Mark Twain once said: “A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn no other way.”

We all have been there – many days, months or years later, we say, “that was the best learning experience I ever had.”… but while we are going through it, we are cursing the day this person or situation came into our lives.

Here’s to appreciating the gift of the painful lessons. I suggest not shying away from whatever it is that seems distasteful to you, especially when you know there are high rewards – if you can “suffer through it.”

Suffering is so overrated. Let’s skip that part – just for today. Carry the cat anyway.

Copyright 2010 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC   All rights reserved.   www.sagelead.com

We live in incredible times. I can be sitting at the beach watching the fireworks and have you “there” with me. Snap, crackle pop – sideways!

Fireworks

“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness.  You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.”   ~Erma Bombeck

Today, I attended a very close friend’s father’s funeral. He was 91 and had an illustrious career as a physician in a specialty area at a prominent New York City Hospital. As with many occasions like this, I was moved by what his family and colleagues said. They spoke about his manner in making the contributions he made to his patients and medicine. He was described as “an old school physician” who had a personal touch, even once driving a patient in an acute state to the hospital in his own car while the patient threw up! His children spoke eloquently and emotionally about the kind of man their father was. I knew him and will miss him.

My friend’s husband said, “It just makes all the politics and office stuff seem so trivial.”

We all have defining moments like this when we are moved, touched by how fleeting life is and called to respond to something larger than ourselves and our view of the world. And then we go “back to reality.” Or, go back to sleep.

All strategic planning processes start wtih the end in mind. What’s your life strategy? What do you want your obituary to say? Morbid. Maybe. But if you don’t envision the totality of your life and what you want it to be about, you may swim real hard upstream, and miss the boat. Or be on the wrong boat.

So set your sail and do some envisioning of what you really WANT and feel CALLED to accomplish – at home with loved ones – and in the world - with how you make money and give back.

What do you want your reality to be? Question your assumptions and perceptions about what is possible. Have you ever had an erroneous belief?

© Copyright Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC    All rights reserved.   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

The best gift we can give loved ones over the holidays is to truly be present.

“The holidays are a good time to renew your heart connection with people. Make that your focus and priority. Spend more time enjoying people and their holiday spirit and it can help rekindle your holiday spirit. A great way you can enjoy more of the holiday spirit is by keeping your focus on genuinely appreciating and caring for others. Ask yourself each morning, ‘Who can I show a little more appreciation to, or who can I express more genuine care for today?’ It can be as simple as opening the door for someone or telling people that you appreciate them. Genuine gestures of care and appreciation are often remembered long after the holiday glitter is gone. You’ll find this is a fun gift for others and a big gift to yourself.”

Excerpts from Tips To Prevent Holiday Stress And Avoid Faking The Holiday Spirit article, Huffington Post Dec. 2009 by Doc Childre and Deborah Rozman, Ph.D

Courtesy of the Institute of HeartMath:

“Into your heart, pour generous quantities of love and care. Stir gently and sincerely. If the mixture is lumpy, add compassion and forgiveness and continue stirring ’til the lumps are dissolved. You may find bubbles of hope rising to the surface. Taste-testing at this point is encouraged. Although you will find the mixture already flavorful, you can enhance it by adding appreciation.
Appreciation for the qualities of your heart, for friends and family, or for this special time of year are all excellent flavor choices. Garnish with a sprig of joy and serve in large spoonfuls to everyone you meet this holiday season.”

Thank you to my friend Denise for these wise words today.

“May the following poem give you some tasty food for thought.

Some say, “Why has he been nominated? He hasn’t done anything yet. He hasn’t actually accomplished anything.”

I can see both sides. Results of his foreign policies haven’t been fully gleaned yet. And the nomination deadline was February 1, only two weeks after he entered office. Should he even be considered for this Prize this year given the timing?

I would also offer that we are in a new era and what he has given many is hope. Is that measurable? If so, how so? Hope is one of these really esoteric intangible “things” that we know makes a difference but we can’t see it or touch it. Can we feel it? Can we feel it collectively? If so, so what?

How does hope change you and change those around you? How do you engender and offer hope to others? I invite you to think about a time when you lost hope – and then found it. How did you know? What changed in your life as result of having hope? So What… then?

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

Have you lost focus of what gives you meaning in your career? If it’s just about a paycheck, then you are checked out. How can you spend at least 1/3 of your life not enjoying what you are doing? Life is too short. And the world needs a lot of help so please be fully engaged with all your talents and gifts.

We are so conditioned by our society starting from an early age with our educational system, and other people, to pursue certain paths. Make sure you are on the right path for you.

I LOVE this clip from Alan Watts who packs a lot of fruitful messages in two minutes. Don’t miss the point. It’s never too late to change paths. Enjoy.

Music and Life

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

 How do you keep yourself grounded, focused and centered while laying off 10, 20 or 100s of employees who have families and mortgages? You were hired to be a leader and manager with a surgeon’s laser-focus of diagnosing and treating the business’s ills and opportunities for health and growth – yet, let’s be real, you are a HUMAN being and these kinds of activities can take their emotional toll – no matter how analytical you are or how much you live by the numbers. ..Not to mention the water we are all swimming in these days further exacerbates the toll – the fear and anxiety frenzy feeds on the latest news on the local or global economy.

Going back to the basics is essential during these times – you can’t give away what you don’t have. How do you lead and manage others during these turbulent, uncertain times when you aren’t sure when the next wave will hit? If you want others to quickly refocus and re-energize during and after these kind of activities – it starts with you leading and embodying the way. People’s antennae become extra sensitive in this times so you can’t fake it. So how do you stay grounded and clear? 

It starts with taking control of what you can – your person and your reactions. At the core you must consistently engage in two fundamental activities on a daily basis: Express and process your emotions NOT your thoughts – Venues for this can be talking with a colleague, coach, spouse or friend, or writing in a journal, or even talking into a tape recorder on the way home from work. The second activitiy is cultivating your creative energies and recharging – weather it is doodling on the memo pad, singing in the shower, meditating or playing the bass guitar at night. The goal here is experimentation and having fun. Reflection and downtime – even if they are only 10 minutes a day - are bare essentials. The key is consistency and continuity. Your mind and nervous system can only process so much without it coming out somewhere negatively in your mood or at it’s extreme in your health.

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