As the title of this week’s post says, we all work. Some for money, some as a volunteer, and some in the home, but it’s fair to say that in general, we all work. Because working is such a norm in our lives, we don’t often take time to think (see last week’s post Take Time to Think) about what we actually want from work and prepare to move forward in a way that gets us where we want…
Do you remember that feeling of simple childhood joy, like you could do anything you dreamed? Do you remember the many times you were asked as a kid what you wanted to be when you grew up? Without even knowing it, that question probably shaped your current work satisfaction, and it may be limiting your success today. Many of us have chosen life and work based on childhood dreams and/or the values that someone else held for us when…
Last summer there was an article by Kathryn Schulz in the New Yorker called “The Really Big One” about the scientifically based prediction of a devastating earthquake that is overdue in the northwest. Living in Portland, OR, we took notice. At this point, over one year later, there is considerable effort going into preparing for this potential disaster. Most people understand the need to prepare for disaster even if they don’t do it. What most of us forget is that…
You were asked to lead the change. Everyone you spoke with wanted to move forward. You kicked into gear to get it done. And, now everyone is furious with you… What happened? People are messy. The thing you must remember is that when people are asking you to make things better, they rarely consider that they may need to change their own behaviors and patterns in order for that to happen. They can imagine that you will address their…
“Mountaintops inspire leaders but valleys mature them.” — Winston Churchill Leadership isn’t just inspiration, it is also the ability to get things done. We’ve met many leaders, young and old, who have wonderful ideas (they can see the mountain tops), but they have no idea how to turn those ideas into reality (walking through the valley). When we work with leaders, we are always asking them to keep an eye on the mountaintops that will inspire their teams but to…
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” — Mark Twain Over the past several years, there has been a shift from people retiring from work at 62, to people stepping into their next careers in their 60s, 70s, and even their 80s. While many people are choosing a new career at this age in life, we know that some people must work to…
“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” — Will Rogers This quote by Will Rogers is both humorous and wise. It is important, in our lives and in our work, to have a vision for our futures. For many people, when they finally create a compelling vision for the future, they are excited about being on the right track. They have a sense of where they want to go and the…
Recently, while hiking with a wonderful 6-year-old, she asked a question that highlighted the importance of creating a shared vision. That morning, one of her parents had asked a group of us, “Who wants to go on a hike?” A small number decided that a hike sounded like fun, and so we each grabbed our hiking shoes, a bottle of water and a small snack. When we were no more than 10 steps into our hike, this youngest member of…
In Martin Luther King’s vision of the future, he was described a life that was far better than he believed was actually possible in his own lifetime. He was fearless in his description of a better life for his children and the generations to come. He had no idea how the vision was going to come to life, but because he believed that a better future was possible, he committed to taking the small steps each day to get him…
As many of you know, we have asked you to spend time the past few weeks articulating what you believe your Purpose is in this life, and given that Purpose what your Vision is for how your life will look in 3 – 5 years. Then we asked you to identify the 5 – 7 major Obstacles to living your Vision right now so that you could consider some initial Action Steps to getting around those Obstacles and live closer…