Got Journal?

July 29, 2010 -- 5:27 am

I work with executives and people who want more out of life. I want the same for me. And in the process of helping people achieve their greatness, one of the most valuable tools is journaling.

Life now moves at the speed of blur. Most days we fall into bed nearly unaware of all that happened in the day. Information moves through our heads so quickly that it rarely registers as it passes over our brains. So, slow it down for a minute. Get out a journal and write.

Here are some amazing things that happen when you start to spend some time with yourself and record your thoughts:

1. You start to notice details you previously did not notice; you improve your vision and awareness.
2. You start to see how you behave, what you think and what you feel with greater clarity – you start to better understand yourself.
3. You become more connected to your world, your relationships and your sense of self.

Journaling is a great reminder that you own your life and your responses. Journaling helps you to sort through feelings, emotions, ideas and perspectives. Journaling asks you to talk to yourself, to see what you really believe, what you really want, and what you really feel. This is what makes journaling difficult for many people. But the benefits – the awareness it creates – is priceless – in both work and life situations.

To get started journaling, I recommend the following:

1. Buy a lined notebook. I like handwriting instead of using a computer, but do what makes you feel more comfortable.
2. Commit a time each day to journal. Spend 10 minutes in that time period and write whatever comes to mind. The first week is difficult. But once you get your groove, you will look forward to journaling.
3. Start by recording a statement, then journal what you think about it. Examples:
a. I am most happy when I am …..
b. Something that I thought would be difficult, was easy…
c. Two great people I met today were…
d. I feel my most capable when I am doing…
4. Allow yourself to write whatever comes to mind. Don’t edit.
5. Once you get in the habit, spend time reviewing what you write. What information does it tell you about you – your talents, strengths and passions?

Get reconnected to the greatness that is in you. Start by writing down what you think and feel. Start to tell your story. Journaling… it does a body good…

Watch for my new book, The Greatness Zone – Know Yourself, Find Your Fit, and Transform the World, due out this September.

Leave a Comment   

What is Your Masterpiece?

July 21, 2010 -- 7:40 am

When most people think of the word masterpiece, they think of a painting by Degas, Rembrandt or even Warhol. Many think of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa or Botticelli’s Primavera. But a masterpiece just means an exceptional work. What is your “exceptional work?”

Here is my perspective. Each of us has specific talents and strengths – attributes uniquely hardwired in us. Some are great with details and solving challenges, others are exceptional listeners, relationship builders or have spiritual insight. Some are artistic and some can write. Some can invent and some are extraordinary teachers. Each of us has the ability to create our personal masterpiece – our great work.

When we discover and play to our talents and strengths, we bring our best to our lives and to our world – we access our greatness and use it to impact the world.

o A teacher’s great work can change the life of a student forever.
o An artist’s great work can change a person’s mood with their art, music or writing.
o A builder’s great work can create a safe place for a family to realize their dreams.

The point is you have a masterpiece in you – there is greatness in you. But most people are unfamiliar with how to find and release their masterpiece. It starts by knowing yourself – the talents, strengths and passions you have. Here’s how:

1. List what you are great at. What comes naturally? What do others say you are great at? What do you seem to have great success doing?
2. List what you are passionate about. What gets you excited, energized and fired up? What could you do all day and never look at the clock?
3. Review your lists. Where do they intersect? What are you good at and love doing? These are your masterpiece areas. These are your areas of greatest performance, greatest impact and most significant contribution. What things come to mind? Where are you at your best?

The more connected and self-aware you are, the clearer your masterpiece areas will become. The world needs you as you are. Don’t try to force it or to be what others insist you be; instead, play to the talents, strengths and passions you that are part of the deeper or “true you.” When you understand yourself, you will see your masterpiece emerge.

I’ll talk more about this in my new book, The Greatness Zone; Know Yourself, Find Your Fit, and Transform the World, due out in September 2010. Watch for more information soon.

Leave a Comment   

Make Life an “Event”

July 15, 2010 -- 5:30 am

Life is precious – and really short in the grand scheme of things. So, I am determined to live each day the best I can – to celebrate each day – to make each day of life an “event.”

For me, making it an “event” is not about elaborate trips or expensive dinners. Rather, life becomes an “event” when you pay attention to the little details that show those in your life you care, love and value them. The greatest value in any relationship is not found in the things you have to do, but in the extras you choose to do.

There are so many places during the day to move from ordinary to extraordinary – to do the little things that make life a constant celebration.

Life is an “event” when:
* You get a note in your lunch in addition to your favorite sandwich.
* Your favorite cookies or crackers never seem to run out.
* You thought you needed gas in the car but it has been filled up.
* Candles are lit at mealtime, even at lunch.
* A book by your favorite author shows up on your nightstand.
* You forget and ask the same question 3 times, but you get the same gentle response.
* A card is left on your computer or in your briefcase – just because.
* Regular wine become sangria and dinner becomes a festival.
* A look, a smile or a wink means “it is you, it has always been you, it will always be you.”

