“There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do.”

–     Freya Stark, British explorer and travel writer (1893-1993)

The word “in” is really significant in that quote.

What we believe is one thing.  What we believe in is THE thing.

This morning, in a small group of men who share breakfast (and Faith) each Friday, a friend shared this concept in a different context, and it’s been gnawing at me ever since I left the table.

I mean, if there really is a $64,000 question, this is the million dollar answer.

The battle between what we know to be right and what we tend to do is exhausting.  So perhaps it’s less about engaging in that battle than it is avoiding it altogether.

“No happiness if different….”

It’s not that there will be no sadness if they’re the same, it’s just that the effort will be invested in a more meaningful outcome.

“Don’t just do something!  Stand there!”

–     Dick Heston (1933-2002), in a classic PaPa Rich play on words

The pace of life has quickened since he passed, but even long before he was gone, Dad realized the value of time to think.  To plan.  To consider.

Quiet time is a dying asset, yet it is one worth maniacally committing to.  In our hyper-connected, always “on,” screen dominated, text-over-conversation world, the uninterrupted space and time is harder than ever to come by.  And, flagging a time or space as uninterruptible is even more challenging.

Habits, they say are formed by repetition.

What if we blocked 30 minutes each day for a month to do nothing.  To sit, quietly and think.  Reflect.  Consider.  What if we just used it to decompress and breathe?

Might make a difference.

Elwood:  “It’s 106 miles to Chicago.  We got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes.  It’s dark, and we’re wearing sunglasses.”

Jake:  “Hit it.”

–    Dialogue from The Blues Brothers, perhaps the best movie ever made, just sayin’…

106 miles sounds like a long way.  In this, “I’m going to drive a block to the corner store to get some milk” world we live in, 106 miles sounds like a really long way.  It’s not uncommon for our business targets and personal goals to seem similarly far off.

But, it is only 106 miles.  If we had to, we could ride a bike.  It’d be tiring, and it’d be a lot of work, but, it’s only 106 miles.  Still, even when we acknowledge that the distance is, in fact, manageable, in a lot of ways, some of the uncertainty we face can make it seem like it’s dark, and we’re wearing sunglasses.

My suggestion?  Let’s “hit it!”

As we build plans, let’s first assess where we are and “how far it is to Chicago,” or wherever our “destination” might be.  As we build plans, we ought to make sure we know where the off ramps and the on ramps are, where the speed limit changes, and where we might face detours or traffic snarls.  If we’re building aggressive plans, the odds are it won’t be an easy trip, but if ideas, focus, Faith and effort are our fuel, then we do have a full tank of gas…..

What does it take to make a plan actionable and realistic?  Here’s a partial list:

+    A commitment to cause meaningful, positive change.

+    A commitment to refuse to make or accept the same mistakes

+    A commitment to make new mistakes of aggression and to learn and grow from them

NOTE:  Commitment defined; At a bacon and egg breakfast, the chicken was “involved,” the pig was committed!

+    Ideas.  Ideas.  Ideas.  Ideas!

+    Trust, effort, focus and belief.

We’re difference makers.

Let’s hit it.

“Practice as if you are the worst.  Perform as if you are the best.”

–       Unknown

“When you are not practicing, remember, someone somewhere is practicing, and when you meet him, he will win.”

–       “Easy” Ed Macauley (1928 – 2011), NBA basketball star.

There are a ton of clichés about practice.  They’re almost all true.

Perfect practice makes perfect.  Work hard on Tuesday to win big on Saturday.  Repetition matters, etc.

All true.

We talk from time to time about sharpening the axe.  Practice is like a perfect sharpening stone.  There is mental practice and preparation, there is physical practice, there is visioning practice – seeing the outcomes.

In the end, though, practice is about time spent on the right things in advance of when you’ll need to execute.  It can be drudgery and it can be difficult.  Early on, we almost always are the worst.  Over time, we become the best.  Somewhere, right now, someone is practicing.  Is it us?

“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

     –     J. K. Rowling (b. 1965), author of the Harry Potter books

 Talent can be over-rated.  Lots of things can be over-rated, for that matter, but quality choices — well, those may be the most under-rated things of all.

When the time comes to write our epithets, will we be know for a gift, or a talent?  An accomplishment or an honor?

Or will we be known for the choices we made?

Tomorrow, there will be choices.  And the day after, and forever.  No one bats a thousand.  The difference makers are the ones among us who, more often than not, can be in this moment, and making whatever choice is called for in this moment, based on our best knowledge, experience, instinct and intentions.

What we truly are…

“Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the cornfield.”

