About Steven AitchisonToday I wanted to share a story with you about the wealthiest taxi driver in New York. First of all I wanted to thank every single person who left a comment on my post last Thursday The Night I Gave Up On Life and everyone who sent me an email about it, I was truly overwhelmed by the outpouring of emotion and everyone who shared their stories. Thank you.
I am testing a new camcorder, which is why I am doing a video tonight and another one at the weekend.
I can’t tell you too much about the video except it is only 6 minutes long and I hope you find it worth watching.
As ever, it would be great to hear your comments about the video itself or the content.
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I know where I’m going brother, but I keep getting stuck in traffic!
.-= Jonathan – Advanced Life Skills´s last blog ..Confidence and the Courage to Take Action =-.
Keep a focus of where you want to go and you’ll achieve things in life. Have no focus and it’s a massive struggle.
Great video thanks for sharing
Hi Ben, exactly right, it’s all about focus, focus, focus. Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated.
So we have a taxi driver who ask questions and through this, he is a coach. Nice! That’s how you can give a lot of value and make a lot of money.
PS: I forgot to tell you the story about that night was truly inspirational and I appreciated your authenticity. I think that level of honesty is rare among people. But I thought if I would have said this among 168 other comments, the message might have gotten lost. So, here it is now
Hi Eduard, has a nice ring to it, could be a novel in there
Thanks for you thoughts on ‘The night’ I appreciate it, it was great to get so many people joining in the conversation.
Steven, thank you, brilliant to hear your Scottish enthusiasm for brilliant. The background in this video is clear and bright, too. It’s a good story, Steven, and thank you for sharing its message.
I would like to add that one of the reasons the question, “where do I really want to go?” is so important is that the journey along the way can be so fraught with frustrations and obstacles that if we never had a clear vision of our destination in the first place, we simply get discouraged and give up. We settle for less than than we could be because we have not dared to define and state our dream. It is our vision about where we really want to go that we draw upon to inspire and encourage us during our inevitable times of difficulty and setback.
Having said that, however, even when we do really know where we want to go, I feel it is also important to remain open to what happens along the way of getting there. The goal and the destination provide the vision, but the journey is the actual process of realization. We may indeed have a map, but its contours can be surprising and unexpected. Being open to that surprise, being willing to change course or direction, being gentle with our wrong turns and our need to stop and rest – that being in self-acceptance is what gives us the freshness and gratitude of the journey each moment along the way. Getting to where we really want to go is a revealing journey in self-development each of us needs to undertake, in our own unique way.
It’s good to be commenting on CYT, Steven. Sending you spring energy from Japan – Catrien Ross.
.-= Catrien Ross´s last blog ..Catrien Ross on Reviving Your Passion and Purpose in Spring Vibrations from Japan =-.
Hi Catrien, you are right, if we have a weak image of where we want to go the obstacles will put us off and we will give up on the image as it gets weaker and weaker. Keeping the image burning brightly is the key and that’s why it’s important to have someone to share it with. I am extremely fortunate in that I share my vision with thousands of others through my blog and get great support.
I got some of your spring energy from Japan and it was beautifully refreshing
Most people give more thought to what they will eat today than to what is really important or where they want to go in life. They have accepted the conditioning that tells them why they can not pursue their dreams. That conditioning IS WRONG!
Thank you for helping more people realize that to get where they want to go they need to have a destination in mind or they will never arrive. It is why I called my blog GrowMap and use the tagline MAP Your Path to GROW Your Business. If you want to get somewhere you need a MAP to get there and that is what I share – the path to growing.
You are totally correct that questions are how you figure out where it is you want to go. The better your questions the more likely you will find YOUR answers and through them your dreams and what is most important to you.
I want to share a story that you will appreciate because it will make your posts and videos much stronger.
A great speaker answered the phone and was asked what he charged for a two hour talk. He said $2000. The caller, thinking that was a lot of money, then asked what would you charge for a one hour talk. The speaker said $4000.
