The time of year has come to reflect on things; things past and things to come. As the character Ebenezer Scrooge says in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol after seeing the ghosts of Christmas past, present and yet to come “I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse… I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.”
This blog is different in nature to the other blogs. It seems an appropriate time for something new. So, what better way to help us reflect than with some quotes? Here are a selection of quotes relevant to the FACTS coaching model; Feedback, Accountability, Courageous Goals, Tension and Systems thinking:
Feedback
- “Feedback is the breakfast of champions.” – Ken Blanchard
- “Champions know that success is inevitable; that there is no such thing as failure, only feedback.” – Michael J. Gelb
- “Ask for feedback from people with diverse backgrounds. Each one will tell you one useful thing. If you’re at the top of the chain, sometimes people won’t give you honest feedback because they’re afraid. In this case, disguise yourself, or get feedback from other sources.” – Steve Jobs
Accountability
- “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true; I am not bound to succeed but am bound to live up to what light I have.” – Abraham Lincoln
- “Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years; people grow old only by deserting their ideals.” – Samuel Ullman
- “It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.” – Sir Josiah Stamp
- “It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable.” – Moliere
- “No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.” – George Burns
- “Everyone sooner or later sits down to a banquet of consequences.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Courageous Goals
What not to do…
- “Aim low, aim so low that when you achieve your goal, even you will be disappointed.” – Homer Simpson
Contrast that with what to strive for…
- “Man is a goal-seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.” – Aristotle
- “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C. S. Lewis
- “The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems” – Mahatma Gandhi
- “Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.” – Louisa May Alcott
- “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” – Henry David Thoreau
- “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” – Albert Einstein
Tension (or challenge)
- “Mastery of creative tension brings out the capacity for perseverance and patience. Time is an ally.” – Peter Senge
- “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller
- “Don’t handicap your children by making their lives easy.” – Robert A. Heinlein
- “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” – Molière
Systems Thinking
- “The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour.” – Japanese proverb
- “Business and human endeavors are systems…we tend to focus on snapshots of isolated parts of the system. And wonder why our deepest problems never get solved.” – Peter Senge
- “Watch the little things; a small leak will sink a great ship”?- Benjamin Franklin
Call to Action:
- What thoughts come to mind when you read these quotes?
- What are they telling you?
- What are you going to do differently in 2013?
Can you add other thought provoking quotes that relate to the components of the FACTS coaching model? Feel free to add to the Challenging Coaching Linked In group.
I hope Christmas is all you desire it to be.
Watch this You Tube video to remind yourself of 2012
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