I recently did a workshop for a very successful company. It was a great event and an amazing day for all of us! I’m glad I recorded it.
The clarity, energy, confidence, and great, actionable thinking produced in those sessions is valuable to both the participants and myself. I love to see the effects of our sessions in the short term, as I speak with the attendees, and in the long term, when I hear back months and years down the road.
Now, I love to record my workshops and review them for a variety of reasons. In fact, I thought of Comma Club’s next workshop after watching this last recording. The most important reason for me to watch these recordings is to see myself from an outside perspective. I can observe and critique my style, my word choices, whether I’m engaging effectively with the participants and being 100% present with them—and able to make them feel that way.
I noticed that over the four-hour event I used the words and concept “the bottom line” in various ways. “What’s your bottom line?” “What’s your emotional bottom line?” “let’s just get to the bottom line,” “and whether it’s the beginning of the day or the end of the day, what’s the bottom line?”
Whenever I summed up a concept and moved to relate concepts and desired results to the questions, goals, and actions required to make those results happen, whenever I wanted to speak of what is real and actual, the term “bottom line” came up. The word choice—and the meaning behind it—is a natural one for me. It’s the way I’ve worked, the way I innately think, and probably has been for my whole life.
So what’s the bottom line with this article?
My coaching has evolved over the years. When I’m coaching entrepreneurs or leading the teams in our businesses, I help them discover their core beliefs and highest values so they can use them to guide their path to professional and personal success. It requires discipline and commitment, but those who truly embrace this thinking create amazing lives.
The “bottom line” for this article is that creating your life according to your values and beliefs involves many concepts, thoughts and feelings. And this process, too, has moving pieces and a bottom line. It’s easier to get down to that bottom line—the process is clarified and made more concrete and actual—by breaking things down into the 5 life purposes that we coach and lead. They are Spirituality, Relationships, Financial, Vocational, and Social. Here’s a description of each.
Spirituality: Having a healthy spirit and a happy soul. Creating joy and meaning for humankind. Making a difference in the lives of others. Living a meaningful life. Moving in spiritual harmony and balance. Having a healthy mind and body. Physically looking and feeling good. Being lovable and likable. Playing in your genius.
Relationships: As they say, you will be the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. However you say it, impact and affect the people we know profoundly. So let’s create unconditional, effortless, meaningful, honest, loving, emotionally connected relationships. One of the most important attributes is to be real with yourself and others. Having adult conversations. Not imposing values and beliefs on each other.
Financial: Wealth comes in many forms. Abundance of cash and choices. Having access to great opportunities. Being financially independent. Being results-based in your businesses. Predictable revenue streams. Creating family wealth and fulfilling those responsibilities. Building your wealth congruently to your highest values. Creating wealth while playing in your genius.
Vocational: Doing what you love and loving what you do. Creating value with your innate self. Playing in your genius. Living and working congruent to your highest values and core beliefs. Playing (working) with great people and companies. Having your personal and professional time in balance and harmony. Being an interesting person.
Social: Above and beyond your personal relationships, you are a part of many communities and the world at large. Social purpose is about changing lives with your entrepreneurial spirit. Creating opportunities for people. Caring and giving to the communities you do business in. Giving to the causes that matter to you. Committing to causes where you can play in your genius. Giving yourself credit for all you already do. Being true to your highest values and beliefs.
Get out your success journal. If you don’t have one, get one (please)! Look at the five categories, reread each one as you think and reflect on your highest values and beliefs. With all these new insights stirring, think about your bottom line, in any sense of the phrase. After breaking it down and looking at it, what light does it shed on the story you want to tell about yourself and the story others will tell about you?
Once you have completed this exercise, you will have a clear idea of what is important to you, and you can start getting down to the work of living and creating your successful life. What does success mean? After doing this exercise, you have a lot more information to work with in making your specific personal definition of success. As a coach, the most accurate overall definition of success I have found is having an abundance of wealth, love, creativity and happiness. Yes, the words are pretty simple, but I give 8-hour workshops on each one of them.
When you have clarity about what you want, and when you understand your principles, making decisions in your life becomes much simpler. Then, as you create your plan, “your eyes will see and your ears will hear what you are seeking.”
My bottom line as a coach is to help inspire you to do some great thinking about the story you want to create!
Cheers,
Dave