Achieving goals Archives

What will make you happy

August 1, 2022

What will make you happy? And when will you be happy?

I ask these questions in my workshops. To some these are easy questions. The answers just pop into their heads. To others these are confounding questions. A confusing kaleidoscope of words and images overwhelm their minds.

The point I try to make is that “happiness”, at least the western notion of happiness, is ephemeral and insufficient. That while this goal may swirl in our little heads it is not the end we want.

Personal renewable energy plan

June 13, 2022

From the root vocare—to be called or a calling. Your vocation is your work, your day job that YOU called, your external calling. You are being defined by this work whether you like it or not. It is the way you are making a living, growing, and building a life. Your vocation may not be as serious as you hope it will be.

We need an avocation too! Most people miss this. Avocation, often the stepchild to vocation, is the internal calling, the calling from within. Some people mistakenly think an avocation is a “hobby.”

Advance the Assets by Decreasing the Deficits

March 19, 2022

We are all trying to solve problems, and the negative lens dominates. We see the negative and then we’re going to fix it. If we have visions of something more positive, we get criticized for blue sky ideals. We have to be problem solvers. We have to be fixers. We adopt a mindset that characterizes things in the most negative light –so that when we fix it–the bigger difference we can make. We always seem to be incented for short term wins over longer term successes.

How Humility Flourishes

March 15, 2022

When we pursue something because it makes us feel and look virtuous, we lose the virtue. Humility is not an effort or mindset. It is like a beautiful flower that just grows and blooms without regard to others expectations. It just is. But pride can be pretentious, and ego can be excessive. So humility really cannot be considered a virtue. Humility is being yourself as part of the world. The need and pursuit of credit is the antithesis of humility.

Accidental Mentoring

January 25, 2022

The worst way to get a mentor is to go find one.
The best way is to see the one that’s already there.
Jeff Goins

When we look for mentoring in a single person, it’s like going to library wanting knowledge and looking for a single book of answers.

You looking for a mentor? A better mentor? You need one!
Why? What do you need?

Answers to the secrets of life. It doesn’t work that way.

You need to surround yourself with and seek truth tellers versus cheerleaders.

The Weaponized American Dream

December 18, 2021

Some people were born on third base
and go through life thinking
they hit a triple.
Barry Switzer

Not only was he born on third base, never held a bat, his dad owns the stadium and the team–the Meritocracy Mets! 😊

We all might know some trust fund babies. Or people who have been given everything their entire lives. I’ve been to weddings that are corporate mergers and worked with people who are amongst the most privileged humans on the planet. And every one of them has a story about their hero’s journey of slaying the dragons, overcoming the odds and the work ethic it took to succeed. It is human nature for all of us to spin a story, an amazing self-congratulatory, self-preservation story about what “I did” to earn, and deserve “my success”, no matter how much privilege we’ve enjoyed. And I have also worked and know those who have come from virtually nothing and suffered through real hardship to claw their way to the top. These are amazing stories that truly come from lived experiences that can inspire and give hope to others. We can fall in love with these stories, wonderful versions of the American Dream.

The Seed of Your Dreams

December 12, 2021

In so many ways, our brain is like a giant seed with seeds within it. The seeds are like our DNA within our neuro matter. Seeds that grow and flourish. Seeds that are dormant. Seeds that will never grow. All contained in the potential between our ears. The potential energy of the great forest within us. Stay with me and get used to this mixed metaphor 😉

The Real Supply Chain Issues

December 6, 2021

We seem to be chasing something. Hoping for something. Looking to the horizon to find some proof that we matter that what we do matters. Waiting for our ship to come in.

There are always many ships carrying precious and mysterious cargo waiting to dock. To unload their containers at our ports. They only wait for us to open our harbors, our hearts, for them to bring us a wealth of enlightenment, wisdom, and wonder. But our desire and focus on material goods distracts us from the treasures that were never ordered or purchased. What we want interferes with what we need. And our ships and containers of a deeper understanding of ourselves wait or pass us by. That many so-called supply chain issues are distracting us from our own unique and important journeys.

On Purpose

November 22, 2021

Finding purpose is not some fantasy Mother Teresa job. It does not necessarily require major changes in one’s life. It can be applied by anyone in any stage of their life. Living with purpose is a lens, an intention to transcend the mindless transactions and to be mindful of how your compassion for others is being upheld in even the most mundane tasks. How what you are doing benefits others, beyond oneself, is always present.

Stop Blaming COVID!

November 8, 2021

We have been in isolation, wearing masks, social distancing, vaccinations, zooming etc. For those of us not in denial, we realize most of this will not change. That we are forever changed by these experiences and that our future health and well-being depends on our adaptability not our non-sensical “return to normal” and our clinging to nostalgia.

Many of us are navigating this crazy world the best as we can. Yet many others are hiding beneath the sheets of “gratitude” and “privilege” of their COVID bed. Using the real uncertainty, anxiety, and health crises of this time as lame excuses for not moving forward with their lives.

Stop blaming COVID for your pre-COVID career co-morbidities– your laziness, your procrastination and deferral of the pursuit of a life that is true to yourself.

Blog

What will make you happy

Personal renewable energy plan

How Humility Flourishes

Accidental Mentoring

The Weaponized American Dream

The Seed of Your Dreams

The Real Supply Chain Issues

Stop Blaming COVID!

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