If you live long enough, you'll face a time when grief and loss overwhelm you. One of my long-time business mentors received a terrible shock. His oldest son, who was in his late 40's, was found dead in his car at the side of the interstate. The son and his family live far away, across the country from my mentor. Apparently, his son had started feeling bad while driving, pulled over, called his wife to say he'd be OK but felt bad and had pulled over for a moment. Later, he was found dead in his car. When something happens to us that is without warning, totally unexpected, and is as final as death we react with shock and disbelief. We … [Read more...]
Do You Add to Calmness or to Drama?
It's Easy to Fall Into The Drama Ditch I think the bottom line most critical skill for us as leaders of our lives and models for our children is to keep our ground no matter what is going on around us or within us. Think back to the last time a frustrating or scary situation happened to you. Did you get completely knocked off your perch by some piece of drama that touched your life? Or maybe the life of a child or parent or spouse or friend? The truth is that we will always have some type of drama or upsetting situation touching our business or our personal lives. It is not the situation, it is how we react to the situation that frames how … [Read more...]
How To Become A Leader For Yourself and Others
Do you think about how to become a leader? Have you heard that saying, "How we do anything is how we do everything?" For years I didn't understand it - until I started working with clients who wanted to perform better in their career or improve their parenting skills. I quickly noticed that often what we say we believe in (our values) don't match up with our behaviors. Here are a few examples. Statement: I know time is important and I value everyone's time. Behavior: Constantly being 5 to 15 minutes late meeting friends, family members, or children. Statement: I really want to move up in my career. Behavior: Taking sick leave to … [Read more...]
Be a Leader By Taking More Time For Yourself
Somehow, we've come to think that to be a leader we have to never take care of our own body and soul. Americans have fallen into the belief that going without vacations, personal retreats, and down time is the thing to do. I've heard hundreds of my clients proudly tell me they "give up vacation time every year" or "can't get away from business" or "work 60 hours a week." They puff out their chest and feel virtuous. They think "I'll be a leader" and believe they are setting an example for others in a good way. They are hard workers and proud of it! A recent article in Forbes states "The United States is the only advanced economy that does … [Read more...]
10 Ways to #StartAChange
At the New Year, the hashtag #startachange was trending on Twitter. Here are my top ten tips for being the leader of your life by starting a change for yourself right now. You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/suepainter1. 5 minutes of meditation or prayer before you get out of bed in the morning. Greet everyone as if they are your dearest friend. Name 3 blessings in your life as you drink your morning coffee. Stretch from head to toe before you go to sleep. Where you have fear, ask yourself how to replace fear with love. Do that. Reach out to someone you'd really like to meet. Smile at everyone, including … [Read more...]
What Will You Contribute?
What do you contribute to the state of our educational system? Are you a detractor of public education, or are you a supported? Philanthropist and billionaire Paul Tudor Jones knows that entrepreneurs will contribute to the great good. Jones says, "The U.S. is in the bottom quartile for developed countries in terms of educational outcomes for kids." His Robin Hood foundation has the goal of getting the U.S. educational system in the top quartile of developed countries in the next ten years. Isn't it something that one man can give $$ on a scale to influence this, and has the contacts to raise big money, too. In '08, in the … [Read more...]
