The Little Things

This week we were blessed to welcome our new son "Matteo" into the world. At just over 7lbs at birth and now a little lighter than that, he has reminded me about the importance of the "little things" in life. When it comes right down to it, most of the important things in life are the little things. Yes your wedding day, the birth of a child, the big promotion, can all be major days in your life and provide lots of great memories. But the quality of your life isn't determined so much by those few great "big" moments, as much as it is by the accumulation of all of the amazing little ones.

The same is also true in the business world. While the major decisions you make are important, the success you have will be determined more by the multitude of small actions - the little things - that you do each day, each week, and each month, that accumulate to shape your destiny.

This is a critical concept to understand because it can be easy to miss. Many of us fall into the trap of focusing so hard on the few milestone moments in our lives that we gloss over the multitude of little moments and small decisions we make where the difference is really made.

So this week I encourage you to become more aware of the many wonderful little things in your life and appreciate them. I also want you to take a look at how you manage your days to see how you are using those little things you do each day. Are you executing them at 100%? Are you giving them the attention they require? If not, start. This is where success is gained or lost.

Taking Responsibility

Well it's the day after the election for us Canadians today and whether you are happy with the results or not, no one can deny it was one of the most interesting elections in a long time. Contrary to what many thought (myself included) a few weeks ago, the results of the election left us with a MUCH different political picture than we had before. Now the question is, where do we go from here as a country and a government?

The next six months will be a great test for Mr. Harper and his government. Will they live up to the promises they've made? Will they do what they said they would do? Will they take responsibility? Only time will tell. I sure hope so.

The same test applies to our next official opposition party the NDP. One of the criticisms of the NDP and Mr. Layton that I've heard again and again was that they could make any promises they wanted to because we all knew they'd never have to live up to them because they were a "3rd place party". Well that has changed. While they aren't the governing party, they do have SOME power now and it will be interesting to see if they will hold true to what they've stood for in during the campaign. Both parties have will have to step up the plate and take responsibility for the promises they have made over the last five weeks if they expect to maintain voter respect and confidence. But the politicians aren't the only ones who will have to take responsibility...

Now it is time for every citizen of voting age to take responsibility for his or her choices yesterday as well. Typically, the week after an election is the time when people like to gripe and complain about the results. No matter what the results, it seems there are always some who can find a reason to complain. My challenge to everyone; take responsibility for your choices and actions yesterday. But, what does that mean?

1. If you didn't vote, don't complain. Far too many think of voting as a right rather than a privilege. People are dying all over the world fighting for the opportunity to vote. We should never take that right for granted. But if you didn't take the time to vote yesterday then, in my mind, you don't really have a right to complain about the results.

2. If you voted for the winning party, congratulations. Now your job is to hold your representatives' feet to the fire. Make sure that they follow through on what they said they would do.

3. If you voted for one of the parties who did not win, you still have role to play. Mourn for a day or two if you must, but then get involved in the process. If your party needs help to attract more voters, share it's platform etc. help them out. Be a part of the process. You can't criticize your party's failure to win if you did nothing to help them.

Let's all step up and realize that no matter who is "in power" in this country, as long as we are a democracy (and thank God that we are) as citizens we all have the right, and the responsibility, to make sure that our representatives actually represent our interests and concerns.

What Are You Spending Your Time Thinking About?

It's April 26th, 2011. As we speak there are wars for freedom and democracy raging in several parts of the world, not to mention a war in Afghanistan where our troops have been dying for almost a decade now, a war in Iraq and in this part of the world, a federal election looming in little more than a week. What was the number one news story on the radio today? The wedding of two people half a world away with little or no connection to our part of the world. I have just one question;

What in the world is going on?

So what does this have to do with you and your success? Lots. What are you spending the greater part of your energy, time and resources on? What do you think about most often? Are you focused on your goals and dreams and how you plan to achieve them, or are you bogged down with the details of life, or worse, with frivolous things like the wedding of Will and Kate?

Now let me just state for the record, that I have nothing against the royal family or Will and Kate. I wish them all the best of life and happiness and hope their wedding is all they hope it will be. My point is not that there is anything wrong with being interested in the royal family per se, Where there IS something wrong, is when we let distractions to get in the way of what really matters.

The amount of time, energy and money that has gone into reporting, analyzing every details of this event is ridiculous. I have the tv on as I write this and in the time since I started writing this blog (about 20mins) there has been a commercial for: the Will and Kate movie, a special on Kate's dress and another one on the menu of the big day. In 20 MINUTES! Is this really what matters most to people right now?

The truth, of course, is no it isn't. There are dozens if not hundreds, of things more important to joe average right now, especially in light of all of the others issues our world is facing, and yet, many people will be taking time out of their lives on Friday to watch this ceremony. The important issue here isn't the wedding itself, but WHY so many people are being taken in by it?

Why do we care?

For some people, taking time out of life for things like the royal wedding is just a matter of curiosity, and there's nothing really wrong with that as long as you don't spend too much time on it. But for many, this is just one, in a line, of distractions used to avoid dealing with real life. And that is dangerous.

Why do you think most people fail to achieve what they want from their lives? It's not because they lack the talent, skill or desire. It's because they lose focus. Most of us start with great goals and plans for our lives, but then life gets in the way. We have to work, make meals, do laundry, pay bills, prepare meals, care for our family and then we get home at the end of the day and are too tired to focus on anything but watching some tv and going to bed. So where is the time to focus on our goals and work toward a better future? There isn't any... or is there?

If you aren't where you want to be in your life right now and think you have no time to get there, ask yourself the following questions:

• How many hours do I spend watching tv each day? (Keep track for a week. It might scare you)
• How many hours do I sleep? (You may not be getting enough, but you may also be getting more than you need. Most people only need 7hrs/night)

This week I challenge you to spend some time thinking about what you spend your time on. Is it constructive? Is it taking you closer to, or further from, your goals? A small investment of time each day, compounded over the years of a lifetime can make a huge difference. Good luck and stay focused.

I'm trying to have patience with this. I understand that people ar