The Weekly Tutorial: The Rules of Life

The Weekly Tutorial * 1 of 7

Life has never been more challenging: the pressures never tougher, the demands never greater, whilst our aspirations shift ever higher. How do we make sense of it all? How do we get to where we want to get, without losing it all along the way?

Is there a simple idea we can use to help us re-focus, re-invent and make it all enjoyable again?

Yes: the Rules of Life. You know there are rules; you always have done, ever since you were a child. In science there are rules e.g. Newton’s Laws of Motion, thus: ‘to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction’ or step out of the rowing boat at the edge of the pond and the boat will ‘fly’ the other way. In relationships there are rules e.g. The Golden Rule, thus: ‘do unto others as you would prefer them to do unto you’ or keep being mean to your assistant and they will leave to work for someone else. In work there are rules, thus: ‘meet your objectives to get a good review grade’ or mess up this quarter and you’ll not get a bonus. And in Life there are Rules. What is a Rule? It’s a guideline: it tells you the consequences of your action. It helps you get to where you want to go as efficiently and effectively as you can. In what way? The trick is to know the rules and then you can use them because you can’t fight them: they are independent of you. When you are driving a car, for example, it’s best to work within the local laws. If you don’t, you have problems, and those problems might be a fine for speeding or even losing a limb in an accident. But within those rules there is still plenty of scope for a great journey: you might wish to slow down and enjoy the scenery. You might care to journey a little faster on one stretch of motorway and eat up some miles. It’s exactly the same with the Rules of Life: they don’t limit; they empower.

Read these rules on a regular basis until you are able to ‘live & breathe’ them.

Rule 1: “You can do anything; but you can’t do everything”

There is a myriad of opportunities out there and you can do anything. Don’t be thwarted by the poor judgement of others ( …it’s very difficult to get into medical school…you’ll never be rich if you become an actor…there are simply too many coffee shops…), by your own baggage (…I didn’t have a very supportive up-bringing…I really need an MBA to progress my career…of course as a woman I’ve hit a glass ceiling….), by your fear (..I might fail…the neighbours will notice I no longer drive a BMW….what about…..what about…..well: what about?). Start exploring your Life and possibilities fully.

Lucy knew she was cool at marketing. Although she was only an assistant in the department, it was interesting how many of her ideas got absorbed and adopted by the other consultants for their campaigns. However there was no way they would give her a more senior job. She had been by-passed twice now. And why? Because she had no formal marketing qualifications and she really couldn’t see the point of doing that now that now. The lecturers on those courses were totally out of date, anyway. And to go to those lectures would just distract from what she really wanted to do and also to be honest would be just putting off the decision. And the decision was to negotiate a 4-day a week contract and start her business with 1 day per week. You can do anything, but you can’t do everything.

Each day, read and consider these statements until they become part of your new wiring:

• My potential is undoubtedly greater than my current practice.
• My potential is limited only by my imagination. This I have hardly started to use fully.
• My potential is limited only by my degree of focus. I have hardly started to apply real focus yet.
• My practice, my imagination and my focus can only improve. I am determined that they will do so.

Join us tomorrow for Rule 2.

If you would like a hard-copy of The Rules of Life-my latest mini book-, e-mail me for details. My e-mail is in the ABOUT section of the blog (encrypted against spammers!). The mini-book is very attractively produced and all proceeds are to NSPCC.

*Each week, Monday to Thursday at 0700. Coming up in December/January:

w/c 27 November: How to Get Fit.
w/c 4 December: Sort your Finances.
W/c 11 December: Simple Christmas
w/c 18 December: 2007: Best Year Yet
w/c 22 December: Enjoying the break
w/c 1 January: NLP 1
w/c 8 January: NLP 2
w/c 15 January: Starting your own Premium Consulatncy v2