Immediately, Thoroughly, Cheerfully

You all know what it feels like when you hear something that just makes you stop and think.

Like the quote from Helen Keller, “What people think of me is none of my business.” Ha. I just love that.

Well, we were doing a Speaker Breakthrough Intensive with an experienced speaker who’s worked with us a couple of times before. She’s going to be delivering a TED Talk-style speech to 400+ people in Arizona in January, and she wanted to make sure her content, her Power Point slides, and her delivery were where they needed to be.

You can think of these Intensives as VIP Days for speakers who want to take their skills to the next level. They’re really transformational, and we love doing them.

Anyway, here’s the point. She said something in that speech that really got me thinking. Years ago, someone had given her some words to live by … a mantra if you will … that made a big difference for her.

“I get things done immediately, thoroughly, and cheerfully.”

So simple. Easy to brush past really.

And yet, the phrase really got to me as she repeated it in her practicing.

Here’s what I’ve noticed since that day.

I do well with immediately. Anytime I slip, it’s definitely the exception to the rule.

I work a system … filtering through my list of priorities to what needs to be done next. I rarely procrastinate. Heck, I was in charge of the largest outdoor festival in the Southeast for many years. I was a project managin’ fool. Delay and you’re toast.

Even today, I provide a lot of additional services for the clients I coach. I edit and refine their elevator speeches and other marketing materials, like LinkedIn profiles and Speaker One Sheets. I edit the promotional descriptions they use for their speeches and the speeches themselves. I like to provide a lot of value for folks.

There’s a lot of work coming in the door on an almost continuous basis. And I don’t let any moss grow. I get right on it.

And I do things pretty darned thoroughly. I may come up short sometimes as I strive for excellence, but it’s not from lack of effort.

Here’s where I falter … cheerfully.

When I get overloaded, I’m not necessarily doing things cheerfully! It’s more like, “Outta my way … I gotta get this done!” Bulldozer mode.

But here’s what I’m excited about.

Since learning this distinction, I‘ve noticed that when I pay attention to the cheerfully part … how I’m BEING around the task as I sit alone in my office … it changes the flavor and quality of my experience. It transforms work into contribution … doing something meaningful and rewarding … and sometimes even fun.

Ahhhhh, that feels so much better.

But that’s me. What about you? Which one of these is your big challenge?

Are you a procrastinator, not getting to tasks immediately?

Do you complete your tasks thoroughly, always providing an excellent product, or do you lack rigor sometimes?

Or are you like me … getting it all done, but stressing yourself along the way?

Let me know which it is for you … AND … what new mindset and practices you plan to put in place, so you’ll be able to routinely get things done immediately, thoroughly, and cheerfully from this point on.

The truth? None of us is perfect, and we’ll never be perfect.

But better? Yeah, we can all be better.

Best Wishes,
Denise

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