The beautiful simplicity of spring, originally uploaded by jcgr
Fresh, light, soft, bright.
Pause, notice, share the refreshing simplicity of spring.
Celebrate along the way
April 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Don’t wait until the finish line. Celebrate along the way.
Here’s what others have to say on the all-important subject of celebrating well:
Celebrate what you want to see more of.
Tom Peters
Life has meaning only in the struggle. Triumph or defeat is in the hands of the Gods. So let us celebrate the struggle.
Swami Sivananda
Celebrate the little things in life, appreciate tomorrow, love your neighbor or don’t, but never condemn yourself to a life without cause to celebrate and be thankful for what you have. Never forget the people you love and love them when you have an occasion to do so. Celebrate their life and celebrate yours.
Unknown
Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey!
Barbara Hoffman
Stuck in a rut? How would someone else do the job better?
April 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Stymied?
Stuck in a rut?
Or is there a problem you’re tackling that you know must have a better solution than the solution you have – but you just can’t see it yet?
Pretend you’re someone else.
Try to solve the problem, or plan how you would, in the way you think they would handle it.
Imagine, for example:
How would someone who works faster than you do, but still produces a great result, get the job done?
How would someone who likes this job or task better than you do handle the job, or meet this particular challenge?
If you outsourced this project or task, how do you think that person would get the work done?
How would the person whose work you most admire do the job?
How would your customers expect you do the work?
How would your manager expect you get the job to be done?
How would your most successful competitor get the job done, as well or even better than you do now?
Nix “I’m not…”
April 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Focus, instead, on “I am…”
To make progress, you have to see and reward progress.
You have to have the courage, again and again, to even attempt progress.
So many of us focus on the ways we think we fall short of the mark.
Instead, we’re far more likely to move closer to our goals if we concentrate on “I’ll try” instead of “I can’t,” on “Thanks!” instead of a “Why me?” mode.
Just for today, focus on the ways you ARE taking the next step, showing the courage and persistence to move ahead, even in the tiniest ways.
Just for today, don’t say “I’m not…”
Instead, focus on the ways you can say, “I am…”
Persistence
April 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Against all odds, a plant thrives in a traffic island.
No matter that it’s a thistle, a weed.
How DOES it thrive, against all odds, in a place where it’s not even supposed to be alive?
Is there a challenge you’re facing in which you might not expect to do well…until you remember the hearty thistle, thriving against all odds?
Traveling the creative path
April 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Creating something new?
Or is a new phase of your life beginning to unfold?
The various phases of change take different energy and focus.
You can be sure that persistence will be needed, through it all.
Here are a few other thoughts about creating in work and life:
You need to save some mental, physical and emotional resources for enhancing your product after you ship. A revolution is a triathlon, not a hundred-yard dash. It requires long-distance stamina and multiple skills such as creating, churning and evangelizing.
Guy Kawasaki
The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next. The difference between the two is the difference between living fully and just existing.
Michael E. Gerber
If I don’t put effort toward creating what I want, I have to put effort toward coping with what I get.
Unknown
Creatively purposeful
April 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Humor never hurts.
Here, a little amusement is thrown into the design of a functional item, a holder that makes sure your glasses won’t get lost.
Is there a way you can add a dash of humor, a bit of creativity to something you’re producing so it’s more fun to make and use, as well?
“Get involved”
April 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Our son heads off to college in the fall. He doesn't have to make a commitment to one college until May 1, but he already knows where he wants to go.
He's hoped for almost two years that he'd be going there, since he first set foot on the campus during a college tour.
And as parents, we're trying to help him prepare in the last few ways we can before he heads off to the dorm in the fall.
I thought a visit with a friend's daughter, who is a sophomore at the same school, might help. We met her for lunch yesterday. Jessica absolutely loves it, and cannot imagine leaving at the end of two more short years.
We asked, "What advice do you have about having a great experience here?"
"Get involved," she said simply, and with conviction.
That's always good advice, no matter what life experience you're preparing to have.
Think back on your own life.
Consider a time when you "got involved" in something you really cared about.
- How different was your experience of that time, that group and what you achieved with your time and talents?
- What did you learn in that highly involved state?
- Did that experience help you at some other time in your life?
Now think of a time when you were a more passive participant in what was going on.
Perhaps you went through the motions of the role.
Maybe you didn't really care about what you were doing, who you were working with, or who you were doing the work for.
It's probably a time when you did your part, but never really gave it your "all."
- What are your memories of that experience, that time in your life, and what you learned about yourself and your talents in that role?
Remember the advice.
Find your place.
Make your way.
Make a commitment to something you care a lot about.
Get involved.
Just…let…go
April 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment
A momentary reminder that sometimes a gentle breeze is all you need to relax, step away, and just let stressful thoughts fly away.
Step outside.
Step away.
Let the moment, just this moment, be everything for now.
