Walt Hampton, J.D.

Creating the Work & Life You LOVE

Not Sexy

by Walt | Jan 26, 2017 | Success | 0 Comments

I am fond of the exhortation that Robin Williams shared with his students in the classic movie, Dead Poet’s Society: “Make your lives extraordinary.”

I believe that we are the co-creators of these great gifts that are our lives; that we have the opportunity – nay – the obligation to make them masterpieces.

I believe that excellence is a choice. And that the choices we make on a daily basis will take us down the road toward excellence. Or not.

But extraordinary happens by virtue of very ordinary means.

Becoming extraordinary means showing up every day: at the office, in the studio, at the gym, on the mat, at the canvas, on the page. It means getting up early; and going to bed late. It means pushing through the resistance. Overcoming the obstacles. Solving the problems.

It means being consistent in all of the small practices and disciplines of your life.

It means never giving up however frustrated or down or depressed or despondent or angry you become.

It means staying steady in the face of doubt and ridicule.

It means believing, even in the face of failure.

It means rising up after you fall.

Rising up every single time.

None of this is sexy.

In fact, a lot of it kind of sucks.

But if you believe in your work, in your mission; if you believe that there are certain people you are meant to serve in the world and that your job is to go out and find them; if you want to make a difference in the world; if you want to make a dent; if you want to make an impact; if you want to leave a legacy; then there is only one thing to do.

Show up every single day and do the work.

We idolize our heroes. We see them as fully formed. We forget that many had arduous journeys too.

Abraham Lincoln, the bankrupt loser. Nelson Mandela, the jailed rabble-rouser. Thomas Edison, the fool in the lab. Michael Jordan, the guy who didn’t make the team.

Few dwell on Tony Robbins in his Volkswagen; or on Wayne Dyer selling his books out of the back of his station wagon; or on J.K. Rowling waiting tables.

Seven time Everest climber Ed Viesturs says, “Life’s high peaks aren’t conquered by the naturally nimble but, rather by those willing to endure, wait out the storm, and try again.”

Extraordinary is less about talent. And more about tenacity.

Grit, as Angela Duckworth calls it.

“No one can see in the work of the artist how it has become,” Nietzsche said. “That is its advantage, for wherever one can see the act of becoming, one grows somewhat cool.”

Because becoming is hard.

And grit ain’t sexy.

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When you’re feeling thin on Grit, email me: [email protected]. Let’s talk.

You Are Never Done

by Walt | Jan 19, 2017 | Success | 0 Comments

Success is not a destination. It’s not a place.

Success is a state of mind; it is a way of being in the world.

So many entrepreneurs and business professionals get frustrated because they feel as if they’re never “done.” There’s some product that needs to be developed, some program that’s running behind, some project that needs to be planned, some staff person that needs to be hired (or fired).

I have some bad news for you: You’re never done. There will always more to do. There will always be problems to solve. There will always be challenges to face. There will always be obstacles to overcome. There will always be a crisis, a glitch in a system, a crack in the infrastructure, a client or customer who needs special care.

But, I have some really good news to share with you: You’re never done! Every day is a new day, a new opportunity to create, a new opportunity to serve, and new opportunity to share your unique gifts and talents with the world. Every day you get to iterate anew, to re-imagine how these things that are your business and your life can shine brighter still.

In the movie, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Sonny says: “Everything will be all right in the end… if it’s not all right then it’s not yet the end.”

To that, I respond with gratitude: “Thank you. I get the gift of a new day, a new week; I get the gift of being able to continue this great work.”

I rejoice that it’s not done.

Did you know that they paint the Golden Gate Bridge every day? Every day. Because when they come to the end, it’s time to start over. From the beginning. Never “done.”

The job of an entrepreneur and business professional is to show up every single day to solve problems and be in service. To do the work. Every. Single. Day.

It’s always a work in process.

The powerful poem, Ithaca, by Constantine Cavafy begins: “When you start on your journey to Ithaca, hope that the road is long, full of adventure, full of knowledge.”

I pray that your journey is long. That you are never done.

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If you’re feeling challenged by the road, let’s connect. Email me: [email protected]

The Lie You Tell

by Walt | Jan 12, 2017 | Success | 0 Comments

I want to talk with you about that lie that you tell.

That one you tell all the time.

To yourself; to anyone who will listen.

That soothing lie.

That seductive pernicious one.

The one that goes like this: There’s time.

That there will be time to go on that trip you want to take, that second honeymoon, that book you want to write, the degree you want to get, the art you want to make, that new job, the new career… .

That there will be time to heal the rift, sooth the hurt, fulfill the dream.

That there will be time to connect with your precious boy, your sweet girl, that beautiful grand child.

That there will be time to walk hand in hand on the beach; slow dance in the city square on a summer night; sip the coffee; savor the wine; and watch the sunset.

That there will be time after you get through this quarter, this year; after you’ve made partner; gotten the promotion; after you’ve lost the weight; after the kids are out of high school, or college; or their students loans are paid off; after you’ve finished with the mortgage; after your husband retires; or you retire… .

I want to talk with you about it because 2016 is a distant memory; because you said maybe you’d get to it after the holidays, and it’s the middle of January…. because this year will disappear in the rear view mirror as fast as the last.

I want to talk with you about it because tomorrow is promised to no one; because now is all there is; and now is all you have.

