values, or something else?
• What stories can I be shaping today that reflect the life I want to live?

How do you know you’re asking the right questions? 

• When your questions stir both hope and responsibility.
• When they anchor you in today while opening a window to tomorrow.
• When they shift your thinking from “what’s in it for me?” to “what’s possible because of me?”

Which brings us back to where we started. Do recipes make you a better cook? Not on their own. But they give you a starting point, a structure, a spark. The same is true here.

And that’s the point. It was never just about the questions. It’s about what they guide you to see, to choose, and to create.
 
Here’s one final thought from Chef Patterson to help:
 
“Cookbooks should teach us how to cook, not just follow instructions. By paying attention, a cook should be able to internalize the process, rendering the written recipes obsolete. The point of a recipe should be to help us find our own way.” 

Read the recipe (FAQ). Learn from it. Then close the book. Create your masterpiece in cooking and in life.
 
Why? Because your FAQs are not meant to stay on the page. They’re meant to guide your next steps.

This Week’s Additional Resources:

• The Second Mountain by David Brooks
• David Whyte’s poem “What to Remember When Waking”
• Holy Moments by Matthew Kelly
• The Rhythm of Life by Matthew Kelly
• Adjusted Sails: What Does This Make Possible by Kathi Laughman (Included with Kindle Unlimited)

The post FAQ Series: Growth & Legacy – What will you make possible? appeared first on Kathi Laughman.

Welcome to the fourth installment of our Personal FAQs series, where we are exploring questions that can serve us as we continuously recenter, realign, and move forward with clarity throughout our lives.

To make it easier to have questions that can help based on where we are and what we need at any juncture, we are looking at five different FAQs domains.

We have covered the first three domains and are moving on to Integration and Rhythm.

The Five Personal FAQ Domains:

1. Identity & Purpose
2. Work & Contribution
3. Decision-Making & Direction
4. Integration & Rhythm
5. Growth & Legacy

Integration & Rhythm

When you live your life
in harmony with your purpose,
there is no conflict or dissonance,
only clarity and direction.
~Kathi Laughman

This week’s topic is one of my favorites because I have spent much of my professional life focused on how to use effective integration to create bridges. Whether it has been between various groups, companies, trading partners, software solutions, or even entire industries, effective integration has been, for me, the ultimate playground for innovation.

Whether we are talking about our life, our work, or any of our roles, it isn’t about balancing competing silos. Like a beautiful tapestry, integration is about weaving things together. Then the rhythm is the tempo. It’s how your commitments, values, and energy flow together without forcing harmony where it doesn’t exist.

But even more than those silos, it’s key to know that integration isn’t about smashing all the pieces of a disparate group into one tidy puzzle. It’s more like jazz. Each instrument (your roles, goals, commitments, values) has its own sound, but the music only works when they listen to one another.

Rhythm provides the tempo, the pacing, the groove that keeps the music going.

Integration is about coherence; rhythm is about sustainability.

The most important thing I look for in a musician
is whether he knows how to listen.
~ Duke Ellington

Why It Matters

When we live without integration, life sounds more like competing noise than music. When we live without rhythm, even good things wear us down because we’re out of tempo. Together, integration and rhythm help us create a life that works in harmony, not because everything is easy, but because everything fits.

Without rhythm, even integrated priorities collapse under exhaustion. Integration ensures alignment, while rhythm ensures longevity.

What to Look For

• Are your priorities creating harmony or dissonance?
• Do your commitments flow together, or do they compete?
• Is your pace sustainable, or are you sprinting through a marathon?
• Do you have natural “rests” built in, like pauses in a song, that make the music stronger?
• Is your calendar consistent with your deeper story?

It’s taken me all my life to learn what not to play.
~Dizzy Gillespie

Integration and Rhythm FAQs:

Remember that these FAQs aren’t about grand revelations. They are about grounding. They are prompts designed to invite honesty and curiosity about our current and future state. Only choose those that resonate with you for the season you are in.

• What daily or weekly rhythms help me feel most alive and support my best work?
• What would integration look like if I treated my life less like a checklist and more like a composition? (My personal favorite!)
• What is the integration I’ve been resisting?
• Where do I need to slow down or speed up to restore balance?
• Where in my life do I feel most “out of tune,” and what would bring it back into harmony?
• How can I create natural pauses or “rests” in my schedule that strengthen the overall flow?

