The Daily Disturbance

To listen means to “be willing to be changed.” So many ideas, suggestions, advices…but how will we “take to heart?” Compliance is key to non negotiable new norms but not a few will struggle with this as the changes don’t just call for an evolutionary response, but a revolutionary one! Are you ready for a change of heart?!

The New Normal, if there is such a thing, calls for a new way of living given the dramatic changes in our environment. In every area of life, now rules, now communication channels, now workplace arrangements, new medical protocols. Believe it or not, most important is the new way of managing thyself! It’s time to put yourself, first!

We will go through temptations, and the more we progress, the more challenging the temptations will be. But let them be our badges of honor! Here’s to a lifetime of facing battles – and temptations – together, and maybe, just maybe we all will be rewarded with an amazing victory.

Thursday – What is the Temper…is me!? And yes, sometimes it is you, or me! Test yourself! If you say yes to at least 50% of these ways we all can be tempters, it’s time to repent. “If you know thyself, and thine enemy, you need not fear a thousand battles.” – Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Head on. You can’t deny its existence, pretend it isn’t affecting you or co-exist with it, thinking “a bit of it won’t hurt too much anyway!” Allow me to share 6 proactive ways to deal with it, but in the end, you gotta do it H.E.A.D. O.N!

For one, it is an indication on how far you have gone on the road to greatness! But seriously, it is a gauge how impactful our lives can be! The bigger the temptation – or distraction, or obstacle, or opposition – the greater the reward and the output if we do NOT yield.

Yes, it IS valuable. It recognizes my authority. It sees I am onto something good! It sharpens my ability to make decisions. It is an opportunity to do what is right. Go do it, give your temptations some credit!

Nope, passion won’t cut it. Neither will a loud voice. To display power from beginning to end, a power that doesn’t repel but draws in, one that doesn’t instill fear but invite the weary, takes more than just inspiration and exertion. Pick up a few ways to gain this power, sustain it, and pass it on to those who, in turn, will multiply it. Communicate with enthusiasm, and yes, to know what enthusi...

“It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it!” Not what, but how. From process to platform, our content takes on a new form by the way we structure it and what channels we use to get our message across. The rule of 3 is a simple framework to organize your communication for more clarity, whether it is a 1 minute elevator pitch or a 4 hour learning session. MPCD, or Multiple Platform Content Delivery...

How well do I know me, the number one audio visual? “Be yourself!” would probably be much easier advice to take, if we only knew ourselves in the first place! “If you Know thyself and thine enemy, you need not fear a thousand battles” Sun Tzu declares. But knowing our ourselves is not an easy achievement, especially when we are told the first decades of our lives whom we are supposed to be! Buckle...

Communication is about connection. But how can I connect if I am not mindful of the people on the other end? From their DNAs, their preferences to the state of their hearts, how much of my audience do I really know, meaning, “apprehend fully?” “Those who get along with you will go along with you,” Dr. John Maxwell reminds, so let’s look at how to read the “receivers” more clearly.

That’s a choice that you and I will have to make, again, and again, considering the trade-offs, as there are both benefits and consequences in taking this risk. For me, however, there is no other way. Intimacy is the core part of our humanity.

Discover 8 major considerations to make the journey of intimacy more holistic, more balanced, more meaningful, more fun! A good time to reflect and perhaps, make decisions. We overestimate the power of Decision-making and undervalue the impact of Decision-management.

By exposing yourself to one who cannot handle it, by setting yourself aside while completely favoring “others,” and by failing to connect -“getting intimate” - to a larger vision and more meaningful purpose for engagement.

It certainly can as it was designed to! Come A.L.I.V.E. with Awareness, Learning, Impact, Vitality and Empathy! But you must start with being intimate – fully apprehending – with self. Then, fully complete, you can overflow and connect with others.

You bet you do. To be intimate is to connect to the inner most part – intimus - of self and of someone else. Who prefers to settle with the outermost, superficial, shallow part of anything or anyone? Sadly, we still do, for “innermost” also means mysterious, unpredictable, dark. Still, it also means surprise, newness, and core. What a trade off!

I liken this challenge to running marathons. They are looooong races, 42,000 meters to be exact. I pick up lessons from 10 international marathons I have run to the finish to the hope of completing the marathon of life. Run with me!

We all can extend hope…sometimes without even knowing it. One key is to offer what we have, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. We can’t give what we don’t have. But we all have hope in some area of our lives: match that hope with a need that can benefit from it.

Ok, on regular days I am able to enough sources of light in my darkness. But there are those particularly challenging days. Can I be guided into a practical way of getting back in positivity and hope?

Do I even struggle with hope? How deep am I into hopelessness? Or are there specific areas that are unique to me at this stage in my life? Take a test, and find out for yourself!

Why even hope? What’s there to gain if I do, or to lose if I don’t? Unless I buy into it, there’s no point in investing in it.

Will I run out? What if the losses overtake the gains? What if I am in that situation right now? Do I still have hope? How to measure so I know I am in the “right track?” Can gaining be a daily, moment by moment experience?

By learning how to count! To a grateful spirit, there is no lack! It also helps to not label any situation as a major loss or a definite gain because it is really a matter of perspective. Who does the measuring? What in my success rate at the interim? What is my ultimate basis to say one matter is a gain or loss, and how do I ensure I gain more in life?

So many well-meaning efforts, but the “road to hell is paved with many good intentions!” Let’s get practical and methodical and explore steps to take to move forward with loss, not ignoring the unique applications to as many individuals and acknowledging that each situation will have a unique appreciation and application. Still, what is relevant to you? Or your family and company perhaps! Diagnose...

Beyond conceptual, let’s get personal. What losses are you experiencing today? Or perhaps, what losses of yesterday still impact you today? The key is to know – to apprehend fully – what losses we are experiencing, or still carrying perhaps, and to “accept” them as they are – to take them in “without difficulty and “freely” – so we are in a good grasp of our present reality. That which is seen – n...