I want to talk with you about that lie you tell… because I tell it too.

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When the time is right, when you’re ready to switch up the game, let’s talk. Email me: [email protected]

Starting Out Matters Most

by Walt | Jan 5, 2017 | Success | 0 Comments

Starting out, even when things aren’t perfect, even when conditions aren’t quite right, is one of the most important of all success strategies. Because, the truth is, that for most endeavors, conditions are never really quite right.

I thought about this success principle as I stood high above the trees looking out on one of the most magnificent vistas imaginable.

The day hadn’t started out suggesting that such a moment might be possible.

Indeed, long before the alarm would go off, I could hear the rain beating against the roof of the motel: a cold, heavy February rain in the White Mountains of northern New Hampshire.

I pulled the blankets up and rolled over in the darkness, sure that it was way too snotty to even consider venturing out.

Two hours later, we sat at the Dunkin Donuts. Our climbing packs were packed; the gear was ready. And the rain continued to pour… just freezing as it hit the surface. Nothing suggested even remotely that it was a good idea to strap on snowshoes or crampons and disappear for a day into a range that routinely and indiscriminately likes to kill its visitors.

A half mile from the trailhead, the rain tapered to a light mist. The temperatures were mild. The wind light. And, before the day was out, the sun poked through the clouds. It was a glorious fun-filled satisfying day on one of my very favorite mountains in the world.

It would have been easy to stay in bed.

Now I am not suggesting that you should be reckless; or act without thinking; or start out unprepared; or not consider contingencies.

But that’s not the challenge that most people face.

Most folks when they’re thinking about starting out on a project – a new career or business, a book, a fitness program, a product launch, a new relationship – want to wait until everything is in place, until conditions are perfect, the set-up ideal. Life is not like that (in case you haven’t noticed). Conditions are never ideal; all of the pieces are never in place.

You’ve gotta start out… and see what happens.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

Imperfect action is still action; imperfect progress is still progress. And sometimes when you start out – in fact more often than not – conditions turn in your favor. It’s as if the Universe recognizes your boldness and says, “Ah ha, she’s serious;” “Hmm, I guess he means it this time.”

You are rewarded for your audacity, for your courage; and for your faith: Faith in the abundance of a benevolent Universe; faith in the knowing that you will always find the path; faith in the power of your own inner strength.

Brené Brown writes, “Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” “Be brave with your life,” she says, “so that others can be brave with theirs.”

You have gifts that the world needs desperately. Conditions will never feel ‘right’ to venture out with them.

You need to start anyway.

Avoid The Shallows In 2017

by Walt | Dec 29, 2016 | Success | 0 Comments

I was jarred by his words.

I had stopped along the road to chat with my neighbor. Sean was building a stone wall across the front of his property. He had been at it for months; and it was quite beautiful to behold.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his dirty hands. “I’m building it to last for 400 years,” he said. “Maybe more.”

400 years? I find it challenging to think about a single day. And planning for the next quarter or just the year ahead? That involves (what I think of as real) heavy lifting.

But isn’t creating something that lasts what we all really crave?

There’s a reason that Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life has sold 32 million copies in more than 50 languages.

We seek purpose.

We want our efforts to have meaning and import.

We want to create a lasting impact in the world.

We want to be remembered.

We want to leave a legacy.

Yet, most of us live out our days reacting to other people’s emergencies, floating across the surface of things, dipping into social media, surfing the web, ticking off endless to-do lists, and using our email inboxes to drive us until we drop.

We’re interrupted or cause ourselves to be interrupted every 3 minutes of the day.

We’ve allowed ourselves to become addicted to the forward motion; we keep on going like hamsters on a wheel.

We’ve allowed ourselves to become addicted to the stimulation and outside input, checking and re-checking our smartphones and our tablets and our emails; responding incessantly to the phone calls and messages and notifications and alerts. Overwhelmed and inundated by the expectations and the deadlines and the demands, we endeavor to pay attention to everything. But succeed only at dwelling in a state of continuous partial attention.

We spend our days – we subsist – in the shallows.

We’ve lost the capacity to do deep work, legacy work, work that lasts.

So my challenge for you as you stand on the threshold of this New Year is to consider Sean’s wall. What work will you do that will last 400 years?

Perhaps it’s not about building a stone wall; but rather mending the wall that grown around a relationship.
Perhaps it’s the book that you’ve told yourself you’ll write. Someday. Or the art that you want to create; or that song that’s been waiting in your heart for decades to be sung.
Perhaps it’s about that experience – that magic moment – you’ve been meaning to create for your child or your partner or your spouse.
Perhaps it’s about finally taking the leap into that new career or job that you know will touch the lives of others for generations to come.
Perhaps it’s about committing to simple acts of kindness that, like pebbles dropped into a pond, ripple out to touch shores you cannot see.

Whatever it might be, commit this year to move beyond the shallows.

Get clear again about what you value most.
Connect with your heart (because your heart always knows).
Create a clear plan for yourself (understanding that your inbox is someone else’s plan).
Reclaim and protect your focus.
Abandon once and for all the myth of multi-tasking.
Set aside dedicated time to do your legacy work.
Have the courage to say “no” to what doesn’t serve what matters most.

The days may be long; but the years are short.

What will you create this year that will stand the test of time?

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When the time is right, when you’re ready to create intentionally the work and the life you absolutely love, let’s connect. Email me: [email protected]