What's Yours? ;-)

Now I know I've used this picture before on a previous post and, sorry, No I'm not offering you a drink just at the moment ;-) But whilst we're on the subject, what is it that you see in this picture? Are these glasses half full or are they half empty?

And in terms of the economy, your work, your life? What's your focus?

There's no denying that we're going through interesting times at the moment, and there may well be some real challenges to overcome, but how we choose to think about things has a direct impact on how we go about handling them.

As William Shakespeare said "There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so". I've been really interested recently by the range of conversations I've had with people. There have been those who have appeared worried and anxious despite having a good job and being relatively secure financially. And there have been those who have been refreshingly positive and optimistic yet facing change, upheaval and uncertainty.

So what's the difference that makes the difference? Well one thing that certainly makes a difference is how we think and what we focus on. Our thoughts not only affect how we feel, they also get reflected in our language, our behaviour and our actions too.

For instance, just for a moment, think of a time when things didn't go particularly well, or think about something you don't like.

• How do you feel? Is it helping you feel good or bad? Is it helping build your confidence or undermine it?

Now think of a time when something went really well, or think about something you really like.

• How do you feel now? Is it helping you feel good or bad? Is it undermining your confidence or helping build it?

So how would you prefer to feel? Which is going to help you most? What would you prefer to focus on?

Let's take current events. Isn't it fascinating how news bulletins these days so often seem to start by reporting job losses (these weren't being reported at other times) and any good news seems to get relegated to a final throw-away line, if it even features at all. Some would say we've talked ourselves into the current economic situation. Well if that's the case, isn't it time to stop? Isn't it time to be thinking about what we can do, how we can add value, the opportunities we can create and the changes we can make to help ourselves and our businesses make it through.

I'm not pretending that things will necessarily be easy, but thinking in more positive and realistic ways can certainly improve how we feel and help us take action.....action to help limit the negative consequences and increase opportunities for success. As Thaddeus Golas quotes "What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens".

So, as far as the news is concerned, I've turned the dial and changed frequency to something more positive and uplifting. And as far as our thoughts are concerned, we can shift our attention and do the same.

Which frequency are you on? ;-)
Dx

Invest in You

No such thing as a free lunch? Looks like there's no such thing as a secure investment!http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/working_lunch/7900264.stm

So why not invest in You instead? It could certainly be more enjoyable and may have untold benefits in the short and the longer term ;-)

With so much uncertainty around, one thing is certain, we are undergoing a period of major transition.....and those most likely to prosper will be those people who are willing to change, stay positive and create value. Trying to hang on to old models, old habits, and old ways of doing things just doesn't make sense.

So how can you invest in you? What would make a good investment? What would give you the greatest returns and the biggest rewards? I'm sure there are dozens of ways but here are just a few for starters ;-)

1 Invest in your PR - How about investing a bit of time, or commissioning a bit of help, to update your CV. If you're looking for a another job then this is a must, and if you're not, it still helps to take stock, and be prepared. Or how about investing time in intelligent networking? Connect with people you can help and who might be able to help you. Raise your profile.

2 Invest in your Skills - What skills can you build on? What new skills can you acquire? Anticipate what your current or future employer might need. Anticipate trends in the workplace. There might be concerns about job security these days but you can create more security of employment by keeping yourself up to date and marketable. Think about what you would like to be doing now and in the future. People who are most fulfilled in their work tend to be those who have developed skills they find interesting, and are doing what they enjoy.

3 Invest in your Personal Development - Take time to clarify what you want and how you want to be, create strategies for getting there and clear blocks that are getting in your way. Boost your confidence, create peace of mind, relieve stress or improve your relationships. Read a book, attend a course, find a coach or speak to someone who can help.

4 Invest in your Well Being - It's easy to comfort ourselves with alcohol, junk food and chocolate! Especially during the winter months. But how does it really make you feel? Be honest ;-) Instead, why not develop practices that help you feel really good...physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually? Maybe tai chi, aikido, yoga, meditation, walking in nature, being with friends and family? Take up a hobby. Go for a massage. Whatever works for you.

5 Invest in your Health & Fitness - Equip yourself to handle challenges and change. Choose a healthy diet, tone up, get fit. Physical exercise not only helps us feel better physically, it also helps mentally and emotionally too.

