“Sometimes, you need to stop taking your medicine to let your body heal itself. Sometimes, you need to pause so you can move forward. Sometimes, you need to turn away from something so you can see why you fell in love in the first place.”
- Danielle LaPorte
You can find more of her inspiration here.
Attending a simulcast today of the 2012 Chick-fil-A Leadercast. The first speaker has not only caught my attention, but has caused me to think back to when I began my career at the chamber.
Andy Stanley is talking about choices.
He talked about a story he read about the company Intel. At a point when they were stuck and not growing like they had been, the CEO turned to his number 2 guy and said “If we got kicked out and a new board brought in a new CEO, what do you think they would do?”
Back in 2004, when I first became President of the chamber, I was excited. I had all these ideas on how to improve the chamber. I evaluated EVERYTHING we did. I was fresh. I was motivated. I was new.
Fast forward. Eight years have gone by. I still love my job. I still have ideas. But I’m not new and fresh.
BUT by asking the question “What would my replacement do?” when making decisions, I can be fresh all the time. That question is a great motivator. It is also a great reminder that everyone is replaceable. There are many others out there who would love to have your job, no matter what your occupation, so appreciate it and do your best, all the time.
I want you to say this aloud:
I AM SMART
I AM KIND
I AM IMPORTANT
Now repeat.
And one more time. Repeat.
I finally watched The Help last night. I really enjoyed it. There were so many lessons intertwined in that movie. But one of the ones that struck me was this scene, which was repeated over and over again throughout the movie:
Although this was told to a child repeatedly, I think we can all benefit from saying this to ourselves everyday. Sometimes when life gets tough, you need to believe in yourself.
You are important.
Remember that. Always.
I love the opportunity to start fresh – sometimes you need to walk away from a project or problem for a little while to clear your mind. And chances are that something new and creative will pop into your head.
Monday’s are a perfect example of an opportunity to leave behind the troubles of last week and be more productive and positive with the start of a new week.
This pic is taken from Nicholas Bate’s How To Be Brilliant book. If you’re not familiar with him, start today. You won’t be disappointed, trust me.
Happy Monday.
Today was spent inside watching my three daughters dance on the stage of The Midland theatre. It is called the annual ‘Parent Show’, but basically it was a full dress rehearsal for our regional competition next weekend.
The morning was about as chaotic as could possibly be, with five girls trying to get ready, with full make-up, including fake eyelashes which I am a pro at, after 10 years of this stuff.
My husband came over about an hour into the show (it was a 4.5 hr show). He hadn’t been there all that long when he looked at me with a frightened look and said “My ring is gone”. I had to think about this for a moment because I was focused on our daughters. He then said “I’m serious. It is gone”, as he showed me his finger where his wedding ring has been for the past 18 years. Sure enough, there wasn’t a ring. It was very dark in the theatre and he was shining his cell phone on the floor all around his seat.
After no success, he decided to go back home and trace his steps for the day. He went through the trash, the cat’s litter box, the car, the yard and the peanut butter jar (let’s hope he washed his hands). No luck. So he went to his parents house. Nothing. Then he went to Kroger. He had done the grocery shopping earlier that day. When he asked if someone had found a wedding band, he was prompted with this question: “What does it look like?”. When he described it, they told him that a worker named Chris had found it.
With the popularity of gold these days, I would have given his chances of finding that ring at zero. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that people still do have a desire to be the good Samaritan. It is refreshing.
Thank you, Chris.
Came across this by accident today and thought I would share it. It is encouraging and inspiring.
And did I tell you – I will figure things out.
Today was another very busy day at work. Seems every day has become this way for me. And as I type this, I am getting ready to go back to work for a meeting.
I haven’t had much time lately to keep up with blogs I like to read on a daily basis. Sad. But I decided to spend my 20 minutes of free time checking a few out. Well, I only got to one.
And it blew me away.
You need to go to Mark’s blog and then click on some of his links from today’s Monday Motivation. So encouraging. Really great stuff.
Thanks for sharing Mark. It one thing to make a “bucket list” and another to just start crossing things off. It can be done.
My awesome friend, Tracy, sent this along as food for thought. Thanks, T.
Many people live in quiet desperation, waiting for retirement, doing something they hate. Marcus Buckingham put it very simply in his winning book, “The One Thing You Need to Know”: “Figure out what you don’t like doing, then stop doing it.”
What a great day for the Winegardner family. Jay Winegardner graduated from OSU today. He was only one class shy from graduating years ago and finally decided to get it done. We are very proud of you, Jay. You are an encouragement to all!
Somedays are marked with destiny. Today is one of those days for me. Today is a day of readiness. I am ready:
