THE Step to Working Smarter (Japanese Style)

Remember that Coke contest from the 80s? If you collected bottle tops that had the letters to spell T-H-E R-E-A-L T-H-I-N-G, then youd win a zillion dollars.

Im not sure where the drink industry turned the corner but contests and advertisements are no longer all you will find on the underneath side of bottle caps.

The latest beverage I popped open was some high brow herbal elixir that promised energy, health and a stress free life. Interesting claims for a container of strained leaves.

To further my surprise, what I found under the cap was the following Japanese proverb:

Vision without action is daydreaming; action without vision is a nightmare.

Needless to say, this quote made my beveraging experience much more philosophical than I bargained for.

After the laughter from finding a Japanese proverb under by bottle cap subsided, I actually pondered the phrase deeply. It glued itself to my brain for the rest of the day.

So what is it about Vision and Action working together that gives us the changes we so desire? Or, better yet, what is it about Vision without Action and Action without Vision that keeps us from attaining what we want in our lives and careers?

1. Vision without Action Weve all have the best of intentions when it comes to those To Do lists both at work and at home. How about that project, idea, or those personal goals that youve been storing in the Some-Day-Soon vault in the back of your mind?

These are the visions that we have for our lives that are becoming nothing more than daydreams as the months and years continue to pass.

2. Action without Vision

Business revolutionary Michael Gerber says that most of us work in the Technician mode. That is, always doing rather than spending time as the Entrepreneur of our lives creating the visions that will guide our every action.

This gets a little heady but simply put, we create our own mess by not first having a context, or Vision, under which every action takes place. As the proverb tells us, we create our own nightmare.

The Solution

From the enormous project to the smallest tasks: **Know Your Vision!**

Many of my clients work in extremely high pressure jobs. They naturally tend to put out the hottest fires first in an effort to continually whittle down the ever growing pile of work on their desks.

Within minutes of talking with them, their planned actions shift from scattered and chaotic to purposeful and planned out simply because I have them clearly define their Vision.

If their vision is higher productivity and lower stress by working smarter. Every action from our conversation forward will be geared toward fulfilling this vision.

Here are a few questions that help my clients plan actions to fit within the context of their vision:

  • What are you putting up with that is draining focus and energy for your work?

  • What is the plan for the next few hours/day/week?

  • What is realistic for you to accomplish within this amount of time?

  • What will potentially keep this from happening that you can avoid?

    These are just a few questions that create a smarter style of work than, which then leads to higher productivity and less stress.

    Regardless of whether you are in a high pressure job or are just juggling common challenges of life and career, this philosophy certainly applies.

    The proverb of Rob:

    Vision and Action together are powerful beyond measure; so to, is Vision and Action without each other!

    © 2004 by Dr. Robert A. Eubanks

    Article URL: http://www.bridgetosolutions.com/pages/8/index.htm

    Terms of use: This article may be published electronically or in print, as long as the byline at the end of the article is included without alteration.

    About The Author

    Dr. Robert A. Eubanks is the founder of Bridge to Solutions Coaching. He coaches people around the country via telephone to improve organization, time management, goal setting and to create the best darn life possible!

    For a free 30 minute coaching session, e-mail bridgetosolutions@yahoo.com or visit www.bridgetosolutions.com.

  • More Resources

    Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

    More Coaching Information:

    Related Articles

    Top 10 Ways to Coach Yourself to Total Success!
    Coaching is about being your best. It's about performance, about "staying the course" and, in the end, about creating and living the life you really want.
    Im Gonna Die MY Way
    My wife says I have the strangest taste in movies. You see, there are movies I can watch again and again, which she couldn't sit through once.
    How Not Letting Go of Your Past can Hurt Your Future
    Experiences, whether good or bad, are sometimes all wehave, and most of them reside in the past. So you may ask,why should I let go of my past when much of it is filledwith beautiful memories and serenity?Well, that is certainly not what I mean.
    Encourage Personality Testing
    I was asked the other day : "Kate, is personality testing novelty, frivolity, or common sense?"The answer is: It depends on whether or not you utilize them properly.I highly recommend them for anyone who is in a relationship of any kind: business, friendships, family, etc.
    Four Common Rapport Building Mistakes and How to Fix Them
    1. Pretending You Are Interested When You Are NotDo yourself a favor and be honest with yourself and the people you spend time with.
    Change vs Transition
    "There is a time for departure, even when there's no certain place to go." -- Tennessee WilliamsThe words change and transition are often used interchangeably.
    What Do You Really Want ?
    Being a coach is such a rewarding profession. The enormous impact you have on other people's lives always astounds me.
    Using Audio Programs to Increase Your Knowledge and Productivity
    If you do any significant amount of driving, a simple thing you can do to increase your productivity is to listen to audio programs in your car. If your commute time to work is 45 - 60 minutes each way, you can easily listen to at least 1 book each week.
    Tips for Writing Great Coaching E-Books
    Never understimate the power of a well-written word. Tens of thousands of readers of coaching ebooks have had their lives changed for the better by a well written ebook.
    Are You Controlling or Loving Yourself?
    How often do you hear a parental voice in your head that says things like, "You've got to lose weight," or "You should get up earlier every morning and exercise," or "Today I should get caught up on the bills," or "I've got to get rid of this clutter." Let's explore what happens in response to this voice.
    Making Communication Effective: 4 Language Filters
    Language is a challenging way to communicate. It allows us to share our thoughts and feelings by describing our personal views of reality.
    You Have A Choice
    I'm a relationship coach and, unlike most, I deal with those 'other' relationships. Of course, I make love happen without wings and an arrow, but I really make a difference with business relationships, family relationships, community relationships, old and stale relationships and all the rest that we take for granted, lost or forgotten.
    Context is King!
    If you've been around the Internet for more than two hours, you've probably heard someone say it or write it. If you haven't, you will.
    Curse of Competence: How Being Good gets in the way of Becoming Great
    Just before the storms hit last winter, my father-in-law and I replaced 26 feet of fence on my property. I must say, for a couple of non-handyman-sorts like the two of us, it is a very well done fence.
    4 Underused Hot Spots for Your Personal Branding Iron
    I'll never forget what my mentor told me: "Don't communicate in any way to any person without the stamp of your personal brand."Everyone has a personal brand, whether they know it or not.
    Its Game Time! Four Powerful Lessons in the Game of Life
    I turned 29 last week, and if statistics are right and I die on or around my 78th birthday, I am almost 40% done. In a numbers game, that is pretty close to half way.
    Get Coached!
    Coaching is a hot trend at a growing number of companies, from IBM and Dow Chemical to entrepreneurial start ups. According to a recent survey by The Hay Group, an international human resources consultancy, between 25 percent and 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies use executive coaches.
    Choosing The Right Coach
    Coaching has become a very popular way for people to get the ongoing support they need to accomplish their goals. However, choosing a coach can be tricky.
    Buyer Beware: Choose A Business Coach Carefully To Get The Results You Want
    Consider this scenario. A colleague suggests you get a business coach.
    Nothing is left to Chance
    You are going to meet a very important client for lunch. What do you do? If you are anything like Anna the first job is to ensure the outside you is perfect, well dressed, matching clothes, clean shoes, washed in your favourite soaps, perfume.