Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Fighting Gravity All The Way Down

“Being in resistance to 'what is' – fighting gravity all the way down – is what makes life brutally demanding. Life is naturally much easier than we make it. Trees grow, flowers bloom, birds fly, sloths don't seem to do a hell of a lot, and I assume that platypuses do platypussy things – all without resistance to “what is.” All species are designed to live that way: without resistance. Except humans. We complicate things and make life hard for ourselves by resisting life as it is. We try to change things over which we have no control. We want gravity to be different, for the immutable rules that govern our existence to somehow be suspended for us.”

from “Living an Extraordinary Life” by Robert White



What can I say other than...buy a signed copy of the book at

http://www.ExtraordinaryBook.com

With love and respect,

Robert

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Wooo ... this is DEEP!

“Only to the extent that someone is living out this self transcendence of human existence is he truly human or does he become his true self. He becomes so, not by concerning himself with his self's actualization, but by forgetting himself and giving himself, overlooking himself and focusing outward.”

Viktor Frankl



It seems to me that commenting on Frankl’s powerful prose can only diminish its impact.

I suggest you read it again...Reflect, and read it again.

With love and respect,

Robert

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

How Ya Doin?

“The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns, as it were, instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink.”

George Orwell


I’m motivated here to use very short words!

We seem to live in a time of “cuttlefish...ink” with our presumptive leaders in business and politics vying with one another for the title of “Chief Confuser.”
While replacing them and that style of communicating is a good long term aim, perhaps we should just focus on ourselves and those in our immediate area of influence. I’m working constantly on positive, honest, authentic and effective communication.

How am I doing?

More importantly, how are you doing?

With love and respect,

Robert

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

A Deeper Emotional Connection to Life

“My mind has changed during the last twenty or thirty years. Now for many years I cannot endure to read a line of poetry. I have also almost lost my taste for pictures or music. My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of a large collection of facts.

If I had to live my life again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week. The loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness.”


Charles Darwin



Roger Fransecky is a friend, former employee and currently heads up a successful senior executive coaching and consulting company. His monthly newsletter often includes a favorite piece of poetry which serves as a reminder that there’s a broader, deeper world out there available to me.

(You can learn more about Roger’s work and subscribe to his free newsletter at: www.apogeeceo.com)

One of my life intentions is to become more heart-centered and clearly poetry and music contribute to moving me toward that. You might want to consider finding a favorite poet (or three), listen to more music and regularly visit art museums and shows. I predict you’ll be surprised on how good it feels.

With love and respect,

Robert