How do you know you’re asking the right questions?  

• The noise starts to quiet.
• You begin to notice less friction and more flow.
• You no longer feel like you’re juggling parts.
• Instead, you feel like you’re directing an ensemble.
• There’s a sense of coherence between what you want and what you’re doing.
• Your calendar feels like an ally instead of an enemy.

Integration and rhythm aren’t about perfect balance. They are essentially about freedom. Like jazz, the beauty isn’t in playing every note, but in choosing the right ones, and leaving space where silence belongs.

When your life begins to sound more like music than noise, you know you’ve found your rhythm. And from that rhythm, possibility opens. Not because you control every beat, but because you trust yourself enough to improvise.

And, by the way, here’s the best part: when you find your rhythm, you make space for others to join in. The music grows, the themes expand, and what you’ve created becomes more than a moment. It becomes a legacy. That’s where we’re headed next: Growth & Legacy.

This Week’s Additional Resources:

Note: This domain’s resources are a reading list I’ve put together for you because so many of you have said this is an area where you face the greatest resistance.

The idea, even fear, of doing less to accomplish more is so foreign to us that it’s no wonder we push back on that harder than anything. Each of these books speaks to something in that ongoing riff we have going with ourselves.

Check them out and then choose the one that makes the back of your neck tingle a bit. It’s likely the one you most need to read next. 

• The Art of Possibility — Rosamund Stone Zander & Benjamin Zander

Blends the perspectives of a symphony conductor and a psychotherapist to show how possibility thinking reshapes how we work, create, and live. A beautiful reminder that life, like music, expands when we choose to see what’s possible.

• Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less — Alex Soojung-Kim Pang

Challenges the myth that harder work equals better results. Pang draws on science and stories from great thinkers (from Darwin to Stephen King) to show why deliberate rest fuels creativity and productivity.

• The Infinite Game – Simon Sinek

Finite games, like football or chess, have known players, fixed rules, and a clear endpoint. The winners and losers are easily identified. Infinite games, games with no finish line, like business or politics, or life itself, have players who come and go. (Think of a symphony vs. a jazz trio).  Simon Sinek offers a framework for leading (and living) with a commitment to a vision of a future world so appealing that we will build it week after week, month after month, year after year, even though we do not know the exact form this world will take. 

• Slow Productivity – Cal Newport

Drawing from deep research on the habits and mindsets of a varied cast of storied thinkers from Galileo and Isaac Newton to Jane Austen and Georgia O’Keeffe, Newport lays out the key principles of “slow productivity,” a more sustainable alternative to the aimless overwhelm that defines our current moment.

• Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and total involvement with life. Csikszentmihalyi demonstrates the ways this positive state can be controlled, not just left to chance, so that we can discover true happiness, unlock our potential, and greatly improve the quality of our lives.

• Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives – Richard A. Swenson

Margin is the space that once existed between ourselves and our limits. Today, most of our lives are marginless as we battle overwhelm, burnout, and hurry. But there is a path to the life of balance and peace we crave. The benefits can be good health, financial stability, fulfilling relationships, and availability for your divine purpose.

• Elastic Habits: How to Create Smarter Habits That Adapt to Your Day – Stephen Guise

No two days are the same. By making your habits elastic, you can adapt to conquer every unique day of your life. The ultimate improv approach! Elastic habits give you an answer for every situation. Any dread or sense of monotony you’ve felt about forming habits will disappear, because this system is dynamic and exciting.

The post FAQ Series: Integration & Rhythm-Bringing Possibilities to Life appeared first on Kathi Laughman.

No, I am not crazy.  I do realize that in the 1700’s, they did not blog. There was no Internet, no vehicle from which to instantly publish ideas and thoughts about the world.

In a way, though, the idea of blogging did exist.  Done differently, sans technology used today, they did indeed have their own way of heralding information and ideas.

Samuel Johnson, the English author, biographer, and critic, was someone I would consider an early “blogger”. One of his formats (in addition to books and his highly regarded “Dictionary of the English Language”) was the publication of pamphlets.  Short essays on topics of the day and ideas about whatever was on his mind became his literary platform. 

