Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Where's the Real Leverage for Change?

“Every kind of peaceful cooperation among men is primarily based on mutual trust and only secondarily on institutions such as courts of justice and police.”

Albert Einstein


Recently I’ve been in dialogue with several friends about leadership leading to transformative change. Lots of great communication and for me, a reminder of what is becoming a core belief: only by changing hearts and minds do we progress, as individuals, groups, companies or as a society. No governmental or organizational edict has ever been as effective as a shift in our essential ground of being and resulting actions.

That might be enough to chew on for this week—or a lifetime.

Your thoughts are welcome, even encouraged by commenting below. And you’re also encouraged to share this message with your network.

With love and respect,

Robert

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Knowledge vs. Wisdom

“Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living, the other helps you make a life.”

Sandra Carey


I want to grow in both knowledge and wisdom. Sometimes I self-evaluate as doing one or the other; unfortunately, less often I do both.

The actress Bette Davis said “getting old is not for sissies.” I mostly agree with that statement however it does leave out the incredible potential value of growing in wisdom as we grow in years.

Participate in the dialogue by commenting below.

With love and respect,

Robert

P. S. And yet another plea for your support in expanding the number of people enjoying “An Extraordinary Minute:” Just forward this message to your friends, family and colleagues with your personal recommendation and a suggestion to go to http://www.ExtraordinaryBook.com (at the bottom of the page) to register for their f*ee gift and the on-going f*ee “Extraordinary Minute.”

I deeply appreciate your support.

Robert

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN FIVE SHORT CHAPTERS

AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN FIVE SHORT CHAPTERS

by Portia Nelson

I


I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost ... I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes me forever to find a way out.

II

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place
but, it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

III

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in ... it's a habit.
my eyes are open
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

IV

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

V

I walk down another street.

In keeping with my “read in one minute” commitment, I’ll just remind you that comments are welcome below.

With love and respect,

Robert

P. S. People report enjoyment and value from this weekly e mail. Can you help me expand my readership? Just forward this link to your friends, family and colleagues with your personal recommendation and a suggestion to go to www.ExtraordinaryBook.com (at the bottom of the page) to register for their free gift and the on-going free “Extraordinary Minute.” I deeply appreciate your support!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Thinking What Nobody Has Thought

"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought."

Albert Szent



Regular readers will notice …. that I’m a big proponent of developing an “advanced state of noticing.”

Current culture seems to encourage and even celebrate fixed perspectives, solid ways of interpreting information from within and without our various environments. While this approach engenders some degree of “being right,” even bliss, it shuts off our uniquely human ability to simultaneously hold contrasting ideas and thus really learn something new. I further assert that regularly “learning something new” is a requirement if you want to perform at a high level in a fast changing world.

Speaking of “being right” and the risk/reward result of that human frailty, many readers of my book, “Living an Extraordinary Life,” have commented on the value they received from a fuller explanation of this idea. This gives me the excuse to announce that in addition to the availability of a signed copy of the Fourth Printing of the book at http://www.ExtraordinaryBook.com, you can now obtain the Kindle edition for only $9.99 at http://tinyurl.com/yd98hjk

That’s it for my commercial … and for this week’s Extraordinary Minute! Your thoughts are always welcome by leaving a comment below.

With love and respect,

Robert