Walk The Talk Chock full of resources to inspire, motivate, encourage, and challenge you!

Finding Your “One Thing”

In the movie City Slickers, a group of friends take a “vacation” at a dude ranch. Curley, played by Jack Palance, is a crusty yet wise old cowboy who shares the following with Mitch, played by Billy Crystal:

Great scene … great advice. Leaders have to figure out the One Thing that defines a meaningful purpose for their teams. The One Thing should answer the question Why are we here? You may think that finding that focus isn’t critical; but in fact, it’s essential to your success. The most important thing in business (and life) is deciding what is most important.

Your team’s One Thing might be: producing defect-free materials; providing the fastest service available; developing leading-edge products; creating relationships that customers cannot walk away from; or meeting the technology needs of other departments. These are just examples – your One Thing has to be your One Thing. And it should guide all of your decisions and actions.

Even after you find your One Thing, sticking to it can be a challenge while you put out fires and explore new opportunities. Don’t be tempted to think, as some do, that you can keep piling on initiatives and still maintain your team’s focus. You may find yourself in the middle of the “Ship is Adrift” Syndrome. Instead, consider automating, streamlining or outsourcing areas that are not core to your team’s operation.

A laser-sharp focus does not happen overnight. It takes time and effort to refine, reinforce, and communi-cate your One Thing. But you need to start now. Blurred focus creates confusion – resulting in diffused employee efforts. Stay focused! Remember Curley!

Today’s solution is from Sticking To It: The Art of Adherence By Lee J. Colan

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.
– Helen Keller

Today’s quote comes to you from  12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women

A leader’s job is to look into the future and see the organization, not as it is, but as it should be.
– Jack Welch

Today’s quote comes to you from You Can’t Send a Duck to Eagle School: And Other Simple Truths of Leadership

In our personal or professional lives, many of us are dealing with storms right now. But you know what they say about April Showers, right? Reminding us of those May Flowers yet to come, our popular book Welcome The Rain encourages us to choose to see beyond life’s storms. Just in time for Mother’s Day, today’s story below, written by Michelle Sedas, reveals a touching mother-daughter moment that’s sure to warm your heart.Take a few minutes to watch our Welcome The Rain movie and please share this with others.




To Your Success,

Eric Harvey

Learn more…     Welcome The Rain Inspirational KitBy  Michelle Sedas Welcome The Rain reminds us that we are in control of the way we think about and respond to life’s events, both in our personal and professional lives. Whether you’re merely dealing with life’s daily ups and downs, or are weathering stronger storms, Welcome The Rain will encourage you to choose to see beyond life’s storms.

Excerpted from Welcome The RainJoy is not in things. It is in us. ~ Richard Wagner ~

I was seven years old and my mother and I were out running errands. In Texas, weather is sporadic, unpredictable, ever-changing. As my mother drove, the storm clouds opened up and the noon sky became a menacing black. Large raindrops began to splatter onto the windshield. When she was eventually unable to see, my mother pulled off onto the side of the road.  Soon, small, pea-sized hail was falling. When the large quarter-sized hail stones pummeled the top of our car, I was in tears.

Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.
– Robert Heinlein

Today’s quote comes to you from  Life Is Sweet: 333 Ways to Look on the Bright Side and Find the Happiness in Front of You

An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.
– G. K. Chesterton

Today’s quote comes to you from Welcome The Rain: Choosing to See Beyond Life’s Storms

Only about 2 percent of people can work entirely without supervision. We call these people “leaders.” This is the kind of person you are meant to be
– Brian Tracy

Today’s quote comes to you from  Eat That Frog: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time

Our own well-being is always the result of healthy decisions for ourselves coupled with disengagement from the choices of others.
– Karen Casey

Today’s quote comes to you from  It’s Up to You: A Practice to Change Your Life by Changing Your Mind

I have found that if you love life…life will love you back.
– Arthur Rubinstein

Today’s quote comes to you from Dreams Are Whispers From the Soul: Finding Your Purpose and Passion in Life

Less than two years ago, we announced the release of The Dash, the book based on Linda Ellis’ poem. Little did we know how popular The Dash would become. Since then, many of you have written touching letters and emails saying how The Dash has impacted your lives. And our Dash movie, which has been viewed over ten million times, continues to grow in popularity. Today, I’m sharing with you The Story Behind The Dash.

If you’ve never seen The Dash movie before, you’re in for a treat. If you have, please take a moment to remember how much that little line is worth.

Please pass this on to family and friends so that they, too, will be inspired to live their dash!

To Your Success,

Excerpted from The Dash

The Story Behind The Dash, by Linda Ellis

While it still amazes me, a simple poem I wrote one afternoon forever changed my life. It all began when I faxed a copy of this poem to a syndicated radio show in Atlanta. Soon after receiving it, the host of this popular show read it on the air. Little did I know how much my life would change from that day forward. Titled The Dash, these 36 lines have touched millions of lives and have literally taken on a life of their own by traveling all over the world. I call it uncomplicated poetry in a complicated world, which became the slogan for my Internet poetry company, www.lindaellis.net.

I remember where I was when I first truly realized the significance of the piece that I had written. I was on a business trip in Minnesota, alone in a hotel room. I received an emotional email thanking me for sharing the message of The Dash from a student who had recently heard it as part of a memorial gathering for the Columbine High School students. I sat on the bed and cried.

Several years later, I found myself engulfed in the thoughts and feelings created by my own words as I listened to them read aloud, for what seemed like the very first time, at the funeral of my father…my best friend. I write this closing exactly one year from that day and never have the words of the poem meant more to me.

From being performed in an elementary school play somewhere in the heartland of America to being part of a State Supreme Court Justice’s speech, from being printed in best-selling novels to high school yearbooks, The Dash has truly affected millions. I may not be able to change the world with these words, but I have certainly been able to influence a portion of it! The poem’s words have convinced mothers to spend more time with their children, fathers to spend more time at home, and reunited long-lost loved ones.

The words have changed attitudes, and changed the direction of lives. They have, in their own way, made a difference. I know writing The Dash has changed my life. I hope reading it, in some way, may change yours.

Live Your Dash,

Linda Ellis

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