Take The Steps Two At A Time

Having a home office since 1986 has had its joys and its challenges. For many years, my office was in an upstairs bedroom. My first computer was the one I had used when I was teaching, an old Apple 2C. The monitor sat on a cinder block so it was at the correct eye height and the whole thing sat on a picnic table my wife gave me for my birthday. I had a two drawer filing cabinet and on top of it was my college electric type writer for addressing envelopes and labels. 

For a while we had a single phone line into the house. It was our home line and our business line. My wife or I answered the phone. This worked for a bit but when our children’s friends started to call and talk for over an hour, we realized that we needed two lines into the house. Then, soon after that, we needed another phone line into the house for the newly arrived fax machine.

Slowly, the business grew and slowly we added new things to my upstairs office like a bigger desk and more filing cabinets. When I got a new computer with a real word processing program in it, I thought I had finally made it to the big leagues.

One day, a dear friend and mentor of mine came over for a visit. Sitting around kitchen table together, we visited about my work and his approaching retirement. After listening to all I was doing, especially the multiple days of travel and teaching, he paused and said to me the following:

“You have a lot going on, Geery. This thing you have created has potential and lots of growth written all over it. I could see you doing this for a very long time.

But I want you to remember something. When you go to work in the morning, I bet you take those steps to your office two at a time. You are excited and you are pumped to meet the challenges of each day.

When the day comes that you are not taking those steps two at a time, then sit down and rethink what you are doing. This work will evolve over time. Just make sure you continue, over the course of your entire career, to live and work in such a way that you take the steps two at time.”

This week, I challenge you to create a life where you want to take the steps two at a time. Being fully engaged and eager to make a difference is a great way to live and to work.  

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257