Attitude and Longitude

Special Event: Fun, Informative & Free Virtual Program With DeAnne Pearson

2012-01-25T08:10:00-06:00

When Life/Career Coach, DeAnne Pearson suggested we do a teleclass together, I couldn't resist. She's a ball of fire and a whole lot of fun. Just what we need to get motivated to achieve our new years resolutions!

The teleclass is called "Resolutions Were Made To Be Broken." DeAnne is going to teach us why our resolutions might fail and how it's not about character, discipline or willpower. Her “Values to Vision” program is a full day workshop, but she’s agreed to give a mini course for free during this call.

Learning Outcomes:

Easily create a personalized filter unique to you so you get what YOU want instead of everything else you don’t.
Discover your Top 5 Values… these are the “things that make you hum!”
Boost your energy and increase your focus levels exponentially.
Learn how to do a “style” search without having to pay for a fancy assessment. (And it’s much more fun!)

Additionally, everyone who signs up will get a Values Compass Chart, and DeAnne will teach us how to use it during the call.

Note: if you can't make it live, sign up anyway so you can hear the recording later.

Live Free Program:
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
7:00pm-8:00pm

___________________________________________________

Angela Loëb helps people rediscover and use their gifts so they bring who they are to what they do in life. To learn more, please visit: www.insyncresources.com
___________________________________________________

Book Recommendation: Five Wishes by Gay Hendricks

2012-01-18T11:08:00-06:00

I read this book, which is subtitled, "How Answering One Simple Question Can Make Your Dreams Come True," when it came out in 2007. That year was a tremendous time of transformation for me personally. I'd taken a major career step in going solo, and I'd resumed writing my book in earnest with the goal of publishing it - which I did the following year.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge fan of self-inquiry. I've been doing Q&A with myself, analyzing why and what for, ever since I can remember, and especially with purpose since I was a teenager. (My nature has always been rather socratic, I suppose!) Hendricks' book grabbed my attention because of that resonance and then further influenced my own mission.

But that's not the only reason why I recommend the book. This brief book is easy to read and digest. It begins with a story - a very relatable scene - in which the author meets a stranger who, with his consent, asks him a big question that changes his life.

Throughout the rest of the book, Hendricks shows you how he has applied this question to 5 areas of his life... hence his 5 wishes. How can this one question help 5 wishes come true for him? Well, you'll have to read the book to find out since I don't want to give anything away. However, I will say that by the end, you'll have been introduced to a pretty simple and yet powerful way to turn wishes into goals.

___________________________________________________

Angela Loëb helps people rediscover and use their gifts so they can bring who they are to what they do. To learn more, please visit: www.insyncresources.com
___________________________________________________

Poem: I Am All Over Green

2012-01-12T08:07:00-06:00

I Am All Over Green

We communicated in spring green.
In a spring green dress of silky shiny-ness,
I dance on a country road in a country scene.
And I am all over green.

This is the truth of Me.
I begin to crawl, then stand tall.
I think big; I think small.
I am not syncopated at all.

My truth flourishes deep within.
It is a flower under glass in a vacuum.
It emits a sound – a growing din.
It thrums with the hum of OM.
And though out of sight
with no oxygen to consume,
save that deeper breath of night,
It is enflamed in golden light

This is the truth of Me.
I begin to crawl, then stand tall.
I think big; I think small.
I am not syncopated at all.

The body that surrounds the truth of Me
comes to know its rigid-osity.
It is flaking, sloughing, peeling.
Layers thinning and revealing
a waking luminosity.

This is the truth of Me.
I say it again, the noise of it a friend,
Yet in the end I can’t pretend.
The true truth (the humming, thrumming, blazing sheen)
– it begins to transcend.
And I am all over green.

–Angela Loëb; ©12/23/09

___________________________________________________

Book Recommendation: Unbroken

2012-01-09T08:12:00-06:00

The subtitle says it well: "A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption"

You’ve probably heard the adage, “true life is stranger than fiction.” If someone tried to make up this amazing tale, no one would believe it. Except this IS a true story about Olympic athlete and World War II Airman, Louie Zamperini.

Survival and resilience doesn’t even come close to describing this epic account of the life and near-death experiences Mr. Zamperini endured, including being adrift on the Pacific Ocean on a raft surrounded by sharks for 47 days and being savagely abused as a prisoner of war in Japan.

Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscuit, is a first-rate storyteller who spent 7 years researching and writing Unbroken. She offers meticulous details and copious notes throughout and demonstrates a terrific ability to create pictures in your mind as you read. The New York Times said that Hillenbrand “is a muscular, dynamic storyteller, never using an ordinary verb when a “teeming,” “buffeted” or “porpoising” will do. Her command of the action-adventure idiom is more than enough to hold interest.”

In short, I was swept into Zamperini’s story from page one… and it didn’t let me go until the end.

