I have 4 different blog topics I’m working on but the phrase above moved me and touched on a fear I have. I was watching a Denzel Washington Motivational Speech 2019. Here is my focus today – this piece truly moved and impacted me; he asks the listener to:
“Imagine being on your death bed and as you’re lying there you see ghosts standing around your death bed. These ghosts represent your unfulfilled potential, the talents you didn’t use, ghosts of the ideas you never acted on and they are standing around your bed angry, disappointed and upset. They came to you to say they are upset with you because you could have brought them to life and now, they must go to the grave with you, un-used. So, I ask you today, how many ghosts will be around your bed when your day comes?”
If I don’t start making things happen, I will have ghosts around my death bed and that scared the heck out of me. I realized this a few years ago and I’m focused on not having any ghosts around my death bed. How are you doing in taking full advantage of your talents and skills? Are you vocalizing your ideas and breathing life into them? If no, when will you start? Are you afraid? I was and still am. I had to figure out something; what do I want the blueprint to be for the remainder of my life?
I really want you to take a few minutes and think about that, what’s the blueprint of your life? Let me confirm something for you, it’s difficult to create a blueprint for your life. I would encourage you to start with the basics, at least that’s where I started. Let me share one possible process:
- Define the person you want to be – first, prepare a document discussing your Core Values, your personal guiding principles like – Honesty, Trust, Faith, Personal Accountability, Personal Growth, Compassion, Passion, etc.
- Discuss how others will see you live your Core Values;
- Define your legacy – how do you want to be remembered;
- Discuss things to be accomplished in your lifetime to build your legacy;
- Know what you want and don’t want in your life;
I view these as the building blocks to start, create and build your Life Blueprint. If you’re not clear on what you believe or stand for, how could you ever build a blueprint for your life? You can’t. Your Core Values are your life’s road map. They will serve as your internal compass and will always take you back to your life’s course. Have you ever heard someone say “I had a gut feeling about that/him/her”; well, that’s you Core Values speaking to you and you better listen. If your gut is saying don’t do something, I strongly encourage you not to do it. I believe our Core Values send alarms to us about people (ever get a weird feeling around certain people – pay attention to that feeling), about situations (ever see somebody do something and your gut tells you to leave – leave, don’t question it). That’s your gut saying, “you are off course” and you’re at risk and you need to get back on track. The key point here, do you listen?
Learn what drives you! Define and clarify your dreams. Dreams need goals – establish goals to be achieved so you know you’re making progress within your blueprint. These goals should serve as your personal mile markers as you work through your blueprint. Every failure is one step closer to success. The phrase I heard from Denzel Washington and discussed in a prior Blog – “Fall Forward”:
” Fall Forward so you can see ahead; a Fall Backwards will only show you your past so you’re likely to repeat the things that led to your failure.”
He cited these 2 individuals which demonstrates that failure leads to success….
- Thomas Edison conducted 1,000 failed experiments, but during his 1,001 try he discovered the lightbulb;
- Reggie Jackson struck out 2,600 times, the most in history but we only remember his 3 home runs and his title of Mr. October in the 1977 World Series;
As you think through and you start building your blueprint, think BIG and dream. You will have both success and failure as you start your journey. Your life will never be a straight path, you will venture off track and your Core Values will guide you back to your blueprint. I want you to be prepared for blockers and doubters and saboteurs in your skills and abilities, but don’t get off course. You will need to be, no, you must be disciplined, you must be committed. I believe these 2 things, discipline and commitment are the keys to why only 2-3% will fulfill their blueprint.
Your Self Awareness journey will support and be additional glue to keep you on track with your life’s Blueprint. Many of my prior blogs will come into play on your Blueprint/Self-Awareness journey –
- Relationship Assessment (clarity of who is in your life vs who should be in your life)
- Change=Loss (Loss and grieving will play a significant role as you work through your Life’s Blueprint and Self-Awareness journey)
- Anger vs Disappointment (the articulation of disappointment vs displaying anger)
- Choices, Expectations and Consequences (you will face many choices-know the consequences)
- Conflict Avoidance vs Accountability Avoidance (which are you?)
- Fall Forward (seeing what’s ahead of you)
- “Hand-Up” vs “Hand-Out” (only one adds value)
Once again, I want to thank you for being on my journey. If this is a return visit to my blog, thank you. If this is your first read, welcome and I hope you’ll visit my blog and read my other postings. GreyBull Consulting LLC is my company and I specialize in Personal/Leadership Coaching. For those of you who need assistance in creating your Life’s Blueprint, drop me an email. As a Coach there are internal journeys one must take for your own self-awareness of who you are and from where you come. If you’re prepared to partner with a Coach who will rattle your world and not just tell you’re great and hand you a bill, give me call.
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Play It Forward 