When was the last time you felt like you were in the presence of greatness? Yesterday, 25 of my friends and I sat in a crowded hallway awaiting our 15 minute claim to fame by being included in a Minute With Maxwell.
The John Maxwell Company produces a video each day in which John is given a word by a follower, or in this case a member of his coaching team, and then John proceeds to speak to that word as it relates to leadership or personal growth development.
There were several “minutes” filmed yesterday and it amazed me that any person could stay focused long enough to speak to over a hundred words when provided less than a minute to prepare for each one.
As we awaited our turn, we prepared by making jokes and acting in a ridiculous way that could only be compared to grade school children at recess time. I did not really understand what had happened as a result of this behavior until my teammates and I discussed it later that evening. As we discussed our individual experiences I realized that this childlike behavior was our way of eliminating the stress of the moment as we prepared to take the stage in a video that would be seen by tens of thousands.
I was amazed at how John rolled though each video without missing a beat. Our role was simple, our name, where we were from and give John the word. So much effort on our part to ‘do it right” yet for John it appeared a well scripted and thought out delivery.
Why so much effort on our part to complete such a simple task? My answer is simple – It was something we had never done before. My take away after sharing this experience with my friend and colleagues was that we simply needed to take our focus off the things that could go wrong and enjoy the moment for what it was.
I think we look at life like this at times – so much effort to do it right and a total disregard for simply enjoying the path we are travelling. Life is short and we seem to get so caught up in the destination that we completely forget about the journey. Every day we set out to check things off our list so that we can feel like we accomplished something but the thing we leave off our list is the unknown.
How many of you have a list that will not be completed today? Sometimes I feel like I don’e even have enough time to make the list. My challenge to you today is to add the word “opportunity” to your list and as you go throughout the day, look for that one thing that is unplanned that may just be the one thing that really matters.
Maybe that one opportunity to revert to the way we approached life a child will result in a memory or experience that will prove to be the one thing that happens today that you will remember. Don’t let today’s list get in the way of what might be the one thing that really matters.
Take a minute today to create a memory that you will remember tomorrow!
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Barry Smith www.buildingwhatmatters.com 8/20/12 image by author
