Can I move from a defining moment to a lifetime experience? This is the daily Observance podcast with Anthony von Gieman. I forgot my last line, okay, of a poem I was reciting as a highlight of my graduation day in kindergarten that defied me. I misspelled a word in a spelling bee competition right on national television.
I must have been in the fourth grade. I went, you know, all the way till the second to the last letter perfectly. But I forgot the E dividing moment again. I entered a study hall right, in Oxford as a keynote speaker with a written speech, expecting a, you know, podium rostroom, and ended up having to awkwardly read my written message because written speeches were unheard of in that venue.
Now today I speak to thousands of people on a weekly basis, online or on site, as a keynote speaker. As a management trainer, each of those defining moments, quite awkward and honestly embarrassing, strengthened my resolve to keep on building my communicating and connecting skills through the years. And even now, after nearly four decades as a speaker, the thought of turning a moment into a lifetime. You've heard this said before.
You sow a thought and you will reap an act. You sow an act and you will reap a habit. You sow a habit and you will reap a character. You sow a character, you will reap a lifetime.
And remember point seven in creating better life moments two podcasts ago, Point seven and I read do what it takes to maximize a moment. If it is value adding, which means multiplied, and to minimize it if value depleting that moment, a loved one was taken from me. All too soon, I commit, will forever change me. And valuing limited times I have with my loved ones in the years to come.
And okay that moment, I lost my temper and the impact it had on my son. I will not allow this week to pass without agreeing on a session or a series of sessions with my mentor on anger management. I encourage you name three positive life defining moments that you can and should multiply. Was it pausing from jumping into your first zoom right in the morning to take a few moments to greet your loved ones first?
A blessed day? Was it that time you intentionally bit your lip, you shut up and you listened to a client that led to a discovery of new ways to bring in customers? Or maybe it was a decision to end a particular workday right with co employees, sharing your experiences for the day that were either causes for applause or indications of protocols that needed further improvement. Also identify three life defining moments that take away value from your journey in any particular day.
Was it that moment you almost ran over a young kid crossing the street when you opted to check your phone notifications right while driving? Or was it that time during the morning break that you failed to acknowledge a team member who had just achieved a breakthrough in a process of the business? Why? Because you're so focused on current deliverables.
Another life defining moment that took away value was at that time over dinner that you annoyingly cut off your daughter who was so excited to share her school award as you're still thinking of that day's missed targets. So the question is, can I move from a defined moment to a lifetime experience? Of course you can maximize and multiply the moments that were good. Cut down and minimize those moments that you know did not add value to others, including you.
We are what we repeatedly do. Aristotle reminds us. Excellence then, he said, is not an act but a habit. So think about it guys.
The same goes for the negative stuff that we allow in our lives. Mediocrity, settling for the minimum, and other destructive ways. They become habits too. You become the person through the things you repeatedly practice.
It's a Friday and it's time for us to pause for a moment and redefine. Right the things that we repeatedly do. What moments do you think should you maximize? You should multiply that you already positively do?
Number two, what moments? Defining moments that are in your habits that you, it's about time, must stop and minimize and do away with. And number three, what can you do to help your organization experience more positive, defining moments in the journey they have with you? Have a great weekend.