Live Intentionally, Live Deliberately: Episode #34

Do you show up and see what happens or do you show up and make something happen? Where do you think you have more power?

If you decide what the outcome is for anything in life, you are much more likely to achieve it. If you feel like you are running out of time, feel frustrated that you aren't meeting your goals, or feel like you just aren't putting enough points on the scoreboard of business or life, there's one thing you need to adjust and you can start to see things turn around and we discuss it in today's episode.

Prefer the PodCast version? Here you go!

Show Notes and Links:

Full Show Transcript:

Dan Stewart (00:00): Do you ever struggle with the pressure of time? Do you feel like you're running out of month or year or life? Oh gosh, it can be so frustrating. And if you've ever felt that way, you're going to love today's session of What To Say Now, where we talk all about intentions. Join me.
Dan Stewart (00:31): Hey everybody. It's me, Dan Stewart. And welcome to the next episode of What To Say Now. This is episode number 34. Can you believe it? Episode number 34, it's crazy. Now the reason I'm here today, the reason I've been here for 33 prior episodes is because I believe in living intentionally. As you've read before you joined this session here, if you've ever felt like you're running out of time, like the game is ending and you've got to figure out how to get more points on the scoreboard, if you feel like your life just keeps slogging along and you're not really connected with achieving your goals, it's a simple change. There's one thing you need to adjust and you can start to see things turn around for the better here. And that thing is living intentionally.
Dan Stewart (01:25): So, Henry David Thoreau wrote about living deliberately. That's what living intentionally is all about. It's knowing what your outcome is for any given situation that you're part of. And when you grab hold of really living that way, you tap into the power that's all around us all the time, that so many of us don't really pay enough attention to. For example, so far today I've had five meetings and in every single one of those meetings I have a choice, I can show up and see what happens or I can show up and make something happen. We all have that choice. So I'd ask yourself, where do you think you've got more power? I'll tell you it's as soon as you decide what your intention is, if you decide what your outcome is for anything in life you're much more likely to achieve it than if you're just drifting along hoping things work out for the best.
Dan Stewart (02:29): So there are a couple of points of conversation that I want to pull apart here for you. Because on What To Say Now, it's all about the conversation. So think about this, how many times in your life have you said to someone, "Oh, I'm sorry. That's not what I intended." Now that's not because you have bad intentions, it's because you didn't have intentions at all for that moment. Think about it, if a super busy professional and you only have so much time in the day to make an impact on maybe your children. Don't you think it's important that you take advantage of that time by living truly deliberately, by knowing what your intention is for that time that you'll get to spend together.
Dan Stewart (03:18): How different is that day... Like my youngest and I, Emily, we go on daddy daughter dates. And if we hop in the car and we're like, well, what do you want to do? Nobody's having a ton of fun, because now it's all about the stress of the decision. But if we hop in the car and I say, you know what we're going to do today, we're going to have a fantastic time. I'm communicating to her what my intentions are. She's knowing, the expectation is set that today is going to be fantastic.
Dan Stewart (03:51): As you've heard me say time and time again, before we can influence others, we have to first influence ourselves. That starts by just taking a short pause and asking yourself, literally, what is my intention for this? Just ask yourself that I promise before you make your next call, before you pick up your next phone call, before you reach out to someone on social media, before you comment here, ask yourself, what is your intention in doing this? Just understand that. And pretty soon you'll start to identify that sometimes your intention is in conflict with other people's expectations.
Dan Stewart (04:35): So we have these two forces. We have what you intend to happen, or if you're just coasting on autopilot, your lack of intentions combined with the expectations of others. So when these two forces meet, which one do you think wins? I'll give you a hint, it's the one with the most certainty about what their outcome is. That's the one who has the power in that situation. So if you go into your next meeting with certainty of what your outcome is, you're more likely to achieve it. Whether that meeting is with a client, an employer, a child, a friend, your partner, whomever it may be, if you're certain about what your outcome is, you're much more likely to get it. That's the power of living intentionally.
Dan Stewart (05:24): So I hope you enjoy this episode. This is a little teaser. I have an upcoming webinar. I'm hosting with Tristan Ahumada of Lab Coat Agents, and we are going to go really deep on this topic together. Because tell you guys, there's a pathway between where you are to where you want to be. You don't get to where you want to be, unless you're really clear about your intentions. So this is important work. If I can help you get it done, please reach out to me, [email protected]. Of course you can comment below or just tag me on Facebook. So till next Tuesday guys, be good and live deliberately. Bye now.