57% of Books Purchased are Never Read Through to the End

Wow! I am sure that is true of me too. I own a lot of unfinished books. There are so many fascinating topics out there and I am always finding one for my work or just to read for pleasure. But halfway through I get distracted and end up on another adventure. The book gets left behind, with a marker keeping my place, until the day I rediscover the book and continue my journey of enlightenment or reading pleasure.

A girlfriend mentioned a book to me the other day and asked if I had finished it. We were given it at midnight mass on Christmas Eve at our church. I pulled it out of the double deep stack of books on the bookshelf in my office and checked it out. There it was, a third of the way through the book, one of my favorite book markers with stars on it - "Shoot for the Moon, Even If You Miss You'll Land Among the Stars." True of any risk or undertaking. I ended up spending the next few days finishing the book, thoroughly enjoying the wisdom it shared, vowing to buy several copies of it for my friends and family members.

How many times does this happen with not only books, but projects, ideas or risky adventures. We start with purpose and passion that sometimes fizzles or gets waylaid by a distraction. How can you stay connected and make it successfully through to the end?

The key is to make a plan and focus on sticking to it. In addition, make sure you have the desire to even do it and picture yourself working through it and finishing. Imagine the emotions you will feel when you do.  Along with enjoying the emotions associated with being "there", create an environment that is conducive to staying on track by surrounding yourself with supportive people and eliminating distractions. Maybe put the book or whatever you want to focus on right where you can't ignore it. A client used to hang the dog's leash on the bed post so when she got up she would take him for a walk right away, before she had time to make excuses for them both not to exercise that day. These all help - but the key is to have a plan mapped out. A well thought out risk with a plan will ensure action and ultimately success!

As Much As You Would

When I was a little girl my mom would always make our birthday cakes with frosting from scratch. I remember attempting to make frosting one day and asked my mom how much confectioner's sugar and milk to add into the bowl. "As much as you would", she would reply. The problem is, I didn't know how much I would because I'd never done it. I hadn't developed the feel for how much I would, like my mom who had made the frosting at least 100 times - (actually so many more times if you figure nine cakes a year minimum for all of us kids and our dad's birthdays). She just knew. It seemed right. It just felt right.

And that is how I developed my favorite recipes, chocolate chip cookies especially. I just knew how much of each ingredient to add as I played with recipe perfection over the years.

Many times, when we take a risk or leap to attempt something new, it requires a bit of "as much as you would." We don't really know but we tap into our intuition and along with our knowledge and experience are able to figure out the next step forward. It may require tweaking along the way, but with experience we are well on our way to perfection.