Through this printed medium, he also invited others to be “guest” authors (guest bloggers?) and later compiled and published these writings under the title “Rambler”. It contains both his work and that of the guest writers. Rather like taking a series of articles or blog posts and publishing them as a book today.  I found this to be an extraordinary example of how authors have always functioned, individually and as a community.

It may seem on the surface that things have simply become easier, and they have in almost all aspects.  Because we do not have to wait any longer for type-setters and printers, for ink to dry, or for papers to be hand-carried and delivered, we are able to spread our message with lightning speed.  We can share our thoughts and ideas almost instantly.

And because we now have so much information to process, we cannot afford the same level of verbosity. The reader’s attention span has decreased rather than increased, as a direct result of the abundance of information available. 

That means we must craft our messages quickly, concisely, and effectively so they are heard.

In studying Samuel Johnson and going through some of the essays, I came across this statement, which I found to be a wonderful description of what writers do:

 “The task of an author is, either to teach what is not known, or to recommend known truths by his manner of adorning them; either to let new light in upon the mind, and open new scenes to the prospect, or to vary the dress and situation of common objects, so as to give them fresh grace and more powerful attractions, to spread such flowers over the regions through which the intellect has already made its progress, as may tempt it to return, and take a second view of things hastily passed over, or negligently regarded.”

Here is how we might craft this thought today:

 “The two most engaging powers of an author are to make new things familiar and familiar things new.”

It is interesting that the distilling of the thing is sometimes what reveals its truth.  Sometimes the real power of writing lies in the editing.  Rather like life.

I first wrote this blog post back in June of 2012. As I’ve been going through those old posts, I’ve stumbled onto this one I’d long forgotten but am delighted to have found again. Technology has advanced even more over the past 14 years. But yes, what hasn’t changed is that the real power lies in editing. In writing. And in life.

The post The History of Blogging: Example from the 1700’s appeared first on Kathi Laughman.

Resilience is demonstrated by what we create from our life experiences.

And with that, what we create has everything to do with our perspective. As Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you are right.” 

This is particularly true when we touch on what we create.

Perhaps you don’t even see yourself as someone who creates anything, but I can assure you that you do. Each of us is a creative, and we all have an innate need to create. It goes well beyond what we might think of as creative for art, music, writing, etc. Even within those disciplines, the basics already exist. It is what we make of them that becomes our creation.

A teacher creates a learning experience.

A musician creates a performance.

A photographer creates an image.

A writer creates a story or message.

A leader creates a team.

An entrepreneur creates a business.

An accountant creates a report.

Each takes something and, through their own unique application, transforms it into something else.

But there is more to this that merits consideration.

Here is a thought-provoking insight from Picasso that transcends the original application intended beyond art:

“There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun.”

No matter what we create, the transformation can either deliver brilliance or diminish the light. We each have that choice. We each have that power.

This is also true of our lives. We can allow our brilliance to diminish to that yellow spot.  Or through curiosity, creativity, and intelligence, we can transform our lives into bright shining suns of endless possibilities.

The real insight is that in both cases, it is not about resources, talent or skill.  It is about perspective and choice.  What do you see?  What do you create?

But what if we struggle to believe we have that power?

I was privileged to hear David Bayer, author of Mind Hack and creator of The Powerful Living Experience, speak at a conference I was attending.

He asserts that we begin to understand our true potential when we recognize that, at their core, our beliefs are simply decisions.

Whenever we want to change our mindset or belief about something, particularly ourselves, it’s not complicated. It just means we must make a different decision.

Think about that for a moment. It’s an incredibly powerful concept.

As I thought about new decisions that I wanted to make about myself and my life, a word came to mind that has always fascinated me because of its origin: Abracadabra. A magician’s word. A word used to conjure up an experience of delight and wonder. Isn’t that what we all want from our lives?

Where does the word originate? An ancient language and phrase, avra kehdabra, meaning “I will create as I speak.”

Just imagine! We can speak new decisions (beliefs) into existence. Those decisions, in turn, create a new perspective and reality. It is what makes our words so powerful.

What will we create as we speak?

What magic, delight, and wonder will we bring to life for ourselves and our world?

What is our personal abracadabra?

We must choose wisely! And then get ready for magic!

Begin with the end in mind. Decide today what you want tomorrow to be.  Then live that. Create that. Live well.

The post Which do you create? A probing question from Picasso appeared first on Kathi Laughman.

