My last article entitled Own It! addressed what it means to take ownership of your life. Today I bring you perspective from two clients¹ who have both landed on their feet after layoffs and who are extraordinary examples of taking ownership. I’ll use what I identified as the three components of ownership —feelings, energy, and power— as the framework for sharing their experience. Read more
Taking ownership. Employers expect it from their employees. We expect it from our service providers. Often thought of as going the extra mile, taking ownership is being responsible for what is within your purview and believing you can make a difference. It comes across in everything you do and in the way you do it. Read more
Remember raising your hand in class and asking to go to the “lavatory”? (There’s a word you don’t hear much anymore.) Perhaps now you are the one signing permission slips for class trips and missed days at school, yet throughout life and even as adults, the need for permission remains, sometimes under the surface of our awareness. Read more
As you think of what you want in your life, do you believe you can make it happen?
Some people answer that question with a categorical “yes” and operate as if everything were within their control. Others act as if the complete opposite were true and believe that luck and circumstances have more to do with outcome. How much can you really control? Your answer is the belief that will significantly influence your approach to goals, problems, dreams, and relationships. Read more
A few weeks ago a friend of mine was in a serious car accident. The scene involved a horrific traffic jam, a helicopter, ambulances, and sadly, a fatality. Fortunately, my friend received only minor scrapes and bruises. A week later, she told me that she now had complete clarity about how to handle a business dilemma with which she had been grappling in prior weeks. With her renewed comprehension of how precious life is, she realized that she had the power to propose her own terms on this business deal rather than accept the less attractive conditions that were on the table. Read more
Is freedom something bestowed or declared? Is it earned, claimed, or innately present? Ask ten people and you will receive as many answers. In the personal realm, we measure freedom in terms of our own health, our work, our choices, time, finances, and obligations. In the larger context of society and the world, freedom is measured in terms of governance, security, economics, religion, and self-expression. There is also freedom as it exists within the landscape of our minds and hearts. Read more