As I drive from home to yoga class, the golf course, business meetings, and lunch with my beautiful daughter, Michaline Frances Borek, I’ve found audiobooks, specifically biographies and/or memoirs, to be a pleasant accompaniment as I traverse the beautiful green landscape of Central NY.
I recently finished listening to “Churchill” by Paul Johnson.
One of my favorite lines from the book is when a 17 year old Johnson asked Mr. Churchill, aka Winnie, the secret to his success:
“Conservation of energy. Never stand up when you can sit down. Never sit down when you can lie down” he replied. Winnie then hopped into his limo.
Winston Churchill lived to be 90 and to say the least was an overachiever:
- 50 years as a member of Parliament
- 31 years as a minister
- Almost nine years as Prime Minister
- Experienced 15 war battles as a soldier or war correspondent
- Published approximately 10M words, far exceeding the lifetime body of work of a professional writer
- As an artist he created over 500 paintings
- He built a cottage
- Fellow of the Royal Society
- Elder Brother of Trinity House
- Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
- He was a Royal Academician
- Chancellor of a university
- Won the Nobel Prize
- Knight of the Garter
- Companion of Honor
- Order of Merit member
- Dozens of honorary degrees
- Received medals from over a dozen countries
- Consumed an estimated 20K bottles of champagne
- Loved by family and many friends
When I look at this list I wonder where in the world a person gets the drive and motivation to create such a life? I’ll discuss Churchill’s secret sauce in a future post.
One thing is certain, Mr. Churchill ensured he had lots of energy in the tank to go after and accomplish his to get done list.
Let’s end this piece with a few thought provoking questions:
- What’s your endgame?
- What’s your list of accomplishments at this point in time?
- What do you want your legacy to be after you’re gone?
- Who do you have to become to see your endgame come to life?
Unlike Churchill I don’t have the luxury of a real limo. However the client and me hop into a virtual coaching car, talk about their endgame, program the GPS, and drive towards their goals, dreams, and aspirations.
Having a strategic thinking partner is empowering and gets you to where you want to go quicker.
The make and model of the wheels depends on the type of client I’m working with. I match the vehicle to the -Who- of the person.
Sometimes the car is a Subaru Outback, a Ford truck, a Corvette, a canary yellow Mustang convertible, a conservative Honda Accord, a Benz, a beemer, a VW Beetle, a bus, and every now and then, a stretch limo.
Don’t worry about the wheels just yet. Simply take the first step.
Contact me today to get started. The motor is running.
I took a whole course on Churchill when I was in College. Amazing leader. Powerful wisdom.
Cool. Karin, are there any books you can recommend on the man?