That surprised the caller. The speaker explained that it takes much longer to distill ideas and substance into a shorter amount of time so the shorter the talk the more he charges because the time to prepare is far greater.
That is true for writing, speaking, videos – every format. The more concise we can be the more depth we can compress into the same amount of time. Your video just made me realize why I love the written word and prefer it to video.
I so wanted to hear your message and it just wasn’t fast enough for me (partly because of my Internet access but mostly because I read faster than most people can talk). I am aware of a way to speed up videos but it is Windows only and I use Ubuntu. I suspect that making videos is much like writing: you can compress the ideas but that takes far more time.
When I write I spend far more hours than most do because for every hour I spend I save each reader that much more time and multiplied out the more I do on my end the more I give on theirs.
.-= Gail from GrowMap´s last blog ..Why Marketing is NOT Evil =-.
Hi Gail, what a great comment.
I loved the story you shared with us as well, might use that someday in my seminars
Thanks you so much for your feedback on the video’s as well I really appreciate it. In the future I will have the video’s transcribed as I will be ripping them to put into MP3 format as well.
Hi Steven,
About you: I like your accent very much, though it’s not always easy for me to understand everything. (I learned English all by myself).
About the video: I suggest a little audio cleaning. Depending on the software you use it should be an easy job to get some of the disturbing noises out of it.
About the goal setting: Since I decided not to think further than one week when it comes to goals (I did this recently) my life has become a little easier. I always try to top the results of last week in whatever I’m doing. So if a week is great my only goal is to make the next week even better.
You see, when I was 22 I had the goal to be a millionaire and stop working when I’m 40. In the end I stopped working when I was 37 without having the desired amount of money in my bank account.
I think the reason that I didn’t achieved what I wanted back then was that the time span was much to long and abstract. Having a goal is fine of course. Having a plan how to achieve it is more important than the goal itself. Cutting the plan into chunks makes it easier to achieve.
These days I have an estimated goal in my mind and work towards it week for week. The funny thing is that (at the time of writing this) so far I topped every week this year in the next week.
Have a great day!
Mario
.-= Mario´s last blog ..By Request: The Drawings of Robert DeNiro, John Malkovitch, Juliette Lewis and Winona Ryder =-.
Hi Mario, thanks for your comments on the video. It’s a new camcorder so I am getting used to it and didn’t look at the audio as much as I did in the previous ones.
I would have to disagree with you about the plan being more important than the goal.. I think they are both extremely important however: you can reach your goal without a plan but you cannot plan without a goal.
I love your idea of topping your previous weeks goal and it’s so good to hear you have doen so well over the last year.
Hi Steven,
Of course you are right as a plan can’t exist without a goal. Maybe I expressed myself a little bit wrong.
In fact my last year (2009) was terrible. For 2010 I decided not to look in the future to far and just focus on passion. There was just one abstract goal I told my girlfriend about at the begin of the year and that was this: This year I will get everything back what I lost the last 7 years.
I still don’t know how to achieve this and don’t have a plan. This is why I try just to improve everything I do week by week. Sometimes I look at the things I did today and plan how to do more of them tomorrow.
I think that hope is very important factor as well.
.-= Mario´s last blog ..By Request: The Drawings of Robert DeNiro, John Malkovitch, Juliette Lewis and Winona Ryder =-.
Hi Mario, thanks for clarifying your thoughts there, I think I misunderstood you a bit
It’s great what you are doing, improving week by week and it’s great to hear you are on track.
Great Post. Really liked this one. I thought your advice to ask yourself a million questions until you discover your destination was very important. I think often times we spend so much time focusing on other things and everything that is going on in life, that we may overlook the importance of really devoting a lot of thought and energy to determining our destination. It really may just take a million questions, and we have to be patient and allow the answers to come and things to unfold in their own time. I think we really have to be willing to do anything to determine what our destination is because after we figure that out, everything in life becomes clearer. We understand more about ourselves and what direction we are supposed to be moving in and there is nothing in life that matters more. Thanks for the great video and the story.