We all know that daily practices are important. But I’m not sure we fully realize the depth of their importance or even the core reasons those core practices make a difference. As with most things, when we understand the underlying reasons, the doing gets much easier.

That’s where stories can help.

One of the first stories that comes to mind for me is about John Constable, a British 19th-century painter known for his landscape paintings. He believed that the key element for mastery in all of his work was being able to capture the drama of the sky. He was fascinated with the sky, and in particular, clouds, because that’s where he found the drama. He was determined to become beyond proficient at capturing the beauty and essence of the ever-changing sky.

So, how did he achieve that mastery? He started a daily practice. He found one spot by a river where he could go every single day and paint. He would show up there each day and paint the sky as it appeared that day. He did that every single day. He never relented because he knew that the better he got at painting the sky, the better all of his work would be. And he also knew that the sky would be different every day – thus giving him the chance to keep honing that skill. That’s the essence of a daily practice. It isn’t just about what you are doing. It’s about how it integrates into everything else.

When we look at other artists, we can find many stories like this. I am a fan of the cellist Yo-Yo Ma. I love the instrument, and I love the way he loves it as well. His music is something that can transport me from wherever I am to someplace that is lovely, centered, and full of hope. How does he do that? You might say it’s because he is talented, and no doubt that is part of it. But if you asked him, he would say it is because he is dedicated to his craft, and even now, with all of the success and accolades, the most essential part of his day is his practice time. He is not doing that for perfection. He is doing that for a deeper connection to his instrument, the music, and the world.

The discipline of daily practice is something I have never outgrown. It allows me to keep discovering new things about music and about myself.” ~Yo Yo Ma

One of my nieces is a ballerina. She’s still young, but it’s already clear that this is more than just a weekly dance class for her. How? She practices every day. No one has to tell her. She has created a place in her bedroom dedicated to practicing dance. While other kids are watching videos and playing games, she is immersed in her world of dance.

That’s how you know something matters. And she’s in good company. Every prima ballerina out there will tell you the same thing. They are in class every day. They dance every day. It’s how they are instinctual and fluid not only on the stage, but in every one of their movements in life.

“The one thing that has gotten me through every single moment of my life, whether I was going through a tough time or was the happiest I’d ever been, was my discipline and my training. It’s that consistency.” ~ Misty Copeland

There are many other examples from just about every craft you can imagine.

I think we can all agree that when it comes to athletes, none set a better example of perfecting their craft than Kobe Bryant. He attributed all of his success to his “Mamba Mentality,” and the cornerstone of that was his daily practice.

He was committed, some might even say obsessed, with the fundamentals of his craft, and he practiced every single day. He was known for being up and at the gym hours before any of his teammates. What is interesting about his example is that not only did that daily practice raise him above his peers in his execution of the game, but it also raised him to a position of influence.

He inspired many of his teammates and even competitors to greater heights. That’s why one of the other greats, Michael Jordan, was willing to take him on as a protege even though they were also competitors. People admire others who are relentless about improvement and mastery.

“The key to success is failure. Each time I fail, I learn something, and I become better. Practice is where I put those lessons into action.” ~Michael Jordan

As a writer, I know that daily practice is an absolute. The key to me has always been to understand that vs. pushing against it. I attended a conference once where the keynote speaker had the topic of “how to create a daily writing practice.” When he got to the stage to speak, he said that his presentation was likely to be a surprise and it would, no doubt, be the shortest of the day because the subject matter was so simple.

He said that the way to create a daily writing practice was simple. You write. Every day. That’s it. Nothing else. If you want to be a writer, you are going to need to write every day. That means nothing more or nothing less than just that. Write every single day.

“Writing is, in effect, not so different from endurance sport. To keep writing, one has to keep up the rhythm and create the habits that allow words to flow.” ~Haruki Murakami

But you might say there is more to it than that. I understand. I did as well until I realized that part of making the decision about what matters to us is making the commitment to doing what it takes to achieve it. We want the results, but too often, we want to short-cut or short-circuit the pathway to them. And it only derails us. Sometimes, shortcuts add to the journey rather than compressing it.

Whatever you want, I promise you that a daily practice is necessary to achieving it. So when you define what you want, go that extra step and ask yourself what you will need to do every day to make that happen. And then turn your eyes to that.

