Posts Tagged ‘know yourself’

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The Difference You Make

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

My new book is coming out shortly. And more information on that and some free chapter downloads soon.

Here is why I mention this. I wrote the book to offer a process to help you know yourself, find your fit and transform your world. Another way to say that is to help you see the difference you make. It is presented as a story of two kids in college – and how they learn the five rules for a really great life. It presents this thinking:

Each of us has the ability and responsibility to invent our life. We are given amazing gifts – known as our talents and passions. We are all different; your gifts and mine are not the same. The reason for this is shared in the great quote, “we don’t get harmony when we all sing the same note.” We are all different to add to and invent an extraordinary world. When we know our talents and passions, we can bring our best to the world. But if you don’t know what you are great at and love to do, how will you share your best? Or, how will you make a difference?

So as I get the book ready to share this new approach, I ask you to start to consider what difference you make each day:
o Whose world is better because you are part of it today?
o What is one great thing you do that changes your life or someone else’s life for the better?
o What can you share today that will make someone happier?
o What can you share today that will make someone better?
o What did you learn about yourself today that reminds you of what a difference you make?
o What passions do you have that help us understand our world and connect better with others?
o What does the world need that you do well?

To make your greatest difference you must first know yourself. From your gifts, you can find where you have the greatest impact and what you can bring to the world. This is meant to be practical. Be yourself. Be great.

What difference can you make today?

Please share this with someone who can benefit from it and contact me to learn more about the five rules for a really great life.

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What Is Your “Thing?”

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

We are not good at every ”thing” – but we are good at some “things.”

We create our best lives and work when we build them around what we are good at and love to do; when we build them around our “thing.”

You do your best work when you feel capable and competent. You are more creative, more interested and more focused; you are in your element. You feel confident; you reach for more; you do more – and better. You are at your best when you play to what you are good at.

Now imagine yourself working in an area where you do not feel capable and competent. You second-guess your decisions. You don’t feel very creative nor are ready to take risks for greatness. You feel unsure. You just play it safe. You watch and don’t participate.

What a waste.

Live is too great and too much of a gift to allow it to go by without playing to our talents and passions – our unique gifts. I believe it is part of the plan that we invent our lives around the unique gifts we received in our DNA – our hardwiring. The more we know ourselves, the more we can identify these gifts and include them in our lives. This way we play to our “thing” – and the quality of both work and life is better.

What are you great at? Not sure? Try this:
1. List what you feel you are good at.
2. Ask three others who know you well what they feel you are good at. Compare their comments to yours.
3. Start to see a profile of your talents and strengths – your “thing.” Identify how you can include these in both your work and life.

We are not good at everything. But we are exceptional at some things.

We each are given a very particular set of talents, strengths and passions – many call these our “gifts.” It is our responsibility to know them and to build them into as many aspects of life as we can – because they are our best areas. We are good at them. We love doing them. We make a difference with them. And I believe we each have a different great “thing” so we have the ability to bring something particular and extraordinary to our world. There is space for all of us to have our “thing.”

Please forward this to someone who may benefit from it. Please contact me if you need more information to help you find “your thing.”

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Your Favorite Things

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…” A thunderstorm in the musical The Sound Of Music served as the venue for a very significant life lesson – both in the musical and for us: when things get tough, find the things that make you feel secure, happy, balanced and loved.

The last two years have been some of the toughest times in many of our lives. But tough times are just part of the way life is. Life is as it is – our role is to respond to it, treasure and live it in an extraordinary way, regardless how it comes at us.

The key to this is to know yourself – what makes you happy and what your favorite things are. Then to build these things into your life, particularly in tough times, to feel optimistic, content and well.

Most of us don’t spend enough time knowing ourselves and in particular, the things that make us happy. When tough times arrive, we are ill-equipped to successfully respond. So start today. Create a list of your favorite things. Build as many of them into your life everyday – and double up on them when your world is difficult.

Ask yourself these questions to create your list of “favorite things:”
1. What am I good at? What do I feel capable and competent doing?
2. What am I passionate about? What gets me engaged and fired up?
3. What could I do all day and never look at the time?
4. What can I read that will bring me to a good place?
5. Who can I spend time with and feel connected, important and loved?
6. What place or location makes me feel connected and alive?

So back to a thunderstorm in Salzburg, Austria and the Von Trapps. The lesson is that when things get tough, know how to respond with things that make you feel happy, secure and loved. Build your list. Have it ready because life is never easy, but how you respond can make it great.

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Roadblock!

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

Picture this. You are driving along, not a care in the world, and suddenly the road is blocked ahead. You can’t continue. You have to stop. What is your first reaction? g%lr#*@#?$@!

Now let’s say that as you are detoured, you pass by an amazing coffee shop and bakery – you never knew they were there. And next to them is an orchard with fresh fruit and homemade wine. How serendipitous.

Now, back to life. You are moving through your busy life. Suddenly an event happens – a recession, a lost job, an illness, a family emergency. A roadblock. You can’t move on as you were. You have to stop. You have to find a detour. What is your first reaction? Wait, let’s talk about this…

Obstacles and roadblocks are life’s way of saying “stop, think, dig deeper into yourself, see what you are made of, then respond.” Roadblocks are life’s way of getting our attention – then offering us a detour.

Most people hate the roadblock; it is perceived as a negative event and an interruption. Instead, consider the roadblock as an event for good – to help you see how capable you are, to get you out of “autopilot,” and to show you things you were too distracted to see – like the bakery and the orchard on the detour.

As you meet your roadblocks:
1. Believe that something better is in store.
2. Allow yourself to stop, think and respond, noticing your capabilities and strengths. As has been said, “we fear because we forget (or don’t know) how strong we are (or who we are).”
3. Connect with others to collaborate in ways to react and respond; think “collective genius.”

A roadblock is forced change. Most people hate change. Instead, be open to the good change can bring and learn to welcome it. Soon, roadblocks will become great events because they’ll show how capable you are and how big your world can be; they can change your perspective.

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