.-= alternaview – Sibyl´s last blog ..Choose to Experience Everything in a Better Way By Taking Advantage of the “Time Gap” =-.
Hi Sibyl, I think we don’t take enough time to ask ourselves quality questions about our destination in life, some of us are fortunate and find out where our destination is in our twenties or even our teens but I consider it even more fortunate if we find our destination in our eighties or nineties because at least we will not die without ever having a destination.
Aw man… there was so much build up with the taxi driver but we never find out what happens to him or why he keeps driving people if he’s already a millionaire? Maybe he’s just loves what he does so money doesn’t matter to him. I’m not really sure, but it’s okay though. I really enjoyed this story nevertheless.
It shows that a lot of people don’t know where they are going in life. They let others make the decision for them such as parents, teachers, or friends. What I’ve learned from this is that if we don’t know where we’re going, we’ll just be like the passenger in the back of the taxi, letting life take us wherever it takes us.
Great analogy, great story Steven!
.-= Hulbert´s last blog ..Sylvester Stallone and Hits =-.
Hi Hulbert. The taxi driver is a mystical figure, when he stops to ask the questions, he stops making the money but feels a hundred times better about life and his job, he’s got a million in the bank so he keeps driving and helping people find their destination
Hello Steven,
Very good video presentation that points out that without of specific planning we are not able to go anywhere. I too have directions in my life but at present, my directions are a little suspended. Much enjoyed the story about the “The Wealthiest Taxi Driver in New York.”
Thank you,
Zuzanna
.-= ZuzannaM´s last blog ..TALL MOUNTAIN =-.
Hi Zuzanna, thank you for your comments, I hope you clear your distractions soon. take care.
What I got out of this is that its important to have a vision, but also important to ask yourself questions. Anywhere the important question of where you want to go. Great story my friend.
.-= Alex´s last blog ..The Virtue of Obsession =-.
Hi Alex, thanks for your comments on this. A lot of people still don’t have a vision and are wandering aimlessly through life.
Hi Steven, I really, really like your video style. You come across as very well. You made a great choice in choosing to make videos.
As far as the topic of the video goes, I have tended to struggle lately between having a plan or a map vs. going with the flow. I think it depends upon one’s personality. I tend to do better when I find my way as I go along. I suspect that doesn’t work well for most people though. It’s something I struggle with because what I want is generally not so specific as a sausage sandwich shop. It’s more like peace, beauty, and freedom.
Any advice for me?
.-= Stephen – Rat Race Trap´s last blog ..The Sunk Cost Bias Mind Trap =-.
Hi Stephen, thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for the comments on the video, I appreciate it.
I know what you mean about going with the flow, however, having an overall vision or a vague vision will help you get there. So, you don’t have a concrete vision, instead you have an ideal vision. The only issue I would say there is that it is not measurable in the sense that you will be be able to say “I have reached my destination of peace”, it really depends what peace means to you.
I would imagine if we spoke for a while we could get to something measurable e.g. Freedom, to me, means having choices in life, having choices means, having a little more money to have the choices, having money means I have to work a little harder or smarter, having to work a little harder and smarter means being away from my family, I don’t want to be away from my family so, freedom to me is being able to spend more time with my family.
Then we drill down on being with my family. Being with my family means spending more quality time with them, to do this I need more time, to get more time I need to look at my day, looking at my day I see 10 hours per day devoted to work, not working would mean a possible extra 50-70 hours per week with my family, since my family are at school, work, jobs etc it really means I would be able to possibly see them an extra 15 hours per week max, finding 15 hours per week would be a little easier, not working overtime would give me an extra 15 hours per week with them.
