Look To This Day

Look To this Day

Look to this day:
For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course
Lie all the verities and realities of your existence.
The bliss of growth,
The glory of action,
The splendour of achievement
Are but experiences of time.

For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision;
And today well-lived, makes
Yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well therefore to this day;
Such is the salutation to the ever-new dawn!

- Kalidasa

Kālidāsa (Devanāgarī: कालिदास "servant of Kali") was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language. His place in Sanskrit literature is akin to that of Shakespeare in English. His plays and poetry are primarily based on Hindu mythology and philosophy.

Beautiful, isn't it?

MSS

Yoroko

Smile

Diane Dreher writes, "If we overidentify with our jobs, we lose our perspective and fail to see new possibilities."

After all, where does our identity come from... the past, of course!

Opportunities exist NOW, not in the past.

We have to take time to enjoy a respite from the activities that keep us tied to the past.

The energy of joy is a powerful motivator.

How does this occur to you?

Have a happy weekend!

MSS

Pursuit, Persistance, Patience

I believe the pursuit of abundance is not an individual effort.

For this to be true requires some of us to lead by setting the example.

How easy is it to become frustrated when our "tribe" comes along in a heterogenous manner when "...we know what's good for them..."?

Is it not true that there is almost always more than one "right answer"?

I like this story for the lesson about the duty of the leader to have the wisdom to assess the protege before rendering an opinion about their potential...

A man was about to start up a hill when he noticed an old man nearby. He asked him, "How long will it take me to get up this hill?"

The old man said nothing.

The man asked the question again, this time in a louder voice.

Again, the old man said nothing.

Assuming that the old man was either deaf or senile, the man started up the hill. He had taken some ten steps when suddenly the old man called out, "About twenty minutes."

The man turned around. "Why didn't you say anything when I asked you?"

The old man answered, "Because until I saw the speed at which you were walking, how could I possibly know how long it would take you to climb the hill?"

I have made predictions based on my expectations of other people and have been disappointed when their efforts were consistent with their motivations and not mine.

I now identify the intentions of my partners as an essential step in helping them design their future.

What's your experience?

MSS

Taking Chances

"Look. If this works, it'll keep us from getting caught. If it doesn't, it'll keep us from getting old."*

Where does, taking chances, appear in an abundance lifestyle?

I believe it has to show up in every self-made success. My friend, Joan Soto observes,

"Life is a 'monkey see monkey do' business. We learn and do what others do. It's that simple. If you want true success, do what the truly successful do. It's worthy, and yet lesser of a price to pay than doing otherwise."

I don't think I can add anything to this.

What is your experience with success and where have you taken chances? Is there a correlation in your experience? There is in mine.

MSS


*MacGyver

80:20 Rule

Pareto Principle

I became curious about the 80:20 Rule while reading a book by Michael Oliver.

I looked up 80:20 Rule on Wikipedia:

The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 rule, the law of the vital few and the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Business management thinker Joseph M. Juran suggested the principle and named it after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto.

Michale Oliver asks the question, "...what if the reason that 20% of the people do 80% of the business, is that the 20% made up the rules?..."

I like to think that I do a lot of thinking... I never thought of THAT!

As I add new knowledge into my consciousness and integrate it with what I know, it occurs to me that this is another reason why we should not confuse "strategy" with "goal."

Here's what I get from this: I pick a goal that's big enough to be worth having and then I pick a strategy that I know has allowed other people to achieve that goal and I give it the effort it deserves with the guidance of the mentors I respect. If the "rules" don't allow me to achieve "20%" status in a reasonable time, I make reasoned, careful adaptations to the rules so I can be in the "20%". I also get that I need to be present to the effect of my "rules" on my partners. If I am a stand for their success, I must be able to adapt to rules that get them into the "20%" too.

How does this land on you?

MSS

Cracking the Seal...

Once you do it, you wonder what took you so long...

Have you ever stopped to consider what Rita Mae Brown meant...

Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting
different results.

Sudden Death (Bantam Books, New York, 1983), p. 68.
(Note: This same quote has also been variously attributed to Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein and an old Chinese proverb.)

In my experience, admitting to myself that there are things that I don't know that I don't know, allowed me to be enrollable in new ideas as potential opportunities.

After I did this once, I discovered that there is no shortage of opportunities and that I had simply not been open to seeing them before.

Unfortunately, there is no way to be certain of the value of any given opportunity. Here's where Failing Forward comes in. This is not to suggest that I recreate the wheel (I may be crazy but I'm not stupid). I'm happy to stand on the shoulders of giants. I have always been of a mind that I would apprentice to the best teachers who would have me... eventually, I became a mentor myself.

I don't make up reasons to be complacent and unhappy. I seek out opportunity. Sometimes I discover things that don't work but I don't quit.

Try on the possibility that there are things that you don't know that you don't know. What possibilities might open up for you? What would you like to open up for you? If you kept on doing what you've been doing for another 5 or 10 years would you achieve your aspirations? Will you embrace new strategies to achieve your goals?

Talk about it...

MSS

What a Remarkable Guy...

I met with the husband of the woman who died. This is the 6th anniversary of her passing.

We spoke for 2 1/2 hours. It was good for both of us, I think.

I hope he will add his comments.

He asked me if I remembered her and if I remembered speaking to him. I have a vivid recollection... He acknowledged my conversation from back then, saying I was honest and forthcoming.

It appears I have long known that clear, honest communication is always better than denial.

Bad news is an unavoidable feature of life. People can handle bad news better than chaos and uncertainty.

Compassion triumphs over adversity,
Brings power and protection.
Heaven always arms its leaders
With the strength of compassion.
(Tao, 67)

After the fashon of the changing seasons, within every crisis lies an opportunity.

How have you faced crisis?

MSS