How Resilient Are You? Take this test to find out. posted Aug 13, 2010 Your Score: Compare your score:70 or higher = Leading the way to more resilient communities! Now that you’ve taken the YES! 1. Research shows that individualism rarely works for surviving change and calamity. It’s easy to build informal community networks by getting involved in neighborhood and community activities and organizations. 2. A growing number of experts believe it’s inevitable that our society needs to move away from businesses and institutions that are “too big to fail” and toward small, more diverse, local economies and organizations. If oil becomes scarce and food prices spike, the cost of every imported good is likely to go up as well. Chris Martenson, a former Fortune 500 company vice president and a leading expert on resilience, offers a series of steps and ideas for becoming self-reliant and resilient—they include everything from learning to store your food to investing in alternative energy and water filtration systems. 3.
Choosing to Create Happiness “Happiness depends upon ourselves.” ~Aristotle Yesterday I wrote at Starbucks for the first time since my surgery, after my doctor cleared me to walk. I felt an immense sense of relief to be outside my home, where I didn’t feel quite so isolated. But the walk wasn’t easy. I don’t yet feel like myself, mentally or physically—I’m occasionally lethargic, often distracted, and sometimes a little weak. So yesterday I wondered how I might be able to see this feeling as a gift. I decided that every time I needed to take a break—whether it was walking, or writing, or doing anything else—I’d notice and appreciate something beautiful around me. And I’d vocalize it as often as possible. While writing this tiny post, I complimented one woman on her colorful shirt, and told another man how lucky we were to get seats, since it was crowded yesterday. I essentially created a joyful game out of something that could otherwise be frustrating. Photo by Nomadic Lass
Dr.Phil's 10 Laws For A Happy & Successful Life TV personality & awarded psychologist ‘Dr.Phil McGraw’ has transformed the lives of 100,000′s across the globe through his TV show, books and seminars, sharing his knowledge over the past 35 years on how we all can live a happy & successful life. Read on as Dr.Phil shares his 10 Happiness & Success Laws To Live By. Life Law #1: You either get it or you don’t. Strategy: Become one of those who gets it. It’s easy to tell these people apart. You must do what it takes to accumulate enough knowledge to “get it.” In designing a strategy and getting the information you need ” about yourself, people you encounter, or situations ” be careful from whom you accept input. Life Law #2: You create your own experience. Strategy: Acknowledge and accept accountability for your life. You cannot dodge responsibility for how and why your life is the way it is. Don’t play the role of victim, or use past events to build excuses. Every choice you make ” including the thoughts you think ” has consequences.
15 Ways to Live, and Not Merely Exist post written by: Marc Chernoff Email As Jack London once said, “The proper function of man is to live, not to exist.” Here are 15 simple suggestions for those who want to break free from the mold and truly live more of their life – to experience it and enjoy it to the fullest, instead of settling for a mere existence. Appreciate the great people and things in your life. – Sometimes we don’t notice the things others do for us until they stop doing them. Photo by: Toni Blay If you enjoyed this article, check out our new best-selling book. And get inspiring life tips and quotes in your inbox (it's free)... It Ain't Over: The Business 9 Women Kept A Secret For Three Decades One of the reasons I started my website was so that women could have a place to come together and dream. Women should know that they don’t have to hold on to an old dream that has stopped nurturing them — that there is always time to start a new dream. This week’s story is about 9 women who have kept a very sweet secret for more than 30 years. -– Marlo, MarloThomas.com Somewhere in West Tennessee, not far from Graceland, nine women — or “The 9 Nanas,” as they prefer to be called — gather in the darkness of night. At 4am they begin their daily routine — a ritual that no one, not even their husbands, knew about for 30 years. “One of us starts sifting the flour and another washing the eggs,” explained Nana Mary Ellen, the appointed spokesperson for their secret society. “But you make sure to say Nana Pearl is in charge, because she’s the oldest!” Even the UPS driver, who picks up hundreds of packages at a time, has no clue what these women, who range in age from 54 to 72, are doing.
5 Beliefs That Will Ensure You Never Achieve Success Each and every successful entrepreneur I’ve ever worked with has one thing that sets them apart from everyone else. They have a set of beliefs that cause them to be willing to do the right things at the right time to achieve that next level of success. Contrast that with a growing pool of people who are stuck, frustrated and constantly overwhelmed in their pursuit of success. Many well-meaning, passionate people have all the right ideas and no shortage of talent – but when it comes to profiting from their great work they feel perpetually trapped causing them to barely get by. Its like there is a hidden barrier between where they are now and where they want to be. Here are five of the most common belief systems that cause smart, capable, heart-based entrepreneurs to fall short of their potential and feel hopelessly stuck (and miss the opportunity to prosper in their business.) 1. Money is energy. 2. 3. Wealth is only a tool. 4. decided that you can’t be trusted with money. 5. 1. 2. 3.