So freedom really means we need an extra 15 hours per week to spend more quality time with the family, which means freedom is measurable. Do you know what I mean?
That’s oversimplifying it but you get the picture.
Be good to know what Peace, beauty and freedom really means to you when you drill down on them.
That’s my advice
Steven, taxi driver story is brilliant, loved it! You talked about my favorite topic – Clarity. Get clear on your vision, get clear on what you want and where you go. And you are so right, it all starts from asking questions. Simple. Just ask yourself some questions. But so few people are doing it.
Hi Lana thank you for your kind words, I really appreciate it. 1 million questions will get to the bottom of anything
seriously, asking questions and the right questions is really important. Most of us don’t know how to ask the right questions so we just ask every question we can until we hit upon the right questions.
I have to say your writing recently has been great and I am enjoying your posts a lot.
When you know where you’re going, things just start to fall into place! Great post, thanks.
Topi
Thanks Topi, I agree with you 100%, it’s good to be free for a while but having a vision is better in the long run, i would say.
Goal setting is very standard in the lives of most people interested in self development but it is always good to be reminded. As ever I’m a fan of the accent and frankly I like hearing stories so it was a winner for me.
The video itself is very plain, the camcorder is fine. The fact that there is nothing much to say about it (visually) is a good thing because that means that nothing distracting is sticking out and taking away from the story, which I’m assuming is your intention as you are standing in front of a plain wall. If you want a more ‘studio-y’ sharpness to your vids you will have to play around with more pro lighting and reflectors.
.-= Coach Rosie´s last blog ..The Jacksons Skive =-.
Hi Roise, thanks for you comments on the video itself. I am thinking when I get more cash in to buy some soft lights, or day Glo lights, with a white seamless paper background and pro recording. My office is not that big so converting the garage looks like the best option. I have thought about this, but don’t have the cash just now, but will have it for the end of the year.
Sounds like a plan! But don’t get caught up in buying overly expensive pro recording equipment because digital recording is digital recording, there’s not huge amounts of variation on that and you can get industry standard quality on the family camcorder these days. How you dress your eventual setting (a bare wall, a plant, close up, sitting on a sofa, maybe a desk), the new lighting and some tweaks in editing, (not to extent of blue screen fiddling though!) will make a vast difference. It all sounds very exciting!
.-= Coach Rosie´s last blog ..The Jacksons Skive =-.
….oh, but PS – I should add that I am not saying that it NEEDS this. What is there already is fine and gets you and your message across, I only mentioned these things because I get the impression you WANT to take your vids to another level visually.
.-= Coach Rosie´s last blog ..The Jacksons Skive =-.
Steven,
Thanks a lot for the video post.
I truly believe that every single person has a dream (or dreams) inside of themselves that they want to pursue just like the stock broker you mentioned in the story. But only a fairly small percentage of people are actually taking action to achieve their dream.
However, I think the percentage of people that are pursuing their dreams is definitely increasing. The internet opens up so many possibilities. And with the economy the way it has been the last couple of years, I think a lot more people are looking to themselves and their own unique skill set for security instead of big corporations.
And as more people follow and achieve their dreams, others see this and become inspired to do the same.
.-= Greg Blencoe´s last blog ..Is the glass half empty or half full? =-.
Hi Greg. I am with you, I believe we all have a dream within ourselves and one of our goals in life is to eek it out of us.
The internet truly is amazing and has changed the world, literally. We will look back on these times and call it the ‘social-information revolution’.
Your comment reminded me to send you e-mail, which I have done now
Steven -
Great video as always. I remember when I was training to be a coach a few years ago and was so excited about everything. Every time I took a cab I would coach the taxi driver, every shop I’d coach the person behind the counter. Asking questions and listening is a gift and a joy. Great story – thanks.
Phil
.-= Phil – Less Ordinary Living´s last blog ..What we can learn from children =-.
Hi Phil. I love you enthusiasm for coaching, how is your practice going?
