a2b4me...The Podcast! Keeping YOU Moving in the Direction of Your Dreams!

This Week's Challenge: Seek 3rd Alternatives

Synergy depends on a willingness to seek a 3rd Alternative...

More then just "my way" or "your way" it's a higher, better way...

It's something that neither of us would have come up with on our own.

- Observe an upcoming meeting and identify if synergy is or isn't occurring.

- Think of a problem that would benefit from synergy. Use it to seek a 3rd Alternative.

Ask Yourself:

When am I likely to settle for compromise?

When do I experience synergy?

What's the difference?

"What is synergy? Simply defined, it means that the whole is greater then the sum of its parts. Synergy means that one plus one may equal ten, or a hundred, or even a thousand!" - Stephen Covey

For more on this topic, reach out to me at a2b4me.com.

Have an awesome week and Keep Moving in the Direction of Your Dreams!

Happy Thrive Thursday!

This Week's Challenge:  Solve a Problem with Synergy

You don't have to figure out all the answers by yourself.

When your dealing with a problem, synergy can surface ideas you never would have come up with on your own.

- Find someone (or a group) to talk to about a problem you're facing.

- Ask, "Would you help me come up with ideas I haven't' thought of yet?"

- Take a few minutes to brainstorm.

Which ideas can you use?

Ask Yourself:  What problem seems insurmountable if I face it alone?

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."  - Helen Keller

Have an awesome week and Keep Moving in the Direction of Your Dreams!

This Week's  Challenge:  Learn from Differences

We have a tremendous opportunity to grow from others' experiences, points of view, and wisdom.

Differences can be a source of learning, rather than conflict.

- Choose a political or social issue you care about.

- Put your personal view aside

- Find a few people and find out their views...Listen for understanding.

- Write down at least three (3) new perspectives you got from this exercise.

Ask Yourself:  What can I learn from those I disagree with?

"Insecure people have a need to mold others into their own thinking.  They don't realize that the very strength of the relationship is in having another point of view.  Sameness is uncreative...and boring."  - Stephen Covey

This Week's "Very Important" Challenge: Bring Empathetic Communication to the Digital World

Effective communication in the digital world requires the same intent and skills used in face-to-face communication.

The challenge often lies in reading and relaying intent across media.

- The next time you digitally communicate when emotions are high, try using one of these:

1) Allow the other person to finish their thoughts before responding.

2) Reflect their feelings and words before expressing your own.

3) Clearly state your intent: be specific.

Ask Yourself: How can I listen with empathy during text, phone , email and social media conversations?

"Empathy is the fastest form of human communication."

- Stephen Covey

Have an incredible week and Keep Moving in the Direction of Your Dreams!

Happy Thrive Friday!

This week we discuss:  Handling Challenges, Living Authentically, and Giving Value

Here are 3 ideas, 2 quotes, and 1 question to consider this week.

3 Ideas...

I.

"You cannot remove struggle from life, but you can improve your ability to handle challenge."

II.

"Revising a book before it is published is incredibly useful. The extra polish improves the first impression.

Publishing a second edition a few years after publishing, even if it involves the same revisions, is less useful. The brand has already been established.

Refine at the right time."

III.

"Two truths that can be at odds:

1) There are no bonus points in life for doing it the hard way.

2) There is a lot to be gained in life by acting fast and giving your best effort.

Don't let the excuse of searching for a better way prevent you from taking action."

2 Quotes...

I.

Author Shakti Gawain on living authentically:

"Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want so that they will be happier.

The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then, do what you need to do, in order to have what you want."

Source: Creative Visualization

II.

Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, on the importance of giving value before you ask for value:

"I quit my job on August 15, 1899, and went into the automobile business...

The most surprising feature of business as it was conducted was the large attention given to finance and the small attention to service.

That seemed to me to be reversing the natural process which is that the money should come as the result of work and not before the work...

My idea was then and still is that if a man did his work well, the price he would get for that work, the profits and all financial matters, would care for themselves and that a business ought to start small and build itself up and out of its earnings."

Source: My Life and Work

1 Question...

If someone took control of your life tomorrow, what’s the first thing they would change?

