There is one thing that we must do in 2017.
Tell and embrace the truth.
Fake news, sensationalistic headlines, reality TV faux drama. . .and our willingness to embrace that which isn't true simply because it's convenient is fatalistic.
We need to be clear that what we read on Facebook (Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat) cannot be trusted as the truth. We must come to the realization that the headlines from the National Enquirer, The Globe and whatever national tabloid is at your market checkstand are designed to make you buy product; they in no way accurately inform. We need to check and doublecheck what national figures (be they celebrities or politicians) claim to be true.
We can no longer make excuses "Oh, that's just the way he is. . ." "Oh, it's just an analogy, they don't really mean it."
We need to discern which of the media is going to be the most accurate (hint: it's not that at the extreme left or right). Much of the media, despite deriding from national politicians who selfishly want us to believe them vs. an unbiased reporting, is dedicated to telling the truth.
And here's the kicker. . .we need to embrace the truth even if it is inconvenient to what we would choose to believe. The truly debilitating thing about this past year is how many people chose to believe that which wasn't true. . .simply because it fit (ironically, yet conveniently) into their belief system. Let's be clear, if you choose to believe the falsehoods that someone perpetrates simply because you believe that person overall fits into your belief system. . .you have betrayed both yourself and your values.
This transcends into our family life, our work life and our national prosperity.
The truth will set you free? That is, indeed, fact and should be embraced.
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My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.
Friday, December 30, 2016
Friday, December 16, 2016
Sometimes You Just Have to Drop Something. . .
There I was at Fred Meyer. For those of you unfamiliar with Fred Meyer, think Target - only larger and better. . .or Wal-Mart. . .only larger and way, way better. I self-checked my humongous value pack of toilet paper; the cinnamon rolls for the following morning were tucked in a shopping bag in the other hand. Starbucks? There's one right in the lobby - sure, why not? I successfully juggled said packages while getting out my wallet. . .but when they delivered my grande chestnut praline latte I found myself in the most awkward position trying to get the sleeve on the cup. I was trying to hold on to everything I had in my two hands AND put the sleeve on; you can visualize that failure was certain. I came to the logical conclusion that this sleeve-thing operation would indeed require two hands. I had to put something down.
Sometimes, in life. . .in work, we just need to drop something.
Prioritization is indeed a gift - it enables us to recognize what's truly important at the moment (a latte! That project that's due in fifteen minutes! Need to go to the son's concert!). Prioritization indeed dictates that at times, we need to let go of something, even if just temporarily, to be successful at what we are trying to do right now.
And let's be clear - it is not a sign of a lack of strength to let something go; to prioritize and set something aside is a smart decision. Maybe you can pick up the thread in a short while. Maybe what you just let go isn't at all necessary and can just go away. Maybe what you just dropped belongs with someone else (delegation!).
The same applies to emotions we keep (grudges? anger?). To get to where we really want to be, it just may be that we have to drop this excess baggage.
It is a good message for the entire year; it is especially timely during the holidays. Anxious that there is too much to do and not enough time? Frustrated that self-expectations are dictating more than one person is able to do? To get what you really want and need right now. . .you may just need to drop something.
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My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.
Sometimes, in life. . .in work, we just need to drop something.
Prioritization is indeed a gift - it enables us to recognize what's truly important at the moment (a latte! That project that's due in fifteen minutes! Need to go to the son's concert!). Prioritization indeed dictates that at times, we need to let go of something, even if just temporarily, to be successful at what we are trying to do right now.
And let's be clear - it is not a sign of a lack of strength to let something go; to prioritize and set something aside is a smart decision. Maybe you can pick up the thread in a short while. Maybe what you just let go isn't at all necessary and can just go away. Maybe what you just dropped belongs with someone else (delegation!).
The same applies to emotions we keep (grudges? anger?). To get to where we really want to be, it just may be that we have to drop this excess baggage.
It is a good message for the entire year; it is especially timely during the holidays. Anxious that there is too much to do and not enough time? Frustrated that self-expectations are dictating more than one person is able to do? To get what you really want and need right now. . .you may just need to drop something.
Like it? Share it!
My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.
Friday, December 9, 2016
How to Be Remembered
Bob Fletcher, age 101, passed away a few days ago. This is why Bob Fletcher is important; this is why Bob Fletcher is remembered.
In 1942, when Japanese internment camps became a reality, a Mr. Tsukamoto approached Mr. Fletcher with a proposal. Would he be willing to manage the farms of two family friends of Mr. Tsukamato and pay the taxes and mortgage while they were interned? In turn, Mr. Fletcher was promised the profits from the farms.
Mr. Fletcher's agreement to work multiple farms, enabling Japanese families to keep their land, was not well received in his hometown of Florin, California. Residents resented the Japanese immigrants for their success; moreover, Japanese children were required to attend segregated schools. Mr. Fletcher, according to the New York Times, was unruffled. He felt the Japanese farmers were being mistreated.
So Mr. Fletcher worked 18 hours a day, saving three farms for families who decades earlier were immigrants and in the current day were mistrusted and segregated. He paid the taxes and mortgages, and instead of taking all of the profits as was offered, he only took half.
Why? "I did know a few of them (Japanese families) pretty well and never did agree with the evacuation. They were the same as anybody else. It was obvious they had nothing to do with Pearl Harbor."
