Celebrating 25 Years of The Rhythm of Life

Kate Volman [: 00:00:05

Hey there. We have a special episode of Lead with Culture because it is the 25th anniversary of Matthew Kelly's best selling book, the Rhythm of Life. I cannot believe that he wrote this book 25 years ago. It's crazy because it is such a remarkable piece of work and to be written by someone at his age at the time, it's just crazy. It is so full of wisdom and the impact that it's had on millions of people's lives. That's just so amazing and so cool. And I don't know if you have read it. Hopefully you've read it.

Kate Volman [: 00:00:50

You know what I'm talking about it. Many people have read it multiple times. In fact. We use the Rhythm of Life as part of our Dream Manager program. So when our Dream Managers are meeting with their dreamer, part of what they do is they read sections from the book and then they get to highlight the sections that are the most meaningful to them, what resonates with them the most, and they bring those conversations to their Dream Manager. So they have a discussion around what quote, sentence, phrase, idea impacted them in that particular section and then they get to talk to their Dream Manager about it and why they felt that way and how they're going to use that content to help them become a better version of themselves. And so it's really just a wonderful piece of work and so amazing that it is the 25th anniversary. So let's celebrate together.

Kate Volman [: 00:01:47

We thought that we would do an episode just sharing some of the many great quotes and ideas from the book. And so we just chose a few, some that kind of show up very often from just in our Dream Manager program. And some that others have just shared with us that they've really enjoyed. The whole book is amazing. So just read the book if you haven't read it and maybe this is your sign to reread the book and then you can share with us your favorite quotes, your favorite ideas, what you loved best about the book. That would be absolutely amazing. All right, so here are just a few of the quotes from the book to just give you a little inspiration for the day. All right, so the first one is whether you are 16 or 60, the rest of your life is ahead of you.

Kate Volman [: 00:02:39

You cannot change one moment of your past, but you can change your whole future. Now is your time. I love this so much because, well, it's true, right wherever you are today, you can make a different choice. You can choose something different. You can decide to start pursuing your dreams no matter what age you are. It's so inspiring when you read all of these stories about people who have tapped into pieces of their creativity or becoming a better version of themselves when they are much older. It's kind of glamorized. I know when we see all these tech startups and people that are really young and they do these incredible things at such a young age.

Kate Volman [: 00:03:26

But what about. There's tons of people that have started businesses or wrote their first book or pursued something new in their lives at an older age. And there's a lot of beauty in that as well. And so your dreams are yours for a reason. And maybe you wish that you would have started them years ago, but we can't go back. We can only move forward. And so I love this message so much. Wherever you are, you can choose to build a brighter future for yourself.

Kate Volman [: 00:03:57

What's really cool, too, is, and he obviously did not know this at the time, but that he would one day go on to write many, many books. I'm sure he knew he would write many books, but one of them is called no Regrets. And it is all about the fourth quarter of your life. So when you hit 60 and you're in that fourth quarter and it's not the end like, it is the beginning of this new beautiful phase, and you get to decide what you want to do at that time. So whether you're in your 20s, your 30s, your 40s, your 50s, your 60s, and beyond. Now is a time for you to create that list of a hundred dreams, to pick the dreams that you really want to focus on over the next couple years and start to make some of those changes that maybe you've been putting off for far too long. All right, next. If you gave your body a choice, if you give your body a choice, it will always take the easy way out.

Kate Volman [: 00:04:55

Your body lies. It tells you it cannot when it can. This I love. Because we look, let's face it, we like to take the easy way out, right? We like to make excuses. We like to say, oh, I'm going to do something later. And unless we're very intentional about it, we will choose to not do the thing that we said we were going to do. Our body lies, as he says, but we lie to ourselves. Like we say, oh, I'm going to do it tomorrow.

Kate Volman [: 00:05:28

I'll start that later. And we know that we're not going to actually do that. We get to push ourselves. We get to challenge ourselves to really grow. One of the dreams that shows up in so many of the clients that we work with, so many of those dreamers that we get to work with is they want to be healthier and more fit. And for someone who is not very active, who doesn't go to the gym, who isn't doing a lot of things, of course, the first couple of times you go to the gym, it's not going to be the most fun. You're going to be sore, you're going to be tired. But once you get over that, once you do it for a few days and then a couple of weeks, then you start to feel like, oh, wait, I'm getting a lot of energy.

