> This Week:
Developing the capacity to create and give YOUR gifts to the world!
Welcome to "SIMPLY SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS" - Jan 22, 2009:
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Helping You Create What Matters MOST in Life and Work --
And Support The Systems of Life that Support Us All!
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Hi All,
First, thank you for the encouraging feedback on my goal setting Do's and Don'ts in the last newsletter. I appreciate your support and encouragement! If you missed it, I archived it http://tinyurl.com/c6urve
Next, congratulations to the people of the USA for electing President Obama. May he have at least 8 great years! May he bring that nation and its people together in service to their great ideals. And may his message of hope, and "Yes we can!" spread around the world.
One thing I was struck with in President Obama's Inauguration speech was his emphasis on service and civic duty. I was particularly struck by the notion that not only do we have a duty to our community, our nation, and the world--but, also, that duty starts with a duty to our selves.
As Ghandi said to his followers, "Be the change you want to see in your world," Obama is saying that real change starts in the hearts, heads, and hands of each of us. Then, it percolates out into the world. So, we really want to take seriously our own ideas, desires, and urges toward change. And act on them!
Years ago, President John F. Kennedy stressed service, when he stated in his Inauguration speech, "Ask not what your country can do for you; instead, ask what you can do for your country." Unfortunately, the Kennedy years came to an abrupt end with assassinations, and the US and Canada slid into the "give me" years--the Decades of Greed, and looking out for #1.
But, change is in the air, and I'm all for it. I think President Obama is right that the capacity to contribute—to give your best—in civic and national service begins with your capacity to create your best in your own life and work.
One of my mentors-at-a-distance was Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. He was a colleague and friend of my main mentor Robert Fritz. Peter used Fritz's ideas about "creating what matters" as the "cornerstone of his work with organizations." He often said, "Organizational mastery can only be achieved if each individual in an organization develops personal mastery--the capacity to create what matters to them."
I think the same link applies to duty and service. Unless we develop and practice "personal creating", we will not be as able to develop and practice creating and co-creating our gifts in local, regional, national and international service.
Most of the so-called problems we face are not problems -- and cannot be solved in conventional ways. They are what E. F. Schumacher called "divergent challenges," and they lend themselves to higher order forms of thinking and doing.
Creating what matters is such a higher order form. It can embrace and transcend problems. It is driven by desire (vision) and grounded in current reality. It is focused on action that acknowledges current reality (including problems) and consistently supports the creation of desired results—no matter what your reality is. In creating, reality is the raw material out of which you create the real and lasting result that matter!
So, if we want to give our gifts to our community and the world, my suggestion is that we should focus on developing our capacity to create what matters. Doing so will make us better able to contribute both enthusiasm and value to our efforts beyond our selves. Developing the capacity to create will take time, energy, and commitment, but the rewards are potentially huge.
Here's some encouragement from George Bernard Shaw:
"This then is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one . . . the being a force of nature instead of a feverish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.
"I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I love.
"I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got to hold up for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."
Oh, yeah! Be the change! Yes, we can!
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> Would you like help developing your capacity to create, and give?
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> What would it be worth to you to have a clear sense of purpose and direction? To have clear, written goals—and a tried-and-true framework for achieving them?
> What does it cost you not to have clear, specific goals, and a structure for creating them?
Coaching can help you clarify and articulate your desires—and create them, in a step-by-step way—so you can give your gifts to the world.
Now is a great time to start "being the change." It's a perfect time to get help creating what matters—with whatever you have to work with!
> My free 8-page Coaching Info Package can help you see if coaching is for you. Just email me with "coaching info" in the subject line. Bruce@BruceElkin.com
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Here's A Gift You Can Develop and Give!
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Positive emotions not only make you feel good, they make you healthier, more resilient, and more successful! And they affect the people around you, increasing their positive emotions, and their health and well being.
To help you develop and give away positive emotions, I've written and posted a new article on HubPages: "Positive Emotions: Peak Performance In Mind, Body and Soul." You can access it at http://tinyurl.com/Pos-Emotions If you like it, please click the "thumbs up" button, and "share it" with others via your Facebook page, Digg, Twitter, etc…
I've also posted another article on HubPages, titled "Less Parking—More Walkable, Livable, and Sustainable Communities" @ http://hubpages.com/hub/NoParking
I'd love it if you'd drop by, leave a comment, and share it with others. Thanks!
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QUOTABLE QUOTES:
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"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."
-- George Bernard Shaw
"The future belongs to those who believe in their dreams."
-- Eleanor Roosevelt
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."
-- Barack Obama
"Young children enjoy sharing; the challenge is helping them maintain their enthusiasm for giving as they grow older. But if you model generosity at every opportunity when your children are young, they are likely to grow up to be generous, thoughtful people too."
-- Virginia Brucker
"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."
-- Mahatma Gandhi
"Love cannot remain by itself - it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service."
-- Mother Teresa
"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
-- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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MY BOOKS:
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Just a reminder that I sell my books from my website. For more info, or to purchase
• Simplicity and Success: Creating the Life You Long For,
• Emotional Mastery: Manage Your Moods & Create What Matters--With Whatever Life Gives You!
• Creating Sustainable Success: How We Can Transcend Problems, and Create Simple Yet Rich, Healthy, and Sustainable Lives!
Visit http://www.BruceElkin.com
Buying these books is a win/win way for you to support the newsletter and me. I appreciate your support!
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NEED A WARM FUZZY? CHECK THIS OUT!
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The elephant and his friend —
http://www.cbsnews.com:80/video/watch/?id=4696315n
There's a 10 sec ad, but the rest is delightful!
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> If you haven't made resolutions, or set goals, this year, why not start now? It's never too late, and people with written goals out-perform those without them. For info, email me with "Coaching Info" as subject! Bruce@BruceElkin.com
Have a wonderful week!
Bruce |
