Newsletter For December 2005:
A Time for New Beginnings
Contents:
- This Months Thought
- A Time for New Beginnings
- Quotes of the Month
- Strictly Business: Who’s Your Mentor?
- Humor: The Truth About Hugs
This Months Thought
Take a moment to review and re-affirm your goals and chart a new course. If you've wandered a bit off-course, so what? If you've been tossed and blown away from your major goals, note that fact, plot a new course and get back to work. A New Year is about to begin, and the sun is coming back! Start over, start again. Even nature says it's a time for new beginnings.
A Time for New Beginnings
This is the time when almost everyone celebrates. Some of us celebrate Hanukkah, others Kwanzaa or Christmas or one of the other traditions, and almost everyone celebrates the New Year – at least for business purposes. (Many people around the world traditionally use other calendars.) Whatever tradition you follow, this is a time for reflection, renewal, affirmation and joy.
Personally, I don't think it's any coincidence that in the Northern Hemisphere on the 20th of this month is also our Winter Solstice which brings longer days, more light and the rebirth of spring. No, I'm not advocating nature worship, but I am saying that it's dark when I get up in the morning, and it's dark when I quit in the afternoon, and I'm really looking forward to warmer days and more light! My hunch is that our ancestors felt pretty much the same way.
I understand that on his deathbed, the writer and philosopher, Goethe's last words were, "More light!" and on these dark fall mornings, I agree!
The combination of our traditional celebrations and the start of a New Year make this a natural time to review the past and preview the future. After all, even the sun is coming back! (My apologies to those folks who live in the Southern Hemisphere - your time will come in June, and until then please bear with my desire for "more light"!)
Through the year, we work hard. We are busy and we have so much "stuff" to do that it is easy to lose our way, to take loved ones for granted and neglect our values in the rush to pay our bills and get through the day. We need the holidays to "make" us slow down, decorate our homes, share time with loved ones, and remember our roots.
We need time to renew and to remember and to re-align with our most important values.
Sometimes, we get down on ourselves for getting caught up in life and we use terms like "failure" just because we are so busy with daily life that we fall short of our goals. That sort of self-judgment is not only a waste of time, it can become a way to avoid starting again and moving in the direction you truly want to go.
I'm no sailor or pilot, but I LOVE the reality that ships and planes are off-course almost the entire time they are traveling to their destination. Wind and currents and human failures and the thousands of "little things" constantly toss them off-course.
Isn't that how life really is? We have a destination, of course. We have values and desires, and we know our ultimate goals, but much of the time we are tossed by the winds and current of life. We happen to be swamped with a project at work, or an illness at home. We get caught up in a hobby or forget to say "I love you" as much as we should. That's not "good", of course, but I think it is real life. We are simply ships and planes, doing the best we can and being tossed around a bit.
The difference is that sailors and pilots are never surprised or discouraged or "lost" because a gust of wind knocks them offcourse. They simply adjust and keep right on going and (this is important) almost EVERY ship and plane does eventually find the right harbor or land at the right airport. We should learn from that.
This holiday season, take time to review and affirm your course in life. Take time to shop and do all the "stuff" you have to do – that part is important - but in the midst of the hoopla, sit down with a pen and paper to review and remember your roots, your loved ones and your values.
Take a moment to review and re-affirm your goals and chart a new course. If you've wandered a bit off-course, so what? If you've been tossed and blown away from your major goals, note that fact, plot a new course and get back to work. A New Year is about to begin, and the sun is coming back! Start over, start again. Even nature says it's a time for new beginnings.
Quotes of the Month
"Love is a passport to the impossible, so do not be disturbed if the seas are sometimes rough." -- Lois Wyse
"The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas." -- Linus Pauling
"What a wonderful life I've had! I only wish I'd realized it sooner." Colette
"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." -- Sir Winston Churchill
Strictly Business: Who's Your Mentor?
Who is your mentor? Who teaches you the ropes, shares the short- cuts and shows you the way?
Recently, I have had several people contact me about coaching in 2006, which is a very good thing. But, I also had several conversations with people who "don't need a coach" and don't have any mentors. I noticed they didn't seem to make as much money or achieve as many of their goals in 2005. Is that you?
Over and over again, I'm struck that the real winners in life always stand on the shoulders of those who went ahead of them. Winners ALWAYS have mentors! They learn from the experts and benefit from the success of others.
Sometimes they have a personal coach - and as a coach, I think that's a good thing! But often they have informal relationships with men and women who are willing to teach them. Sometimes, mentoring comes in the form of a "MasterMind" group or team.
One of my most valuable sources of information are the seminars, workshops and lectures I attend. I remember hearing a colleague say he wouldn't attend anymore seminars 'because they cut the budget and (his employer) won't pay for it anymore." How terribly short-sighted!
The cost of workshops is nothing! The cost of travel, tuition and hotels is NOTHING if you learn one new idea or avoid one mistake. The chance to rub shoulders (often workshops do put you that close together) with the best and brightest in your field is priceless! In 2006, "just do it!"
Double (or triple!) your budget for books and seminars, for coaching and teaching. Call the most successful people you know and buy them lunch - and spend a ton! Take them to the best restaurant you can afford, and pick their brains. Hire a coach. Are there seminars you "might" attend in 2006? Register now! Make it a Christmas present or use any excuse you have to, but make sure you get the "helping hand" you need to make 2006 your best year EVER!
Humor: The Truth About Hugs
I received the following from a close friend and I thought this Christmas season was the perfect time to pass them along. Remember the old "research" that said we need like 15 hugs a day to maintain optimum health? I never did find the documentation on that, but I'm absolutely sure it's true! Hug someone today!
- Hugs are non-fattening and they don't cause cancer or cavities.
- Hugs are totally organic and no preservatives, artificial colors or toxic residue
- Hugs are cholesterol-free, naturally sweet, 100% wholesome and non-allergenic
- Hugs are easy to care for, they don't require batteries, or tune-ups and are a renewable resource
- Hugs are non-taxable, fully returnable and energy-efficient
- Hugs are safe in all kinds of weather
- Hugs are especially good on cold or rainy days
- Hugs are exceptionally effective for treating problems like bad dreams, disappointments and blue Mondays
- Hugs are good for people of all ages, shapes and sizes
- Hugs may be considered "politically incorrect" (which makes them even more delicious) but on the positive side, they are FUN!
- Give someone a hug today - you're almost sure to get one right back!
Rodger Blaker works with executives, small business owners and professionals to help them grow professionally and personally! For info on resources for your success, visit: http://www.rodgerblaker.com or call me at 214-485-2238.
GIVE A GIFT TO A FRIEND! Please forward this copy to your friends and colleagues! That's how I grow!