–               Dwight D. Eisenhower

“That’s why I did so much cipherin’ before we came out here!”

–               Dick Heston, who left this world for a better one almost 13 years ago

No matter how good our plans are, they’ve got to be connected to the field.  Where things actually happen.

President Eisenhower understood (probably because he was a top military leader), and so did Dad (probably because he was a farmer!) that you could plan all you wanted to, but your plan had better have close connections to the field, and better darn sure have some flexibility built in.  Dad “ciphered” a lot, channeling, tongue-in-cheek, his inner Jethro Bodine.  The cipherin’ almost always took place on a First National Bank note pad, with a mechanical pencil.  In later years, the ciphering got done on a little pocket calendar that we got him every year for Christmas…and he’d pull those notes out of his shirt pocket out in the field.

That’s another consideration.  If our plan won’t fit in our shirt pocket, or easily in to the memory of the people closest to the execution of the plan, it might be over-baked.

Do a little cipherin’ along the way, pop those notes in our shirt pockets and then and get out in the field, and make something incredible happen today!Pla

“Let’s face it: if you and I have the same capabilities, the same energy, the same staff, if the only thing that’s different between you and me is the products we can get, and if I can get a better product than you, I’m going to be a better chef.”

–     Thomas Keller, legendary American chef

And so, sourcing the ingredients (“the good stuff”) becomes really, really important.  Whether we’re a chef or whatever!

I’ve been to one of Keller’s restaurants (Per Se in New York) twice, but I’ve not yet been to The French Laundry in Napa.  There is a six month waiting list for reservations, and we’ve never had six month’s notice before our trips.  That six month wait, though, isn’t just because Thomas Keller can cook his a** off.

It’s because he understands that the better the ingredients that go in, the better the creation that comes out.

So, what is on the Difference Makers grocery list?  Ideas, people, skills, experiences, talents, different-thinking, perspective, context and caring are dominant on the list.

Hiring, training, coaching, teaching and leading with that list in mind will (and does) make a difference.

“You should never be proud of doing what’s right.  You should just do what’s right.”

     –     Dean Smith, legendary University of North Carolina basketball coach, who passed last weekend

Or, as Dad said, “It’s always easy to know the right thing to do, but it sure can be hard to do it.”

In fact, precious little in our lives actually comes down to right or wrong, good or bad.  Yet, even in the small things there is often a right way to do a thing.  (Think Mr. Miagi from Karate Kid here….wax on….wax off…)

If our satisfaction always comes from the thing, we’ll be disappointed more often than if we relish in doing what we do the right way every chance we get.  It’s not about pride, as Coach Smith reminded us.  It’s about a sense of well being.  It’s about peace.  It’s about making a difference.

“Well planned does not mean you know the next step. Well planned means (ideally) you are writing a draft of history, before it happens.”

–     Capt. Jim Briggs, Austin bidness-man and military alumni

In response to yesterday’s post, Captain Briggs offered this, as part of a response he sent over via e-mail.  It’s a unique and valuable perspective on the concept and importance of planning.

“It’s (one day, week, month, quarter, year) from now.  _______ just happened.  We knew / did not know _______ was going to happen.  What are our options / choices?  What might we do next?”  These are valuable questions to ask as we build plans.

Covey’s mantra is beginning with the end in mind, and when we do just that and then work our way backwards to the beginning, our plans take on more meaning, because they’re anchored in the outcomes we desire.  There is a difference between the outcome we desire and “an outcome.”

Everyone gets an outcome.  Difference makers get the outcomes they desire.

Thanks, Captain Briggs!

“Planning is bringing the future in to the present so that you can do something about it now.”

–               Alan Lakein, author, How To Get Control of Your Time and Your Life

In business, a solid plan is how we tie what we do to what the client needs to accomplish.  In life, it’s about deciding what to do and what not to do, based on priorities.

Liken suggests categorically focusing on short, middle and long-term goals, and then prioritizing them into A, B and C priorities.

Whatever the term or priority, it will serve us well to honor the direction of another famous author, Stephen Covey, who admonishes us to “begin with the end in mind.”

It’s an obvious, but critical call out.  Too often, we look at our to-do list and simply start listing things in the order of urgency.  By focusing on what we’re seeking to accomplish, we can better honor those activities that will get us closer to that goal at the expense of the activities that won’t.

A subtle and sometimes perplexing pursuit (there are things we have to do just to get to the next step, even if they don’t, this instant, seem accretive to the outcome), but a clear picture of the future helps us bring it in to the present (context), so that we can take decisive action.

This is how planning begins for the difference maker.