Archive | 2004

Is It Luck or Something Deeper?

by on December 8, 2004 in Creative, Life, Media

I discovered this article on creating your own luck in career success and there were some ideas that resonated with me. Rather than viewing luck as a series of coincidences, Susan RoAne, author of How to Create Your Own Luck, believes it is a conscious pattern of thought: "People who create their own luck live large, remain open to possibility, and expect that good things will happen — and they do."

Similarly, in Manifest Your Destiny, Wayne Dyer writes:

The process of creation begins first with desire. Your desires, cultivated as seeds of potential on the path of spiritual awareness, can blossom in the form of freedom to have these desires in peace and harmony with your world. Giving yourself permission to explore this path is allowing yourself the freedom to use your mind to create the precise material world that matches your inner world.

We have the ability to create what we want from our lives. We also have the ability to wait around for things to happen. The choices are all ares to make. What choice do you want to make today?

Work and Life: Is One Worth More Than The Other?

by on December 6, 2004 in Career, Life, Work

Ever since working for a professional association dedicated to the improvement of work/life issues within organizations, I’ve been intrigued by this notion of "work/life balance." It seemed to counter the rampant workaholism which existed in many companies and even non-profits. It scared and angered me to see both men and women idolized for working 16 to 18 hour days, sleeping in their offices, constantly on the road on the covers of major business magazines. Our overdriven culture continues to highlight these professionals as models of success and respect in the business world. One such example documented by Fast Company just last year made me cringe:

A few inches over 6 feet and more than a few pounds over 200, [Dan] Talbott is a Texas dynamo who seems to live on hot dogs and 18-hour workdays. He bears the pasty complexion of a man who has spent most of his working life in airports and conference rooms, and indeed, he has — he’s racked up 3 million miles on American Airlines alone.

Later, the article goes on to discuss Talbott’s project team:

Working out of its Blue Ash headquarters, HP’s pursuit team lived on a brutal, nearly round-the-clock schedule, with no time off on weekends. Their family lives were tested; at least one team leader reports that his marriage is in trouble. The stress took an enormous physical and mental toll. At a 7 AM breakfast meeting with his HR-team leader, Talbott watched in alarm as the man got up from the table, took a step, and keeled over from exhaustion.

Have our priorities always been so messed up? Would you sacrifice your marriage or your health for your work? What if you felt the work was absolutely important to your success? It seems that it comes down to critical choices surrounding our core values. But, let’s make sure those core values are focused toward what’s really important to us and not just getting that next "deal" done.

Finding Your Voice

by on December 6, 2004 in Career, Creative, Media, Work

I seem to be very conscious of this notion of voice lately (see: What’s Your Voice from a few days ago).

I continue to be influenced by Stephen Covey’s work, but have yet to pick up his latest book, The 8th Habit. Based on this interview, I think maybe Santa could bring me a copy when he comes to visit later in the month (granted that he reads blogs and needs some additional ideas). Covey equates having a voice with a deeper connection to one’s work:

People have basically lost their voice. They’re alienated from their work. We’re in a knowledge age, yet our management principles are from the industrial age. They’re the authoritarian, command-and-control models. Just take the accounting system: It calls people an expense. Performance-appraisal systems are just repugnant to the dignity of people. You give them some nice words, slip in the knife and call that “areas for improvement” and then a few nice words at the end.

By the way, his 8th habit is: Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs.

Another article that caught my eye was one from Alaska about a sculptor named Sylvester Ayek who is trying to return to his Inupiaq roots.

Ayek says, he’s leaving Anchorage in pursuit of balance, something he can find only in the Bush. That’s where he finds solace, center and sustenance, a solitude in whose heart he regains equilibrium as he tries to maintain his footing in two worlds — worlds that continually pitch and roll beneath his feet. “If I’m in the city, I’m just an artist,” Ayek says. “But out there, I can be a hunter, fisher, gatherer and an artist. I get some sense of good order when I’m in nature, in the middle of nowhere, by myself.”

What struck me about this was the reminder that we are so much more than the labels that we attach to ourselves or those that we allow to be attached from others. In our work, we can be more than what a job description says. Once we have an idea of what our voice is, then its time to add another element to it.

Looking for Leadership in Reality TV

by on December 3, 2004 in Media, Work

There’s an interesting critique of the business moguls on TV (Trump, Cuban, and Branson) and their leadership flaws in today’s Globe and Mail (Reality TV reveals real-life leaders’ flaws).

While each might provide great theater (Cuban and his reality show aside), I wouldn’t hold any of them up as outstanding models of leadership. But then, maybe it was foolish to expect this anyway.

Leaving Your Legacy

by on December 3, 2004 in Life

Jeremy at lifestylism posted an entry on Legacy Matters. Here’s the comment that I offered:

Making a conscious decision to leave a legacy focuses the mind and activity toward a higher level of significance in life. Sometimes, the first exercise I’ll do with a client is to envision their 80th birthday celebration. When it’s time for toasts, what do they want for their significant other to say? Their children? Their business colleagues? Their community leaders? Etc. It’s a simple visualization, but it has a lot of power. It can help nudge folks out of the now and the current things that seem so permanent and overwhelming.

Take some time today to answer those questions. What do you want for others to say about you at your 80th birthday celebration? And then, how can you plan to make it happen today?