Aug. 17 Steve Jobs in You: Ginny
Grimsley sent me this article. It was
written by Michael E. Gerber. It was
inspirational. Here are a few excerpts:
Here’s the key: Steve Jobs was a Dreamer, a Thinker, a
Storyteller and a Leader.
The Dreamer in Steve Jobs had a Dream. The Thinker in Steve
Jobs had a Vision. The Storyteller in Steve Jobs had a Purpose. And The Leader
in Steve Jobs had a Mission.
His Dream drove him. His Vision gave him clarity. His
Purpose told him who was the most important person in his life – his
customer. And his Mission
told him exactly how to put the wheels on his wagon.
And so began The Dreaming Room™, the only entrepreneurial
incubator in the world. There, I teach people how to apply the formula for
thriving so they can re-create their lives – to learn more, to earn more, to
grow more, to give more, to create more.
I believe, passionately, in everyone’s ability to do more
than “just survive.” Maybe you won’t end up with the biggest corporation on the
planet – and maybe you will. But by becoming a Dreamer, Thinker, Storyteller
and Leader, you can live a happier, more abundant and fulfilling life.
About Michael E. Gerber: Michael E. Gerber, http://tinyurl.com/DreamingRoom,
is an entrepreneur, thought leader, speaker and best-selling author whose
modern classic, “The E-Myth: Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do
About It,” has sold more than 1 million copies. He is the founder of The
Dreaming Room™, where entrepreneurs and others are provided the tools and
facilitation to see, experience, develop and design their Dream, Vision,
Purpose and Mission.
My opinion: This is an inspirational article. It’s more aimed at entrepreneurs, but I still
like it.
Work-life balance:
Ginny Grimsley sent me this article.
Epperly, author of “Growing Up After Fifty: From Exxon Executive to Spiritual Seeker,” (www.bobepperly.com), offers tips for correcting lifestyle imbalance.
• It’s never enough. Ambition is admirable, but if it’s all that drives you, no matter how much you accomplish, it will never be enough. If professional ambition is more important to you than anything else in your life, that’s a red flag that your life is dangerously unbalanced. The consequences will be painful feelings of emptiness, lack of fulfillment, and having missed out. Take steps now to restore balance, beginning with personal, non-work relationships.
• No one ever says, at the end of their life, that they should have worked longer and spent less time with family. When it’s all said and done, life is short, and many realize that time is life’s most precious resource. Intense focus on work tends to deprive professionals of opportunities with their loved ones – moments and memories that cannot be replaced. Set goals for how much time you’ll spend giving your family 100 percent of your attention each day and week, and stick to them!
• Make communication a top priority! The importance and value of real communication cannot be overemphasized. “More important than speaking is listening,” Epperly says. “My relationships immediately improved when I began listening very carefully to what was being said.”
• Only you are responsible for your life. The Serenity Prayer goes a long way in work-life balance; it reads: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Epperly says that recognizing he is responsible for his life and focusing on the aspects of it over which he has influence while recognizing those he needs to let go has been pivotal.
• Accept who you are. This can be challenging; it demands courageous self-reflection and letting go of the need for external approval. “When a friend asked me, ‘Do you think the world is ready to accept Bob Epperly just as he is?’ I suddenly saw that I had always felt I had to accommodate; that I wasn’t okay as I am,” he says. “I started to give myself permission to be me.”
My opinion: This is a positive article.
1. Ask yourself, “What’s the most dangerous, expensive and illegal way to solve this problem?” We usually take the same approach to solving problems every time with the resources we have at hand. “This doesn’t exactly translate into breathtaking creativity,” Levin says. So imagine that you have no limits — legal, moral, financial, whatever. You can do literally anything to solve the problem. The way-out ideas you develop may not be practical, but they’ll lead you to new ways of thinking about your problem. And then you can find a non-life-threatening, legal way to solve it!
2. Hide. We live in a world of constant, thin-sliced demands. Unanswered texts and emails. People waiting for you to say something, do something, read something, decide something. Run and hide. Lock yourself in your car or hunker down in a bathroom stall. Slow down and get your brain back.
It’s all but impossible for your creative brain to operate when you’re responding to endless external stimuli. The best ideas often come when you run from your responsibilities.
3. Count to 20. Go somewhere where you can be undisturbed, bring a yellow pad and a pen, turn off your phone, and sit there until you come up with 20 ideas for solving your problem. This requires discipline, because most of us are so happy when we have one answer to a problem that we want to move to the next agenda item. Not every idea you invent will be a great one, but that’s okay. It may be idea number 17 that’s truly brilliant, but you’d never get there if you ran back to your desk after you came up with one, two or even five ideas. If you do this daily, you’ll develop 100 new ideas a week. Imagine how strong your idea muscle will be!
4. Give up. Cardiologists recommend to heart patients that they visit nature, go to a museum, or attend a classical concert. Why? It slows them down and allows them to appreciate beauty instead of seeing life as a constant battle. Surrender your own siege mentality. Life isn’t war, thank goodness. Take a major step away, even for a couple of hours, from whatever battles you’re facing, contemplate the greatness of the human spirit or the wonder of nature, and reawaken the creative energy that our fight-minded world suppresses.
My opinion: These are good tips. #2 and #4 are like take a break. #1 tip is pretty interesting.
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