A friend of mine sent me recently an article about the author of Game of Thrones and its writing habits. Simple, honest, and straight to the point. It made me think about a lot of things but especially about the process of achieving the results we (assume we) seek.
Every day I mentor people that pursue a change in their lives. The majority of them know clearly what they want and most times manage to detail the process to start moving forward. After a few days or weeks, the movement collapses. Why? In my opinion…
The idea of transformation is more appealing than the change itself.
In between WM programs, my “office” is somewhere in the middle of the grapes. This week while walking, I paid more attention than usual at the vineyards. While trying to digest the words received from my friend, my ideas became more clear, step by step, as always.
The cherry on top of the cake was few advisory board meetings I attended this week. Thanks to technology I was able to keep my shorts and sandals underneath my serious shirt.
Three different business realities, three different cultures, but curiously the same core challenge. How to be more precise in your activity in order to differentiate from the competition and be able to accomplish your mission?
One of the great things about being a mentor is the room I have to give advise and share my opinions, especially if I am asked.
Few highlights of this week based on my learnings and observations:
Focus: You can’t be good at everything, and it’s hard to be great at more than one thing, so pick the one thing you’re going to become great at and focus on it.
Reminder: Just because a previous attempt didn’t work, it doesn’t mean you cannot be good at something. Keep searching for your “one” thing.
Lesson: Vineyards are good at producing grapes, not oranges or any other fruit, over time they usually become better at doing what they do.
Consistency: Focus is useless if you’re only focused every now and then. It’s showing up time after time that makes the difference.
Reminder: Consistency starts every morning with good habits, put your phone away.
Lesson: No matter the surprises the weather tends to play on us, vineyards are always following the plan. Producing grapes all year round.
Patience: If you’re focused and consistent, then let time work for you. Results will come when they come. Focus on the system, not the goal.
Reminder: Learn to enjoy the pauses between action, there is a considerable amount of life there waiting to be experienced.
Lesson: Year after year, I never saw a harvest happening exactly on the same day, but every fall we have grapes and a new wine on the making.
If you pay attention to nature, you can learn so much about having a meaningful life. As a consequence, you will experience better days where you probably can find happiness in almost every little thing.
For instance, this week I received a couple of Pay it Forward contributions from Alumni of previous Walking Mentorship programs, meaning that financial support is now available for people that really need it. Pretty amazing!
In July (6-13) we will have a Walking Mentorship program in one of the most inspiring places in good old Europe – The Via Francigena – in the Alps. I still have one place in the group. If you think you need this time for yourself, apply and I will find a way to bring you on board.
In the meantime,
keep walking with me,
João Perre Viana