Upon their return. Mr. Fletcher's new wife cleaned the Tsukamoto's house; and when merchants were unwilling to sell supplies to the Tsukamotos. . .Mr. Fletcher purchased the supplies for them.
Did he believe in community? Is Mr. Fletcher a hero? Yes and yes. Decades later, upon his death, he is remembered for this. Did he do it because that's how he wanted to be remembered?
He did it because it was the right thing to do.
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This information from this article was referenced from the New York Times and the Sacramento Bee.
My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.
In 1942, when Japanese internment camps became a reality, a Mr. Tsukamoto approached Mr. Fletcher with a proposal. Would he be willing to manage the farms of two family friends of Mr. Tsukamato and pay the taxes and mortgage while they were interned? In turn, Mr. Fletcher was promised the profits from the farms.
Mr. Fletcher's agreement to work multiple farms, enabling Japanese families to keep their land, was not well received in his hometown of Florin, California. Residents resented the Japanese immigrants for their success; moreover, Japanese children were required to attend segregated schools. Mr. Fletcher, according to the New York Times, was unruffled. He felt the Japanese farmers were being mistreated.
So Mr. Fletcher worked 18 hours a day, saving three farms for families who decades earlier were immigrants and in the current day were mistrusted and segregated. He paid the taxes and mortgages, and instead of taking all of the profits as was offered, he only took half.
Why? "I did know a few of them (Japanese families) pretty well and never did agree with the evacuation. They were the same as anybody else. It was obvious they had nothing to do with Pearl Harbor."
Upon their return. Mr. Fletcher's new wife cleaned the Tsukamoto's house; and when merchants were unwilling to sell supplies to the Tsukamotos. . .Mr. Fletcher purchased the supplies for them.
Did he believe in community? Is Mr. Fletcher a hero? Yes and yes. Decades later, upon his death, he is remembered for this. Did he do it because that's how he wanted to be remembered?
He did it because it was the right thing to do.
Like it? Share it!
This information from this article was referenced from the New York Times and the Sacramento Bee.
My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.
Friday, December 2, 2016
The Foundation for Success and Happiness
Almost always, there are two sides to the story. . .
When the kitchen faucet broke into a sputtering mess on the Friday before Thanksgiving? I could have dissolved into a mass of self-pity ("why do things always go wrong for me???"). . .or be grateful there were the resources to go to a place like Home Depot, get a new one, and be thankful that I am married to a woman who, thank goodness, is more mechanically minded than I.
There are two ways I could remember this Thanksgiving: the literal pain I felt when I burnt the crap out of my hand minutes before serving dinner, or the gratitude I felt by having 14 loving friends and family in our home.
There were two options I could have considered yesterday, The "why-don't-things-work-when-they-are-supposed-to" special kind of anger when my car wouldn't start in the morning. . .or the amazing ability of our family to figure it out and keep on moving.
There are two ways I could look at life: longing and striving for all that I don't have . . .or being grateful for that which I do.
Which way of thinking makes me happier? The latter, of course. It is also foundational to what I do. Gratitude is acknowledgment: both of thanks to the giver and humble recognition of the resources that we have available to us.
It is those resources that allow us to live and thrive. If we are ungrateful, or take those resources for granted, it is much more difficult to move forward for we convince ourselves that we don't have "enough." If we recognize, with humility, what we have been given and what we have earned as resources, then we have a strong foundation to build upon.
It is also gratitude that creates focus in our lives; it centers us around that which is positive and that in turn becomes the creative and practical charge that moves us forward.
There are two ways we can look at our team: as a necessity that we constantly have to herd through deadlines and lead through HR mazes. . .or a group of people, each with a diverse set of talents, that enables us to accomplish tasks each and every day.
Guess which viewpoint will bring success.
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When the kitchen faucet broke into a sputtering mess on the Friday before Thanksgiving? I could have dissolved into a mass of self-pity ("why do things always go wrong for me???"). . .or be grateful there were the resources to go to a place like Home Depot, get a new one, and be thankful that I am married to a woman who, thank goodness, is more mechanically minded than I.
There are two ways I could remember this Thanksgiving: the literal pain I felt when I burnt the crap out of my hand minutes before serving dinner, or the gratitude I felt by having 14 loving friends and family in our home.
There were two options I could have considered yesterday, The "why-don't-things-work-when-they-are-supposed-to" special kind of anger when my car wouldn't start in the morning. . .or the amazing ability of our family to figure it out and keep on moving.
There are two ways I could look at life: longing and striving for all that I don't have . . .or being grateful for that which I do.
Which way of thinking makes me happier? The latter, of course. It is also foundational to what I do. Gratitude is acknowledgment: both of thanks to the giver and humble recognition of the resources that we have available to us.
It is those resources that allow us to live and thrive. If we are ungrateful, or take those resources for granted, it is much more difficult to move forward for we convince ourselves that we don't have "enough." If we recognize, with humility, what we have been given and what we have earned as resources, then we have a strong foundation to build upon.
It is also gratitude that creates focus in our lives; it centers us around that which is positive and that in turn becomes the creative and practical charge that moves us forward.
There are two ways we can look at our team: as a necessity that we constantly have to herd through deadlines and lead through HR mazes. . .or a group of people, each with a diverse set of talents, that enables us to accomplish tasks each and every day.
Guess which viewpoint will bring success.
Like it? Share it!
My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.
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