It’s also deeply inspiring. Someone I know was so moved by this book that it positively affected his outlook when he read it during some challenging times in his own life. He said that until he read this story, he didn't have a true understanding of what it means to forgive.

Yes, Unbroken is that powerful...

___________________________________________________

Musical Artist, Justin Hines, Inspires Audiences All Over The World

2012-01-04T08:05:00-06:00

Justin Hines is a talented singer/songrwriter with a rare joint disease called Larsen's Syndrome. I'll let this CBS News video (about 7.5 minutes) tell his incredible and inspiring story. Enjoy!

P.S. There might be a short 30-second commercial before the story about Justin starts.

___________________________________________________

To Get What You Want, Plan For What You Want - Schedule A Personal Planning Retreat

2011-12-29T08:12:00-06:00

When I was in the middle of my corporate career, I was asked to turn in annual goals every January, and so I got into the habit of setting aside time on my birthday, which just happens to fall during the last week of the year (it was yesterday). I would take that day off as a personal vacation day and spend it reflecting on what I’d done the previous year and contemplating what I’d like to do during the next.

During my annual retreat, I would set goals, determine what books I wanted to read, what classes I wanted to take for personal and professional growth, etc. I looked at all areas of my life, not just the professional side. For example, when I decided to spruce up our home's master bathroom one year with new flooring and wall paint, it went on my plan.

Every year, I still do my birthday retreat. In fact, yesterday was my birthday, and I took the day off for my retreat!

I also do mini, half-day planning retreats quarterly. In fact, I recall one very powerful mini-retreat that I did in March 2008 that really catapulted me forward! That's when I set the intention that I would complete and publish the book that I'd been writing off and on over the previous 4 years. I pledged to have it out by September that same year. I wrote down all the action steps that I needed to take (along with any resources I needed for each step) to make this goal a reality. To stay disciplined, I put these steps on my calendar, picking realistic dates for each. Even though I was off the mark by a few weeks, I did, indeed, publish my book in October of 2008.

4 Tips For A Successful Personal Planning Retreat
1. Create uninterrupted space and time for yourself - put the date on your calendar and protect it like you would a vacation day. No kids, no managers, no employees, no significant others demanding your time. No electronics either... that is unless you are using a computer strictly for typing your plan. You must truly think of this as YOUR time.

2. It’s up to you how often you want to have your personal planning retreats. You can make this an annual event, perhaps on your birthday like I do. Of course, you might also find it useful to schedule your retreats more frequently. Like I mentioned, some people enjoy this process so much that they schedule bi-annual or quarterly personal retreats.

3. Ideally, give yourself a half day to a whole day away from the normal distractions. This is a time when you will do a lot of inner reflection, so I strongly advise you go to a different place where you can enjoy solitude if at all possible. Get out of the house or away from the office, turn off the phone and give yourself permission to think without distractions.

4. During your personal planning retreat, it's a good idea to start off by asking yourself questions to check in and see where you are. When you answer the question, you are making an affirmative statement, which is a powerful goal acheiving technique. For me this is almost like a journaling process. I'm pretty good at tuning in and asking my own personalized questions because I've done this sort of thing for more than a decade now. However, here are some general questions for you to consider asking yourself if you're not used to doing a process like this:
What is my intention?
OR, to be more specific...
What is my one big project to complete/problem to solve this year?

What do I need to reach success?
Break it down further...
- What knowledge/skills?
- What external support system?
- What physical needs/resources?

Set Timelines
It's one thing to state what you want to do and what you need to get there, but until you put some timelines on these items, it's all academic. I had a general intention to write a book for 4 years. It didn't actually happen until I wrote the dream on a piece of paper, broke down the action steps, and then put everything on the calendar. Let's face it, getting what you want requires a will to do it, but it also requires a plan with timelines!

I'm excited about what came of my retreat yesterday. The big commitments I made include building in more leisure time in 2012 (hey, that's a huge deal for me!). I added some new items to my bucket list. I'm also planning to publish my last book on job search in early 2012, and then I'll get started on the next one, which I've been dreaming about writing since 2009. It's about personal vision and purpose from a whole-life perspective. Look out 2012 - here I come!

What about you? What will you set your sights on accomplishing next year? It doesn't have to be big. You could keep it simple like my colleague Tom Cassidy teaches us in the 13x4 e-course... that is, just do on one thing at a time like practicing "gratitude" once or twice a day for a week and then switching to practicing "giving to others" once or twice a day for a week and so on.

Or maybe you want to do something highly ambitious with your career. Is it time to make that career move you've been putting off? If it's not quite time for the move, maybe it's time to make a plan for the move.

Or maybe you, too, can make or add to your bucket list. In 2012 I've committed to doing something on my bucket list that is actually very doable... go see the Rocky Mountains. I've put it off long enough, and I'm not getting any younger! (Yep, having a birthday tends to make you think about those kinds of things!)

