The words convey the right message.

The tone is convincing.

The language encouraging.

The body language enthusiastic.

The speech motivational.

The communication inspirational.

But something is off.

What is said is not what is done.

The actions don’t align with the words.

The walk doesn’t match the talk.

There’s a disconnect.

You have surely seen it before.

It is easier to see in others.

But what about yourself?

Are your actions aligned with your words?

“You can’t talk your way out of a situation you behaved yourself into.” – Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

You have got to love what you do.

To keep you going when you …

… are tired.

… are overwhelmed.

… come up against barriers.

… have to deal with difficult people.

… are struggling to deliver.

… need to push through.

… are stressed.

… hear a ‘no’ instead of a ‘yes’.

… are doing the hard yards.

… feel nothing is going right.

… are about to give up.

… are out of your comfort zone.

… don’t know if it will work.

Loving what you do will get you through.

Imagine how hard it would be if you didn’t.

“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” – Aristotle

Okay … so you haven’t got it all figured out just yet.

But you can begin.

With an outline.

A first draft.

Some dots points.

The back of the envelope (or napkin).

Start mind mapping.

Whiteboard it.

Do a brain dump.

Capture your thinking.

Discuss your initiative.

Map out the steps.

Sketch out your idea.

You then have made a start.

And what you need to do next becomes clearer.

“I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else.” – Pablo Picasso

Your experiences shape you.

The really good boss you worked for once.

Or even that really bad boss.

You learned from them both.

The situations you have exposed yourself to.

Whether intentionally or not.

The environments you have moved through.

Where you were born.

Where you have travelled.

These influences can be profound.

Your relationships and friends.

Fleeting interactions that left their mark.

The risks and dangers.

The achievements and successes.

The challenges and failures.

Personal or shared.

All have left an impression.

These experiences are what has made you … well, you!

How do you next want to shape yourself?

The post often closes with a quote, something usually connecting or linking the words and illustration. Narrowing down to just one was somewhat difficult … so I didn’t.

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” – Steve Jobs

“Every experience, no matter how bad it seems, holds within it a blessing of some kind. The goal is to find it.” – Buddha

“Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience.” – Paulo Coelho

“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” – Soren Kierkegaard