Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Don't Give Up
This has been an incredibly long year for many Americans. We've suffered many losses: physically, mentally, emotionally, politically, and economically. It is with difficulty that I raise my head this holiday season, and say, "Rage against the dying of the light!" As long as you have presence of mind, hope in your heart, and faith in something greater than yourself, you will survive, God willing, thrive in the sunlight of a brilliant tomorrow. Hang on one more day. Marshall your wits one more time. Get up, get up, get moving...I know you are weary, but eternal rest is not for you now. Get up, get up, get moving. Don't let this economy tell you what you can't do! Tell it, no, show it what you can do! Stand up! If it knocks you down, stand up again! This recession is not your master. It does not own you. It does not define you. Don't give it more due than it's due. You are stronger than you know now go, plan, share, build, and thrive in your thoughts and actions geared toward an industrious, beautiful life beyond recession's cold, post-capital melt-down! Go forth and give your heart, give to those in need, help the orphan and the widowed, and put a little aside for yourself and the Lord - watch your life expand, inspire others, and be everything you dreamed...if you just DON'T GIVE UP! You have to be in the game of life to win it or have a draw, which is far more admirable than giving up, so don't.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Be Positive in a Negative World
After feeling pretty pitiful about (fill-in the blank), I stopped and decided that the recession will not shape my future. The Bible says, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." We must change our hearts and minds, before changing the world (Ours and the Globe). Positive thoughts will lead us to positive actions and outcomes. For this, I am thankful in the season of giving.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Don’t Get Lost in the Woods of Your Life
I am a traveler, just like you, moving through life. Many years ago, I started on a journey toward a fulfilling life. I was destined for greatness. However, I got lost. I had been lost in my personal woods for years. When I realized I was lost, I immediately began thinking about getting out the woods. One problem: I did not know which to go. The trees, plants, and rocks all looked the same. I ran around in circles for years seeing and reacting only to the distractions of being lost. I felt hopeless and fell into deep despair. I found a way out of that nightmare and you can too. Here’s a fictional tale about lessons learned, after being lost in the woods of my life.
The realization of being lost was compounded by yet another problem: Not being in the woods alone! I could hear wolves moving fluidly between the trees like water down a hill side. They were closing in on me quickly, so I had to do something. Then it hit me, “Build a secure cabin – wait them out”. I erected my cabin, bolted the door, and covered my ears. The cabin had everything I needed, but none of what I wanted in a home. Hey, I figured it would be temporary until I figured out how to get out of the woods. Months later, a town had sprung up around my cabin. I became committed to it, its causes, and lost sight of my initial goal of getting out of the woods. Over the coming months, I felt a since of security mixed with the uneasiness of fooling still being lost. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was just plain wrong.
For months, I could not stop thinking about getting out of that cabin. I could not wait to escape this town. Right on cue, I heard the wolves outside my door. I peered out my cabin's window into the darkness and was greeted by several anxious eyes looking back at me. I could see their white fangs flashing against the darkness, as I dissolved into the darkness of my cabin. Wolves! The fear of them tearing me to shreds was enough to keep me cabin bound. So, I continued dreaming about my search for a long forgotten place. The place I sought before I was lost. I dreamed about that place often. A place where life filled me up, gave me security, and I could make a difference in the lives of others. Unlike my current town, I didn’t think anyone truly needed me or would miss me if I were gone. Sure, there were those relationships embedded in patterns of my daily activities, but nothing truly meaningful. I needed to escape my nightmare and resume the search for my dream place, but how?
It hits me, “I need help getting my bearings. I need to find a woodsman!” Woodsman were few, independent people, whom the wolves tangled with and lost every time. I just need to have enough courage to watch for one passing through my town. Woodsmen only traveled by night with some uncanny sense of direction. They had a fearlessness born of courage under fire. They knew what they wanted and how to get there. One night, I unbolted my door and waited patiently for a woodsman to pass through town. While others bolted their doors, for fear of wolves, I need to do the opposite, unthinkable thing of unbolting my door. Although woodsmen were not the kindest people in the world, I had to reach out to one. What did I have to lose anyway?