Hey, if you've never done a personal planning retreat before, maybe that's the first thing you should be setting your sights on accomplishing next year!

Wishing you loads of joy, laughter and prosperity in the New Year!

___________________________________________________

10 Traits of Excellent Leaders

2011-12-26T08:12:00-06:00

What trait do you admire most in a leader and why?

If you are a leader or an aspiring leader, this is an important question to answer for yourself. When you analyze what you admire, you can consciously adopt those traits and incorporate them into your own leadership style.

In the organizational influence class that I teach, I always start the program by asking participants to answer this question. It helps when I also ask them to identify what leader, famous or not, exhibits the trait they most admire. It’s always a lively and fun group discussion, as well as a valuable exercise.

Over time, I’ve realized that 10 traits are consistently mentioned in these discussions. There’s a good chance that you, too, have known leaders who embody these traits.

10 Traits of Excellent Leaders
1. Trust
Trust, in this case, means being someone who people want to trust. It also means trusting others (who prove themselves) to carry out their parts of the mission or in the relationship. So it’s being trusting, and it’s being trustworthy.

2. Honesty
Most people agree that if you don’t demonstrate honesty and integrity, then you won’t gain trust. Being someone who keeps promises also engenders trust. Some people also add that they admire a leader who “tells it like it is.” Honest communication inspires followership.

3. Recognizing Others
Humbly acknowledging that, as the leader, you aren’t the only one with knowledge, skills and abilities is one way to do this. However, the fundamental expression of “recognizing others” is simply recognizing the accomplishments of others. It’s the proverbial “pat on the back.” Everyone agrees that this kind of morale boosting is a very important trait of an excellent leader.

4. Courage
Some would say “fearless” here, but, actually, it’s not that the leader has to be without fear (in fact, no one can be human without possessing at least a little fear). Having courage is doing what it takes and standing up for what is right. Class participants will often cite famous historical leaders who stood with courage in hard times such as Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy.

5. Vision
Not only do excellent leaders provide a vision for those they’re leading, but they also have a strong personal vision for themselves. They know who they are, what they stand for and where they’re going. Their vision provides the foundation for them to be courageous when needed.

6. Humor
Humor under pressure is a hallmark of many great leaders. For example, while being wheeled into surgery after he was shot, President Ronald Reagan said to emergency-room staff, "I hope you're all Republicans." People appreciate when leaders show a sense of humor even when it’s not pressure time. Humor makes a leader more accessible and relatable, and, when used wisely, it improves morale because of the good feeling it stirs in others.

7. Positivity
Being positive doesn’t mean being unrealistically so. It means that you are willing to learn and grow from mistakes and challenges rather than let them beat you down. Also some of the best leaders are win/win focused. They act from a sense of what is the best solution that benefits the good of all concerned. They also plan for success and exhibit a healthy dose of optimism.

8. Willing To Work
Many people admire a leader who is willing to step off the top of the ladder for a moment and do the actual work if necessary. When it comes to crunch time, excellent leaders will ask, “What can I do to help?” They “roll up their sleeves” and pitch in or work to obtain whatever resources are needed. A leader who shows a willingness to work inspires others to do the same – he or she leads by example.

9. Listening
Listening well entails being fully present with the person who is speaking. Excellent leaders practice the skill of active listening, which leads to loyalty by followers who feel respected and relevant. However, this trait also reflects another aspect that is important to followers. You should also be open-minded. Be willing to listen to suggestions and input so that you can be highly responsive to changes and needs.

10. Passion
When you have a vision, you will usually have passion. They pretty much go hand-in-hand. Passion doesn’t have to look like Adolf Hitler pounding his fist fanatically during a speech even though that is one way passion might look to followers. Passion is demonstrated in the sincerity of your words, the consistency of your actions and the clarity of your communications about your vision. Basically, this trait means that you have to believe in what you’re doing, and the expression of that will come out naturally as passion.

Earlier I used the phrase, “if you are a leader or an aspiring leader…” I’d like to point out that leadership comes in all shapes and sizes. Of course, leading typically refers to elected or appointed executives in a government, institution or organization. However, it also means being a parent; being an older sibling; mentoring, teaching or coaching children or adults; being a volunteer leader; leading a study group or a project; stepping in whenever the boss is unavailable, etc.

Where in your life do you fill a leadership role, even if it’s temporarily? And how would you answer the question, “What do you admire most in a leader and why?” I’d love to know if you come up with any other outstanding leadership traits besides these 10.

___________________________________________________

O Tannenbaum by the Vince Guaraldi Trio - Merry Christmas!

2011-12-21T08:13:00-06:00

As far as I'm concerned, Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the gang... and here's the best-ever jazz Christmas song: "O Tannenbaum" by the Vince Guaraldi Trio

___________________________________________________