Thanks for your comments Phil, I appreciate them.
When we stumble its because we have called something light that was not at all light. Thanks for the sharing…
Hi Rob, I must confess to not understanding what you mean by this, would love to understand it better.
Hi Steven,
It’s refreshing to come across a video and see the person behind the blog. I’m glad you clarified (through Hulbert’s comment) that the millionaire taxi driver continued to help others find their destination. In addition to the lesson of having a plan for a destination / goal, the taxi driver stood as a good example of doing what one finds fulfilling — no matter the price. Thank you for the story.
Hi Kim. It’s amazing how a few thought about the taxi driver more, I think that tells a lot about a person
Thanks for your comments Kim, I appreciate them.
Dear Steven,
Yes, I ve watched these video. I am really like your video style. You come across as very well. You made a great choice in choosing to make videos. Good job.
I have the lesson from these video. having a plan for a destination
.-= Heru Kurniawan´s last blog ..What Are Your Investment Goals =-.
Just reminded me, “where do you want to go?,” I knew someone from a seminar that shared her story about her goals. She wanted to reach the top of the corporate ladder. She had her dreams of having a fantastic family life with it. She did eventually reached her goal but realize later on that she didn’t like it. Her work took so much time away from her family which was included in her goals. She decided to save up, get investments goin on passive incomes and find another work that isn’t much time consuming, just to be with her family.
So my question, is that possible she overshot her goals? Or she reached her goals and didn’t liked it all in the end? Or she ended up in a better situation than her goal?
Sometimes, when I am almost reaching my goal, I would create new goals for myself because the earlier one I realized I didn’t like. Probably a problem with clarity of goals, I don’t know, I am confused. I got a mentor at
Mentor club to help me with personal development stuff, I think I needed it.
Hi James, thanks for your questions.
I would say that when we set a goal, we can’t say I want to do this and I would like to have that. If we are serious about the goal we have to think about it. I am making another video later on today so I will look at this in more depth but basically we have to look at the consequences of reaching our goal when we get there.
Thanks for your comments and thanks for giving me inspiration for a new video.
Hi Steven,
I think the video is fine. In fact, I like the plain background. For me it eliminates the distraction of looking around the presenter. I don’t have a lot of time so a short video, to the point, without distractions is perfect. Really, my focus was on what you had to say, not how good the lighting was.
I’m a single parent of 3 and when my kids were small I didn’t have time to focus on my career goals and dreams. I was too focused on raising my children so I worked at a job (and still am at the moment) that I don’t “love” but is getting me through raising my children. I always knew I wanted to do something different what I now do for work so I always kept (and still am) learning and growing towards my dreams and goals and trying to pinpoint my dream in between raising the kids. In retrospect, I realize that goals and dreams change with different phases of life. My goal and dream then was to raise 3 amazing children and I did. My children are getting older and now I can focus on me and my new dream. As always, thanks for sharing.
Mary
Hi Mary. I think your situation is where a lot of people are just now in their lives, they are stuck between their dreams and raising children. I believe the two can be married up but it would be a very fine act to balance, therefore very difficult. I am raising two boys with my wife and we are both following our dream whilst working full time, we somehow manage to fit it in and always have time for the boys. It’s extremely tiring and fitting time in for us to be together as well is difficult but we are managing it.
You have done great so far in life and there’s no reason to believe you can’t repeat your success with raising your children. best of wishes to you.
Nice story. I’ve heard it before, but the point is clear. Knowing where your going is key. Nice video by the way, your cam seems to be working.
.-= Craig Thomas´s last blog ..5 Big Ways to Add Time To Your Days =-.
Thank you for the great lesson on focusing on our goals. Indeed having an idea of our future direction is important!
Just curious. Do you find creating videos faster than writing articles? You look great by the way
.-= Evelyn Lim´s last blog ..Draw A Creative Mind Map for Self Analysis =-.