Make it So!

"Life, is not what you see, but what you've projected.

It's not what you've felt, but what you've decided.

It's not what you've experienced, but how you've remembered it.

It's not what you've forged, but what you've allowed.

And it's not who's appeared, but who you've summoned."

What will you create today that will feed your ultimate dream for tomorrow?

Ruth

“Come to the edge,” he said.

They said, “We are afraid.”

“Come to the edge,” he said.

They came.

He pushed them.

And they flew

— Guillaume Apollinaire

Take a calculated risk today. Push yourself outside your comfort zone.

Be your best beyond measure!

Ruth

These E*Trade commercials are funny for soooooo many reasons. They're clever – the writing, the technology, the delivery!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZetD7cdj7w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDm6iKH38C0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCs8gIMKBSo&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFK30CspfJM&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEXZ2hfD3bU&feature=channel

ENJOY!

Ruth

I went to see Robin Sharma this week at his book signing for The Leader who had no Title. The message in the book is that no matter what your title or role within your organization, you have the opportunity – THE RESPONSIBILITY - to lead in your work and within your life.

Many of you are already doing this - taking full ownership and accountability for how your performance at work feeds into the ultimate customer experience for your organization. Some of you even go so far as to practice treating coworkers as well as you treat your customers.

I hope this 2 minute clip inspires you to continue doing what you are doing well AND triggers a gentle reminder in you for how you could do a little more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA9Qu4-b-M0

PRACTICING PRESENCE

If you're fortunate enough to have time with your family this holiday weekend, practice being present and aim to be the awareness of all your thoughts and feelings. Here's an excerpt from Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now to help you practice.

“Be present as the watcher of your mind -- of your thoughts and emotions as well as your reactions in various situations.

Be at least as interested in your reactions as in the situation or person that causes you to react.

Notice also how often your attention is in the past or future.

Don't judge or analyze what you observe. Watch the thought, feel the emotion, observe the reaction.

Don't make a personal problem out of them. You will then feel something more powerful than any of those things that you observe: the still, observing presence itself behind the content of your mind, the silent watcher.”

In 2004 Time Magazine published an article "The New Science of Happiness" and one of the most fundamental findings from the research on Positivity was that “Almost every person feels happier when they’re with other people,” observes Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced “cheeks sent me high!). “It’s paradoxical because many of us think we can hardly wait to get home and be alone with nothing to do, but that’s a worst-case scenario. If you’re alone with nothing to do, the quality of your experience really plummets.”

Read the article yourself to see some of the other findings the researchers cite from the science of positivity.

http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/images/TimeMagazine/Time-Happiness.pdf

So this weekend, aim to create meaningful connections with those that mean the most to you - and even those that don't!

With continued curiosity,

Ruth

UFC

Watched the UFC fights this past weekend & I have to say, I was surprised by how much technique and form is involved. I thought it would be much more barbaric - don't get me wrong, the poor bugger in the first fight had his head split open by an elbow and his blood stained the cage floor which was distracting for someone like me!

The big fight was with the Canadian George St-Pierre vs. Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy. I was VERY, very impressed by St-Pierre. I know very little about this "sport" but he really seemed to dominate the evil Brit. I feel ridiculous but I was truly rivetted! Truly.

With continued curiosity,

Ruth

Visit me at my website - http://www.catneycoaching.com/

Hero

A very dear friend sent this to me this week. Take the time to customize this and send it to someone you feel is really making a difference.

http://en.tackfilm.se/?id=1269524561861RA76

Ruth

A reminder that elite performance doesn't always just happen. It takes hard work, discipline and determination. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woOu_4l3lio

You also have to LOVE what you're doing. Martin Seligman, author of Authentic Happiness tells us that PLEASURE, ENGAGEMENT, AND MEANING inform how happy you are. Ask yourself if you have those 3 things in your work and personal life. Think of ways you could increase your pleasure, engagement, and meaning and then watch the impact.

Ruth

Was sent this Tony Robbins clip and thought it was powerful.

Be your greatest today BEYOND MEASURE!

http://training.tonyrobbins.com/437/a-gift-from-tony/

With continued curiosity,

Ruth

The Power of Situation

Every once in awhile I visit Ted.com to learn about some fascinating research. Philip Zimbardo was the researcher responsible for the Stanford Prison experiment of 1971. This is the classic psychology experiment that demonstrated what can happen when you put GOOD people in an evil place. This research provides insight into the power of situation. Zimbardo examines the atrocities of Abu Ghraib as a parallel.

Warning that some images are disturbing.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/philip_zimbardo_on_the_psychology_of_evil.html

Ruth

Next time you're talking to a client remember this:

Words represent 7% of what influences human behaviour.

Voice qualities represent 38% of what influences another human being; HOW you use your voice will affect someone more than WHAT you say.

Physiology represents 55%. Your body language represents the majority of what influences people when you communicate.

Just sharing,

Ruth

Rules of Thumb - # 19

Some great insights for leaders from Alan Webber's Rules of Thumb. His basic premise - More signal and less noise. According to Webber, your people need 3 things:

1. Clarity about Purpose
2. Honesty about values
3. Focus about metrics

1. Clarity about Purpose

- Your people need to see what you see.

- Your people need to understand how you connect-the-dots so they can see the pattern you see.

- They need to see and understand your template to guide their actions.

2. Honesty about values

- Your people want to know what you feel.

- Tell them what the company stands for.

- Make an uncompromising statement of the code of conduct that guides your organization.

- Then live by it yourself and hold them to it.

- They’ll rally to this kind of leadership.

3. Focus about metrics

- They want to track what YOU measure.

- Tell them the few things that really matter when it comes to measuring performance – as few as possible.

- Too many things to measure and you’re adding NOISE, not SIGNAL.

Successful Leaders are Very Creative

- They live by the mantra, “None of us is as smart as ALL of us.”

- They see life as an adventure and each new challenge as something to look forward to with eagerness.

- They are secure with themselves.

- Leaders get involved; they get involved with people and learn about them so they can leverage their successes and learn from their failures.

- Leaders are flexible, not only with accepting change but ANTICIPATING it.

Webber reminds us that in Good to Great, Collins explains that every company that made the leap from good to great had a leader who could express the company's purpose in a single short sentence. It’s not breadth of vision that defines good-to-great leaders but clarity of focus.

Happy leading!

Ruth