Cultivate GREATNESS | Personal Development

As a practicing clinical psychiatrist for more than twenty years before going into executive coaching and consulting, I used different parts of my brain/mind whenever I was evaluating a patient for a medication vs. empathizing with their internal world. Maybe others could do it, but in all those years I never fully integrated the evaluative and empathic ways of listening to people, but I was able to coordinate them. Over time, I was able to empathize with patients and “feel” what they felt and then could pause, change gears and know what medication might help ease the way they made me feel.

If the hairs on the back of my head stood up, I would think anti-psychotic medication Read the rest of this entry »

In the past year I have been asked by three Fortune 100 companies to give multiple presentations on mentoring — does that tell you this might be an important topic?

Here is the hard truth: your career is your responsibility. We no longer live in a business world of guaranteed employment - at the most all a company will offer you is “employability” (i.e. training and experience for the next job you move on to). So if you want to move ahead and succeed – you do NOT need a mentor… you need a vast network of “Power Mentors” to help you on your way.
Read the rest of this entry »

Back in the Middle Ages, alchemists sought to transform base metal into gold. They searched for an elusive substance, the philosopher’s stone, which would bring about this conversion, known as alchemy. However, to initiates of the ancient mystery schools, alchemy was primarily an allegory for the real work of spiritual and mental alchemy.

Spiritual alchemy is the process of transforming a less evolved soul personality into a more refined one. The founders of all major religions have attempted to expedite this transformation by providing rules to help people achieve this goal and also lead happier and more productive lives.

Enlightenment, illumination, and the perfection of the soul all point to this ultimate goal. Mystics from all religions have studied the universal laws to speed up this process, which they believe occurs over many lifetimes.

Mental alchemy is the process of transmuting your Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur—in the last decade, technology has leveled the playing field and propelled an entrepreneurial revolution. As an entrepreneur, you now have more access to information that enables you to make more intelligent choices more quickly. You have an advantage over big businesses in that you’re lighter, more flexible, and faster on your feet. You can target new markets more quickly, and you can turn on a dime.

But being a successful entrepreneur requires that you look at the big picture and follow a plan through from beginning to end. Rieva Lesonsky, editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur Magazine gives some practical guidelines that can help you when beginning your own enterprise:

1.Don’t Quit Your Day Job.
Consider starting your business part-time, especially if it’s online, while you’re Read the rest of this entry »

I sometimes grab the Workbook for the “Course in Miracles” and open it randomly… and today, this is what popped up. Perhaps this will resonate with some of you, as it resonated with me.

-uj

Forgiveness is the key to happiness.Here is the answer to your search for peace. Here is the key to meaning in a world that seems to make no sense. Here is the way to safety in apparent dangers that appear to threaten you at every turn, and bring uncertainty to all your hopes of ever finding quietness and peace. Here are all questions answered; here the end of all uncertainty ensured at last.

The unforgiving mind is full of fear, and offers love no room to be itself; no place where it can spread its wings in peace and soar above the turmoil of the world. The unforgiving mind is sad, without the hope of respite and release from pain. It suffers and abides in misery, peering about in darkness, seeing not, yet certain of the danger lurking there.

The unforgiving mind is torn with Read the rest of this entry »

Many of us believe that the only way to feel good about ourselves is to have someone else constantly reaffirm to us that we are good people. The truth is, however, that the act of simply believing in ourselves can be enough to give us the necessary confidence to accomplish the impossible, achieve greatness, and pick ourselves up when we fall. Far too often we rely on others in our lives to provide us with a best friends kindness, a childs love, or a spouses support. If we need love and support, the first place we should look is within ourselves.

Being able to love ourselves requires a lot of practice. Overcoming years of negative reinforcement from society is tough to do. However, once you can successfully say you can love yourself, nobody can take it away from you. We must learn to be our own best friend, our own cheerleaders. We need to provide Read the rest of this entry »

Dan Millman, author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior, described a time when his mentor, named Socrates, challenged Dan to sit out on a large, flat stone until he had “something of value” to share. Dan sat out on the rock for hours and hours. On more than one occasion, believing he had come up with something, he went to tell Socrates. Each of these times, Socrates decided the statement was not good enough, and he sent Dan back to the rock for more hours of pondering. Finally, Dan had an insight that he knew was something of value. When Dan shared this insight, Socrates looked up, smiled, and welcomed Dan back inside. The “something of value” that Dan had realized was this: “There are no ordinary moments.” This is the essence of gratitude. No moment, nothing in life, should be taken for granted. In developing gratitude for every moment — for the simple joys, and even for the challenging times in our lives — we come to truly enjoy and appreciate life. Then we are able to see the magic that surrounds us every second of every minute of every day.

There were times in my life, especially moments when I was “wowed” by the beauty of a mountain view or a sunset over the ocean, that I genuinely felt grateful for being alive. But I never really thought about consciously cultivating an attitude of gratitude until Read the rest of this entry »

I found this unbelieveably cool tutorial on how to create a very cool gift for a waitress, valet, or bartender. This will get you noticed a bit, and a nice little ice breaker.

The Money Tshirt Design | Be a Hit with a Tip!

Try to start with a relatively clean, crisp bill. It will make it much easier. All folds should be sharply creased. It helps to go over the fold with a fingernail on a flat, hard surface.

Have you ever walked into a room and couldn’t remember what you went there for? Have you ever grasped the hand of a potential client and then when the handshake broke, the name seemed to disappear from your memory? Or have you ever left a prospect and as you drove away remembered a key point that you should have shared with them?

Of course you have… we all have. However, I have some great news for you. Your memory is nowhere near as bad as you may think it is. Recently, I was a guest at a radio station in Waco. The disc jockey wrote a 50-digit number on a sheet of paper and told his listening audience and then played a three-minute song for his audience.

As the listeners enjoyed the song I memorized the 50-digit number. When the song was over we went Read the rest of this entry »

Anything you do or experience can provide you with an opportunity to practice mindfulness. But you may want to begin with some of your usual activities - the ones you may be doing now on automatic pilot while you daydream, space out, or obsess. The truth is, even the most routine tasks can prove enjoyable when you do them with wholehearted care and attention. Here’s a list of common activities with a few suggestions for infusing them with mindfulness:

Washing the dishes: If you set aside your judgments, which may insist you should be doing something more meaningful or constructive with your time, and instead simply wash the dishes - or sweep the floor or scrub the tub - you may find that you actually enjoy the activity. Feel the contours of the plates and bowls as you clean them. Notice the Read the rest of this entry »