The Cobbler’s Shoes
“The Cobbler’s Shoes” refers to a story about a cobbler who is so busy making shoes for his customers that he doesn’t make the time to make shoes for his own children.
Be Self-Serving. First.
For more than 30 years, I have taught and reminded people that it’s absolutely essential to invest in self-care FIRST, so that you have the health, energy and other resources that allows you to then invest in helping others. It’s often difficult for “care-givers” to think, much less act, this way. But it’s a critical piece to being “successful,” whether that success is financial or measured in other ways.
You receive this very same advice each and every time you board a commercial airline, right before take-off: If the oxygen masks fall from the ceiling, put yours on FIRST, so that you make sure you’re around to put the oxygen masks on your children, AND to make sure that later, you’re still around to care for them if it’s the oxygen that will save your life.
In addition to the general concept of “self-care,” there’s an overlying concept having to do with priorities and discernment.
Of all the ways in which you can demonstrate care for yourself, what is most important? How do you discern what choices to make on your own behalf, when there are so many possibilities, and when each moment seems to be accompanied by some amount of internal or external “pressure” to react to the seeming demand of the moment?
There is a much longer, more in-depth answer. But for this, the answer is that when you have a sense of “purpose” for yourself in the world, and have a “vision” for how you wish your life to unfold as you live it into your future, then your purpose and vision will act as touchstones to guide your decisions in both the short and long term.
Evaluate Constantly and Consistently
So why am I writing about this particular topic, today?
Because I have been invited to submit a proposal to participate in a program to which I know I can make a significant contribution, and that my contribution will serve a great many people.
The proposal application requests that I list my Web site. (Intriguing, by the way, that in this day and age of “Web presence” we’re still being asked to list our “site” – singular…)
Although my primary role in projects in which I’m involved is “in the background,” earlier this year I determined that it might be a good idea to create a more public presence for myself, personally, and imagined it to be my “NewThoughts” blog.
Yet on a day-to-day, moment-to-moment basis, my determination that devoting time to my blog is NOT my highest priority in relationship to my current personal and business purpose and vision, and my 30+ year habit of not making myself the focal point of my endeavors, have resulted in my not updating my personal blog on a regular basis.
As I write this, of course, I’m investing my time not only in updating my blog with this post, but also in consciously evaluating whether it’s important to change my strategy and devote more time to my personal presence, and to what end, and how much time and energy I’ll want to devote to that as a result.
What About You?
Are you conscious and conscientious about your decisions as regards how often you blog, how many articles you write and submit to online article directories each month, how much time you devote to your Facebook or LinkdedIn account, or to using Twitter?
Or do you do these things because they’re trendy, but not without a conscious purpose and vision and commensurate conscientious approach?
Or do you NOT blog or tweet or have a Facebook or LinkedIn account, simply because you have a habit of not using those things to your benefit, or to the benefit of your customers, clients, patients, and others whose lives you could influence in some positive manner?
Become Conscious and Conscientious
In my past, I would likely have felt remorse and other negative self-judgments for not having updated my blog as often as I thought I might at the beginning of the year.
But those kinds of feelings and judgments are far from self-serving, and in direct contrast to the spirit and intent and purpose of this article.
Like you, I am a constantly “evolving” person (not biologically, of course, but intellectually, emotionally and spiritually). So I have adopted a “learning orientation” to life, and I strongly encourage you to do the same.
Today, I’m re-evaluating the role of blogging in my personal and professional life, in relationship to my personal and professional purposes, and in relationship to my personal and professional visions.
As a result, I may blog more. Or not. The results will be evident not only to me, but to you, my readers.
I encourage you to do the same for yourself. Take some time to reflect upon – or consciously “create” – your personal and professional purposes and visions. And then use these as your touchstones to guide your choices and your actions in a world that constantly bombards you with choices and seeming demands. Make your choices in harmony with your sense of purpose and in the context of whether acting upon them will bring you closer to what you envision as your most highly desired future, or divert you from arriving there.
Open your eyes, mind and heart to also be guided by new opportunities that my not be in harmony with your existing purposes and visions, but instead present new, better options that you hadn’t previously thought of or envisioned.
Committing to having a learning orientation to life, and to the process of living a life that has purpose and vision as your guideposts will make life more meaningful, and more fun.
Let Me Know…
I always welcome your questions and feedback, and – most importantly – your stories related to the challenges and successes you experience as a result of implementing something I’ve written about.
Submit your comments to my blog. Remember: Think New Thoughts. Get New Results!”
Jay Aaron
Strategic Visionary / Visionary Strategist
http://JayAaron.com
Follow me on Twitter: http://Twitter.com/newthoughts
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All Contents International Copyright 2009 Jay Aaron: “Think New Thoughts. Get New Results.” All International Rights Reserved.
The Author grants reprint permission without further inquiry only to those who provide proper Copyright credit and include a link to Jay Aaron: Think New Thoughts. Get New Results.” at http://JayAaron.com
Tags: Discipline, getting focused, Goal-Getting, Jay Aaron, living a life of service. success mastery, Personal Success, Professional Success, Purpose, Service, Success Actions, Success Principles, Success Qualities
Jay, I really enjoy this type of article, pondering the big picture, the big purpose. When I was 29 years old, I remember wanting God to write on the wall or clearly in my dreams what my mission was. I discovered over the course of a life time that in part my mission is to uncover my mission piece by piece, like a puzzle, from what I knew and discovered about myself. In point of fact, at 29 I wasn’t even close to ready to understand my mission because I had so much to learn. Now I know the general direction but the step-by-step eludes me. I figure I’ll discover it as I go. The only part that I’m confident about is that I won’t find it by waiting. I contemplate, review my dreams then act as best I know how at the moment.