"Sometimes you get to sit under the tree of the seed you planted and other times you will never know who enjoys the fruit." - MP Knight
Living in integrity means using every "seed" that is available for planting and finding fertile soil that will nourish the seed into a tree. And then, like Johnny Appleseed in the story of old, walking away and trusting that whomever needs that fruit will find it. How often have I held onto old stories or self-important "wisdom" believing that not only ...
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The Integrity Project – Fruit of the Tree
The Integrity Project – What Day Is It?
When I think about living in integrity, I think about being comfortable in my own skin. Do I appreciate myself? Do I acknowledge both my talents and my weaknesses? Am I real about my situation? Am I being truthful with myself?
Be present.
If I am here in the present moment, I have no choice but to live in integrity. I only have this very moment in front of me…only these facts…only these present circumstances on which to base a choice.
The future projectile and the wondering ...
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The 75 Day Integrity Project – Day 4
"Even if things are not perfectly how I planned them, how can I best LIVE with joy and abandon in WHAT IS?" - Facebook post March 21, 2012
I move into day 4 of the Integrity Project and understand that Integrity is not about the commitment list/the to do list/the action items. It's not about doing, more about how I am being.
I used to know this. I know that I used to know this. Somehow in the rush and hustle of today; in the excuses of economic downturn; in single parenting; in ...
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The 75 Day Integrity Project
With a nod to a great conversation with my accountability partner Jenny Hamby (seminarmarketingpro.com), the 75 Day Integrity Project was launched. We realized that each of us had a limited amount of time to accomplish great things until kids were out of school and the summer season began. For me, March 19th marked 75 days until the beginning of June and 75 days to experiment with the idea of integrity and completions.
In an accountability email to Jenny, I wrote:
"Today is the first ...
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Decide! Break Through the Option Trap
Leaders Make Decisions
I am the queen of possibilities. I see so many options that I can become paralyzed. I get stuck. Many options lead to lack of focus and the result 99% of the time is indecision.
This trap of options and indecision became so frustrating in my household that one day my youngest son looked me in the eye and said, "Mom, decide or die!" If I had to make a decision - choose one option (even if I suffered all of the anxiety of leaving all other options behind), OR DIE, what ...
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Spring Cleaning For My Head
Spring has almost sprung into Summer. As per usual in Chicago, Spring remains elusive - preferring to wander into Summer or continue it's comfort in Winter. Maybe that's why I miss Spring cleaning each year.
Not this year. I began with a purge of a few things that were not serving me in my life. Now, all of a sudden, my house is turned upside down. Ten contractor bags graced my front lawn this morning as old, worn out, and often broken "stuff" was eliminated and tossed.
Today I'm ...
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Coming Out of the Dark
I love Gloria Estefan’s song…
Coming Out of the Dark
I finally see the light
And It’s shining on me
How often as the leaders of our business do we become so task oriented that we fail to shine our light in a meaningful way? Where have we made silent agreements with others that we won’t outshine each other? Where do we hide with a false sense of modesty that does not serve anyone? Where do we still listen to those messages that go something like, “who do you think you ...
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Clear to Plan
More and more business owners are turning their eyes to strategic planning. There has been a lot of hunkering down this past year. Put your head down and plow through. In some cases, people have been in denial and are now just waking up to what has been happening. It has been hard to see past the pain of what has transpired in the past year for most people. On the other hand, some are stronger and surer and are eager to plan for the future. In each case, we are finally seeing the ...
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Can You Truly Lead in A Crisis? An Ode to my Sister
Meet Kathleen. Sister Extraordinaire. A truly magnificent person. Dedicated to serving others. She is my role model for leading in crisis.
How many of you have faced a crisis of whatever proportion? What has been your leadership style? If you are like most of the world, you do one of two things – you either hide and wait for someone else to take care of things for you or you run in where fools fear to go and take charge. Most of the people in my world do number two. It is the natural ...
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