You will be amazed at how focusing on the commitment vs. the prize, how much more the prize will mean, and how much deeper its value will become. It takes the time it takes.

It’s not always 10,000 hours. That framework doesn’t fit everything, as some would want us to believe. But it does take something. And, more than anything, it takes consistent time, even if not as much time.

One of my favorite things to do is to create acronyms from words that I find important. This helps me understand them more proactively and aids in teaching the principles around them. I found that to be true here as well.

I want to share with you the acronym I created for PRACTICE.

After going through each letter and associated word, ask yourself which of these words or ideas surprised you most. Maybe that is the missing link to help boost your own commitment to the daily practice you need most in this season of your life.

P – PURPOSE. Anything we commit to daily must serve a bigger purpose. We don’t do anything in a vacuum. I heard a quote once that said you can’t play Bach without having done scales, but that no one practices scales merely to play a scale. Indeed, as a musician myself, I know that no one masters music without first mastering the scale.

R – RHYTHM. There is a cadence to anything that moves us forward. Think about music. Far more than just the notes – it is the pauses and the rhythm that make it memorable. Daily practices will create a rhythm within our day. It creates that synchronicity that pulls everything together.

A – ACCOUNTABILITY. Nearly every program out there that is designed to help us define and achieve goals has an accountability practice as one of its cornerstones. But I believe that our practice is in and of itself an internal instrument of accountability. We now have a daily standard we hold ourselves to.

C – CONSISTENCY. If you’ve ever attended any teaching or presentation on just about anything related to any success, they have emphasized the need for consistency in your actions. You don’t get healthy or fit by exercising once in a while. That’s the value of an exercise practice. It automatically creates consistency, which exponentially increases the rate and velocity of your success.

T – TIME. Have you ever had something you wanted to do and yet hid behind the excuse that there just wasn’t enough time? I certainly have. This might be the most essential element of a daily practice. It shows us that we DO have time. And taking time does something else. It creates time. When we are more disciplined about how we spend our time, there is more of it because we’ve defined it based on our priorities.

I – INTENTIONALITY. This brings us to intentionality. It is something that precedes those benefits of time but is, in fact, its own benefit marker. Time is a limited resource. It is, in fact, our only limited resource. So how we spend it matters more than anything other resource we consume. Having those daily practices is a form of declaration about what matters to us. No one lives an intentional life without living an intentional day.

C – CREATIVITY. This is another one that many miss. How can something that, by its nature, is regimented inspire or spark creativity? Because it does. Some things you can’t explain, but I know this is true. When we eliminate some of our decision fatigue, we free up mental resources that are part of our creative process. As we get better at our craft, we are able to see things from a different perspective and dare to try new things. My daily writing practice is, by far, the most creative time of my day. My commonplace book gets idea entries all the time that were spawned in a writing session.

E – EFFICACY. Does this surprise you? It shouldn’t. Self-efficacy, or any other way of seeing our abilities, is paramount for living our best life and doing our best work. When we believe we hold within us the power and ability to do whatever it is we set our minds to, it is almost a given that it will happen. A daily practice allows that because it moves us through times we might have otherwise given up and not stayed the course. It helps to reinforce what we CAN do vs. anything else that might be messages coming our way.

So there you have it—my latest acronym. I hope that it brought you some value.

And, by the way, it came out of one of my writing sessions in my daily writing practice!

The post What’s Really Behind Success? Stories of Daily Practice and Mastery appeared first on Kathi Laughman.

We live in a time when we are always searching for a better tool to achieve our goals. It might be an app, a gadget, software, or any one of the hundreds of things we have to choose from. We want to get things done with ease. Sometimes, it’s about speed, but usually, it is about making things just a bit easier.

This is especially the case when you are a solopreneur. After all, it’s just you – a staff of one. And all of the hats that need to be worn in a business are still right there, hanging on the rack, just waiting for you to put the next one on.

What we don’t usually look for is something else to do. We want to find things that make what we’re already doing easier. But I’m going to invite you to shift that thinking for a moment.

What if you added something to your routine that made everything else easier? That gives it a different consideration, I think. When I’m looking at my work through a strategist’s lens, my questions are these:

• What can I start?
• What can I end?
• What can I expand?
• What can I compact?

But before I can ask those questions and put the answers to work, I need to ask this question first:

• What impact am I creating?
• What impact do I want to create?

