This week marks the very first week of the second half of the year.  It’s hard to believe that yet another year is half over.  I’ve been thinking about this for several days.  It’s somewhat of a wake up call.  How will we remember this year?  Will it be a “great year”?  Or will it be “one of those years we can’t wait to forget”?

OneMoreStep thought for this week:  This week is the beginning of the second half of the year…wherever we are physically, professionally, psychologically, spiritually, and/or emotionally  – close out this second half strong.  Make each day count.  We have plenty of time to make it a great year…for ourselves and for others.

I ran across an Arthur Ashe quote last week that really struck a chord.  I actually tweeted it, texted it to a friend for encouragement, wrote it on our team’s white board at work, and now I’m sharing it with the OneMoreStepRevolution community:

“Start where you are.  Use what you have.  Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe

Sure we’re already six months in…sure it’s already halfway over…but there’s still time on the clock.  It ain’t over ‘till it’s over…so to speak.  So even if you’re not feeling 100% warm and fuzzy about the job, the girl, the guy, the city in which you live, or perhaps life in general – start where you are.  Make the decision to think about the good stuff…go into each day with a Positive Mental Attitude – PMA.

Take a mental inventory of the things you can control…start there.  We’re much better off spending our time and energy thinking about and acting upon things we can control vs. dwelling on those things out of our control.  What positive impact can we start making TODAY…in our current role, with our current title, with our current company, in our current situation? Who can we lead, inspire, or motivate TODAY?  How can we improve today, this week, and/or this month?  What can we read?  What can we learn?  What can we write…that will result in positive outcomes?  Focus on those things.  Remember, you don’t need a title to be a leader.  We should start where we are.

Even if you’re not in the role or position in which you think you should be…even if you aren’t technically supposed to lead certain individuals, processes, or teams…if you feel it’s productive, professional, and will make a positive difference – LEAD ‘EM ANYWAY.  Soon you’ll have the title, responsibility, and position…but the beauty of the situation will be that you made an impact for others without having been asked to do so.

We should also take mental inventory of our strengths and God given talents.  If we’re great writers, we should focus on writing inspiring/motivating/encouraging emails or hand-written notes to people that will pick them up when they need it most…a great OneMoreStep guaranteed to make a positive impact to anybody, anywhere as long as it’s done with a loving, serving heart.

If we’re great speakers or communicators, we should find ways to touch individuals and/or groups of coworkers, friends, or family members with our words.  If we’re incredibly strong in math…financial analysis or the business side of things, why not leverage that to make an impact for our team, our boss, our families, or our coworkers?  We should use what we have…today…to start making a real impact to make a difference for someone or something.

We should simply focus on the things we can control vs. those things we cannot.  If hiring decisions are out of our hands, then why worry about who gets selected or hired for this job or the other?  If other people in the organization make more money than us, but do less…can we really do anything about other people’s salaries?  More often than not…we can’t do anything about it.  So why worry about it?

We should focus on the things we can control; the things that we can roll out of bed today, tomorrow, and the next day and truly impact, change, or influence.   We should focus on impacting the things that matter most to us and for others…but most of all those OneMoreSteps that will help others.  Try it.  It’s just more productive, more meaningful, more fulfilling, and really…it’s just more fun.  This is the essence of going OneMoreStep – doing things for others.

One of my favorite bands, Zac Brown Band, has a line in one of their songs that sums it all up:

“Save your strength for things you can change…forgive the ones you can’t…you gotta let it go…” – Zac Brown Band; Let it Go

Have a great day.