BUILD or…DIE

Nothing really new here…. just a reminder because we all have an “F-ing” problem.  

We FORGET.

The secret of the greatest individuals, teams & leaders is that they are constantly BUILDING.   Which is different than just DOING.    DO or DIE is a fear-based push up the hill that may work for a season but leads to burnout and a loss of vision. 

BUILD or die is the one you want.   It involves intentional slowing down from the doing to think, write, DREAM, and then do.   It involves embracing the routine cycles of life — grass needs mowed, paint needs touched up, cars need washed, your physical core needs Pushed/Pulled/Planked, your mind needs challenged, your heart needs fueled, and your spirit needs replenished.  It’s not once & done.    If you view life as constantly having to push the rolling stone up the hill you will be cursed by the routine of it all.   If you view the cycles (I call mine “Rue-tines”) as an opportunity to slow down, enjoy the present, and “lose yourself” in discovering the nuances of each day and growing through the recurring seasons of life you will be blessed.

Toto hasn’t shared his Tolstoy quote with us in awhile so here it is.   I found it speaking to my heart all the more on this March 27 dreary gray cold Ohio day:

“I have lived through much, and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness. A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one’s neighbor – such is my idea of happiness. And then, on top of all that, you for a mate, and children, perhaps – what more can the heart of a man desire?”

So whether you’re in the Camelback mountains being jolted by the blue desert skies and sunshine or grinding through the end of an already long winter extended into overtime, remember that today — you get to CHOOSE.  You get to choose your outlook. You get to choose whether to build and live, or to not build and passively die a slow death. 

So by way of reminder, here’s the money page that’s at the end of every essential in all our playbooks.   The builder’s journey isn’t up & to the right.   It’s fits and starts.   It’s a cycle.   It’s a choice, and then another, and then another.   It’s simple but it’s not easy.   It’s got acute pain and acute joy.

While you’re doing some “rue-tine” in your day today, use it as a time to reflect on your Current State.  Take stock of where you are.   Then REMIND yourself of your DREAM.   Slow down and WRITE.  And then ACT.   Dream & Do.            

Together we improve.