What does leadership mean? SmartBlogs “Leadership arouses passion. The exercise and even the study of leadership stirs feeling because leadership engages our values.” — Ronald A. Heifetz Most people in leadership positions often think about what leadership means, especially during our present circumstances. With continuing budget cuts, dwindling resources and the constant focus on accountability, the role of leader has changed greatly over the past few years. Four years ago seems like the good ole days but if leaders are eternal optimists, they are still looking at how they can be innovative at the same time they are in crisis mode. What about people who don’t know they’re a leader…yet? “When it comes to the crisis in schools, most of us have been indicted. Education needs good leaders who will look to make things better. Building a collective voice on Twitter Being a leader in any setting is difficult. At the same time on Twitter during chats (i.e. Leaders need those networks. What will you change?
12 Things Successful People Do Differently Email I’ve always been fascinated by people who are consistently successful at what they do; especially those who experience repeated success in many areas of their life throughout their lifetime. In entertainment, I think of Clint Eastwood and Oprah Winfrey. In business, I think of Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett. Over the years I’ve studied the lives of numerous successful people. 1. Successful people are objective. S.M.A.R.T. goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. Specific – A general goal would be, “Get in shape.” When you identify S.M.A.R.T. goals that are truly important to you, you become motivated to figure out ways to attain them. 2. Sadly, very few people ever live to become the success story they dream about. They never take action! The acquisition of knowledge doesn’t mean you’re growing. It doesn’t matter if you have a genius IQ and a PhD in Quantum Physics, you can’t change anything or make any sort of real-world progress without taking action. 3.
From scrubbing floors to Ivy League: Homeless student to go to dream college Dawn Loggins, 18, was abandoned last year and left homelessStaff at Burns High School in North Carolina chipped in to helpDawn applied to 5 colleges and was accepted to each, including her dream schoolDawn worked as school janitor between her studies to make ends meet Lawndale, North Carolina (CNN) -- It's before sunrise, and the janitor at Burns High School has already been down the length of a hallway, cleaning and sweeping classrooms before the day begins. This particular janitor is painstakingly methodical, even as she administers a mental quiz on an upcoming test. On this day, she maneuvers a long-handled push broom between rows of desks. The worst, she says, is snuff cans in urinals. With her long, straight dark blonde hair and black-rimmed glasses, Dawn looks a bit like Avril Lavigne. She was homeless at the start of the school year, abandoned by her drug-abusing parents. She's grateful for the work. Dawn Loggins is working as a janitor to make ends meet. Abandoned by parents
Google's Chade-Meng Tan Wants You to Search Inside Yourself for Inner (and World) Peace Chade-Meng Tan (widely known as Meng) was among the earliest engineers to be hired at Google. He and his team worked on ways to improve the quality of the site’s search results and also played a key role in the launch of mobile search. When Google allowed engineers to spend 20% of their time pursuing their passion, Meng decided to spend his time on a cause dear to his heart: Launching a conspiracy to bring about world peace. The conspirators could well be called the compassionati. Meng believes that world peace can be achieved — but only if people cultivate the conditions for inner peace within themselves. Inner peace, in turn, comes from nurturing emotional intelligence through the practice of mindfulness and meditation. Meng then decided to open-source the SIY program by making its principles and components available to companies everywhere. The first part of the edited transcript of the conversation appears below. The spark behind creating SIY was my desire for world peace.
Sir Alex leads the way Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of iconic Manchester United, is arguably the most successful manager in the history of professional soccer. So why not write a Harvard Business School (HBS) case on his leadership style? “It’s just a dream to be able to understand the drivers of his success,” said HBS Professor Anita Elberse of the source of her inspiration. The case was fascinating, and then came the visit. One day earlier this fall, Ferguson arrived at HBS to help teach the class. Ferguson has led Manchester United — one of the world’s biggest sports franchises — for the past 26 years. Their findings offer fresh insights into Ferguson’s storied career and his approach to leadership, particularly his ability to foster a culture of success and dedication throughout the organization, from the team’s elite players to the workers who take care of Manchester United’s famous stadium and field. One key lesson is Ferguson’s fine-tuned ability to relate to people.