A life that is extraordinary gets the big things right and constantly celebrates the important little things. Details matter. Feelings matter.

So, how do you make your life, and the lives of those you care about, an “event”? Don’t wait – you don’t get these days back. Do the little things. Do a lot of them. Do them often.

Please forward this to someone who can benefit from it and be sure to sign up for my newsletters on at www.LiveFiredUp.com.

Leave a Comment   

Handle Things A Little At A Time

July 8, 2010 -- 5:43 am

I was having a conversation with a friend of mine I know from the gym. She said, “I hate my life.” Whoa. Stop. “Maybe there are some things you dislike about life at the moment, but do you really hate your life?” I asked. She laughed and said ‘no,’ but that she was in a funk.

Life is as life is. The most successful people in life (and I define successful people in life as those who love their lives, not just those that have the most stuff) are those who find small ways to stay upbeat, happy and engaged regardless what comes their way. They reconnect to small meaningful things during the day to remind themselves of what is going right instead of what is going wrong. They make the time for attitude mini-makeovers – minor changes in attitude and approach to focus on abundance and possibility, not scarcity and impossibility.

Here are two examples:

1. When you notice your belt is getting a little tighter than it should, eliminate snacks for the week, or replace them with fruit. Don’t change all your eating habits, just select one thing and either eliminate an abuse or add something of value. It helps you feel in charge, it is easier to do and it helps you address an issue. You feel empowered and capable. It does great things for your attitude.

2. When you see that times are tight and you have less money for the old traditions of eating out, going to movies or buying things at will, you modify just a bit to have friends over, play board games, go for coffee instead of meals, or plan a day of window shopping instead of store shopping. Life is still fun, but now it doesn’t put you into a financial situation you can’t afford. You feel empowered and capable. It does great things for your attitude.

Human nature seems to drive us to notice what is not right, then spend our time complaining about it and making it larger than it is. True, life does send us true traumas. So, to me, when it is not a true trauma, don’t make it one. See things as they are, realizing that life is as it is; our job is to find ways to be happy and successful with whatever comes our way. And to quote from Winnie the Pooh (it is amazing where wisdom can come from), “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” Just handle things a little at a time.

Leave a Comment   

It Is Always Someone Else’s Fault

July 1, 2010 -- 5:46 am

We, as a culture, are great at the blame game. Whenever something happens – we stumble on the street, undercook a meal, back into another car, the wind blows a tree limb down – we first look to whom we can blame. And the more we look for others to be at fault, the less we own our responses – the less we take responsibility for our choices, actions and outcomes.

So, let’s try something. This will be the only time I’ll let you blame.

Complete this phrase in as many ways as you want:
“If it weren’t for__________________, I could (would) be doing _______________.

Got your list?

Here are some I have heard lately:
If it weren’t for this recession, I’d have a better job (or a job).

If it weren’t for my work schedule, I’d eat better and be healthier.

If it weren’t for the kids’ activities schedule, the house would be cleaner.

If it weren’t for my boss’s mental instability, I would have been promoted already.

If it weren’t for wife’s (husband’s) family, I would enjoy the holidays.

I find blaming wears me out. After blaming, nothing happens. Nothing changes. Now I am tired and not any better.

Here is what I offer. If each of your “If it weren’t for ______” statements are truly important to you, then it is critical for you to own the result. So, if you said, “If it weren’t for my work schedule, I’d eat better and be healthier,” how will you own this result instead of blame the work schedule? Can you prepare food to take with you, have family members help you cook, investigate new quick and easy, healthy foods and recipes, redefine your work hours to build in exercise, yoga or meditation time, find others with similar schedules and see how they make it work? It is about taking ownership of what you need to happen. No excuses.

So to me, the choices are: get worn out by blaming others and having no resolution, or, own the outcome and make changes in our behaviors to get the desired result.

This week, pick one of your “If it weren’t for ______” statements, and own its outcome. Just do one. Then next week, do another, and another. Soon you’ll see that when you own the results, things happen. And try this with your kids and your teammates in the workplace. Create a “blame-free” zone.

Please forward this to someone who can benefit from it.

Leave a Comment   

Kick It Up

June 17, 2010 -- 5:51 am

Look at the word “EXTRAordinary” – it is made up of the words “extra” and “ordinary,” meaning something more than ordinary. But ordinary and extraordinary are personal – each of us determines, for us, what is ordinary or extraordinary. And to do this we must know ourselves well.

Let me share two stories of those who made the effort to know themselves, then based on what they discovered about themselves, chose to kick it up and respond in an extraordinary way (for them). It took (takes) effort and courage.

