An Extra Day

Inspired by Gena at Dexterity Consulting and Calgary Chamber of Commerce iF Series I started thinking about my February 29. Would I appreciate or assimilate the 24 hours? Would I just cram more of the same into the time between 5am and 10pm or would I open my head, heart and hope to something else?
If I look back to other significant days ~ statutory holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, I see that more and more they just blend into the work-a-day pace with a possible short acknowledgement over a meal. How did that happen? When did I stop pausing to smell the flowers?
I am going to take the day or maybe release the day is more apt. There is a copy of "Atlas Shrugged" sitting nearby that I will start with and watch where the day takes me. As a through-time planner this can be a very difficult exercise, seemingly impossible to let Que Sera, Sera have any room.

I will be attending the iF presentations this afternoon with some great friends and will try not to feel guilty that I am choosing pleasure over productivity.

Abundance exists in any economy. If you understand that living an abundant life, one filled with enough and then some, then you can begin to understand that it can’t be measured merely by accumulation (or maybe not at all).
Stephen Covey said “People with a scarcity mentality tend to see everything in terms of win-lose. There is only so much; and if someone else has it, that means there will be less for me. The more principle-centered we become, the more we develop an abundance mentality, the more we are genuinely happy for the successes, well-being, achievements, recognition, and good fortune of other people. We believe their success adds to…rather than detracts from…our lives.”
What are the values in your principled-centered approach to the world? For me I celebrate some the questions that Wendy and Dave Ulrich pose in " The Why of Work".

1. Who am I? My abundance is built on a clear sense of who I am and why I use my strengths to strengthen others.

5. What challenges interest me? My abundance doesn't exist in the absence of challenge but rather in how I respond to it.

7. What delights me? Simple pleasures like laughing (at ourselves), appreciating beauty, relishing excellence help me feel cared for, happy, and excited about life.

On this Canadian Family Day I am reflecting on;

3. Who do I travel with? My relationships, collegial, social and familial enhance my abundance when I honour the care, time and complexity it takes to sustain them well.

If you would like to read the complete list or follow up on their work check out the Ulrich's work available on Amazon.

Sneak Peek

I'm perticipating in Toupee for a Day on March 7. This is a sneak peek of what I will look like for the whole day, with your support

Help me raise funds to support free programming for our family, friends and colleagues who are living with cancer -- programs complementary to medical treatment, supporting physical, emotional and social needs.

Thank you for generosity!

Grow a Pair

Jessica Hagy has once again made some simple and interesting points in her Forbes article. this week. I will conclude my commentary on her ninth way to become more interesting. If you are interested in the others, click the link above.
9. Grow a pair.
Bravery is needed to have contrary opinions and to take unexpected paths. If you’re not courageous, you’re going to be hanging around the water cooler, talking about the guy who actually is.


Take a moment and think about the three most interesting people that you personally know. Make a list.

What makes them interesting? Do they avoid important discussions? Do they allow others to take the lead on every project? When they express themselves, do they meekly, weakly make suggestions? or are they passionate, courageous, confident, and considerate?

On my list, all three know their values, speak their values, and live their values even when it isn't easy, isn't popular and may not even be an advantage to themselves. They are authentic and remarkable.

Would you like to be passionate and reasonable, outspoken and considerate, confident, courageous and reasonable? What would be the first step that you need to take? Don't worry about the 2nd, 3rd, 10th, 127th steps, what would be the first step? Write it down.
Now take it. Take that step right now. Write a comment. Start a blog. Make a phone call. Send an email. Go for a run. Whatever came to your mind as the first step ` take it and tomorrow, evaluate and ask the same question. " Today, what would be the first step, I need to take to be the remarkable person that I am."

How to be More Interesting 2

Jessica Hagy has once again made some simple and interesting points in her Forbes article. this week. I am going to try to do justice to her brilliance by commenting on a couple each post for the next few days.

Have a cause.
If you don’t give a damn about anything, no one will give a damn about you.


