career and passion

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Barry

“It’s a beautiful thing when a career and passion come together.”

—Author Unknown

Image from Flickr by Chris Parfitt

Watching young children at play is a joyful activity. If you happen to be a parent, the joy is magnified even more. The exuberance and passion these little ones show as they engage their world is truly a thing of beauty. Some would even say that play is their job.

Now take the average working man or woman – including yourself if you wish – and examine the level of passion and fulfillment they show as they head off to work on Monday morning. Few people would call their facial expressions “a thing of beauty.”

What happened between our time as little ones and our adult years?

EXERCISE:

How and in what ways can you regain the playful and passionate exuberance of your youth, to make your current career or career transition a reason to look forward to many more beautiful Mondays?

Great Leaders

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Barry

“Great leaders don’t blame the tools they’re given. They work to sharpen them.”

—Author Unknown

Image from comicbook.com

MacGyver was a very popular action adventure TV series in The United States and some other markets, from 1985 to 1992.

Resourceful and possessing an encyclopedic knowledge of the physical sciences, the main character solved complex problems by making things out of ordinary objects, using his ever-present, always sharp Swiss Army knife.

EXERCISE:

Where and in what ways can you make the most of the tools and resources available to you?

Where can you, as Stephen Covey might suggest, “sharpen the saw” of your abilities to be a MacGyver-like problem solver in your world?

Good Day

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Barry

“It’s a good day to have a good day.”

-Hillary Weeks, singer/songwriter

Photo from Flickr by J E Theriot

The Smiley Face as we know it today was created by Harvey Ross Ball, who at the time was employed by State Mutual Life Insurance Company of Worcester, Massachusetts. He created it in 10 minutes and was paid $45 for his effort.

Today, his Smiley Face can be found everywhere as part of our popular culture, and as the most utilized emoticon in our daily emails and social media posts.

EXERCISE:

How can you use Smiley Face, and of course your own smile, to support yourself and others to have many more good or even great days?

“The first impression may be…”

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Barry

“The first impression may be the only impression.”

—Author Unknown

image from jimmycasas.blogspot.com

In our fast-paced world, we generate first impressions in a matter of seconds—sometimes nano-seconds.

What impression do people have of you through your appearance, your spoken words, and even your letters, emails, texts, or social media posts?

EXERCISE:

What efforts can you make today to assure that people get the very best impression of you? As today’s quote suggests, it may be the only one they have.

“Play the game where…”

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Barry

“Play the game where everyone wins something.”

—Author Unknown

Image from ericcheser.com

It is the norm for most sports and board games to result in winners and losers. A driving force for many is to beat, vanquish, and annihilate their competition.

A wide variety of collaborative pursuits in the game of life—including relationships, team projects, and business partnerships—do not need to go this route.

In fact, when we focus our efforts to realize win-win scenarios, the end results are often far better and significantly more satisfying.

EXERCISE:

Where and in what ways can you take more of a win-win approach in your personal and professional life? What would you be able to celebrate together if you did that more often?

“Your best teacher…”

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Barry

“Your best teacher is your last mistake.”

—Ralph Nader, American political activist

Image from bentleymasterminds.com

I’d like to alter Nader’s quote by changing the word “mistake” to “experience.”

Perhaps one of the reasons the coaching profession has grown so rapidly over the last two decades is that it takes place on the field of our lives through experiential learning.

It is our own self-awareness and self-reflection regarding the experience of our mistakes, setbacks, progress, and victories that can be our most brilliant teachers.

EXERCISE:

Take five minutes at the end of the day today to examine what worked, what didn’t, and why. What did you learn? What new and different actions will you take based on these lessons?

“Integrate what you believe in every…”

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Barry

“Integrate what you believe in every single area of your life. Take your heart to work and ask the most and best of everybody else, too.”

—Meryl Streep, Three-time American Academy Award-Winning Actor

Image from yahoo.com

Meryl Streep is one of the most recognized and award-winning actors of the last few decades.

Recently, my wife Wendy and I saw “Ricki and the Flash,” a film in which Streep plays an aging female rock star with family challenges.

Her performance demonstrates her ability to bring her heart and her best to every role she plays. She truly walks the talk of her quote.

EXERCISE:

How well do you integrate your deeply held beliefs into all areas of your life?

How can you bring your whole-hearted self to work, and support those around you to pursue their personal best?

Don’t try to keep up with…”

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Barry

“Don’t try to keep up with the leaders. Lap them.”

–Author Unknown

Image from Flickr by William Murphy

Who are the leaders you most admire in your professional or personal lives? What makes them remarkable? What makes them stand out from the crowd?

These special people play an important role for many of us, in that they set the pace, or the bar, of achievement for those a bit further back in the pack. They can also set the proverbial “glass ceiling” for themselves, and those who almost never dare to look beyond.

EXERCISE:

What does “lapping the leaders” look like in your life?

What special talents and abilities can you tap into? How can you exceed your own expectations and set a new standard of excellence for what is possible for yourself?

“Every wall is another fence…”

Posted on August 28, 2015 by Barry

“Every wall is another fence that thins the herd.”

-Darren Hardy, Publisher of Success Magazine

Photo from dailycamera.com

If you enjoy physical challenges, check out the NBC reality show, American Ninja Warrior.

Contestants drop like flies as they attempt to move through a series of challenging and sometimes diabolical physical tasks across a difficult obstacle course.

Many of the courses include a “Warped Wall,” a 14-foot high obstacle that is quite daunting, and quickly thins the herd.

EXERCISE:

Examine the professional and personal walls you face each day. Where can you develop additional strengths and capacities, scale more walls, and “thin the herd” in your favor?

“The tiny seed knew…”

Posted on August 18, 2015 by Barry

“The tiny seed knew that in order to grow, it needed to be dropped in dirt, covered in darkness, and struggle to reach the light.”

—Author Unknown

Image from www.scottthor.com

Today’s quote builds on the one about the mighty oak that once was a nut that simply held its ground.

Here, along with persistence, we must often accept and manage the dark, dirty, and difficult aspects of life. Eventually, we emerge into the light of becoming all that we can be, which can appear a bit “nutty” to us, and to others, along the way.

EXERCISE:

Where and in what ways can you more fully embrace the challenges and barriers that stand in the way of your sprouting and growing into a mighty oak of a person?