Last week, we described Jim Carrey’s commencement speech at the Maharishi University. In that post, we described Mr. Carrey’s wise words for the Class of 2014, “Remember, you can fail at what you don’t want to do, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.” In that same speech, Mr. Carrey described the importance of being aware of how you show up in the world, saying: The effect you have on others is…
During this season of graduations, we were recently encouraged to watch a commencement speech by Jim Carrey. He was speaking at Maharishi University of Management and the audience of young people seemed absolutely thrilled to have him there. We watched the video expecting the typical Jim Carrey humor and little depth. Much to our surprise, we walked away with two thought-provoking nuggets that we will be speaking about this week and next week. Go Jim Carrey! In talking about his…
We were recently reading our local paper and came across an article about a small group of women who have established an after-school homework club—First Door*—to serve lower income kids in third through sixth grade. First Door provides a place for these kids, who often go home to an empty house with no support for homework and school success, to have a place to go for those transitional hours before a parent gets home and have support in this critical…
We saw a great bumper sticker recently: How people treat you is their karma, how you respond is yours. When something happens to us, particularly if it is something that is challenging or hurtful, it’s tempting to spend a great deal of our time and energy responding to it, over and over and over again in our thoughts and in our emotions. This bumper sticker is a helpful reminder that we cannot control what others do, say, or…
On November 25, 2013, our post focused on The Wisdom of Africa. We reflected on a simple but powerful proverb: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. In our write-up, we noted that it doesn’t say that one way or the other is right; instead it suggests that the more you can make a conscious choice about how you move in the world, the more likely you are to get where…
Today, we want to offer you a powerful African proverb: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. You will notice that this proverb doesn’t say that one or the other is right. Instead it suggests that the more you can make a conscious choice about how you move in the world, the more likely you are to get where you want to go. There are thousands of books released each year…
“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” -Professor Albus Dumbledore (Okay we admit it, we are Harry Potter fans and for good reason, namely, there are quotes like this one.) This quote highlights what we have found to be true in our combined 30+ years of working with people, that every choice you make defines or re-defines who you are more than anything else you do. If you take…
There is a wonderful quote from Elie Wiesel, “We must see in every person a universe with its own secrets, with its own treasures, with its own sources of anguish, and with some measure of triumph.” As coaches and consultants, our world is working with people and their secrets, treasures, anguish, and triumphs. It is an honor and a privilege to do this work and to be able to open the hearts and minds of the people we work with…
There was an advertisement on the radio recently and they opened by saying, “No matter what’s happening in the world, your world is still happening.” We don’t remember what they were trying to sell but we did think that the statement captured an important nugget of truth. Often, as we work with leaders, of all walks of life, they will say things that diminish the importance of their stress, their pace, their health, in short, their lives. …
We recently came across another Chinese proverb that reminds us of a powerful reason for stepping fully into your life and claiming your leadership. Your ability to grow and nurture people is central to your organization’s, your community’s, and your family’s success. If you want one year of prosperity, grow grain If you want ten years of prosperity, grow tree If you want one hundred years of prosperity, grow people -Chinese Proverb Over and over again, we have…