Another way to think about it is by asking what it is that you and your business are here to make possible. Before you can answer any questions on strategy, you have to know what the strategy is meant to serve.

Enter the business journal. You may already keep a personal journal. Many have gratitude journals and personal reflection journals. Those are mainstays for me as well. But I’ve also found that my business benefits when I keep a journal specific to my work.

Exploring the Benefits of a Business Journal

Keeping a business journal offers numerous benefits. One of the most straightforward benefits is that a business journal serves as an inspirational and motivational tool. It fuels the inner drive needed to pursue your goals relentlessly and avoid the pitfalls of endless “trial and error” phases.

Ongoing Benefits of Keeping a Business Journal

Creating your Vision: A business journal gives you a place to envision the potential growth and success of your enterprise. This vision can become a source of strength, helping to accelerate your efforts toward achieving your business goals.

Reflecting on Examples of Success: Your business journal entries about other businesses can also be incredibly inspiring. Reflecting on the risks they took and the qualities you admire in them can prompt immediate, actionable changes in your own business approach.

Setting and Revisiting Goals: It’s an effective tool for setting both short-term and long-term goals. Regularly revisiting these goals allows you to stay aligned with your current realities and future aspirations.

Enhancing Decision-Making: Journaling helps clarify thoughts and streamline decision-making processes. Writing down options and potential outcomes can simplify complex decisions.

Tracking Progress and Growth: A business journal allows you to document your milestones and growth over time. This not only motivates but also provides a valuable historical record for future planning and reflection.

Problem-Solving: Often, the solution to today’s problems can be found in yesterday’s reflections. A business journal can serve as a critical problem-solving tool, allowing you to preemptively think through potential challenges and devise solutions.

Stress Relief: Running a business is inherently stressful. Journaling provides a way to vent frustrations, worries, and challenges, thus clearing your mind and improving your focus on essential tasks.

Development Tool: By recording free-flowing ideas, you create a platform to brainstorm, design, and develop new concepts. This could include innovative products and services needed to propel your business forward.

Improving Communication Skills: Regular writing enhances your ability to articulate thoughts clearly and concisely, which can improve both verbal and written communications with partners, team members, and customers.

Enhancing Learning: Journaling about daily experiences and decisions helps you reflect on what works and what doesn’t, turning everyday activities into valuable learning opportunities.

Capturing Inspirational Moments: Inspiration can strike at unexpected moments. Keeping a journal on hand allows you to capture these sparks of creativity, which can be developed into new projects or strategies later.

A business journal is not just a record. It is a powerful tool that supports growth, fosters innovation, and solidifies your path to success. Whether it’s leveraging past insights, planning future strategies, or simply finding solace during turbulent times, a business journal is an indispensable asset for any entrepreneur.

However, the core value will not be about what you write. It will be in what you discover and the actions that come from those discoveries.

Whenever you write in your business journal, include what you’ve discovered and also reflect on how you will implement and leverage what you’ve learned, not unlike how we create value from reading books written by others.

Let’s go back to our initial questions.

From your journaling, you’ve determined what you want your business to make possible for you and those you serve.

Now, it’s time to create the action plan, and your journal will help you define it.

• What can I start?  

You only need to discover the first step as the rest will follow, but if you need a more defined picture, initially allow yourself no more than 3 – 5 steps.

• What can I end?

You may need resources for this work, and that might mean reallocating some of them from where they are today. What resources can you move that would allow you to have complete focus?

• What can I expand?

What are you already doing? Not everything requires that you start from a blank sheet of paper for your business plan. What are you already doing that you can expand?

• What can I connect?

Where can you bundle things to make them more efficient? We’ve all heard of habit stacking, and that’s part of this, but it’s also about goal pairing. What goals can you pair together to serve each other?

Journaling, especially for the entrepreneurial mind, can be an effective tool as you strive to build a business that makes a difference.

“Some of the most important conversations I’ve had have occurred with myself, jotting down notes on my travels. These quiet moments of reflection have allowed me to make better decisions and focus on what truly matters.”

~Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group

“Writing helps me clarify my thoughts. I simply write and think through business problems on paper, which often leads me to a sensible conclusion. It’s both a discipline and a driver.”

~Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

The post Can you write your way to a better business? appeared first on Kathi Laughman.