Strong enough to be weak
Successful enough to fail
Busy enough to make time
Wise enough to say "I don't know"
Serious enough to laugh
Rich enough to be poor
Right enough to say "I'm wrong"
Compassionate enough to discipline
Mature enough to be childlike
Important enough to be last
Planned enough to be spontaneous
Controlled enough to be flexible
Free enough to endure captivity
Knowledgeable enough to ask questions
Loving enough to be angry
Great enough to be anonymous
Responsible enough to play
Assured enough to be rejected
Victorious enough to lose
Industrious enough to relax
Leading enough to serve
Poem by Brewer --- as cited by Hansel, in Holy Sweat, Dallas Texas, Word, 1987. (p29)
There is a new website http://www.wordle.net/ that creates "word clouds" based on the information that you provide. The image accompanying this entry was generated based on words from the Myers Briggs Profiles. This can be a fun tool to summarize information, to help generate new ideas, and to break away from Linear thinking. Enjoy!
It is customary at this time of year to reflect on the past and then make strong proclamations of how things are going to be different. Unfortunately most New Year's resolutions fail within a very short time. Try this instead. Reflect on your past - SUCCESSES and failures. Commit to being a better person, spouse, parent, employee, etc. Every day remind yourself that you would like to be a little bit better. Smile one more time. Work a little harder. Show a little more compassion. Help someone that is having difficulties. Hold the door open for someone else (do not fret when they forget to thank you.) Say a prayer instead of a curse. Appreciate the day and all that went well.
Happy New Year!
The use of appropriate language has decreased in recent years. Inappropriate words such as the F-bomb can be heard on a regular basis. It has become unfortunately, the new adjective. Today, the F-word has become meaningless, lost its' power and is greatly overused. In WWII, one of our army units refused to surrender to the Germans and signed the paper of surrender by writing the word "nuts!" When was the last time you saw a football coach on the sidelines mouth the word nuts? This probably hasn't occurred in your lifetime. Unfortunately, our current language includes the F-bomb as a regular descriptor. It is frustrating to listen to the overuse of the word. I believe our youth have also lost a valuable word. I recall one of my High School football coaches that got so upset at us that he let loose a 4 word combination that to this day I still remember. In great times of anger, one could "dip" into that inappropriate hidden word reservoir and select a word that would have a "nuclear" effect on the listener. People do not have that nuclear option today. Who knows? Maybe the F-bomb will become the "Nuts" of the future and will disappear from daily usage. One can always hope!
The following poem by Author Valerie Cox is an insightful work that shows how we can misread others kindness and be blinded by our own selfishness.
A woman was waiting at an airport one night
With several long hours before her flight
She hunted for a book in the airport shop
Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop
She was engrossed in her book but happened to see
That the man beside her as bold as could be
Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag between
Which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene
She munched cookies and watched the clock
As this gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock
She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by
Thinking "If I wasn't so nice I'd blacken his eye"
With each cookie she took he took one too
And when only one was left she wondered what he'd do
With a smile on his face and a nervous laugh
He took the last cookie and broke it in half
He offered her half as he ate the other
She snatched it from him and thought "Oh brother
This guy has some nerve and he's also rude
Why he didn't even show any gratitude"
She had never known when she had been so galled
And sighed with relief when her flight was called
She gathered her belongings and headed for the gate
Refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate
She boarded the plane and sank in her seat
Then sought her book which was almost complete
As she reached in her baggage she gasped with surprise
There was her bag of cookies in front of her eyes
"If mine are here" she moaned with despair
"Then the others were his and he tried to share"
"Too late to apologize she realized with grief"
That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief
Author: Valerie Cox
I wonder if Madoff ever considered that his actions would eventually end in the suicide of his son?
(source:http://bit.ly/gdKipF) NY Post
Bernard Madoff’s son Mark was found dead in the living room of his SoHo apartment this morning — hanging from a black dog leash on the two-year anniversary of his father’s stunning downfall, officials said.
The eldest son of Bernie, Mark was "upset" over the two-year anniversary media coverage of his father’s massive fraud and subsequent arrest on Dec. 11, 2008, the source said, noting a front-page story of the scheme and its aftermath in today’s Wall Street Journal.
"Mark was an innocent victim of his father’s monstrous crime who succumbed to two years of unrelenting pressure from false accusations and innuendo."
The stunning twist in the Madoff saga came two years to the day after Bernie Madoff was arrested for running a pyramid scheme that bilked some $65 billion from gullible investors all over the world.
Many communication difficulties result from different interpretations of the same message. When there is a difference in understanding, people will often justify the misunderstanding with the claim that "Perception is Reality." This is incorrect. Refer to the attached image. Reality simply is what happened. This reality is then interpreted by each of us based on our lifetime accumulation of paradigms and filters. Can those filters result in a perception that is not aligned with the actual event? Absolutely. It happens all the time. The challenge is to control our own beliefs or paradigms so that they don't shape the original incident into something other than the true event. In most cases, our filters will result in an action or a reaction that is rooted in our perceived understanding. Therefore, perception is not reality. Reality is interpreted via filters and result in actions / reactions based on the perception. These actions / reactions create new realities. The problems occur when multiple realities have been created from only one original reality. Each of these alternative realities can create situations that in fact may bear no relationship to the original reality.
(c) 2010 Jim Lindell
How many times every day does our ego get in the way? Consider the following story of a Zen Master and his ability to live in the moment. It is easy to forget that there never is yesterday or tomorrow but only today - this moment. We have a choice how we deal with each moment.
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakuin_Ekaku
A beautiful Japanese girl whose parents owned a food store lived near Hakuin. One day, without any warning, her parents discovered she was with child. This made her parents angry. She would not confess who the man was, but after much harassment at last named Hakuin.
In great anger the parent went to the master. "Is that so?" was all he would say.
After the child was born it was brought to Hakuin. By this time he had lost his reputation, which did not trouble him, but he took very good care of the child. He obtained milk from his neighbors and everything else the child needed.
A year later the girl could stand it no longer. She told her parents the truth - the real father of the child was a young man who worked in the fish market.
The mother and father of the girl at once went to Hakuin to ask forgiveness, to apologize at length, and to get the child back.
Hakuin willingly yielded the child, saying only: "Is that so?"
(from Reps, Paul; Nyogen Senzaki. Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings. ISBN 0-8048-3186-6.)
How many daily situations run amok due to unrestrained ego. Learn from the story and take each day, each moment, one at a time.
(c) Jim Lindell - 2010
In all of my training seminars I recommend that everyone watch "The Office." The reason that the show is so funny is that deep down, we can all relate to each of the characters. In addition, it also provides excellent examples of what not to do in business. If we are observant, we will learn from others mistakes instead of having to create our own.
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Jim Lindell
Jim Lindell is a National Speaker, Author, and Vistage Chair. He is motivated by helping others improve their lives and businesses.
He is President of Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc.
Order Jim's book - "Controller as Business Manager".
controller as business manager - jim lindell - thorsten consulting group