Kate Volman [: 00:06:13

This is really good. I can do this. I can push myself. I can do hard things. So we can't lie to ourselves. We have to trust that when we have this dream, whatever it is, and whether that's being healthy or fit or pursuing a dream that maybe you've been putting off, don't let yourself off the hook. This is why it's so important for us to have some accountability, to have accountability partner, to have a coach, someone that's going to push us, to challenge us, to keep going even when it feels a little uncomfortable. Which leads us right to this quote.

Kate Volman [: 00:06:49

We seek to live in the comfort zone. There is no such thing. It is much more difficult to try to live in a comfort zone than it is to follow our dreams, because the comfort zone is only an illusion, but our dreams are real. Will you spend the rest of your life chasing an illusion or following your dreams? Oh, my gosh. Do you love it? It's so good. We want to live in the comfort zone. We feel like it's this safe space. We are comfortable.

Kate Volman [: 00:07:19

We know what's going to happen, but we don't. Right? Like there is no certainty. We are not guaranteed certainty in anything. And so we feel like we're building this little pillow fortress around us where we can't get hurt and everything's going to be okay. When really we should be focusing on our dreams. Now. Our dreams, they push us out of our comfort zone. When we have dreams for a brighter future, chances are we're going to have to do the hard thing.

Kate Volman [: 00:07:50

We're going to challenge ourselves. We're going to push ourselves to do things that we haven't done before. And what shows up is perfectionism and imposter syndrome and procrastination and worthiness. And we have all of this stuff in our mindset that's stops us from pursuing our dreams. And so here we are. We want to be in our little comfort zone. So the moment that we realize that there is no comfort zone, that it is an illusion, as Matthew said. Only then can we really pursue our dreams with the fierceness and the courage that we need in order to achieve those dreams.

Kate Volman [: 00:08:28

Okay, next one. Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. The question I have for you at this part of our journey together is what is your genius? What is your genius? We have a whole section in The Dream Manager called the genius of your personality. Because your genius is different than someone else's. Your genius makes you unique, and we can't shy away from that. And so often the things that make you your genius, we sometimes shy away from. We sometimes don't really lean into the genius of our personality.

Kate Volman [: 00:09:18

And so what is your genius? What are you so good at? And for so many, they don't want to identify what that is. I don't know if they feel like they're being braggy or maybe they really, sincerely don't know. When people don't really know what their genius is, it's usually because your genius is what you do so well, and it comes so naturally to you. It's something that you almost don't really understand how special it is. You think that everybody maybe thinks the way that you do or approaches a certain situation the way that you do. You. It just is such a natural ability for you. That's why it's your genius.

Kate Volman [: 00:09:58

It is a gift that is one of your gifts. And once you identify what that genius is, it changes your life. Because then you can pursue things that help you highlight your genius. You can do the work and activities and pursue the dreams that you know are meant for you, because they are going to feed into that genius. Because when you are sitting in your genius, that's when you feel most alive. That is when you feel most energized. That is when you feel filled with passion and purpose. Because when you're in your genius, you're probably in the zone, in the flow, in that state where you feel like, wow, time has gone by so quickly because this is what I meant to do.

Kate Volman [: 00:10:45

So what is your genius? A really great exercise is to ask five of your closest friends or family members. Ask five people in your life, hey, what do you think my genius is? What's my superpower? And they're going to tell you, because the people around you, they see it, they know you. In fact, your genius is probably a big reason why they love you, why they want to spend time with you. So what is your genius? This is a really great question to reflect on. Write about it, journal about it, and ask those people around you and see what they say. And speaking about people and who you surround yourself with, here is another great section. The people you will most enjoy spending time with are not those who agree with you in everything you say and tell you that you should be a little easier on yourself and have that second slice of cheesecake if you are dedicated to your essential purpose. The people you want to surround yourself with are people who inspire and challenge you to become the best version of yourself.

Kate Volman [: 00:11:50

The truth about friendship is this. We learn more from our friends than we ever will from books. Sooner or later, our standards come to rest with the standards of our friends. Nothing influences us more than our peer group. The people you surround yourself with tell me something about who you are or something about who you will shortly become. Who are you surrounding yourself with? Are you surrounding yourself with people who read great books, listen to great podcasts, have interesting conversations, believe in their ideas. They're pursuing their dreams. They are positive.

Kate Volman [: 00:12:25

They are energized. They are engaged in their life. They are uplifting. They want to see you succeed. They help people. They're on their own growth journey. Are those the people that you're surrounded by? Those are the people that we gravitate towards. We want to be around people who are pursuing their dreams, who believe that they can create a better future for themselves and they want to help others do the same.

Kate Volman [: 00:12:51

They want to help their friends. They want to feed into their friends. So think about who are you most in contact with? Who do you spend the most time with? Every day, look at your phone and look back and see who are the last 10 people that you called. When you look at their number on your phone, do you get excited? Do you get a smile on your face? Are you happy? When you see someone calling you on the phone, do you immediately reject it and let it go to voicemail? Maybe you roll your eyes, you feel annoyed? Or do you have more people on your phone that when you see their name light up, you get excited? You can't wait to pick up the phone to see what they have to say, to share good news with them, to have great conversations with them. Who are you surrounding yourself with? And are there people in your life that it might be time to let go of? All right, next one. There will be tough times. There are for everyone. There will be times of fear and trembling.

Kate Volman [: 00:13:48

There will be times of discouragement and disillusionment. Have courage. Smile. Keep your chin up. Laugh often Be kind to yourself, stay focused, be gracious and appreciative. Think happy thoughts and carry on regardless. There will be tough times. We know this to be true.

Kate Volman [: 00:14:06

It's funny because Matthew wrote this book 25 years ago, and many years later, he wrote a book called Life is Messy. Life is Messy. So he shares in that book a lot of some of the tough times that he dealt with. And we can't give up. We have to continue to move on, to continue to move forward, to remind ourselves that there are things that we can't control and there are things that we can control. And when we focus on the things we can control, it's easier for us to keep going. It reminds us that we are able, that we do have the power to create a better future for ourselves, no matter where we are, no matter what difficult times. And it can be challenging to sit in the messy middle, to sit in those difficult times.

Kate Volman [: 00:14:54

It can be challenging to smile through it. But you've done it before and you'll probably do it again. And so this is just an encouraging message. Okay, we have two more. This one I just sent to a friend of mine. For the most part, we are too busy doing just about everything that means just about nothing to just about nobody, just about anywhere, and will mean even less to anyone a hundred years from now. Mm. So good.

Kate Volman [: 00:15:25

This is so good. When we think about our lives, we are so inundated with so much. There's so much to do, so many things, so much on our to do lists, and it's so easy for us to get caught up in this. Gotta get it done. Gotta get it done. That we stop and reflect on, why? Why do I need to get this done? Is this even what I should be doing? Is this even what I should be focusing on? Does this really matter? What in my life really, truly matters and what should I be working on? In order to create the vision for your life that you have to create that brighter future for yourself. So this is such a fun reflection to just think about. What are you doing? We are too busy doing just about everything that means just about nothing to just about nobody, just about anywhere.

Kate Volman [: 00:16:21

So crazy. All right, and last but not least, we'll leave you with this, because this is the essence. This is really the essence of Matthew's work, of what he has done over his entire career, which is remarkable, writing over 40 books and had millions and millions of copies sold all over the world. And for people to just. He is just flooded with messages of love and appreciation and gratitude for the work that he has created because it has helped people get out of so many challenging times. It has helped people thrive. It has helped heal relationships. It has helped businesses become more successful and help them grow.

Kate Volman [: 00:17:06

It has helped to inspire so many people to reconnect with their dreams. That alone is so inspiring. When you think about someone's body of work and they've done so much in the world to help other people fulfill their dreams, to believe in themselves again, to work towards their dreams, to do the things that they never thought they could possibly do. And all they needed was a little bit of encouragement, a little bit of guidance, a little bit of inspiration. That's all of this. That is all filled in that book, that all of those components that is woven throughout the rhythm of life. It is a beautiful piece of work. And so I encourage you to, again, I encourage you to read it.

Kate Volman [: 00:17:53

Or maybe this is a sign to reread the book. All right, we're going to leave with this one. The meaning and purpose of life is for you to become the best version of yourself. Become the best version of yourself. What does that look like? And you get to every single day, take those small steps to get better, to grow. And we're always growing. There's always an opportunity for growth, for improvement, for development, to gain new skills, to meet new people, to impact lives, to change your own life, to change your family, to do good work in the world. And when we are pursuing this life of becoming the best version of ourselves, it's impossible to not live a fulfilling life, because you're getting better every day.

Kate Volman [: 00:18:36

You're growing, you're leaning into your dreams. You're saying yes to the things that are most important and no to the things that don't matter. So here's to you becoming the best version of yourself. And we are so grateful that you listen to the show. We are so grateful to have you part of our community. If there's anything that we can do to support you in your efforts, we, of course, would love to be able to do that. Thank you so much for listening. We appreciate you.

Kate Volman [: 00:19:02

And until next time, Lead With Culture.