I waited. First, I could see the flashing white fangs of the wolves. In the distance, I could also see the lone woodsman’s long handled axe, with a sharp blade glinting in the moonlight. The wolves moved in quickly, and a battle ensued. The sounds of door bolts being re-checked and fortified resounded across our little town. Then, like clockwork, wolves yelped loudly and painfully beneath the woodsman’s powerful axe. Every blow sent a wolf tumbling into the underbrush and the underworld. In seconds, the battle was over. The woodsmen stood quietly, as he collected himself and his thoughts.
Like many nights before, he just stood, as if waiting for something or someone. He and others never spoke. He never enters our town either. He just passes by our town nightly, occasionally eliminating a few wolves, and purposefully going on his way. Tonight, he began turning around and stopped as my door creaking open attracted his attention. He stopped moving and resumed his earlier posture of just standing there in the darkness with his glinting axe blade. His axe was a fearsome as wolves’ fangs, but I knew I needed to speak with him. So, I stepped out into the darkness. I could feel some of the town’s people’s eyes and could hear some whispering anxiously not to go into the fearful unknown. A few whispers had already written me off.
As I got closer to the woodsman, my heart and mind raced faster with each passing moment. The woodsman remained calm, said nothing, and waited patiently for me. Before I could speak, the woodsman asked me, “What can I do for you?” I remarked, “Do you know how to get out of the woods?” Woodsman chuckled to himself. I asked the woodsman, “What’s so funny?” He doesn’t say a word, but hands me his other axe and says, “Do what I do.” We began walking straight for miles on end. Occasionally wolves would pop out of nowhere and I would cringe with fear, until the woodsman said, “Do what I do.” I observed how he did not swing wildly with fear, but purposefully. He swung forcefully and true. So, I did, too. Wolves began dropping like flies. There we stood, collecting our thoughts, and surveying the wood line for more attackers. None came. Without a word, the woodsman began walking again. I followed him. Within a few hours, he pointed up a hill and said, “Beyond that hill is where you must go.” With the experience and wisdom of the woodsman, I journeyed over the hill. As I got further away from the woodsman, he yelled with an echo, “Watch for wolves, and keep going no matter what!” I continued uphill for what seemed hours. The trees, rocks, and bushes all looked alike, it was dark, and wolves, again, were flowing between the trees like water. Everything around me told me that I was lost, alone, and about to be devoured, until I looked down at my axe: Experienced, Purposeful, and True. The axe became my compass needle, which struck though wolves, brush, and anything that stood in my way.
Hours later, I crested the hill and saw the faint lights of a small town. I could hear familiar voices that I’d not heard in years. I rushed down into the town where the doors were bolted, wolf tracks riddled the town, and the flashing of familiar, hungry fangs moved through the trees. I stood there and chuckled to myself – “Experienced, purposeful, and true.” Minutes later, the yelping stopped, and a door opened. I stood quietly until I could see a person moving in the darkness. It was a woman. She approached cautiously.
She stopped about 10 feet away, and raised her candle to face height. She whispers my name with amazement, before turning to the town and shouting my name aloud. The town lit up and people poured into the streets, to welcome me. She dreamed that I would come into their lives and make a difference. As the town’s bright lights drove off the remaining wolves, I stood marveling at how different this town seemed from the last one. How easily I fell into relationships, began immediately doing what perhaps I knew in my heart to do, but could not find the strength to do on my own – find my place. The woodsman and this unique town of people became exactly what I was looking for all along. After several years, I sat on the porch with the woman who’d approached me that night. She was now my wife. She snuggled close to me and whispered my name, just as she did the night of our meeting. She whispered it with a deep sense of knowing.
