Most people use New Year’s Eve (and Day) to plan forward for what might be in store for 2012. And that’s a good thing.
During the holidays, I try to look back at what happened over the past 12 months and ask myself a few simple questions:
- What went right?
- What went wrong?
- Who did I help?
- Who helped me?
Why? It’s a great way to assess your growth, your track record, and to clearly see who is important in your life. I try to develop a list of bullet points under each question to ensure I am concise and targeted for each question. Let me break each one down:
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This post is for all those frustrated managers out there — I was in corporate for 20+ years and managed many large teams of dedicated people. It’s one of the hardest positions to have — there’s a lot of uncertainty when it comes to high-level decisions.
1. I should have worked harder to keep my best person.
The simple truth is — if they’re your best, they’re going to flee at some point. And there’s nothing you can do about it. [click to continue…]
“Work your butt off so one day . . . your signature becomes an autograph.”
From one of my favorite sites - http://www.reddit.com/r/GetMotivated/
Check it out.
Image provided by jjsala at Flickr.
This post is for all business owners — In my 10+ years of coaching around the world, I’ve seen it happen to many successful businesses. Most people get it, but there are a few who take their eye off the prize and let their house of cards tumble to the ground.
Here are some of their regrets:
1. I should have see the change in the marketplace.
This has been a HUGE regret over the past few years. Of course we all know about the economy — but there are so many business owners who think life will just go on if they stick their head in the sand and fervently hope for the best. [click to continue…]
What a week!
As you can see from above, a single post really hit a chord with my readers and invited in a whole slew of new visitors.
Maybe it was the title: “Top Five Regrets of the Dying”. Something resonated with an exponential increase in friends who are interested in this topic. [click to continue…]
This post is not only for the unemployed — it’s for those great people who still have jobs and businesses.
I run into the same five regrets every day with out-of-work people I meet and the workshops I host. If you find yourself speaking these words, take my advice:
1. I should have seen this coming.
You can’t have eyes in the back of your head all the time. I always suggest to my clients to have better peripherals around the office — keep your eyes open to the bigger forces whipping around the organization. Subtle layoffs? Projects cut? Boss leaving for a better job elsewhere? [click to continue…]
CLIENT CALL:
“Rich — just started working here a few weeks ago. I’m starting to get emails from my boss and peers with timestamps of 2:00 and 3:00 AM. Getting nervous here — I am NOT going to work 60-70 hour weeks — what should I do?”
SOLUTION:
First off — don’t worry. There are certain situations where people work crazy hours: [click to continue…]
I’ve just finished one of the most powerful books I’ve read this year. It’s by a wonderful woman named Bronnie Ware, and it focuses in on the actual voiced regrets of people she encountered when they were dying. Powerful stuff – go and pick up the book!
Here’s a small excerpt:
For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives.
People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.
When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five: [click to continue…]
I was sitting in church this Sunday and we had a simple prayer. One part really stood out for me:
“We imagine a world where peace and justice are the ordinary realities of life. We dream of a planet where giving and sharing are second nature to all people. We envision an earth where joy and celebration fill the news and our lives.”
Just take a second today — what if you opened your newspaper or clicked on a news link and saw this:
- “No Fighting Recorded Anywhere On The Globe — A World Record”
- “Soup Kitchens Overflowing With Food; All Charities Exceed Their Goals”
- “Elected Officials, Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street, and Police All Sit Down To Solve Problems”
Okay, maybe I had a little too much ‘spiced’ eggnog over the weekend. But what would it be like if you read something like this? [click to continue…]