Sam is the son of a friend of mine. He has always wanted to be an actor. His passion is to act. He was in all the plays in high school and is even working on his first screenplay. It is all he can think of. He earned and saved enough money and moved to Los Angeles to be closer to the movie industry. And like all aspiring actors, is working several odd jobs to afford putting himself into the environment that activates his greatest passions. His mom worries about him but she also realizes that he is living an extraordinary life – for him. He isn’t worried about buying a house, having a fancy car. He puts himself into areas that get him noticed for his acting and his writing. He couldn’t be happier – his life is kicked up – and is extraordinary – for him. He knows himself. He knows what makes life great for him and he goes for it.

I have another good friend whose youngest son recently came out. Though she had suspected he was gay for years, it is now out in the open. She told me her greatest sadness about him coming out was that he was not going to have a normal life – a normal life according to her terms. But after hours of conversation with each other, she now realizes that his life is very happy – for him. Getting married to comply with family expectations would have given him someone else’s life. He is now living openly and honestly and is creating his own extraordinary life – as an exceptional attorney. She can now see that extraordinary had to be his definition, not hers. And to know what that is, he had to know himself and be honest with himself.

So, how well do you know yourself? What makes life ordinary and what makes life extraordinary – for you?

You choose how you want life to be and since you do not get this day back, shouldn’t it be an extraordinary, “kicked-up” kind of day? That is my goal each day.

What would make today EXTRAordinary for you? And how will you make it happen?

Please forward this to someone who can benefit from it and contact me to help you learn how to better know yourself, so you can choose EXTRAordinary for you.

Leave a Comment   

Old Job, New Job

June 15, 2010 -- 9:03 pm

Finding a job is still not easy; there is so much competition. So, if you are applying for our old definition of jobs (40-hour jobs, one employer, standard work week), then improve your changes of getting noticed by doing the following:

o Apply for jobs that play to your talents and passions. Take a talent assessment to start to learn about your talents and intrinsic strengths.
o Use a talent-based resume, not a skill and experience-based resume; this shows your fit – something that is very important for hiring managers.
o Learn how to be great in a talent-based interview. These are different than the old style interviews because they require you to think on your feet.

Go to www.LiveFiredUp.com and click on ‘Job Seeker’ for information about these – Standard Job – Old Job.

Now, on to something new.

If you realize that a standard job is not for you (you can’t get one or don’t want one), then consider the flexible free agent role. This is a role you create that strings together several part-time roles or tasks into a full-time job, focusing on your talents and passions.

To start the process of flexible free agent, you need the following information about you and your world:
1. What are you great at and passionate about doing?
2. Of what you are great at, who needs what you do?
3. How will you get in touch with who needs you and start your flexible free agent role?

Let’s first see a couple of examples:

#1: Your talents: Detailed-focused, organized, efficient and productive.
Your passion: organization, implementation, driving and achieving results.
Opportunities: Work with companies that need:
*External/Internal events planned.
*Coordinate company event or initiative (new policy, new process, new education).
*Office administration, task organization, special project management, staffing coordination.

#2: Your talents: great communicator, listener and relater
Your passion: connecting with others, hearing others stories and experiences
Opportunities: Work with companies that need:
*Information about customer service, employee perspectives, or consumer perspectives – create and manage a survey process to gather information.
*Local radio, TV channel, newspaper opinion sourcing role that want stories about people and their lives.
*Develop and coordinate a social networking (cloud) for small organizations that deal in a product or service that matches your passions.

The starting point is knowing what you do well, then assessing who in your world could use what you do. Then invent the possibilities and your new customized role – Non-Standard Job – New Job.

For more information go to www.LiveFiredUp.com and click on the “Reinvent Your Work Self” link under ‘Job Seeker.’

Leave a Comment   

Do More of Some Things and Less of Others

June 3, 2010 -- 5:02 am

Life is all about choice – we choose to do some things and not others. We have the choice to tread lightly in some situations and not in others. Here is what I mean.

In the living well magazine of my local supermarket was an article about a twelve-year old who worked with her family to limit their trash output to one bag a week. She educated her entire family about what can be recycled, required reusable containers and bags, and insisted on a commitment to reduce the amount of “stuff” the family has. Tread lightly on the planet.

An author friend of mine blogged this week about an elderly man who had fallen on the street, and though a crowd gather around him, no one bothered to help him stand. My friend came through the crowd and helped the man stand, made sure he was fine, then moved along on his way. Don’t tread lightly when it comes to helping others.

My neighbors in Florida funnel the rainwater from their roof into cisterns and barrels, and use this water to irrigate their plants and gardens. They comply with the water restrictions and are careful about how much water they use and when they use it. They respect this resource. Tread lightly with our natural resources.

I was in a Starbucks last week and watched a kid, excited about ordering his own beverage (the parent was in the car), realize to his horror that he did not have enough money with him. The person in line covered his shortfall and the kid’s smile returned in an exceptional way. Don’t tread lightly with kindness.