Hearing her say my name transported me back to that first night we met in the dark. I reflected on never meeting her before and had a question for her. I asked her, “How did you know it was me that night?” She smiled and reached for my axe. She pointed out something on the handle that I had never noticed: her name! She etched her name carefully and distinctly into the handle. I could clearly see the name “Hope! She began telling me her story about a man she dreamnt was lost in the woods. She, too, had to gain enough courage to approach the Woodsman. She unbolted her door, overcame the whispering neighbors and peering eyes, to give the Woodsman her axe. She asked if he could find a man lost in the woods. He nodded reassuringly before leaving into the dark night. Hope waited patiently for several months, until I stumbled out of the darkness one night. Hope had made a provision for me, even when I could not see it myself. I hugged her tight, before leaving the porch for my study. I sat down and penned these lessons for other who might be lost in the woods:
1. Never settle for being lost, forget where you are going, or how it feels to fulfill your dreams
2. Wolves are always looking for the inexperienced, purposeless fool who are ill-equipped for the woods
3. Woodsmen are few. The woods have given them invaluable experience, taught them purpose, and how important it is to strike true at the heart of fear or be bound to it forever
4. If you are attentive, you will discover Hope is always looking for you. You must have courage and pursuit her through your fears and find your way through the distractions of the woods, to safety
I closed my journal, left my study, and snuggled into bed with Hope. I still have that axe. The wolves don’t come around very often and the town is alive with light, satisfaction, and anticipation of life without fear.
The realization of being lost was compounded by yet another problem: Not being in the woods alone! I could hear wolves moving fluidly between the trees like water down a hill side. They were closing in on me quickly, so I had to do something. Then it hit me, “Build a secure cabin – wait them out”. I erected my cabin, bolted the door, and covered my ears. The cabin had everything I needed, but none of what I wanted in a home. Hey, I figured it would be temporary until I figured out how to get out of the woods. Months later, a town had sprung up around my cabin. I became committed to it, its causes, and lost sight of my initial goal of getting out of the woods. Over the coming months, I felt a since of security mixed with the uneasiness of fooling still being lost. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was just plain wrong.
For months, I could not stop thinking about getting out of that cabin. I could not wait to escape this town. Right on cue, I heard the wolves outside my door. I peered out my cabin's window into the darkness and was greeted by several anxious eyes looking back at me. I could see their white fangs flashing against the darkness, as I dissolved into the darkness of my cabin. Wolves! The fear of them tearing me to shreds was enough to keep me cabin bound. So, I continued dreaming about my search for a long forgotten place. The place I sought before I was lost. I dreamed about that place often. A place where life filled me up, gave me security, and I could make a difference in the lives of others. Unlike my current town, I didn’t think anyone truly needed me or would miss me if I were gone. Sure, there were those relationships embedded in patterns of my daily activities, but nothing truly meaningful. I needed to escape my nightmare and resume the search for my dream place, but how?
It hits me, “I need help getting my bearings. I need to find a woodsman!” Woodsman were few, independent people, whom the wolves tangled with and lost every time. I just need to have enough courage to watch for one passing through my town. Woodsmen only traveled by night with some uncanny sense of direction. They had a fearlessness born of courage under fire. They knew what they wanted and how to get there. One night, I unbolted my door and waited patiently for a woodsman to pass through town. While others bolted their doors, for fear of wolves, I need to do the opposite, unthinkable thing of unbolting my door. Although woodsmen were not the kindest people in the world, I had to reach out to one. What did I have to lose anyway?
I waited. First, I could see the flashing white fangs of the wolves. In the distance, I could also see the lone woodsman’s long handled axe, with a sharp blade glinting in the moonlight. The wolves moved in quickly, and a battle ensued. The sounds of door bolts being re-checked and fortified resounded across our little town. Then, like clockwork, wolves yelped loudly and painfully beneath the woodsman’s powerful axe. Every blow sent a wolf tumbling into the underbrush and the underworld. In seconds, the battle was over. The woodsmen stood quietly, as he collected himself and his thoughts.
Like many nights before, he just stood, as if waiting for something or someone. He and others never spoke. He never enters our town either. He just passes by our town nightly, occasionally eliminating a few wolves, and purposefully going on his way. Tonight, he began turning around and stopped as my door creaking open attracted his attention. He stopped moving and resumed his earlier posture of just standing there in the darkness with his glinting axe blade. His axe was a fearsome as wolves’ fangs, but I knew I needed to speak with him. So, I stepped out into the darkness. I could feel some of the town’s people’s eyes and could hear some whispering anxiously not to go into the fearful unknown. A few whispers had already written me off.
