A great leader is in command of navigating the nooks and crannies and ups and downs of life.  A friend recently emailed me this “handbook” for life. There are a ton of emails and blogs out there with similar stuff but I liked how this is categorized, practical and simple. It starts with health, which is the foundation for your life. When you master your personality, you can get out of your own way so you can contribute to society. This is how to have a happy life. Enjoy.

HANDBOOK 2010

    Health:
    1. Drink plenty of water.
    2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
    3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
    4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
    5. Pray.
    6. Play more games.
    7. Read more books than you did in 2009.
    8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
    9. Sleep for 7 hours.
    10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

    Personality:
    11. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
    12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
    13.. Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
    14. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
    15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
    16. Dream more while you are awake
    17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
    18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
    19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
    20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
    21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
    22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
    23. Smile and laugh more.
    24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

    Society:
    25. Call your family often.
    26. Each day give something good to others.
    27. Forgive everyone for everything.
    28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
    29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
    30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
    31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

    Life:
    32. Do the right thing!
    33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
    34. GOD heals everything.
    35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
    36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
    37. The best is yet to come.
    38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
    39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

    Last but not the least:
    40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about, I just did.

Author Uknown

It’s not yet a week from New Year’s and you are back at work. The first day back it is fun to catch up with everyone and hear about their holidays. You have a grace period to reorient back to reality.

The second day in, the slipslider invades. This is what I call what happens when you start to come off the high of your new year’s resolution. Day two it’s time to get serious. Whether it is an official resolution or just an intention, I invite you to focus on how you want this year to be different than last year. What do you want to create or get rid of?

If you really want to create a new and different experience this year then you need to velcro the energy and inspiration you had at new year’s to your brain so you don’t allow the potential for negative thoughts to invade and derail you. The sage leader understands that post-holiday and mid-winter blues can easily invade the best laid plans.

I am in Connecticut, USA, and we are under about a foot of snow…so it can be a cozy and hibernating or depressing – sun depletion time, depending upon what you allow in. I find the cold invigorating and the quiet of the snow inspirational. If you are experiencing the post-holiday letdown, make sure to invite in a blanket of comfort and something that will allow you to stick to your vision of the new you in the new year. You want it to be untouchable like teflon amidst changes – in your moods, in your team, in the economy.

Tenacity is the wisdom of success.

Copyright 2010 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC      www.sagelead.com

Today is the time to work with nature’s energy of the new moon and plan for what you want more of in the new year. I am not talking about a resolution. Those don’t usually work past January 15th.

Take mental and emotional inventory of what you want more of next year. What served you, worked well. What didn’t you have this year that you want to have in your life? Focus on the possibilities - what you want to grow in your work and life. What you focus on expands and grows, and when you align it to the natural energies at play today, it makes it easier and more expansive.

Today is the day to plant the seeds on fertile ground. Befriend your imagination and plan for what if… What have you got to lose but the safety of what you currently know?

Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC     www.sagelead.com

Yesterday marked the Winster Solstice, the shortest day of the year. In ancient times, people would pray that the sun would come back. They didn’t know for sure if it would as they didn’t have access to as much science and information as we do today. So, in the dark of winter their faith was tested. They didn’t know if they had what it took – food, shelter, or emotional hardiness – to survive the winter.

I don’t know of anyone who isn’t going through major changes in their job, relationship, health or life. Depending upon your perspective, you may see these as opportunities or challenges. Much of the time this comes down to faith – that things will get better, somehow, someway, tomorrow. So much of it is managing yourself and others in the white space – during the transitionary time – which often is about managing your own fears and anxieties about the unknown. Many of us are experiencing growing pains but we can get through this together.

In reflecting on the past year, I saw many people’s faith – either in themselves, their company, world leaders, their neighbor or the world – tested. In college, I had an art professor who said, “Within the darks there are some lights and within the lights there are some darks.” Thank you Sister Dineen!

I invite you to take this time of winter that tests our patience and hope to reflect on what you find in your circumstances that is positive. I didn’t say necessarily what is easy or what feels good. What is for the greater good – for yourself, your family, your company or for the world? Hang your hat on this. Just for today.

Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC        www.sagelead.com

Joseph Campbell, a great prophet of mysticism and the human condition, once said: “We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.”

Instead of fighting the tide and wondering when things will return to normal, focus on what lies in front of you and accept this is what IS, not what SHOULD be or what you would LIKE it to be.

What IS presents you with your Plan B – what God gave you while you were busy making other plans. Acceptance is the first step toward freeing up your creativity and kicking it in gear with better options.

So… now that you are no longer wasting your energy on swimming upstream….

So, now what?

I just came across an article in the Wall Street Journal written several months ago where Jack Welch commented that there is no such thing as work life balance, particularly for women. You bet he got strong comments!

