If it is to be, it is up to me.

I heard this quote in a lecture this week and it made me think.

First I wanted to know whose quote it was (something the lecturer should have mentioned).  I did an internet search and found out these words of wisdom came from William H. Johnsen.  I tried to find more information about Mr. Johnsen, but the only attributions I could find on the internet were of this quote and one blurry awkward photo.  I tried Bing, Google, Google Scholar, Google Books, and Wikipedia…nothing.

Next, and probably most importantly, I wanted to figure out what made me stop and write this nugget of information down.  It pertained to the lecture…kind of.  But, I knew that wasn’t why it grabbed me.

As I think about it now, I believe it grabbed me because I spend a great deal of time thinking about how the actions of others influence my ability to get things done.  After hearing this quote and thinking about it over the course of a few days, I decided to focus more on getting things done myself.  No one impacts the direction of my life more than I do.  I hadn’t thought of this…at least not lately.

The last couple of days have been a prime example of me “getting it done”.  I really wanted to keep my current position at work.  Lately the writing has been on the wall that the project I’m working on may lose resources and my area would be impacted.  I stuck my neck out and told a couple of people who I knew could provide influence that I wanted to stay.  Earlier today, without prompting, my boss told me I would be staying on the project, while the other two managers would be moved off.

It was to be.

Although the quote is simple and straight forward, I think there is an undercurrent (for me at least) and the undercurrent is this…I need to “think positive about what I want and ignore what I don’t want”.  I don’t spend a great deal of time thinking about what I don’t want, but I do spend some time.  I think know that my time would be better spent on what I do want.

So in a work-related lecture I was reminded of two very important life lessons:

1. Make it happen.
2. Focus on what I want; not on what I don’t want

Were you reminded of any life lessons this week?  If so, please share.