As a leader, we are often called upon to be all things to all people.  Sometimes the most important thing we can do is to simply bring some joy into the lives of others.

Over the past few years there has been a great deal written on the subject of happiness. Martin Seligman, a pioneer of Positive Psychology tells us that happiness has three dimensions that can be cultivated: 

• The Pleasant Life – Where we learn to savor and appreciate basic pleasures such as companionship, the environment and our needs and desires.

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It’s that time of year again!  Have you gotten your flu shot?  If you’re like me, you’ll probably wait until someone you know, someone with whom you “share space”, gets it.  We know that it’s contagious, but so often we put off getting immunized until the last minute or until it is too late.  And then it hits us, and we swear, “Never again!” 

Getting immunized is important for two reasons; it lessens the likelihood that we will become ill and it helps us from becoming contagious.…

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing!”                                                       -Benjamin FrankLIN

In January I posted an article entitled, Because I Said I Would. It was written to emphasize the importance of keeping our word.  It matters not whether it is an event involving your family (attending the kids’ evening soccer practice) or executing the plan and delivering on a promise made to the team at work or a customer; our word is our sacred honor and failing to keep it can cause irreparable damage to reputations and relationships.…

“Live as if the future happened”

Earlier this week I was conducting an initial coaching session with a new client. Midway through I asked him, “Who are your role models and what is it about them that you admire?  He identified the organization’s CEO and said, “He inspires me because he lives as if the future has already happened!”  That statement struck me; someone who leads not by planning for the future, but leads from a perspective that what you plan has been achieved and future initiatives move forward from there.…

“One word can change someone’s day.”

Anonymous

This past Friday morning I read a short, powerful, post, written by James Clear entitled “How to Be Thankful for Your Life by Changing Just One Word”. How powerful was it?  It occupied my thoughts for the rest of the day. Such a simple idea.  Why hadn’t I ever thought of or realized this?  It  lessens stress, provides optimism, and could even improve relationships.  The reality is that by making this simple grammatical shift we can completely alter our perspective on almost everything.…