the dog ate my homework!
september 2022
It’s September. That can only mean one thing… Kids up and down the country are donning their shiny new shoes, wearing uniforms that are too big for them and standing in front of the front door with a fake smile for their “Back to School” photo.
Now, my kids are all grown up. The youngest is off at University so it’s a long time since “Back to School” has applied to us.
But as you know, I’m a big believer that while school may finish at 16, we should never ever stop learning and developing ourselves. And I live by this.
A little while ago, I joined something called Strategic Coach. It’s a business coaching programme designed to help you learn, develop and grow. And it’s brilliant! There’s just one problem. They give you homework.
Now, I wasn’t very studious at school. Sure, I enjoyed it – but when it came to homework my best skill was coming up with new excuses. From the classic, “my dog ate my homework” to the more mundane “I left it in the car” and the more creative “We had a power cut in our house, and I had to burn it for warmth”.
As I’ve got older, I’ve got better at completing my commitments – even my homework! I’ve just spent two weeks in Lanzarote, squeezing in the last holiday of the summer before the weather in Europe starts to cool. And I still did my homework! I got up early, put in some graft then spent the rest of the day sunning myself on a lilo listening to my new favourite podcaster, Stephen Bartlett.
Why did I do it? Surely it would have been more “holiday” to stay up late, sleep in and leave my homework until my return? Because I’d committed. And commitment matters. You can’t get anywhere in business if you can’t commit. If you can’t do what you say you’ll do when you say you’ll do it. When you commit to something and take consistent action, that’s when magical things start to happen.
So what have you committed to in order to learn, progress and grow? How are you going “Back To School”? I’d love to hear your stories…