Here is my take: I think work life balance is all about choices based upon what you value. As with all choices there are trade offs and consequences. The big debates come into play when you reflect on what your actual career aspirations are and what is doable in terms of what you want in life – whether it is to take time off to have children and not work or work part-time or whether you just want to work full-time and have a life. Do you live to work or work to live?

If you have CEO aspirations, there is a prevalent paradigm that exists that it is not possible to become CEO or achieve high executive levels and have a balanced life. I say this depends… on who you are and your work culture.

Technology has introduced a lot more flexiblity in terms of where and when we work. It’s up to us humans to push back on workload and not try and do it all this week or this month.

Do I believe it is possible as a woman (or man) to “have it all” – a primary passionate relationship, close connection with your kids and creative, lucrative and fulfilling work? ABSOLUTELY!!

…Maybe not in the same, hour, day, month or year, but over the course of your life. It’s a question of when and how. What do you really want and are you willing to pay the price? Be honest with yourself – you’ll save yourself a lot of time and effort long-term.

Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC      www.sagelead.com

“Shift Happens” is a presentation that shows how fast technology is driving the direction of our lives…and how the balance of power and money is and will continue to shift outside the U.S. It gives the world and in particular, Americans a much broader view on the intersection and impact of technology on learning, society and commerce.

Originally created by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Brenman, it started out as a Powerpoint presentation for a faculty meeting in August 2006 at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado, United States. It “went viral”  in February 2007 and, as of today, the old and new versions of the presentation have been seen by at least 20 million people, not including others who have seen it at conferences, workshops, and other venues.

Some have questioned the exact statistics. I wouldn’t get too hung up if we can discern how many couples actually met online, for example; but to focus on its general irrefutable message: how profoundly technology has and will continue to change our lives. We cannot deny it is the greatest accelerator of change and pace of life today. It is also the great equalizer, leveling the playing field in terms of distribution of power and information.

The key is understanding what your choices are – and making those choices. How do you best leverage technology? What kind of boundaries do you put around technology? What is the pace of change you can effectively assimilate – for your life or business – where you stay challenged and yet centered amidst the storm of chaos and change? Within this accelerated technostorm, we always have choice – to stay plugged in or to unplug – in service of a sane yet current existence. These are the central questions of our times.

Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC          www.sagelead.com

Giving Thanks is a universal practice that can reap huge returns. Focusing on what’s working, right and true, helps grow this positive energy. This can be the most expeditious route to getting the results you want. Try it.

Just for today.

Here is our latest newsletter….

Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC          www.sagelead.com

So you have a team that is based in 8 different time zones in more than a dozen countries. If you have to be on calls at 6 am, 11 am, 4pm, 8 pm and 2 am – when do you sleep and how do you manage?

I am hearing about this kind of activity from many executives who work for global organizations.

Let’s get REAL! We have the technology that allows us to communicate and work 24/7 but we don’t have the human capacity to do this – not if we:

a) want to think clearly and effectively solve problems.

b) want to have a life.

b) want to have a HEALTHY life.

What is the solution?

1. Set boundaries for your personal capacity. There is a lot to be said for going back to basics. Be TRULY strategic and make forced choices about what meetings YOU personally need to be involved in.

2. This naturally leads to delegating and effective decision making.

3. Be realistic about your physical capacity: growing it AND realizing you are a FINITE creature.

Focus on YOUR basic requirements of eating, sleeping and exercising “rightly” for your own body needs. Only you know for sure. Some people can get by on 4 hours a sleep forever. Others start to melt down doing this more than 3 nights in a row. In terms of exercise, find a regime that focuses on efficiency - spending the least amount of time to get the most health benefits. I am partial to practices like Yoga, in particular Naam Yoga. 

We are living in the age of the frantic mind. This impacts your body and stress levels. We need to do things that clear and balance the mind – brain aerobics. If you don’t do this you are nowhere – but fast like a gerbil!

Get off the wheel and reassess & regroup for optimal longterm impact.

Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC         www.sagelead.com

Nietzche once said, “Those who were dancing were thought insane by those who could not hear the music.” These times challenge us to stay positive and see the opportunity with all the changes taking place. The opportunities are the music.

I challenge you to see the joy, possibility, and dare I say, even the blessings with all the shifts and changes taking place in your world. I am hard pressed to find anyone who isn’t going through major changes and challenges  – whether it is with a job, family or health situation. If you are not, then just look to a family member, friend or neighbor and see how you can support their changes.

I offer a new paradigm – to go through transformation with grace and joy, despite some pain – this is true leadership. The only way out is through. A new way out is without attachment.

How can you model this for others?

Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC         www.sagelead.com