Wednesday, February 18, 2015

We've got it all wrong!

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Many people I know or meet hate their job. They say so. Many others say that they like their job but - you could have fooled me. I say that because the many of those who say they like their job, complain a lot, are clearly stressed about job stuff, and have such a full schedule I'm surprised they can breathe. I say they, but I should say we. Which leaves me thinking that most people don't like their job.


We have it all wrong. We have the opportunity to like our jobs. It's easy to blame our boss, our company, the type of work we do, and thinking that the grass is greener somewhere else or sometime else. But it's not. The grass is green now and here. So eat up!


We think that we need to do more to get ahead but all the most sustainably successful business people I know of are very good at doing less so that they may accomplish more. This seems so counterintuitive to what we think we are taught. But take a minute to read about or think about your role model's road to success.


So how do we get to the bottom of this predicament?


Write down your top 5-15 priorities in your life, including work, family and play. Things that are most important you. If you are not sure how to rank them use this calculator (http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/prioritize/prioritize_101.jsp).


Then, on a separate piece of paper, write down how you spend a typical week. Monday through Sunday. From when you wake up until you goto sleep, what do you do and for how long do you it. Then list each activity and how many hours each week you spend on that activity.


Now compare the priority list to the activity list.


By doing this we can start to understand where we can make changes to across our entire life, and as we start to make these changes, we will start to enjoy our jobs.

"The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both."


Enjoying our jobs is in our hands, not our Boss's.  Making more money and getting promotions happens much faster when we enjoy our work.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Michael Jordan's mindful path to being the best

Michael Jordan, many say, is the best basketball player ever, some say he's the best athlete ever, and often people refer to Jordan when inspiring what might be possible, work ethic and team work.  Which begs the question of  what is responsible for how good he eventually got.  In the beginning he was really good, but not good enough to win 6 championships.  Until two things happened, well Three things.  Mindfulness, team work and Phil Jackson.

Phil Jackson encouraged/encourages mindfulness for his players, which is the cornerstone of how he coach's and also how he lives.  Through meditation he prepares his players for the mindfulness that is needed to win championships, to be team players.

Jordan is the best ever and that is burned into my brain.  And mindfulness and meditation are clearly very pivotal factors in that success.  So in addition to inspiring myself and others with stories of how Michael trained the hardest in the off season, and wanted it more then anyone else, I will lead with a moment of silence and stillness, a time to capture and fully experience the knowledge and feeling of that potential, and take a giant step in that direction.

Here is a short interview with Jackson - http://on.aol.com/video/how-legendary-nba-coach-phil-jackson-taught-his-teams-mindfulness-517822986