Yikes!
I saw my first back-to-school ad this week and it reminds me that summer goes by way to fast…and that we need to be learning. There is an old Cherokee legend about a grandfather teaching his grandson an important life lesson. The grandfather explains to the young boy that we all have a battle going on inside of us. He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ that live inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”
There is an old Cherokee legend about a grandfather teaching his grandson an important life lesson. The grandfather explains to the young boy that we all have a battle going on inside of us. He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ that live inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: ‘Which wolf wins?’
The old Cherokee replied simply, “The one you feed.”
This is a good starting point for where one needs to focus in ths day and age of extreme noise, distractions and silly things to keep us busy!
We spend so much time on social media, or on our phones, texting, when a call out to your friends will prevent sore thumbs from texting, or in front of the TV or a computer screen. I think it is a major distraction to be honest.
We need to connect deeper with each other and in person if we are really going to make positive change on the planet.
We need to come together in person to share, to learn and to talk out our challenges. We need new thinking to the same old chronic problems, that face us in todays society!
What battle do we choose then? What wolf do we feed? If you are an entrepreneur, choose the wolf that brings you joy but the one that can pay you the most return on your investment of time, energy and money!
If you work for a living, let go of the negative people at work and focus on the key task at hand. Give it your all, be enthusiastic, creative, bring new ideas to situations you face at work or in your own venture if that is you!
Let go of the distractions a bit, share reading time, or time to learn with social media time. In otherwords, instead of an hour on social media, do a half hour on it and read for the other!
Instead of watching 3 hours of TV, cut back one night and take a workshop, the library, the school board have many affordable learning sessions to help you learn, engage and be more social!
Get out of the trap you might be in and break the patterns of zoning out via watching T.V. or sifting through your feed on Facebook and Twitter…
Choose new patterns of learning, meditating at night, a course to help you in your business or work, perhaps exercising, taking “Hot” yoga, or a dance class or an Improv class,,,
The bottom line is take time away from this busy, wired world we live in and do new things to keep you sharp (mentally, physcially and emotionally),
Be “ABLE” Always Be Learning Everything”.
When it comes time to choosing your wolf, choose the one that will make your a better, richer, smarter person.
One other key point is that I am not suggesting you are less than for spending time online or vegging out in front of the TV…not at all. Sometimes we need to waste time to just disconnect from it all. We don’t need to be doing something all of the time, but there are better more productive things you can do with your time.
As we inch closer to the fall, now is a great time to register for online learning classes, or programs offered at the School Board, the library or at University or College. Pick your wolf (interest and passion) and make something happen from that.Now go have a great week!
Now go have a great week!
Cheers/David Cohen
BIO:
David is an author, business coach and facilitator and was the former host/producer and creator of the Small Business Big Ideas Show heard weekly for over 9 years. David has taught thousands over the years in both the non-profit and for profit sectors and has coached hundreds of start-ups to make those important first steps. He specializes in helping small business owners mine their strengths, get clear on their value, their markets and then begin to develop a sales and marketing game plan that gets results.
He also can be booked to do his keynote presentations; “The 8 Keys to Success, How I got to Kiss the Stanley Cup and his new keynote called “A breakthrough-through the glass”- how to overcome the fear that life and business might throw your way. He leads workshops in sales, marketing, market research, business plans, target marketing and customer service programs. David is currently with the City of Toronto, heading up an entrepreneur training program for inner city youth and adults. He has taught thousands and coached numerous clients in the area of Small Business Start-ups and business growth strategies.