Life Lessons From a Potter’s Wheel

August 8, 2015 By
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Balance and harmony are important in all areas of our life. When we talk about balance we tend to think in terms of balancing across each segment of our life but in truth, it matters within each of them as well. We need a balanced approach to health as an example and within our financial profile. Our personal network should be diversified and expose us to perspectives with range and depth. But balance only truly happens when we also have each area of our life in harmony with the rest.

The same is true for learning. We need to have core skill building for our professional endeavors and soft skill development overall. We also need to integrate things into the mix that are perhaps outside our standard fare and develop creative interests as well as skill. This is an area where quite frankly I have not always had the right mix. My professional development always took precedence.

I made a conscience decision to change that and begin incorporating some creativity into my learning mix and enrolled in pottery classes. Why pottery? Most likely because I love that art form and it seemed like something that would completely occupy my attention. That was after all part of the point. I wanted (and needed) a complete departure from business as usual. As a writer, I also felt that it would introduce me into a world of artists where I could also absorb some of that creative energy. And quite frankly, I thought it might be fun to play in some mud! And it has been.

I am about three months into this latest adventure and I am now without question a lifelong enthusiast. The parallels to life are there every time I sit down at the wheel or work with the clay at the table. And the miracle of what happens with glazes and the heat of the kiln are incredible.

My very first piece was a small dish that had a small bird on it since that’s my favorite collectible. It became a Mother’s Day gift for my Mom. Now a grandmother myself, it had been a long time since my gift to her was something made by my own hand. It felt so good to do that. And the gift has a richer meaning for her as well.

What lessons have I learned? Here are my top five:

  1. When we are willing to become a beginner at something, we renew our true love of learning
  2. Even the simplest of materials can and do have the potential for creating beauty
  3. To make things happen we have to be willing to take some risks and get our hands dirty
  4. Pressure and heat create strength and transformation
  5. We all sign our work in one way or another

If you were asked to choose something new to learn, what would you choose? Consider giving yourself, or someone you love that gift. It truly is priceless.

Live (learn) today like you want tomorrow to be. Live (learn) well.

Filed Under: Inspiration & Creativity, Learning & Growth, Personal thoughts & insights, Possibilities & Perspective, Winds of Change Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Always Start With Yes!

August 3, 2015 By
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As a strategist, one of the key areas where I work with clients is on saying no: How to say it, when to say it, why to say it. Michael E. Porter of the Harvard Business Review has even been quoted as saying that “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do”.

The challenge is that there is a growing trend or shift in this direction that has us so focused on saying no, streamlining, simplifying, etc. that in some cases we’ve lost sight of our YES.

True strategy means that we begin with a desired end in mind. That end is our YES. The ONLY reason for NO is to keep us FOCUSED on the YES. Think about that for a moment. Do you know where your yeses are?

This insight from Henry David Thoreau came to mind as I thought about this: “It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?”

For us to be effective and live the lives we truly want to live, we need to always start with yes. What do we want? It really is about choice. What are we choosing to say yes to? That’s how you keep the NO positive. It may sound counter intuitive but it’s true. Your NO is a positive response when you have started with your YES.

Yes is all about intention. It is the absolute key for understanding the power of choice in every area of our life. When we are saying yes to love, happiness, health, balance and ease a momentum will build. We achieve more of what we focus on.

Begin today and start with your YES – keep that end in mind. The very need for no’s will start to fall away as we attract more of our yeses.

Live (say YES!) today to what you want tomorrow to be. Live (say Yes!) well!

Filed Under: Learning & Growth, Personal thoughts & insights, Possibilities & Perspective, Winds of Change Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Are Your Roots Showing?

July 4, 2015 By
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Some time ago I participated in a coaching program led by the incomparable Pamela Slim. It was a guided excavation of our life experiences and skills in order to more effectively leverage them as building blocks for our future.

The course was within a group environment but all of the work was individualized. We were each given the same assignments to complete and then bring back to the forums and group. By sharing our work we were also learning to articulate with clarity what we had confirmed as our personal beliefs about ourselves and our vision for our lives.

Before examining our body of work, the initial focus was on our roots: our core values and beliefs. But there was an additional caveat. We also explored and shared their genesis and evolution. We can take a myriad of assessments that will help us identify and define core strengths. While those can tell us who we are now, what is often more compelling is an understanding of why or how we came to be that person. There is a critical connection between belief and skill.

Examining the source of a belief can be powerful work. It can help us explain something that drives us that we’ve never been able to see before. It can help us let go of beliefs that no longer serve us. One of the key lessons in this is that only those beliefs that are the product of our own conclusions create true change. Everything else is just a temporary persona we’ve taken on and does not reflect our true selves.

Kyle Wilson, long time business partner and friend of thought leader Jim Rohn, recently shared this quote from him with our Lessons from Network community: “Be a student not a follower. Gather all the information, then make sure what you believe and decide is the product of your own conclusions!” I clearly remember the first time I heard Jim Rohn teach this. I was listening to one of his recordings while driving to see a friend. It spoke to me with such resonance that I stopped the car to listen again; and then again. It remains what I consider to be one of the most important entries in my personal journal and a core element of my own life philosophy.

