by Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE
One of Carl Jung’s favorite words was “synchronicity”, that unexplainable convergence of unplanned events which offer insights and opportunities. When I agreed to join a trekking expedition through two remote provinces of the Indian Himalayas, I had no way of knowing that this adventure would coincide with the publication of my latest book, Gifts from the Mountain- Simple Truths for Life’s Complexities. Ah, synchronicity!

One of the benefits of being a continual learner is that we are constantly overtaken by ah-hah moments which serve to not only whack us on the side of the head, but also hold lessons which can have universal application for anyone in leadership. The following are but some of the principles gleaned as our group drove along the highest roads in the world and wound up in the regions of Lahual and Spiti which are often closed to the outside world for seven frozen months. They come from trekking with tribesmen herding sheep and goats at elevations up to 16,000 feet and from crossing white water rivers on foot and encountering the Dalia Lama in a remote monastery near the China/Tibet border.

Watch for patterns. Different trees grow at different elevations.
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As many of you know, I run an interactive agency in Kansas City called, Advangel. We like to spread the word about companies brands and products, and we do a great job of getting the word out about your company.

Well, people on twitter typically do the same thing, every Friday, they shout out which friends of theirs that they feel their other friends should follow. Its called #followfriday. Typically, my follow friday stream looks something like this:

As you can see, it is overwhelming the amount of tweeps mentioned in just a couple posts… now factor that times 100 or so of those that I get EACH friday, it is a stream clogger. And to be quite frank, I’d rather NOT be included in those type of messages. Does ANYONE even follow people from a 10 tweep tweet #ff? My guess is that it is quite futile practice that few gain value from, other than ego stroking.

Last night, I was looking at which topics were trending for twitter, and 90% of them were TV shows. @jeffisageek and I decided that we should come up with a fake hashtag to rock the trending topics… he suggested #hookerboots.

Although that term was funny, it served no purpose. So, I thought, what if we were to “Pimp” your Twitter friends. It is the same as #followfriday, but it will teach the lesson of NOT overloading 10 friends on one post, which is completely worthless.

So we came up with the hashtag #twitterpimp. If it resonates well with you or not… just know that #followfriday is a good thing, but keep it to ONE or maybe TWO people per tweet so that it adds value.

Take the advice of this wise sage:

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Playing the Piano, Coloring With Blue, Daydreaming and More

By ALISON MOTLUK

Difficult times often lead to great innovations - after all, necessity is the mother of invention.

So, if you are feeling the pinch in your purse, now is the time to capitalise on your creativity. New Scientists’ Alison Motluck explains how.

1. Embrace Your Inner Grouch

It’s hard to stay upbeat when your penny-pinching bosses are counting paper clips and coffee grains, but here’s some good news: workplace discontent may just be a vast, untapped source of creativity.

2. Let Your Mind Wander

A wandering mind may allow your brain to search more widely for connections that could trigger a “eureka” moment.

3. Play the Piano

Music may provide more than just a brief respite from life’s stresses – it may help you to think with both sides of your brain at once.

4.Color Your World Blue

It may be nothing more than an association with big skies and the open seas, but beholding the color blue makes you more creative.
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by Dr. Brian Walsh

Effective leaders see more in other people than people see in themselves, and one of your objectives as a leader is to bring their talents to the surface.

Understanding the three fundamental elements that affect performance will build team loyalty and cohesiveness. These elements are communication, motivation, and emotions.

Communication

You’ve probably heard that people tend to follow three basic communication styles: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Each of us is a mix of all three, and our dominant style usually dictates how we communicate. If the person with whom you are talking has a different style, the message may be misunderstood. You certainly don’t want that. Let me give you a few traits that identify the three styles.
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by Steve Farber

A while back, I received a distressed email from Ken, a young manager at a high-tech company. Ken and I had never met, but he had read my first two books and had done his best to apply the ideas and practices of Extreme Leadership to the way he’d led his team. To their culture, their work ethic, their camaraderie. When necessary, Ken told me, they would band together and work hard — 10 to 20 hours a day at times — to solve a problem or meet a pressing need. Ken’s wife would cook food for everyone and bring it to the office. They felt like a family, he said, committed to doing great work and devoted to one another’s success. No one ever complained, least of all Ken.

And then something happened. continue

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by Patrece Snow

Think positively, expect only favorable results and situations and circumstances will change accordingly. Persistence will eventually teach your mind to think positively and ignore negative thoughts.

It is not enough to think positively for a few moments, and then let fears and lack of belief re-enter your mind. A person can easily fall into the pattern of negative thought, but it is fully possible to fall into a healthier pattern and think positively.

Encourage positive thought by asking yourself what you have to be thankful for. Chances are there’s a lot more than you currently recognize. Really think about it. Even the small stuff deserves our acknowledgement. This is an easy activity to fit in to our day. We can do it in the car, shower or even as we brush our teeth.
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by Napoleon Hill

Do you realize that your child’s success or failure depends on you? The schooling and the religious training your children receive will play an important part in their lives, of course, but the influence they will pick up from living close to you can be and should be one that puts them on the success beam.

There are three important principles you can teach your children which will go a long way toward bringing them success and happiness throughout their lives. The first of these is Definiteness of Purpose. This habit should start when the child is very young so that it will become a fixed part of his character.

Not too long ago I was visiting friends whose little boy was playing with tinker toys. He was trying to build a helter-skelter design that soon crumbled to the floor. He began to cry when his understanding mother came to his rescue and asked him what he wanted to build.

“I dunno,” he sobbed, “just something that will stand up.”

“Before you start building,” his mother counseled, “you must know what you want, and you must have a plan to go by. Now, let’s see what you’d like to make.”
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