As I got closer to the woodsman, my heart and mind raced faster with each passing moment. The woodsman remained calm, said nothing, and waited patiently for me. Before I could speak, the woodsman asked me, “What can I do for you?” I remarked, “Do you know how to get out of the woods?” Woodsman chuckled to himself. I asked the woodsman, “What’s so funny?” He doesn’t say a word, but hands me his other axe and says, “Do what I do.” We began walking straight for miles on end. Occasionally wolves would pop out of nowhere and I would cringe with fear, until the woodsman said, “Do what I do.” I observed how he did not swing wildly with fear, but purposefully. He swung forcefully and true. So, I did, too. Wolves began dropping like flies. There we stood, collecting our thoughts, and surveying the wood line for more attackers. None came. Without a word, the woodsman began walking again. I followed him. Within a few hours, he pointed up a hill and said, “Beyond that hill is where you must go.” With the experience and wisdom of the woodsman, I journeyed over the hill. As I got further away from the woodsman, he yelled with an echo, “Watch for wolves, and keep going no matter what!” I continued uphill for what seemed hours. The trees, rocks, and bushes all looked alike, it was dark, and wolves, again, were flowing between the trees like water. Everything around me told me that I was lost, alone, and about to be devoured, until I looked down at my axe: Experienced, Purposeful, and True. The axe became my compass needle, which struck though wolves, brush, and anything that stood in my way.
Hours later, I crested the hill and saw the faint lights of a small town. I could hear familiar voices that I’d not heard in years. I rushed down into the town where the doors were bolted, wolf tracks riddled the town, and the flashing of familiar, hungry fangs moved through the trees. I stood there and chuckled to myself – “Experienced, purposeful, and true.” Minutes later, the yelping stopped, and a door opened. I stood quietly until I could see a person moving in the darkness. It was a woman. She approached cautiously.
She stopped about 10 feet away, and raised her candle to face height. She whispers my name with amazement, before turning to the town and shouting my name aloud. The town lit up and people poured into the streets, to welcome me. She dreamed that I would come into their lives and make a difference. As the town’s bright lights drove off the remaining wolves, I stood marveling at how different this town seemed from the last one. How easily I fell into relationships, began immediately doing what perhaps I knew in my heart to do, but could not find the strength to do on my own – find my place. The woodsman and this unique town of people became exactly what I was looking for all along. After several years, I sat on the porch with the woman who’d approached me that night. She was now my wife. She snuggled close to me and whispered my name, just as she did the night of our meeting. She whispered it with a deep sense of knowing.
Hearing her say my name transported me back to that first night we met in the dark. I reflected on never meeting her before and had a question for her. I asked her, “How did you know it was me that night?” She smiled and reached for my axe. She pointed out something on the handle that I had never noticed: her name! She etched her name carefully and distinctly into the handle. I could clearly see the name “Hope! She began telling me her story about a man she dreamnt was lost in the woods. She, too, had to gain enough courage to approach the Woodsman. She unbolted her door, overcame the whispering neighbors and peering eyes, to give the Woodsman her axe. She asked if he could find a man lost in the woods. He nodded reassuringly before leaving into the dark night. Hope waited patiently for several months, until I stumbled out of the darkness one night. Hope had made a provision for me, even when I could not see it myself. I hugged her tight, before leaving the porch for my study. I sat down and penned these lessons for other who might be lost in the woods:
1. Never settle for being lost, forget where you are going, or how it feels to fulfill your dreams
2. Wolves are always looking for the inexperienced, purposeless fool who are ill-equipped for the woods
3. Woodsmen are few. The woods have given them invaluable experience, taught them purpose, and how important it is to strike true at the heart of fear or be bound to it forever
4. If you are attentive, you will discover Hope is always looking for you. You must have courage and pursuit her through your fears and find your way through the distractions of the woods, to safety
I closed my journal, left my study, and snuggled into bed with Hope. I still have that axe. The wolves don’t come around very often and the town is alive with light, satisfaction, and anticipation of life without fear.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Managing Time and Your Gift
On "The Get It Done Guy's" website, he was asking about multi-tasking. I stopped what I was doing, read his question, and responded with the attached post:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060726083302.htm - Multi-tasking negatively impacts our ability to learn deeply and remember things. Additionally, multi-tasking assumes task or priority equality, which rarely exists in life or business. The classic cliff hanger "You can only save one person, who do you save from falling to their death" rarely happens in life or business. If the unlikely cliff hanger darkens your door, how much capacity will you have to respond to that scenario, when your life is fragmented by less important priorities taking valuable time and energy away from vitally important ones.