However you decide to invest in You, recognise the value, remember you're worth it and above all.....have fun! ;-)
Dx

The Joys of Uncertainty

There's so much talk these days of uncertainty, and of these uncertain times we're living in, it seems as if this is something to fear. Yet if we just pause for a moment.....how many of us, honestly, would want to be absolutely certain about the future, know exactly what's going to happen for the rest of our lives and have it all mapped out with no surprises to look forward to? I know for a fact I'd find it somewhat dull and predictable. It would be like Groundhog Day all over again ;-)

And I'd be willing to bet that most of us never expected to be exactly where we are in life right now, doing what we're doing, knowing who we know, having learned the lessons we've learned and enjoying the gifts we've received. When I was working in financial services all those years ago I never imagined I'd be running my own business, writing on a blog (what was a blog?) or sky diving out of a plane!

So while certainty can seem desirable at times, it can also be very limiting. And holding onto our fixed views and ideas about the world can be equally limiting. We only have to look at the financial markets to see the damage caused by so-called experts being so certain they were right! In their certainty they completely failed to anticipate the eventual consequences of their actions. They failed to accept that we don't know what we don't know. And as Nassim Nicholas Taleb writes in his book The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable "the world we live in is vastly different from the world we think we live in". In other words, just because we don't know about something doesn't mean it's not possible.

Being certain is a bit like looking down a funnel where the number of likely outcomes becomes fewer and fewer and we fail to see anything outside that narrow focus. This can trip us up in many ways. It can lead to arrogance, ignorance, playing safe, holding back or missing opportunities. (and I'm sure there are many other possible consequences too ;-))

Uncertainty, on the other hand, is like throwing open the windows on a world of possibilities ;-) And even if some of the surprises we encounter don't seem much fun at the time, we must surely concede that more possibiliites exist than we are aware of.

When we allow ourselves to enjoy uncertainty, life becomes more exciting, all kinds of things become possible and we can take effective action to capitalise on these. So perhaps these 'uncertain' times present a real opportunity for us to let go of our need for certainty, be open to 'not knowing', become curious and creative and get ready to discover new possibilities.

Who knows, we might be pleasantly surprised ;-)

And remember; "Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don't let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity" R I Fitzhenry

"Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security" Jon Allen Paulos, Professor of Mathematics

Dx

A Change is Gonna Come......

Well today's the day! Barack Obama is finally inaugurated as America's 44th president and, first black president. A truly historic day.

And despite the enormous challenges that lie ahead, today seems to be a day of real celebration, anticipation and expectation. Exceedingly high expectations infact, not just among Americans, but around the world too.

Mr Obama certainly appears to represent a new approach, a new tone and the promise of a new era. And in the current climate, people are only too ready to embrace an opportunity for positivity and optimism. Yet in his own words, "change will not come if we wait for some other person". The rest of us cannot sit back and expect one man to change the world. We each have our part to play.

So as well as being a day of celebration for Barack Obama and all that he stands for, what if today is also an opportunity for each of us to look at what we can do to make the world a better place? How can we live up to some of those high expectations too?

We all have greatness within us. We are far more capable than we think we are. We are all much more than we think we are. And if you're one of the many who admire and respect Barack Obama, then take a moment to consider the following;

• What specifically is it that he demonstrates?
• What exactly do you admire and respect about him?
• Where do you see those qualities in yourself?
• How can you be more of that now?

In the meantime, let's wish him well........and remember

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek" Barack Obama

Dx

PS Watch him again here http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VjnygQ02aW4

A Poem for our times.......?

IF by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you, Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too,

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master, If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken, Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings, And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings, And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew, To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you, Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much,

If you can fill the unforgiving minute, With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling--

See RED

This morning I was browsing the papers over breakfast, on the look out for some good news, and came across an article about Bill and Melinda Gates and what their Foundation is doing to support a number of causes both in the US and around the world.

Apparently Bill Gates has now donated so much that this year he ceased to be the world’s richest man, after 13 years in the top slot. And Warren Buffett, the US investment tycoon who stole his title, has already pledged the Gates Foundation most of his $62 billion fortune, which he is already handing over in annual instalments.

They also support the RED campaign launched by Bono, which I have to confess I don't think I'd heard of previously. This campaign is about fighting AIDS and has brought together a number of high street companies, to produce and sell special products, and most of the profit from the sale of those products goes to finance HIV health and community support programmes in Africa.

Apparently it costs just 20p to fund the two daily pills needed to keep alive someone with HIV, but 70 per cent of people in sub-Saharan Africa live on less than £1 a day and cannot afford them.

