The Business for Life

Raise your hand…

admin — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:59:35 +0000

Posted in Life Hack, Passion, Raise your Hand, Take Back the Time, Time

Again and again
Some people in the crowd wake up.
They have no ground in the crowd
And they emerge according to broader laws.
They carry strange customs with them,
And demand room for bold gestures.

The future speaks ruthlessly through them.

- Rainer Maria Rilke,
translated by Stephen Mitchell

Here’s the deal… the rules do not apply to you. Sure, you have circumstances, challenges, situations and reality swarming around you like the throngs of the crowd. They push at you from every angle, determined to keep you exactly where you are right now.

But that is not my concern. My concern is that you emerge from that the masses with the bold and powerful gestures that you, and you alone, were born to bring into the world.

What’s trying ruthlessly to speak through you?

What bold gestures are you hiding in those arms?

What broader law, if you followed it, would free you to become something bigger, softer, stronger, more at ease and more freely flowing?

Raise your hand and sign up for what you really want most.

Your assignment, should you chose to accept it, is to break at least one rule a day.
Burst forth into whatever ridiculousness you’re afraid of.

Do you need a Time Out? Take this one-question quiz…

admin — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 02:10:04 +0000

Posted in Uncategorized

No, I’m not talking about the kind you’d give your 3-yr old for clocking her brother with a light saber. Those carrot/stick structures might work with kids, but I’ve found them to be largely useless in business.

In sports, however, a Time Out is a break in the play to communicate with the Team, determine strategy or inspire morale. That tiny slice of time is wildly useful, possibly even crucial to success. And yet for the already time-crazed business leader, the thought of “pausing” — taking your foot off the gas even long enough to get your bearings and focus your efforts — seems impossible.

A client recently told me he was talking with an overwhelmed and underwater friend whose personal relationships were going down the tubes. My client urged him to give me a call, and his response was… “Are you kidding? If I could find an hour, I would spend it with my kids!!”

My heart aches when I hear that, because I know that if he gave me an hour, we’d find him five. But I get it. It’s utterly counter-intuitive to pause when you’re running for your life. And yet, calling a Time Out is the ONLY thing that works. So it breaks my heart to imagine the ones that get away. Not because I want their business, but because I know what’s at stake, and what could be for them. It’s admittedly corny since I’ve never even met him, but I honestly get teary just thinking about him and his family.

But the competing priorities of uber-busy leaders don’t go away once they decide to work with me. It’s my job to keep them focused on what matters most, so when they call to reschedule an appointment, I needed a QUICK way to have them gauge whether cancelling was a smart strategy, or a signal they were falling into the swirl of overwhelm. So I developed this SUPER quick quiz to gauge what they most need right now.

Just finish the sentence:

I am sprinting forward at full speed and don’t have time to look up…

(a)…BUT I know where I’m headed and exactly what to focus on to get me where I’m going.

(jodi says… SA-WEEEET!!!! Keep at it, and let me know if you need to get clear and refocused before our next appointment)

(b)…BECAUSE I have so many alligators snapping at my heels, I’m afraid I’ll get bitten if I do…, and frankly, I can’t even tell which gator to kick first, and… oh, yeah… my legs are burning, but I can’t stop long enough to rest, or look around.

(jodi says… You might need a Time Out. Usually, when you feel like you can’t stop to look at the map, is when you most need to pause & get your bearings…)

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Ten things to throw out with last year’s calendar…

admin — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 20:32:51 +0000

Posted in Uncategorized

I was recently reminded of an article I wrote nearly five years ago with Susan Olsen Bishop for a SmartWoman magazine. Reading it now made me laugh…, partly remembering the raucous fun we had writing it in a Starbucks downtown. But also because I really needed to hear a few of these this year, and you have to laugh when you need to HEAR the same advice you GAVE… five years ago.

Ten Things to Throw Out with Your 2005 Calendar

Your thin jeans.
Don’t put off living and loving your life while you wait to fit into some ideal version of the perfect you. If you can’t enjoy your life today, 10 pounds won’t make a difference.

Your parents.
You’re an adult; it’s time to start living by your own rules and expectations. Toss out everyone else’s “shoulds” and write your own script.

Excuses.
It’s a lie that there’s not enough time, money or energy to get what you want. Each calorie, cent or minute spent is a vote for what you choose to be a part of your life. If you cast your votes for your core priorities, you inherently create a life full of what you want.

Pecks on the cheek.
Give’em the real thing. If you’re going to kiss someone, make it good. Don’t dilute the power of love and compassion with impotent expressions. Kiss big. Hug hard. Live deliciously.

Something you think you can’t live without.
When you give up the thing you think you need the most, you find out what you really have. Trust that you’re already more than you’re wildest imagination can conceive.

The voice of reason.
Logical thinking is the #1 enemy of greatness. Sometimes the voice that keeps you safe is really only serving to keep you small. You’re ducks will never be in a row, so march on “as is.”

Your wonder woman costume.
Fact: You cannot do it all (see above). So lose the golden lasso and take a moment to notice all the juicy joy around you that you’re usually too busy saving the world to notice.

Your poker face.
Hiding your true feelings wastes energy. Besides, who decided it’s not alright to be sad, grumpy, ecstatic or angry? Let your feelings show and let people see the real you.

Your meeeooowwwwww…
C’mon ladies, cut the judgment, lose the comparisons, and whip out some good ole fashioned compassion. We might make different choices, but that doesn’t have to mean that one of us is wrong.

Your diary.
The old stories you hang on to are weighing you down. Let go of the past and live in today. It’s all you have.

Look. Listen. Chose. Act.

admin — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:29:24 +0000

Posted in Uncategorized

‎You’re alive. Do something. The directive in life, the moral imperative was so uncomplicated. It could be expressed in single words, not complete sentences. It sounded like this: Look. Listen. Choose. Act.” -Barbara Hall, Author

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never again…

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:57:23 +0000

Posted in Uncategorized

Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. No more busy work. No more hiding from success. Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow!