For best results:

Find a quite place and at least 5 to 15 minutes of time for reflection.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Begin Again

The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances. ~Robert Flatt

No matter your faith, today can be a day in which everyone can have new beginnings.  Happy Easter, Happy Spring.

1. Close your eyes
2. Breathe
3. Empty your mind
4. As thoughts come in, acknowledge and whisk them away
5. Focus on your breathing
6. Think about the affirmation:


"Today, I will take the opportunity to begin again."
 
 

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Friday, March 29, 2013

See the Possibilities in Every Obstacle

Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be
or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities
 - always see them, for they're always there. ~Norman Vincent Peale

Stress and negativity are a part of success.  You will always encounter obstacles.  If something seems easy it is because you have already overcome the obstacles it took to arrive at that moment.  Remember when you were very young and you were learning to ride a bike without the training wheels.  If you did not think it ever possible that you were going to ride that bike without training wheels, then you were never going to do it.  However, you could see the possibilities.  You didn't allow falling down a few times to deter you from your goal.  Leadership is the same.  You must hold on to a vision of success despite the struggle.  At some point, it will become easier as long as you think it is possible to achieve.  Likewise, as a leader, you need to help others see the possibility of their success.

1. Close your eyes
2. Breathe
3. Empty your mind
4. As thoughts come in, acknowledge and whisk them away
5. Focus on your breathing
6. Think about the affirmation:


"I will look for and see the possibilities of success
in every obstacle!"
 
 

Thursday, March 28, 2013

To Grow, Recreate Yourself

To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly. ~Henri Bergson

Over time if you cannot be creative about your life then you will be stagnant.  Running water always looks to create a new path.  It is always changing looking for a better way to move about the earth.  Water that is still looses it's oxygen and looses it's life.   Leadership that doesn't recreate itself and look for a better way to lead will soon end.   You must have the will to explore and create, otherwise you are like a pool of water that cannot sustain life.

1. Close your eyes
2. Breathe
3. Empty your mind
4. As thoughts come in, acknowledge and whisk them away
5. Focus on your breathing
6. Think about the affirmation:


"I will always look to grow and recreate myself."


Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Listen With a Kind Heart

To be kind is sometimes more important than to be right. Many times, what people need is not a brilliant mind that speaks but, a special heart that listens. ~ Unknown
If you want to be a leader just to show others how smart you are then you are not a leader but a small person who needs to build confidence.  I always teach in my leadership, conflict and customer service courses that a sure fire way too get others to believe you in you, is to let go of being right all the time.  Becoming a leader is all about relationship building.  Relationship building is not about showing how smart you are or how you might be the best.  It's about how can you make the other person feel like the best.   In conflict, pick your battles.  It isn't necessary to always win but it is necessary to make the other person feel important and special. 
1. Close your eyes
2. Breathe
3. Empty your mind
4. As thoughts come in, acknowledge and whisk them away
5. Focus on your breathing
6. Think about the affirmation:
"I will set aside my need to be right and show true leadership by listening with a kind heart."


Monday, March 25, 2013

Release Anger for Success

You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger. ~Buddha

When was the last time you were, as we Texans say, spittin' mad?  Last week, yesterday, or five minutes ago?  How do you feel?  Do you feel refreshed and energized? Or are you drained and unable to think of anything else?  If it was last week, are you still thinking about it?  It's OK to be angry.  It is what you do with that anger that will keep you from success.  Strong admirable leaders do not live in an anger state.  You cannot think about positive thoughts if your brain is full of painful resentment.  You can't think two things at the same time.  It's time to stop thinking about that which makes you angry and instead focus on that which makes you strive. 

1. Close your eyes
2. Breathe
3. Empty your mind
4. As thoughts come in, acknowledge and whisk them away
5. Focus on your breathing
6. Think about the affirmation:


"I will release any anger I have, so that I can
lead with positive strength."
 
 

Friday, March 22, 2013

Lead With a Better Perspective

You can avoid having ulcers by adapting to the situation:
If you fall in the mud puddle, check your pockets for fish. ~Author Unknown

Leadership is perspective.  How you look at things will be the difference between failure and success.  If you always view problems and issues, then that is all you will ever see.   Remember, when bad things happen to you there is always a lesson.  There is always a value to take away.    Look at things in a more opportunistic way and you will find opportunity.

1. Close your eyes
2. Breathe
3. Empty your mind
4. As thoughts come in, acknowledge and whisk them away
5. Focus on your breathing
6. Think about the affirmation:


"I will find success with a more positive outlook."

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Sprirt Will Overcome

Spirit can walk, spirit can swim, spirit can climb, spirit can crawl. There is no terrain you cannot overcome. ~Terri Guillemets

To achieve and succeed you must have a belief in yourself.  You adjust your skills and abilities to overcome obstacles - however who you are inside always remains.  Trust in that, when you begin to doubt yourself.   Those that win do it with thier spirit.  They believe with passion and certainty that this is thier calling no matter how tough the journey.  To be a leader, is to have drive and a certain life-force...as if there is no other choice.

1. Close your eyes
2. Breathe
3. Empty your mind
4. As thoughts come in, acknowledge and whisk them away
5. Focus on your breathing
6. Think about the affirmation:


"My leadership spirit will help me overcome any obstacles."
 
 

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Trust in Experience

Experience makes more timid men than it does wise ones. ~ Josh Billings

A young child will not go near a stove after they have been burned.  Even if you try to show them how to be near the stove safely.  They trust their experience more than a parent, thus, making them more timid and unwilling to try again.  As you become older you tend to become more risk adverse than when you where younger.  This probably explains why people such as founders of Dell, Facebook and Google were young when they started their companies.  They didn't yet know they could fail.  You will never be a strong leader if you shy away from experiences.  Once you become a leader, you must encourage those that follow you, to be willing to touch the stove again.

1. Close your eyes
2. Breathe
3. Empty your mind
4. As thoughts come in, acknowledge and whisk them away
5. Focus on your breathing
6. Think about the affirmation:


"I will trust in my experience and
show others how to trust in their experience, too."