Tag Archives: work

Planting the Seeds of Spring

The seasons have changed and summer is right around the corner.  As most people are planning for their vacations, I have an idea for you….how about reviewing your 2010 plan?  Do you have one?  Did you make resolutions to start this year?  Summer is traditionally a time when things slow down and unwind a bit. 

This makes it an optimum time to make BIG gains on the business front.  As others downshift you can trailblaze with innovative ideas and goals.  This could start a tidal wave of new business and more.

The first thing to take a look at, review the next 12 months, what are the major results you want to deliver at work?  Make sure to look at this question from the vantage point of the following groups:

  • Customers
  • Investors
  • Employees
  • The organization

The ability to grow business is endless.  Dust off or establish your goals and add measurable points in the next 12 months to check on progress.  Another part of this evolution will be a regenerated leadership.  As you develop your goals and 12 month plan, make sure to optimize areas for leadership and personal growth. Goal attainment is important however how you get there is also significant. 

Spring is a time of birth and renewal.  Take this time of year and energize your work, your business.

Tears of Joy

My gratitude has evolved in to tears lately.  I wonder how many other people may be taking the same journey with me this year?

You see, my youngest graduates high school next month and I officially join the club affectionately called the “empty nesters.”  I have found myself reflecting quite a bit lately and the tears have flowed freely.  I look back on major events and not so major events in the lives of my kids and the memories warm my heart. 

You know the ones, the first day of school, the bout of chicken pox over Christmas break, beautiful crayon artwork for the refrigerator and so much more.  As the cliché says; time flies. 

It certainly has flown. 

I have traded the worries of childhood boo-boos for the worries of young adults.  What will the future bring for them as adults?  Have I planted enough seeds of faith in them to sustain them for the challenges ahead?  Isn’t this the mantra of parenthood? 

As we make final plans for graduation I will continue to embrace the memories and remain hopeful in their future.  If you look in the eyes of a graduate you can see the spirit that has made our country great.  The spirit that drives innovation.  The spirit to succeed, make a change and develop a new frontier.

Congratulations to the Class of 2010!

Working In Gratitude!

This past week I have had the honor of meeting some new people.  I travelled and that usually presents new opportunities and new acquaintances.  This trip was no exception.  What was different was that I was able to learn a lot of new stuff about areas outside of my usual work.  I found this invigorating.  It allowed me to look for new ways to contribute to situations.  I have been in my work role for a while and it is a challenge to stay on the cutting edge of things, continually innovate and rise to the next level.  My experiences of the last week help me to look at this area.  This was a blessing on so many fronts.  I am feeling renewed, inspired and ready to change the world…at least my small piece of it. 

I also cultivated gratitude for the opportunity that my work affords me.  I cannot think of another company that would bring so much life and energy to my role.  I am indeed blessed on many levels.  I know that my travels will lead me to a new place – not just in terms of geography.  I am thankful for my renewed sense of determination and I can’t wait to see what the next few months bring.  I hope the world is ready.

My challenge to you would be; what opportunities are you ignoring?  Are there things you could be doing better?  What may appear obvious may change if you look at it with a different focus.  Think outside of yourself.  Who else are you impacting?  What matters to them?  These answers may surprise you and I am hopeful they might also change your course.

Gratitude brings prosperity

I want to share a thought with you; the more you share gratitude the more available you become to life’s blessings. 

What?

Just sit with this idea for a minute.  Have you ever noticed that the more you focus externally (outside of yourself) the more you grow internally.  There is a shift in consciousness.  By focusing on others you open up inside allowing for additional growth, prosperity and possibility. 

Gratitude is an act of strength and confidence.  It is like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it becomes.

Don’t believe it.

That is not a typo – do not believe what I have written…..try it.  Challenge yourself in the area of gratitude.  What can you do within the next week to add more gratitude to your life?  Try it, reflect, write about it – whatever works for you but give it a shot and see for yourself if gratitude awakens a different part of you.

I think you will like the results and I know that people around you will prosper.

Thank You Salute

This past week I visited Pearl Harbor.  Part of my visit included a tour of the USS Missouri.  What a magnificent ship.  She is 887 feet long and the height of a 20 story building.  The mess hall would dish out 10,000 meals daily when she was at sea.  The statistics and the history this ship embody was staggering.  It is a city unto itself afloat at sea.

I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sadness and great pride during our tour.  It was a healthy reminder of what people have sustained in the name of freedom and liberty.

The courage and bravery of the men and women who have defended our country was a direct and powerful reminder of the power of gratitude.  I am forever grateful for the all of the people who have gone before me and protected our freedoms, believed in our freedoms and ultimately died for our freedoms. 

What better tribute can there be than to determine a way of giving to others?  This is where gratitude really kicks in.  Have we taken the time to thank them?  Do they know how important their service is?

There is much we can do to express gratitude as it impacts this area of our lives.  Have we thanked an enlisted person? 

 If you travel, how do you respond to someone in uniform?  Would you buy them a cup of coffee?  Give up your seat?  Have you thought about writing a letter of tribute and thanks to a member of our military?  There are numerous ways to reach out and say thanks.  I have added a couple of resources below that might help stir you to expressing gratitude. 

If we all said one thing imagine the shower of gratitude we could create.

Resources:

http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1280.html

http://amillionthanks.org/

 

Grace & Gratitude!

Mahalo & Aloha

I am on vacation this week.

I am in Hawaii.  I am surrounded by beauty and visions that take my breath away.  The spirit that surrounds the island is amazing – and yet……I found my most recent lesson on gratitude in a very unlikely place.

This morning was my first day on the island and I went for a walk on the beach.  I bent down to pick up a piece of coral and my cell phone fell out of my pocket in to 1/2 inch of salt water.  It was there for no more than 3 seconds. 

In a slow motion panic, I picked it up out of the water and frantically dried off the communication tool.  It powered on momentarily but not like “normal.”  I had a feeling this was not a good sign. 

When we went back to the hotel room I was able to get the power on to the phone again and this time I heard a crackling noise.  When you hear a crackle – nothing good usually comes from it. 

I spent my first day in paradise replacing my phone and pondering the greater lesson here.  I have decided to translate the loss of my cellphone as a yield sign….slow down, take in the beauty around me and enjoy.

The sites and sounds of the surf and the landscape is brilliant.  How many times do we “fly by” situations and completely miss the thoughtful and amazing moments in front of us?  Pause and breathe in the moment – it is sealed in your memory for future use.  This is my work for the next 5 days…stay tuned for updates.

I am grateful to have this week to recharge and recalibrate.  We all benefit.

Gratitude Challenge

I have a gratitude challenge for the day….could I do something new?  Unique?

Yes.  I am meeting a new person this morning to make a connection and to see if we have synergies that compliment.  I am going to enter this meeting with a spirit of gratitude.  What does this mean?  It equates to being completely present in the meeting and focusing on what I can add to the situation of the person I am meeting with.  This is a change from the perceived usual approach which is: what can you do for me?

If the people you came in to contact with today took this attitude, how would it change the course of the day?

I believe the changes would be dynamic and positive. 

Do you have a meeting today?

How about a phone conversation?

Will you be grocery shopping?

When you come in to contact with another person try a different tact – what can you do to add to their life?  To that moment?

Try this and see if it changes the course of your day.

May peace and positive energy illuminate this course in gratitude.