A thought by Bob Goff in his book, Undistracted (p. 17). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)
That is important to him, and it really makes a difference in people's lives.
He continues, "That’s why I put my cell phone number in the back of more than a million of my books. From the outside looking in, that probably looks like a move that would wreck any kind of productivity in my life. That’s true, I suppose, if you’re only trying to live an efficient, productive life. But I’m not, and here’s why. We will be known for our opinions but remembered for the love we gave to everyone around us. If I have my head down over a project and can’t be bothered to shift focus, I’ll miss a good chance to show love and grace to the person next to me—and that’s not the life I want to live. Receiving a truly ridiculous number of telephone calls each day is a great reminder of who I want to be. These don’t feel like interruptions; they are reminders. What are you doing to remind yourself of who you want to be?"
He says, "This availability has taken a fun new turn in the last couple of years. I started coaching some amazing people to help them navigate big things they want to accomplish for themselves, their families, their careers, and their faith. I have calls all week long with these new friends. Sure, it blows up my schedule pretty much every day to have these meetups on the calendar, but it also helps me fulfill my dream of being unreasonably available. That’s my jam; it’s my one solo hit; it’s the etching on my life and will probably be on my headstone too. 'Here lies Bob Goff; he was always available (but not now).' What do you want to be on yours? 'Here lies [insert your name] who lived a distracted life'? If this has a ring of truth to it for you, the good news is that you have the power to change the epitaph."
He goes on, "One of the most important things I do after these coaching calls is to take notes on the conversation. At the end of each call I spend a solid five minutes reflecting on what we said and filling in the missing pieces I hadn’t jotted down. Why? Because if I don’t, a distraction is almost certain to wipe out any gains I’ve made. The ways we all process the conversations we have can become windows into our own important purposes. Writing notes is a great way to avoid distractions, not just because they help us remember things that resonated with us but also because they help us curate our points of view."
He then says, "Take notes while you read this or any other book. Write down how you are going to apply the parts that make sense to you. If you don’t net those butterflies immediately, I promise they will fly away. Do this, then study and refine those notes, and you will find connections between the ideas you have scribbled down in the middle of the conversation and ones you had in other conversations. You will capture meaningful, partially developed, and applicable ideas you can incorporate into your life. As you use what you have written down, they will create a feedback loop as they evolve into fuller, more complete ideas. If you don’t take the time to capture and process your interior world, you will miss the opportunity to discover something bigger and more beautiful in your heart."
Availability, no matter what it is, is a great way to make a difference in other people's lives, isn't it? Yes, yes! #continuethought
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