Among all the remarkable people I meet every week, there is invariably someone who says something like " I feel like I have been sold a bill of goods. Fifteen years ago I was told, get a good education, find someone you love, settle down, buy a house, have some kids, get a bigger house and then you will be happy. Did it, did it, did it, got it ~ not" They go on to say that they felt more happiness and purpose in the 3 hours they spent volunteering with us than they have in the past 10 years. How can that be?
Daniel Pink believes that we can improve our lives (work and otherwise) if in addition to having basic needs met, we also have autonomy, mastery, and purpose. " Purpose - the yearning to do what we do it the service of something greater than ourselves." A cause can help fill the purpose space.

More than 5 years ago I posted some ideas, on Action Today, about how you can find a cause that will resonate with you. If you are joining us and allowing yourself and the world know that you are remarkable, the post might be a great first step.

Jessica's Ten Steps to Being Interesting

Jessica Hagy has once again made some simple and interesting points in her Forbes article. this week. I am going to try to do justice to her brilliance by commenting on a couple each post for the next few days.

1.Go exploring.
Explore ideas, places, and opinions. The inside of the echo chamber is where all the boring people hang out.




The power of curiosity can save your mind, your life, the world. Seek out contrarians, disruptives, and those who see the world differently from you. Open a book that doesn't look interesting, watch a piece of documentary propaganda that may not be your cup of tea, get outside an watch wildlife being wild. Plan one activity (15 minutes or longer)each day for the next 3days that not only gets you out of your box but takes you far enough away from the sides that you feel a biy uneasy. Share here what you discover about the world, your community and yourself. Which leads us to;
2. Share what you discover.
And be generous when you do. Not everybody went exploring with you. Let them live vicariously through your adventures




You can know you are interesting and remarkable but unless you let a glimmer out - who else will know? Take 5 minutes to gather your thoughts (no more than 5 minutes) and then post on Facebook, tweet, blog or better yet go for coffee with a friend and tell them a story about your experience. Maybe begin with " I don't know if this really happened but I know it is true".

You are remarkable ~ let the world know!

What is Your Possibility

What is possible for you and who can help sow the seeds and help you nurture your dreams? The best person might be someone close enough to you to care but not so close that they are blinded by your grandeur. My beloved is my biggest fan but probably wouldn't provoke tough questioning. The curse of perfection that paralyzes us with fear of failure or worse looking like a failure won't be much help. If you have an imperfectionist in your life, someone who takes action first and then analyses adapts and acts. Most entrepreneurs and those with abundant successful lives risk every day, some risks are small and some are great but they are willing, almost anxious to take the chance to build, fix, build fix ...
They are the kind of person who can lead you to the edge of impossible and then help you discover new possibilities.

Are you ready for a live filled with abundance, challenges and opportunities?

Be Bold

I read a post yesterday at ForImpact by the same title. The short quote from Goethe and the poster's summation " Being BOLD seems to be a pretty big deal if you really are trying to CHANGE THE WORLD!" got me thinking about boldness. Where does being bold come from? The fuller text of JWG's quote offers some insight.
"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back-- Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now."
It seems boldness comes from commitment, from from committing to oneself
from Anglo-Fr. had commettement. The world changing begins with you being fully committed, to yourself and to your plan, your dream.
People who know they are remarkable see a whole stream of events unfold in front of them, not mystically but because by definitely committing they have their eyes and ears open to the abundance that surrounds them.
Commit to a dream today, be bold, be remarkable.

Being Remarkable

Every week I meet hundreds of remarkable people. Many know they are remarkable, some the world knows are remarkable, but unfortunately most don't yet know that the have potential to be remarkable.

Each of us has the opportunity and ability to live fulfilled, passionate lives. Inside us is the potential for achieving success, success as defined and created by our own initiative, interest, intellect, and action.

A personal coach can help you define and achieve the life you desire. Through reflection, provocation, guidance, and accountability your coach can help you become the remarkable person you are destined to become.