It is our choice to respond – to tread lightly when it comes to our planet, our resources and our world – and to not tread lightly when it comes to kindness, generosity, help and support.

– What three ways will you tread lightly on the planet – and how will you share your ideas with others to do the same?
– What three ways will you not tread lightly (be bold) in your service and kindness to others – and how will you share your ideas with others to do the same?

Each of us makes an impact – is it the right impact? Do more of some things; do less of others. Own your impact and share what you know.

Please pass this on to someone who can benefit from it and contact me for help or inspiration.

Leave a Comment   

Reinvent Your (Work) Self

June 2, 2010 -- 5:07 am

In today’s changing workplace, finding one job may be a thing of the past. Instead, what do you do very well and could do for several employers? How can you reinvent your (work) self.

The greatest innovation in our economy comes from small businesses or individuals who bring their ideas for greatness to the world. In today’s “hard to get a job” workplace, why not look at what you are great at, innovate and reinvent your work self? Why not focus more on your ideas, talents and passions than on existing jobs – and invent a new and better role for yourself?

Challenge your thinking that a job is in one place, is for one employer, has a fixed work week, and has a specific title. Does that make you uncomfortable? Of course – all change does.But as things change, holding on to the past doesn’t help you become successful today.

How to reinvent your work self:
1. Identify what are you good at and what value can you bring to others?
2. Identify what do you love to do and what value can this add for others?
3. How much do you need/want to make each day, week, month?
4. What opportunities do you see that could give you the earnings and allow you to play to what you are good at and passionate about – how can you reinvent your work self?
5. What do you need to investigate to determine how to do it professionally?

My starting recommendation for people working through this transition is to take a talent assessment (you can find mine on this site) and to read the book, Start With Why by Simon Sinek (this week’s featured resource). Knowing your “why” – your purpose – will guide you on this process of self-reinvention.

Additionally, I am starting a new section on my website Reinvent Your (Work) Self, including stringing together many part-time roles into one new one, trying something new, and inventing a new (high-value) role for yourself.

Check back regularly as I develop this with help from many employment experts on www.LiveFiredUp.com and click on “Job Seeker.” Maybe your current difficulty in getting hired will be the incentive for you to reinvent yourself in a bigger and happier way. Know yourself, know your “why” and have the courage to reinvent yourself.

Please share this with someone who can benefit from it and contact me to help you learn how to reinvent your (work) self.

Leave a Comment   

Honey or Vinegar – How Do You See The World?

May 27, 2010 -- 5:43 am

They say honey is good for your health. Well, then living a life of honey is better for you than living a life of vinegar. Here is what I mean.

Studies support a direct connection between overall wellness and those who are upbeat, positive, appreciative, and are treated in a positive way – honey. These same studies support the negative impact on health, attitude and performance in those who are continually angry, caustic, unhappy or are treated in a negative way – vinegar.

In The Balance Within, author Dr. Esther Sternberg presents the science that connects health and emotions – that our outlook, attitude, self-talk and mental images can impact our sense of wellbeing, and the wellbeing and success of others. We can actually impact our health and performance by how we talk to ourselves and what we hear from others.

Studies in the classroom have shown a direct correlation between positive teacher expectation and student achievement. The more optimistic and supporting the teacher, the stronger the self-image students had. The stronger this self-image, the better the students performed. Their mental images were influenced by the positive expectations of the teachers.

Encouraging and supportive parents empower children to see the world in a more positive way. The children feel more capable, are happier and are more successful.

Positive and supportive managers activate the best from their people by crafting a compelling vision and by believing in the greatness of their people. They focus on purpose, success, build employee self-confidence and create a positive and supportive environment. Performance improves.

As is presented in Appreciative Inquiry: An Emerging Direction for Organization Development by David Cooperrider, “Scholars are recognizing that the power of positive imagery is not just some popular illusion or wish but an expression of the mind’s capacity for shaping reality.” When you think positively, you create a more positive reality. Honey is better than vinegar. Results prove it.

To add more honey to your life, consider the following:
1. Listen to your external talk and self-talk. Eliminate the negative and critical language. Instead of saying “I’ll probably screw this up,” say, “I will find a way to be great at this.” Use positive talk with others.
2. Develop a compelling positive personal vision for home, work and life. It is your life, what great things do you want? See it, believe it, live it.
3. Find the positive in others and comment on it. Work on seeing the greatness around you.

Science supports what our grandparents knew – you get more with honey than with vinegar. People are drawn to positivity – they respond by becoming more positive. This can create a new more positive reality. It is definitely time to start a “honey revolution.” Are you in?

Please forward this to someone who will benefit from it, and contact me to help you start your “honey revolution.”

Leave a Comment