Best New Year’s Resolution? A ‘Stop Doing’ List…
USA Today by Jim Collins (December 30, 2003)
Regardless of the age of this article, it is still a very timely piece…
Each time the New Year rolls around and I sit down to do my annual resolutions, I reflect back to a lesson taught me by a remarkable teacher. In my mid-20s, I took a course on creativity and innovation from Rochelle Myers and Michael Ray at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and I kept in touch with them after I graduated.
One day, Rochelle pointed to my ferocious work pace and said, “I notice, Jim, that you are a rather undisciplined person.”
I was stunned and confused. After all, I was the type of person who carefully laid out my BHAGs (big hairy audacious goals), top three objectives and priority activities at the start of each New Year. I prided myself on the ability to work relentlessly toward those objectives, applying the energy I’d inherited from my prairie- stock grandmother.
“Your genetic energy level enables your lack of discipline,” Rochelle continued. “Instead of leading a disciplined life, you lead a busy life.”
She then gave me what I came to call the 20-10 assignment. It goes like this: Suppose you woke up tomorrow and received two phone calls. The first phone call tells you that you have inherited $20 million, no strings attached. The second tells you that you have an incurable and terminal disease, and you have no more than 10 years to live. What would you do differently, and, in particular, what would you stop doing?
The Highest Goal: The Secret that Sustains You in Every Moment…
I strongly urge you to read this article by Michael Ray and Jim Collins…
Entrepreneurship is a way of life, not a business concept; mothers take note!
…The very point of it all lay in a fundamental challenge issued to each of us: Make your life itself a creative work of art.
In the years since, I’ve come to believe that there are two approaches to life. The first, followed by most, is the “paint by numbers kit” approach to life. You do what other people say. You follow a well-traveled path. You stay within the lines. And you end up with a nice, pretty—and unimaginative—picture. The second, followed by few, is to start with a blank canvas and try to paint a masterpiece. It is a riskier path, a harder path, a path filled with ambiguity and creative choice. But it is the only way to make your life itself a creative work of art. To paint a masterpiece requires a concept, a place to begin, a guiding context in the absence of the comforting numbers and lines in the pre-made kit. That guiding frame of reference is the highest goal, and bringing it into your life with the help of Michael’s discoveries is what this book is all about…
read on
Which approach drives the way you live your life?
People Come into Your Life for a Reason, a Season or a Lifetime…
An oldie but a goodie, especially given the time of year…
When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that Person..
When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with Guidance and support; to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an End.Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire
Fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons,
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional
Foundation..Your job is to accept the lesson, Love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other Relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
Thank you for being a part of my entrepreneurial mother life,
regardless whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime.
Forget Cinderella, Find Fred Astaire…
By Avivah Wittenberg-Cox for ChangeThis.com
Most companies would like to become more gender balanced at all levels, with women and men dancing together in a smooth and natural way. They have been trying for decades to attract, retain and promote more women. They have tried to grow their female customer bases. They are embarrassed by the all-male faces on the boardroom website, dancing to the tune of their own drummers. Most have gotten rid of the photos, but not the problem. Yet some companies have tried really hard, for a really long time. And almost everyone, male and female, is suffering from gender fatigue.
Why so much effort for so little result?
Because we have over-focused on kissing Cinderella awake from her slumber and inviting her to the ball. But nobody ever bothered checking if the prince can actually dance…
read on
We Often Say YES Because We Want to Make Others Happy. Learn to Say NO…
Overcommitment: A Happiness Killer… we often say yes because we want to make others happy and are afraid to admit we aren’t superhuman. Learn to say no, advises Marshall Goldsmith for Bloomberg Businessweek…
What kills happiness? It’s usually a series of simple little things, like saying yes too much when you really should say no. There is a saying, “If you want to get something done, ask a busy person.” This makes sense; if you are a busy person, you are obviously organized and practiced at delivering results. Beware: There’s a fine line between taking on a lot and taking on too much.
It’s easy to see how self-employed people fall for this happiness killer. Without the cushion of a steady paycheck, you fear that every opportunity will be your last payday. And in a faltering economy, this fear is even more intense. The result? You say yes to everything and find yourself unable to do it all.
To read the article in full, click here…
eat, pray, love for the women entrepreneur and beyond…
I, for one, really got a lot out of the book “Eat Pray Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert. I too enjoyed the movie. I also got much from her next book; “Committed”. Maybe Elizabeth Gilbert and I are at similar stages in life where what is resonating with her is also with me, in completely different contexts though. Her’s around a blossoming relationship, mine around a blossoming daughter. Nonetheless there is much crossover…
As there is for women entrepreneurs, wonderfully highlighted by Dr Susan L Reid in her article “Eat Pray Love for the Women Entrepreneur“. Well worth a read ladies…
InsideOut Development: Do What You Already Know
By Alan Fine for ChangeThis.com
If knowledge really were all it took to be a high performer, then all any of us would have to do would be to read that book or take that class and we’d all be winning championships. We’d all be incredible managers, great teachers, phenomenal parents and performance.
But we’re not. Why? Because the biggest obstacle in performance isn’t not knowing what to do; it’s not doing what we already know… read on
How to Build a Mother of a Business – 7 tips for doing Business in 4 hours or less…
the entrepreneurial mother featured in a double-page spread in the September issue of Dale Beaumont’s “Business Blueprint” magazine (p16-17). It’s one of those very clever looking digital magazines, so be sure to check it out.
Here’s the link
http://www.BusinessBlueprint.com.au/Your-Magazine/September-2010
Survival of the Simplest: The Micro-Script Rules
By Bill Schley for ChangeThis.com
I have found out how to simplify the confused and mucked-up world of communications so that your message can penetrate the maelstrom of modern media, whether you are a global corporation, a local politician, a college lecturer, a sales rep or a start-up. I have a magic bullet that will sharpen whatever story you have to tell so that it gets to the heart of the matter, cuts through mental barriers and lodges easily in the mind. As an advisor to companies, politicians and institutions of higher learning, I’ve been thinking about this problem for about twenty years, and have been figuring out the solution for the last two. I don’t know how to de-complicate my cable bill, or untangle the knots in the U.S. Congress, but I do know about this. This is my small part to play in the crusade.
So here’s your answer…read on
Keen Thinker v9 book Summaries plus more…
Apart from the latest Keen Thinker providing plenty to read and think about… it also includes their “top ‘o the Pile” Book Summaries of the latest books…
The Happiness Advantage;
The Exceptional Presenter goes Virtual;
Driven to Lead;
Empowered;
Defy Gravity.
There’s also a thought provoking piece – “In the Defense of Business Books”… a genre I am particularly fond of, but I suspect I am in the minority!
read on…