Have wonderful weekend & Keep Moving in the Direction of Your Dreams!

This Week's Challenge:  Avoid Autobiographical Listening

Autobiographical listening is filtering what others say through your own story.

Rather than focusing on the speaker, you're waiting to jump in with your perspective.

- Think of a time when someone listened to you with understanding and respect.

- How did you feel?

Ask Yourself:  Do I listen with intent to reply, rather than to understand?

"Listen, or your tongue will make you deaf."   - Native American Proverb

Have an incredible week and Keep Moving in the Direction of Your Dreams!

Happy Thrive Thursday!

This week's 3-2-1:  Motivation, Criticism, and The Goal of Adulthood...here are 3 ideas, 2 quotes, and 1 question to consider this week.

3 Ideas

I.

"The climb is the fun part."

II.

"Good marketing can sell once, but only a good product can sell twice.

In the long run, your performance reverts to the value you provide."

III.

"Motivation comes and goes. If you want to do something consistently, then don't pick a level of difficulty that requires great motivation.

Make it easy enough and simple enough that you'll do it even when you don't feel very motivated."

2 Quotes

I.

Psychologist and author Adam Grant on criticism:

"Criticizing is easy and fast. Creating is difficult and slow.  The two hours you spent on a book or movie usually took two years to produce.

Anyone can tear down someone else’s work. The true test of insight is whether you can help them improve it or build something of your own."

Source: Twitter

II.

Physician Chris Ballas, more commonly known under his pen name The Last Psychiatrist, on the goal of adulthood:

"The goal of adulthood is to let go of the other possible existences and to make the best of the one.

A successful adult is one who understands that it doesn't matter which life you ultimately pick, only that you live it well."

Source: A Surprising Number Of Teens Think They'll Die Young, Or Live Forever, Whichever Comes First

1 Question For You

What is one of your natural gifts?

How can you spend more time leveraging it?

Have an awesome week, reach out if you need me, and Keep Moving in the Direction of Your Dreams!

Welcome to the St. Patty's Day Edition of Thrive Thursday!  

Today 3-2-1 covers Charity, The True Mark of a Pro, and How To Choose What To Read...Here are 3 Ideas, 2 Quotes, and 1 Question to consider this week.

3 Ideas

I.

"Define yourself by your effort, not your suffering."

II.

"Marrying well makes everything easier."

III.

"Charity can be a lifestyle, not merely a gift.

Read charitably...give the author your most favorable interpretation.

Listen charitably...donate your undivided attention.

Work charitably...be generous with your expertise.

In this way, you make charity a daily habit."

2 Quotes

I.

Mathematician Paul Halmos on what distinguishes the best from the rest:

"I read once that the true mark of a pro, at anything, is that he/she understands, loves, and is good at even the drudgery of his profession."

Source: I Want to be a Mathematician

II.

Writer Doris Lessing on how to choose what to read:

"There is only one way to read, which is to browse in libraries and bookshops, picking up books that attract you, reading only those, dropping them when they bore you, skipping the parts that drag, and never, never reading anything because you feel you ought, or because it is part of a trend or a movement.

Remember that the book which bores you when you are twenty or thirty will open doors for you when you are forty or fifty, and vise versa.

Don’t read a book out of its right time for you."

Source: The Golden Notebook

1 Question For The Week

Nearly everything in life has a useful zone, a desired dose.

Ten minutes in the sun can energize you.

Ten hours in the sun can burn you.

This concept applies to many things: work, relationships, hobbies, exercise, food.

What is your desired dose?

What do you need right now?

A little bit more or a little bit less?

Have a great rest of the week, join me on Monday for next week's Weekly Challenge and Keep Moving in the Direction of Your Dreams!

This Week's Challenge:  Open Your Heart

When emotions are high, focus on your intent; don't worry about the correct response.

- Identify someone you don't listen to closely and simply ask, "How's it going?"

- Open your heart and practice empathetic listening.  You'll be surprised at what you learn.

Ask Yourself:  Am I truly listening to those I love?

"When you really listen to another person from their point of view, and reflect back to them that understanding, it's like giving them emotional oxygen."  - Stephen Covey