Pushing the Envelope

Sixty one years ago today on October 14, 1947 a young pilot climbed into an experimental plane and took off on a flight to achieve something that had never been achieved before…to break the sound barrier.

The prevailing wisdom at the time was mixed with some thinking that the forces would literally rip the wings of the plane or lock the controls up causing a catastrophic and fatal crash.

As it was Chuck Yeager flying the experimental plane the X-1, (named by Yeager “Glamorous Glennis” after his wife) flying at an altitude of 45,000 feet entered the history books as the first man to successfully break the sound barrier.

In the years that followed he, and others, continued to fly further and faster and even now there are pilots and aerospace engineers striving always to ‘push the envelope’ (as they say in the aviation world) and go faster and further.

Because those people did that, because they strove to do the things that haven’t been done before they achieved more and they learned more. After all the benefit is not always in reaching the goal but the wisdom that is learned along the way and we could all benefit from more wisdom!

I know specifically how I will, for myself, push the envelope today and yes it’s a little scary and it’s a little unnerving and I welcome that. Because when it is done, when the attempt is made and whether I succeed or fail, I will have pushed my personal envelope out further than it has been before and I welcome whatever that brings.

So I invite you to consider a simple question;

“What personal barriers can you exceed today?”

What can you attempt that you haven’t done before, what target could you set that you haven’t reached  before or what action could you take that you haven’t taken before.

Or in other words…

How far can you push the envelope today?

Until next time;

Stephen

Stephen Hart

Ideas are not enough

Half way into an hour and a half commute to work and the rain was still falling. The roads were slick with water and visibility could have been better. For some reason the traffic had slowed to a crawl and then I saw on the inside lane the reason. A car had broken down and stood forlornly with its hazard lights feebly blinking away. A woman stood, holding her coat hood down against the rain, hand bag in hand next to the car. She was getting wet. And in five minutes she’d be a lot wetter.

Now the next thought that went through my head was that I could pull over and give her the umbrella that was sitting, unused, next to me in my car. I don’t need it and she did. I could have stopped right by her car.

But I didn’t.

Twenty yards further down the road I saw a parking place. Again I thought that I could very easily turn the wheel, slow the car, and pull up. Then I could get out, walk twenty yards and give her the umbrella. A decent, quick idea that would make a difference.

I kept driving.

Now I’ve thought about this up and down and the reason why I didn’t act is not the topic for this thought for the week. The topic is rather that ideas aren’t enough on their own. Action has to follow them.

If you don’t put your ideas into action then the ideas won’t make a blind bit of difference.

If you have an idea to develop yourself, follow it with action. If you have an idea how to increase your sales, improve your health or your wealth then follow those ideas with action. Otherwise nothing will change.

Listen to your ideas, take action and make a difference.

(And I offer my most profound apologies to the woman in the rain…)

Until next time;

Stephen

Stephen Hart

Small Steps

“As we become drunkards by so many separate drinks,
so we become saints and authorities and experts
by so many separate acts and hours of work.”

William James

Consider where you are in life. Are you the person you wanted to be when you were younger? If you answer the question in a negative way then consider how it would be to change. How it would be to honestly evaluate and consider how far short you have fallen of what you are capable.

And take heart because William James was right. And if you are not the person you wanted to be, if there is indeed a difference between what you dreamed of and what you have achieved then that short falling was done slowly one small slip at a time. And no matter how big the gap might be now you can cross it one positive step at a time.

It doesn’t matter how small your steps are as long as you take the steps and take them in the right direction.

Until next time,

Stephen

Stephen Hart