Inner Drive

"The answers to the question of values will come only when you're willing to take a journey through your inner territory -- a journey that'll require opening doors that are shut, walking in dark spaces that are frightening, and touching the flame that burns. But at the end is truth."

How can values be scary?

For some, getting clear about personal values is a frightening journey towards the truth. And once you figure out what you truly care about, what drives you, or what really gets you out of bed every day, there is no going back! You simply cannot ignore it!

The trouble is, many people do not dig deep enough to intimately articulate what is important to them. They do not build that conscience to guide them through life. Do you want your conscience nattering at you all the time? Probably not!

However, as scary as this journey can be there are certain benefits to personal values clarity:

Values Clarity is Empowering
Personal values clarity is empowering. When we are clear about our personal values, we are much more in control of our own lives. For instance, when we are acutely aware of our personal values and live them, suddenly the smallest actions or gestures can have a huge impact.

Further, with greater awareness of what matters we tend to make decisions based on integrity for longer-term positive results -- not to mention peace of mind. We feel good and empowered when we can honestly say we made choices in life based on what we truly value.

Values Motivate
Values motivate us in that they keep us focused on why we do what we do and on the ends toward which we are striving. Life can get busy and it can get tough. Have you ever needed to remind yourself why you embarked a new difficult endeavor?

Reminding ourselves of our values can pull us through difficult times and keep us motivated to reach our goals or to take us through life transitions.

Values Rejuvenate
Similarly, we refer to our values when we need to replenish our energy. As Kouzes and Posner put it, "values are the banners that fly as we persist, as we struggle, as we toil." When you are feeling off balance and in need of rejuvenation we are drawn to spending time doing the things we value most. It might be watching a football game or spending time with family. Whatever that value may be, refocusing on what matters can be a powerful way to get energized so that we can take on our next challenge.

Values Resolve Conflicts
Values can keep you and your colleagues, friends, family, community on course, especially when you become engaged in conflicts or controversies. Getting caught up in conflict can keep individuals preoccupied with petty differences. Instead, adopting a broader, bigger picture focus through values clarity can assist individuals with moving past the pettiness of the conflict.

Ultimately, when you know what matters to you, letting go of the small things that do not matter can be quite freeing. It allows you to let go of getting what you think you need, instead of what you really need.

Values Provide Focus
Values can also help us move forward with focus. Just reminding yourself of the principles that are most important often can refocus your attention on the things that really matter.

Understanding our core values can raise us up to see the bigger picture, removing unimportant activities and actions from your busy schedule. Using values as our guidepost for action encourages us to do more of the "right stuff" while kicking the "wrong stuff" to the curb.

So, although the journey toward realizing what we truly value in life can be a bit daunting the benefits are many. Get clear about what you believe in! Take the time to self-reflect, to soul search or to re-assess your values. Doing the work to get there is well worth it!

Beliefs

You may have heard a rumor on Twitter, by email, or wherever it is that rumors start that October 2010 has 5 Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and that this happens only once every 823 years. This got me thinking, is it really true? So I did some research and found out that the exact same breakdown was used in 1982, 1993, 1999 and again in 2021. I started to think a little more about whose beliefs do I adhere to? Do I ebb and flow with the latest trends and opinions? It’s all too easy to think because it is in the paper, news or on the internet that it is true. Literally, hundreds of peoples’ response to the above fact was that they just accepted it in their stride and thought, “WOW! What an opportunity”. It seems most people are happy to accept “information from authority”. It’s hard to imagine the five weekends concept as being a threat to any particular religion, politics, or ideology, and that’s apparently as deep as most peoples’ filters operate. However, it is a precarious position that people put themselves in if they allow others to program their thoughts and beliefs. My challenge to you in the coming month is to take notice of what you read, hear and see and challenge the validity of it. If nothing else, it will help you become stronger in your beliefs as you stand for what you absolutely value and believe in

Excellence

Fo those who know me well, know that something I strive for and expect of myself is Excellence. I recently came across this outstanding article and wanted to share it with you:

Quality Is Not a Thing, It's a Way

By Harvey Mackay

I recently had the opportunity to speak to members of the Food Processing Suppliers Association. In doing my preparation, one thing that kept coming up was food safety. One mistake can destroy a company.

How would you like to deal with that kind of pressure? I bet if you asked most businesspeople if they could be 99.9% perfect, they'd take it. In some industries that might cut the mustard, but it certainly won't in others.

If everyone achieved 99.9% quality, according to Insight Syncrude Canada Ltd., this is what could happen:

· Two plane landings daily at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago would be unsafe.

· The IRS would lose two million documents this year.

· 22,000 checks would be deducted from the wrong bank accounts in the next 60 minutes.

· 1,314 phone calls would be misplaced every minute.

· 12 babies would be given to the wrong parents each day.

· 268,500 defective tires would be shipped this year.

· 103,208 income tax returns would be processed incorrectly this year.

· 2,488,200 books with the wrong cover would be shipped in the next 12 months.

· 5,517,200 cases of soft drinks produced in the next 12 months would be flatter than a bad tire.

· 3,056 copies of tomorrow's Wall Street Journal would be missing one of the three sections.

· 18,322 pieces of mail would be mishandled in the next hour.

· 880,000 credit cards in circulation would turn out to have incorrect cardholder information on their magnetic strips.

· 20,000 incorrect drug prescriptions would be written in the next 12 months.

· 114,500 mismatched pairs of shoes would be shipped this year.

· 107 incorrect medical procedures would be performed by the end of the day today.

When I founded Mackay Envelope Company many years ago, every time we landed a new account we checked and double-checked the first order to make certain it was correct. Nothing is more destructive to a company's bottom line and its relations with customers than defective products. We still test throughout the manufacturing process and then test again just before shipping. Then we test the testers to make sure they know what they're doing.

Quality is a mindset. It must be an obsession. It has to be part of a company's culture. You can't just talk about it. You have to practice it every day for years.

As Aristotle said, "Quality is not an act. It is a habit."

Have you ever seen a team run on the field yelling, "We want to be number two?" Everyone wants to be #1. Those who actually achieve it are those who are willing to put the blood, sweat, and tears into their effort.

The American Society for Quality Control published a booklet many years ago called "The Hare and the Tortoise Revisited: The Businessman's Guide to Continuous Quality Improvement." One story tells about a Japanese quality expert who stresses the need for patience and discipline. He likens the quality process to farming bamboo. Once the bamboo seed is planted, the farmer waters it every day. He does that for four years before the tree even breaks ground. But when it finally does, it grows 60 feet in the next 90 days.

It's that kind of commitment to the long view that marks the companies which have been most successful in achieving outstanding quality.

Bottom line: Quality products and quality service begin with quality thinking, and it's the same in any business. Everyone talks about quality, but customers can quickly figure out who is willing to make the required effort. And those businesses have a very good chance of sticking around for a very long time.
Quality comes from pride. Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. So you need to autograph your work with excellence.

If it's almost right, it's wrong.

Mackay's Moral: The difference between failure and success is the difference between doing a thing nearly right and doing it exactly right.

Food for thought.