It's like a super hero stopping to chat with on lookers at an apartment fire versus saving the people IN the apartment fire. PR is important, but saving lives sits a little higher on the list. Today,our lives are ablaze with doing more and more stuff, and we're the arsonist!
We robs ourselves of capacity to actually get important stuff done and instead lament our existance or chalk it up to "It's society's fault" or anything else, as we throw one more piece of kindling on our time fire.
Time is short, as a reminder to those who forget that one day we won't have any at all. On that day, what will be said of you: This person did a lot and got things done or This person did enough, which accomplished much in and through others. Choose wisely - time is infinite, your stake in it is not. You only have so much time in this life, which is just enough to:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060726083302.htm - Multi-tasking negatively impacts our ability to learn deeply and remember things. Additionally, multi-tasking assumes task or priority equality, which rarely exists in life or business. The classic cliff hanger "You can only save one person, who do you save from falling to their death" rarely happens in life or business. If the unlikely cliff hanger darkens your door, how much capacity will you have to respond to that scenario, when your life is fragmented by less important priorities taking valuable time and energy away from vitally important ones.
It's like a super hero stopping to chat with on lookers at an apartment fire versus saving the people IN the apartment fire. PR is important, but saving lives sits a little higher on the list. Today,our lives are ablaze with doing more and more stuff, and we're the arsonist!
We robs ourselves of capacity to actually get important stuff done and instead lament our existance or chalk it up to "It's society's fault" or anything else, as we throw one more piece of kindling on our time fire.
Time is short, as a reminder to those who forget that one day we won't have any at all. On that day, what will be said of you: This person did a lot and got things done or This person did enough, which accomplished much in and through others. Choose wisely - time is infinite, your stake in it is not. You only have so much time in this life, which is just enough to:
- discover and use your gift
- to positively, deeply impact others
- to get important stuff done extremely well
- live free of the stress an obsessed world hard wired into technology
Just Food for thought
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
The early bird doesn’t always get the worm. At least, it missed one worm I observed while working in the front yard one day. I was blowing lawn clippings into a pile, when I noticed a worm doing an amazing acrobatic dance on the hard dirt. The worm hopped, twisted, flipped, and spun itself frantically, in the summer sun. I was so impressed by the worm’s valiant efforts that I stopped my work, scooped up the worm, and buried him in some soft, muddy earth. Reflecting on the worm’s behavior, I think we can all take a lesson from the worm.
In today’s tough economic market, help is harder to come by. However, if you show effort or share information, first, those positioned best to support or gain from your effort will be inclined to lend you a helping hand. How much effort should you apply? Here’s the worm’s secret: Be generous, expect nothing in return, and be open to getting what you want in less than conventional ways. We exist in a new economy. A new economy tougher than any summer hardened dirt. However, consider the worm’s secret and how this little creature cuts through the toughest earth, daily, to discover a moisture rich world beneath hard pan. If he can do it, so can you. Thanks Mr. Worm!
In today’s tough economic market, help is harder to come by. However, if you show effort or share information, first, those positioned best to support or gain from your effort will be inclined to lend you a helping hand. How much effort should you apply? Here’s the worm’s secret: Be generous, expect nothing in return, and be open to getting what you want in less than conventional ways. We exist in a new economy. A new economy tougher than any summer hardened dirt. However, consider the worm’s secret and how this little creature cuts through the toughest earth, daily, to discover a moisture rich world beneath hard pan. If he can do it, so can you. Thanks Mr. Worm!
Speed bumps don’t mean stop! If you’ve completed your driver’s education training, you probably know this little fact. However, this simple driving fact has huge life lessons, too. For instance, the speed bump’s key messages are:
1. “Slow down or I’ll make you wish you had!”
2. “Since you are driving slower, please take a moment to see why.”
3. “A school may be in session near you.”