When we take the time to know ourselves and take responsibility for our personal beliefs it enables us to embrace the incredible person that we are. It is then, and only then that we can tap into our unlimited capacity to grow and expand. It transforms our entire landscape of opportunity.

Find your roots. And then let them show! Allow yourself the gift of some magnificent obsessions around what matters to you and your role in the world.

When you do, you will also find the passion you need to live today like you want tomorrow to be. Live well.

Filed Under: Learning & Growth, Possibilities & Perspective, Success & Significance, Winds of Change Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Are You Living in “Grand” Time?

June 30, 2015 By
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Female Multl Generation Family Walking Along Autumn PathThe advantages of reaching what I now call my “wisdom years” are many. But without question for me, one of the most delightful of those is being a grandmother.

There is something uniquely gratifying about holding the hand of your child’s child.

There is something profoundly meaningful about creating a value in their lives that no one but you can create.

I’m not sure I ever really thought about or completely embraced the idea of legacy until the moment I first looked into my oldest granddaughter’s face as a newborn. What a startling moment that was! A life circle unfolding right in front of my eyes.

I’m asked often about my company name, Mackenzie Circle. Its true genesis moment was meeting my first granddaughter. I reflected back to my own mother, grandmother and her mother before her, Molly Mackenzie. It was then natural to shift that vision forward to my own daughter; her daughters following her. A circle that is ever growing, widening, deepening, ebbing and flowing. And so Mackenzie Circle was born: a company that celebrates life every day in a way that builds a stronger tomorrow for all.

Over the past 15 years as a grandmother there have been many lessons along the way. Perhaps the most compelling thing I can share is that being a grandmother is the most enriching and the most revealing relationship I believe I have experienced. We see the world differently because of the lens they bring us. And we see ourselves differently because of the lens we are able to bring to them.

I recently met a woman that was about to meet her first grand-child. Her anticipation was palpable as you might expect. There was also some trepidation along with the excitement. She asked me what advice I could offer to her and quite frankly, it gave me pause for a moment. But then I realized how truly simple this is. It comes down to three basic things – our calendar, their causes and a focus on creating memories that will sustain them long after we are no longer physically with them.

Your Calendar

If you want to know what you truly value, check your calendar. It was easier when we were the parent. Having our children on our calendar was a matter of routine. We had physical responsibilities that mandated time. As a grandparent, we need to reflect time with our children and grandchildren as a choice. Isn’t it wonderful when you know someone is choosing time with you? And that doesn’t always have to be in person or even voice to voice. Video cards are great. And so is that old stand-by: personal mail. Those hand-written cards and letters are memory box items they will treasure. The key is that they know they are valued because they are on your calendar by choice.

Their Causes

Another area where as grandparents we play a crucial role is by hearing our grandchildren and championing their causes and ideas. Those first fresh personal insights one day grow into their own belief system. These are often borne in the conversations and early reflections we are privileged to share. As we learn to hear them clearly and accept them without judgment (or fear of their judgment of us!), we can grow together by caring together. We are able to help them see beyond themselves to a greater purpose and good by sharing our own causes and introducing them to those ideas. My granddaughter and I take particular delight in sharing books and even music with each other that we’ve found knowing they will appeal to the other. We feel heard and seen when someone reflects back to us what we are projecting to the world in a positive way.

Shared Creations

And last but of course never least is the creation of memories. The best way to create memories for and with each other is to create with each other. Whether that is art, music or even learning something together. Having a reference point for the relationship is what allows them to carry our light with them long after the torch is passed. It is so important to remember that we do not leave a legacy; we live it every day with every encounter.

So here is to those next generations providing us the opportunity (and privilege) to truly live “grand”!

It gives new meaning to living today like you want tomorrow to be.

Within this light, we live today like we want their tomorrow to be.

And that will always be to live well.

 

Filed Under: Personal thoughts & insights, Possibilities & Perspective, Success & Significance, Winds of Change Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Predicting the future: The Secret to Getting it Right

June 14, 2015 By
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I recently heard someone say that it is very easy to predict the future. The tricky part is getting it right.  But there is one prediction we can make that will be spot on every time.  Look forward one year, two years, five years and you can count on one thing with certainty:  Something will have changed in your life. You are going to be somewhere other than where you are today.  The best question is not where you will be.  The most powerful question is who will decide.

So many of us have found ourselves recently in a new place.  A place that is quite unfamiliar and new.  That can make it exciting – or scary – or both.  The key then seems to be knowing how to remain steadfast where it matters while developing an agility in other areas that allows you to adapt to the ebb and flow of your next season in these portfolio lives of ours.

Here’s where I believe we have to start:  How do you define success now?  When you hear the word – what image comes to mind?  It may be time to deconstruct success and examine its parts and then bring it back in a better form, one that serves our purpose as we are now as the beacon it needs to be to guide us through that maze.

What I have learned is this:  I can predict the future, because I create the future.  Whatever I believe can be, will be.  Whatever I believe I can do, I can. Whomever I choose to be, that is the person I can be.

How do you define success now? If you need help with that, let’s have a conversation.

Live today like you want tomorrow to be.

Live well.

 

Filed Under: Possibilities & Perspective, Winds of Change Tagged With: , , , , ,
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