I think anyone who reads my content with any regularity probably has a sense that I am one who reads a great many leadership books and soaks in more than my share of non-fiction. Long time readers are likely to know that I have an affinity for the fantastical as well. The reality is that whether it is books, podcasts, YouTube videos (or any type of consumption) my tastes are not only eclectic, but they are randomly indulged.

At any given moment in time, you might find a fantasy novel on my bookshelf next to a Seth Godin book. If…

I once heard an amateur activist chorus deftly adapt the 12 Days of Christmas into a powerful message they were trying to convey, by springing their message on the listeners-out of the blue-with a thrilling operatic soprano at the end.

…and….a….p-aar tridge in aaaaaaaaa pearrrrr treeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

That got me to thinking about the end of this relentlessly taxing year and endings: specifically intentional, impactful endings

Author, Dan Pink, who published a book about maximizing the productivity and impact of your work and your life, called When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, says this about endings:

Endings have a disproportionate…

In these troubling times many of us have experienced change or loss.

While the sting of those losses, some professional, too many personal and all deeply impactful, remains with us, we find ourselves facing the winds of change, off balance and chasing who we used to be. In the aftermath, many of us find ourselves wearing a new hat or potentially multiple hats in whatever new paradigm we land in. This is probably exciting for some and scary for others. My bet is the majority of us feel both ways!

That is normal, that is OK.

I want to take…

I have this “friend.” One of those special people that is supposed to be a mentee, instead she mentors me. She is a fan of these stories and thinks that I should not only keep writing them, but that I should be required to put a dorky picture of myself, as a kid or young adult, in each one. Quite the friend, eh?! Well I sure can pick ‘em!

In honor of this friend, I offer you this photo of your author in middle school.

Down in my garage, mounted on an otherwise innocuous piece of wall there sits a clock. It is a special clock, a Bulova, with a barometer built in at the bottom. The clock chimes at certain hours and it can play anything from traditional chimes to Disney melodies. This is my father in law’s (aka Dad’s) retirement clock and he has it strategically placed within his view every time he walks out of the garage office we built him to serve as his post-retirement “man cave.”

Dad was with his company for 30 years. I’ve seen pictures of his retirement…

I was treated to a great lesson on influence at a conference I attended a few years ago. The speaker was Justin Elam and his message was one he has been sharing for a while now about how to equip others by asking questions vs. providing ready answers. The outline of his talk started with this Strauss quote:

“The wise person doesn’t give the right answers. They pose the right questions.”

I am not sure if you are anything like me, but I find I am too often tempted to engage people proactively with my “t-shirt cannon of wisdom.” Like…

Food 4 Thought from four4soaring

We don’t have to change, we GET TO change.

The brevity of that mantra and the substitution of the words “get to” for “have to” or “must” evokes anticipation, engagement, and action.

At least it feels like that is what the “influencers” and leaders who started introducing this “get to” language intended?

I am excited to bring you the Food 4 Thought, with the intent of sparking new ways to look at and approach our life, tackle the changes we are faced with, and maximize the opportunities to build our growth mindset.

Recently, I was struck by this quote from multifaceted artist Stephen Fry’s memoir:

“We keep our insignificant blemishes so that we can blame them for our larger defects.”

It strikes me that I am doing this all too often as I dwell on the many trivial trials and stumbling blocks on the road to improvement.

How am I showing up…