It's World Aids Day on 1st December, and while many of us are wondering what to buy as Christmas presents this year, we could also be doing some good with our money. We don't have to be millionnaires...with a little we can do a lot ;-)

If you want to find out more go to http://www.joinred.com/Shop.aspx

Happy shopping!

Dx

For the article go to http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article5205402.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1

Humankind

Have you ever thought about the word 'humankind' and why we use it to describe the human race?

Me neither, until last night when I happened to be watching this inspiring short film on You Tube called 'If Everyone Cared' (see video clip on left). It really reminded me of the enormous capacity we have to be kind ;-) And then just at that very moment this wonderful advert appeared on TV for Oxfam, appealing to us all to be 'humankind' ;-)

See http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/globe.html

As well as our capacity to be kind, we also have an enormous capacity to bring about change, make a positive difference, cooperate and collaborate, overcome adversity and be a force for good. So whatever's going on in the world right now, and whatever we hear in the news these days, wouldn't it be refreshing to shift attention for a while and focus on all the good we can create, and all the kindness we can share?

As Albert Einstein said, "It is every man's obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it". And in Winston Churchill's words "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give"

Dx

True Wealth

One day a very affluent father decided that he needed to expose his son to how less prosperous people lived. So, he took his son on a trip to the countryside where he had arranged for them to stay on a farm for a few days with what would be considered a poor family. Upon returning home, the father asked his son what he had learned on their trip to the country.

The son replied, “I saw that we have one dog, but they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden, but they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden, but they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard, but they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on, but they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they get to serve one another and others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, but they have ‘friends’ to protect them.”

The father was speechless. Then, the son added, “It showed me how ‘poor’ we are!”

This little boy was wiser than his father. He understood what is the “true wealth” for which to give thanks. Real gratitude has little to do with the material, but much to do with the spiritual; little to do with “things”, but much to do with relationships.....Anon

Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have?

"Wealth is the ability to fully experience life" Henry David Thoreau

A funny old business

I came across this quote recently and it seemed quite apt.

"A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business" Henry Ford

This story taken from "Creating Money - Keys to Abundance" by Sanaya Roman & Duane Packer is also quite a topical reminder too ;-)

There once was a salesman whose sales had begun to drop off and he couldn’t understand why. He still loved what he was doing; he believed in the product he was selling and he felt he was accomplishing his higher purpose. One day though, whilst talking to a friend, he realized that he was no longer focusing on serving people and satisfying what they wanted, but had begun to think of them in terms of what they could give him and how they could help him grow his business. Instead of seeing them as people he served, he had been thinking of them as people who helped him put money in his pocket. He had become so focused on making money that he had forgotten he was in the business of serving people.

From that moment on he changed his ways and began putting his energy and attention into how he could best serve his customers. He spent time getting to know them, learning about their wants and genuinely trying to help them.
His sales increased dramatically!

Turbulent Times

Gordon Brown this week spoke of the government's desire to provide a 'rock of stability' and protect British people from being buffeted about by recent events.

In these turbulent times it's not only the financial markets that are experiencing volatile fluctuations. Individuals too have been experiencing dramatic emotional swings and crises of confidence.

Yet, when we rely upon external factors to bring us a sense of confidence, security, happiness and well being this is precisely what happens; we leave ourselves totally exposed to the elements. While things are going well that might seem ok but when they're not going so well it does us no good at all.

Instead, by reconnecting with our inner sense of peace, and with what really matters most, we can begin to create a sense of stability and balance from within. And from this position of greater calm and clarity we are more able to navigate our way through stormy seas ;-)

Now I appreciate that taking a philosophical view from the sidelines is one thing, but retaining a philosophical perspective when you're in the eye of the storm is another matter altogether. Many of us have certainly been tested in recent weeks, and I know that some people are facing greater challenges than others. So whilst I dont pretend to have all the answers I would just share a few strategies that have helped me.

1 Focus on what's MOST important. Re-evaluate what really matters to you and appreciate what you have.....health, friends, family, skills?

2 Bring yourself into balance. Connect with your inner self, get centred, grounded and present.

3 Stop looking for someone to blame. Take responsibilty for your own life, learn from your experience and use as a catalyst for change.

4 Beware of negative energy. Information is useful up to a point but don't fill your mind with too much gloom and doom. What you focus on affects how you feel. Focus on something good.

5 Get creative. What do you want instead? Where would you like to be? What else would you like to be doing? Look out for opportunities and explore ideas for making it happen.

6 Be kind to others. Not only does it feel good but they may be struggling too.

And remember, "It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones who are most responsive to change" Charles Darwin

Dx