In this particular post series, sometimes the writing I love is a poem, sometimes a business book, sometimes something on personal development, sometimes a favourite novel.
Today it is simply these words, represented graphically in the art of Hugh McLeod of Gaping Void. As I write this, just the other day a Gaping Void daily email featured this classic, along with these words from Hugh :
“What matters” is a strictly personal decision. Only you know. But, as we grow older, it becomes apparent that choices matter and not spending your time in a way that moves you forward, that reveals your aspirational self, is a disservice to you. We all need to own our personal journey.
Even if really, there is no “Ending”. There’s just more negotiation with the infinite. As you grow, your definition of success grows. Like Sisyphus pushing the rock up the hill, only more edifying and if you’re lucky, fun.
Nobody questions that life is too short to do something that matters. The question is, why aren’t more people actually living it.
Seeing this drawing really gave me such goosebumps, as I remembered the magical time of conceiving of and seeing come to full fruition the Leadership Growth Programme (LGP) run through Shirlaws Cayman first in 2013 and then 2014.
At the end of the LGP each participant was given a special acetate block with the “Life is too short not to do something that matters image printed on it.
On several occasions since I have been in the office of an LGP alumnus and seen their block prominently placed to remind them to do something that matters.
It is so powerful for me as an individual to know I played a part in where they are now and, even more, to know that each of them has grown and continues to grow from their LGP experience.
I’ll tell the story of this programme, then a video of the alumni telling their own story.
The idea for the LGP came originally from a conversation with my friend and mentee, the uniquely amazing person that is Steve McIntosh, who sat with me in Autumn 2012 and said he’d like a programme which helped learn to “do what you do”, meaning what I personally was doing and had also grown into through becoming part of Shirlaws.
I then worked with my amazing “right hand” Shauna Grillo to design and develop the LGP as a programme for those already clearly identifiable as leaders to grow further.
We were then able to attract some of the absolute top coaches/trainers/facilitators we knew from around the world, and meeting and working each of those people myself has touched my own life so much and continues to do so. Thank you to Suki Smith, (the late) Ed Percival, Ron Tanner, Tony Cooper, Travis Carson, Glyn Heald, two whom in 2014 we added Kristen Ford, Danielle Young, Breda Ferrario, Andy Hurst and Phil Ives.
This short video features five of the class of 2013 and, four years after that video was filmed in early 2014, I can think now on where each of those people (and the other LGP alumni) are now, and marvel at their leadership and growth as individuals from already high achieving places when they entered the programme.
Life is too short not to do something that matters… are you living it?
LGP 2013 participants talk about the programme:
The “LGP” group at the completion of the programme in November 2013
