Juggling Elephants Blog

According to the Random House Dictionary to "maintain" is, "to keep in existence or continuance." To "excel" is, "to be better or finer than (others)." I was thinking about the difference between maintaining and excelling as I was mowing the lawn. I can cut the grass, keep it from turning into a jungle and just maintain it. Or, I can spend some extra time and edge, fertilize, water the dry patches, dig out by hand the weeds that the "weed and feed" fertilizer didn't catch and make the lawn look a little nicer. I can go above and beyond-add that little extra effort that makes a difference. I can pursue excellence with my lawn so that it is "better or finer" than my neighbors.

What areas in our lives are we just maintaining when we should be excelling? You might not even have a lawn. You might not even care if your lawn makes it through the summer. But there are probably other areas that you care about that could use some edging, fertilizer and weeding. Think about your relationships. Are you improving, nurturing and working on your relationships or are you just maintaining-keeping them in existence? What about your job or career? Are you looking at better ways of doing things, making recommendations, improving your skills and pursing excellence? Or are you just continuing on, showing up, gathering a paycheck, doing the minimum and hoping something better comes along that will pay more?

Doing just a little more and pushing yourself towards excellence does take a little more time. There is a sacrifice and investment that comes with it. You might have to pick and choose what items you are OK with maintaining and what items you should excel in. But that should be a conscious decision that you make. In most cases, the time and energy spent in the pursuit of excellence isn't that much more than the time you are going to put in anyway. Excellence is more of a mind set. The satisfaction of a job well done is well worth the effort. Push yourself to get out of the box and do better.


Now if I could only remember who borrowed my weed eater!

Labels: excellence, improvement, strategic planning

Okay. You are on a diet and you are at a restaurant for dinner (Yes, that already seems like a paradox, I know). When getting recommendations on what you should eat for dinner, whose food choice are you more likely to accept-one from an obese server or a thin server?

According to ScienceDirect, a study of the University of Columbia conducted such a study. The results? 59% accepted the recommendation from the obese server while only 36% accepted the food choice of the thin server. Why? According to Brent McFerran, one of the researchers, the dieter could more readily identify with the obese server.

I wanted to be surprised by their findings, but it's the same thing we find so often when working with the performers in our circus. We tend to more quickly trust people who we sense have the same values, beliefs and circumstances we are facing. It doesn't mean we should wear our values, beliefs and struggles on our sleeves, but the findings do reinforce that we need to find common ground with others-especially if we want them to accept an idea, feedback or other information from us.

Labels: employees, relationships, teamwork

I came across this quote during my planning time the other day:

Labels: attitude, circus, execution

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." What a powerful quote! Read the quote over again. Do you believe it? If you do, consider the question: "What kind of luck are you preparing for?"

Another quote comes to mind: "Don't wait for your ship to come in-swim out to meet it."

I have a friend who lost his job over a year ago. He is extremely talented and should have had no trouble finding a job. Unfortunately, he allowed himself to gain a substantial amount of weight and added some facial hair (not that there's anything wrong with facial hair-but it does have a different effect on the appearance of someone). I can just see some prospective employer failing to see beyond appearances and missing the chance to hire a fantastic employee. On the other hand, this person is definitely not taking the right opportunities to present himself in the best light possible.

It is critical to prepare for when the right opportunity comes along. Your preparation should be a conscious, daily labor. If not, the danger is that the right opportunity comes along and we are not prepared. Get ready!!

Labels: jobs, motivation, professional development

This past weekend I attended a celebration event for a friend who is 57, has multiple sclerosis and just completed her degree in counseling. What an achievement!!! In talking with her she talked about all the things she had to limit during the journey. Housecleaning, volunteer work, participation in social events (so she could maintain her limited energy level for study) and working in her flower garden. With her accomplishment she can now return to more of those things she has missed in the past 4 years.

At that same event I reconnected with a couple I had not seen in years. As they told me about their six children, we discussed all the demands placed on a family with so many children. When the subject of sports came up, the wife said, “We told the children that they would not be able to participate in organized sports until they could do so in a public school setting (i.e. middle school).” She went on to say that they encouraged them to play in the yard and get involved with pick up games in the neighborhood, but that they knew it would be a nightmare to have all six involved in almost daily practices and then a weekend full of sporting events with one parent going one way and another parent taking children to another event.

Each of these individuals knew that they needed to set boundaries to accomplish what was most important to them-and not have the juggling elephants routine as an individual or a family. What about you? Are you wanting to undertake some new venture but not sure how you can with ALL you have currently going on? Maybe you are trying to recover some relationship time with a child, spouse or friend. In either case, maybe you need to set some boundaries. Remember… there are no shortage of acts for the circus. Only you can limit what goes into your lineup.

Labels: planning, priorities, scheduling

When was the last time you sat down and formally planned your day? Hopefully it was today. Taking the time at the beginning or end of your day to formally write down a plan of what you are going to do and when you are going to do it, is a key element in accomplishing what is most important to you.


It is so easy to overlook planning and just jump into the day being reactive and putting out fires. When that occurs, at the end of the day, you might find that you have got a lot of "stuff" done but was it the "right stuff?"

Labels: planning, productivity, time management

Got your attention with that one, huh? While talking with a client the other day they commented about their long hours at work and how they weren't taking care of their "self ring." But then they said things had recently changed and they were enjoying being at home more and actually eating lunch. What made the difference to her? Being an escort. Let me explain.

She works in a secure building requiring smart cards and a security clearance. She recently added two interns to her staff and they don't yet have their security clearance. So... she has to walk with them to the cafeteria for lunch and then walk them out at the end of their day. This forces her to at least GO to lunch and then end her day at a more reasonable hour. She said she forgot the benefits of lunch and getting home earlier until the interns came along.

That got me to thinking. What could be the triggers we put in place to help remind us of the importance of taking an "intermission" or not overexerting ourself in relation to work hours? For me it could be recording my six year old's voice saying, "Daddy, when are you coming home?" on my phone and then making that the alarm tone when I set it. It could be moving a picture of my family to a more prominent place on my desk before taking on that "one last task" at work to remind me to not work late-especially when I promised my family I wouldn't. Maybe engage the help of a co worker, who could come by your desk as they leave and tell you something fun they plan to do that evening.

What are some things you can think of that would help bring things back into focus for you so that you don't find yourself in the Juggling Elephants routine again?

Labels: ringmaster, willpower, work/life balance