4. “Increased perception may save yours’ or someone else’s life
If you are unsure of what a speed bump looks like, speed bumps look like:
· Financial crisis
· Deaths in the family
· Job losses
· Illnesses
· Lost love
· Relationship changes
· Conflict (internal/external)
· Debt
These are all familiar speed bumps along life’s roadway. These speed bumps can stop us cold in our tracks! These are big scary life events, which we must overcome or suffer the fate of living forever frozen or controlled by these life events. Stopping on a speed bump may make sense in the moment, because you want the discomfort of the bumpy ride to stop. However, it doesn’t allow you to:
1. Apply knowledge or perception gained while slowed on the road of life
2. Get out of harm’s way (traffic is still moving around you)
3. Keep moving toward your destination and life’s fulfillment
4. Find life’s nourishing experiences that will help you see and navigate future road bumps
Experience tells us to heed the speed bump sign and the physical bump’s message, or else. Let’s be wise drivers along life’s road way. When you approach your next speed bump:
· Slow down
· Reflect on your road conditions (job loss, lost love, debt, etc.)
· Be on the lookout for solutions in your problem (contacts, resources, etc.)
· Carefully ease over your bump – get help, if you need it or simply run out of fuel
· Gently accelerate towards your life’s fulfilling destination
The next time life throws you a speed bump, you’ll know its true purpose, which is to momentarily slow your travel, realize school is in session, and explore your solutions in the problem. It’s not where you’ll stop. It is generally a slow start to a new beginning.
1. “Slow down or I’ll make you wish you had!”
2. “Since you are driving slower, please take a moment to see why.”
3. “A school may be in session near you.”
4. “Increased perception may save yours’ or someone else’s life
If you are unsure of what a speed bump looks like, speed bumps look like:
· Financial crisis
· Deaths in the family
· Job losses
· Illnesses
· Lost love
· Relationship changes
· Conflict (internal/external)
· Debt
These are all familiar speed bumps along life’s roadway. These speed bumps can stop us cold in our tracks! These are big scary life events, which we must overcome or suffer the fate of living forever frozen or controlled by these life events. Stopping on a speed bump may make sense in the moment, because you want the discomfort of the bumpy ride to stop. However, it doesn’t allow you to:
1. Apply knowledge or perception gained while slowed on the road of life
2. Get out of harm’s way (traffic is still moving around you)
3. Keep moving toward your destination and life’s fulfillment
4. Find life’s nourishing experiences that will help you see and navigate future road bumps
Experience tells us to heed the speed bump sign and the physical bump’s message, or else. Let’s be wise drivers along life’s road way. When you approach your next speed bump:
· Slow down
· Reflect on your road conditions (job loss, lost love, debt, etc.)
· Be on the lookout for solutions in your problem (contacts, resources, etc.)
· Carefully ease over your bump – get help, if you need it or simply run out of fuel
· Gently accelerate towards your life’s fulfilling destination
The next time life throws you a speed bump, you’ll know its true purpose, which is to momentarily slow your travel, realize school is in session, and explore your solutions in the problem. It’s not where you’ll stop. It is generally a slow start to a new beginning.
While you are between opportunities, consider taking some time to reassess what fills up and energizes you at work. I share this thought, because it points back to your giftedness - the thing employers don't truly know how to identify, tap, and grow on the job, but desperately seek to hire. Examine your work and life experiences carefully for the magic thread of fulfillment running through out your life.
It shows up as career highlights, awards won, deep satisfaction, and being dubbed
"The Go-to" person for a specific skill or outcome. Imagine being fully focused on the highest return on your talent's investment at work and being filled up emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Having work energize and not drain you. So, take a moment and reflect on what you do that loves you back and consider building your career on that wonderful thing. It has worked wonders for me.
I wrote a book called "The Gift Table". You can read the first chapter in my press kit at http://www.thegifttable.com/. I want you to find within you the thing that gives back to you as much and much more than you give to it everyday of your life.
It shows up as career highlights, awards won, deep satisfaction, and being dubbed
"The Go-to" person for a specific skill or outcome. Imagine being fully focused on the highest return on your talent's investment at work and being filled up emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Having work energize and not drain you. So, take a moment and reflect on what you do that loves you back and consider building your career on that wonderful thing. It has worked wonders for me.
I wrote a book called "The Gift Table". You can read the first chapter in my press kit at http://www.thegifttable.com/. I want you to find within you the thing that gives back to you as much and much more than you give to it everyday of your life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
