The Navigator

Archive for March, 2009

“The most useless day of all is that in which we have not laughed.”  ~Sebastian R.N. Champort

“We are told that laughter is sunshine filling a room.  And where there is laughter, there also is life.  They say that people who laugh a lot live longer than do the sour-faced.  When we laugh together, gratitude comes more easily, companionship thirves, and all praise is sincere.  Laughter brings us joy that cannot be bought.  Such joy is with us throughout each day.  To hoard joy, to hide it away deep within us away from others, will make us lonely misers.  We cannot buy or trade for joy, but we can give or receive it as a gift. 

Laughter’s joy celebrates the moment we are living right now.  It is a gift we must share, or it will wither and die.  Shared, it grows and thrives, and always returns to us when we need it most.”

~Today’s Gift by Anonymous

I was at a workshop on Saturday about being in business in a recession (drove all the way to Faribault for this one…lots of fun…beautiful day….with my good friend).  One of the speakers mentioned this concept of being a hedgehog vs. a fox.  Since I have a hedgehog for a pet, I was especially intrigued by this idea. 

Good to Great’s framework is the “hedgehog concept.” Collins is referring to philosopher Isaiah Berlin’s essay “The Hedgehog and the Fox,” which divides people into foxes, who know many things, and hedgehogs, who know “one big thing.”  In the world of organizations (whether for-profit or not-for-profit), Collins argues that hedgehogs have an advantage because they’re able to simplify the world into a single organizing idea, and hence are more likely to achieve greatness.

I started thinking about his behaviors.  He definitely is a creature of habit.  He sleeps a lot and doesn’t like to be disturbed.  If you wake him, he will be grumpy (cute but grumpy).  He begins to huff and hiss and starts to curl into a ball of quills – his safety mechanism.  If he’s eating, he eats with passion, almost a fury.  If he’s running on his wheel, he won’t stop for anything (nothing at all – do you have a visual?). 

He’s very focused and not much can derail him.  Every night when he’s up, he gets a lot done.  He only does a few things and he does them well and with dedication. 

In my new book, Inspiring Success, I talk about topics like perserverance, focus and dedication and how important they are for finding success in life and in work.  I am a person who likes a lot of change and focus is always a challenge.  I have created tools in my life to help me with this.   For example, I am clear about my vision and what I want.  When new opportunities come along, and they always do, I measure that opportunity with my vision.  I always ask myself how it fits in with my vision, will it get me closer to where I want to be, are there other things I do that this “fits” with.  There are lots of things I can do, but should I?  No.  I’d never get anywhere if I did that. 

Today, I invite you to become a hedgehog if you aren’t already.  Find what you do really well, look at how it all fits together and focus!

Spring is a time of renewal and rebirth.  It’s also a time that many choose to “spring clean”. 

I was pulling out of my garage and, as I looked around the space, I thought “wow, there’s a lot of crap in here that needs to be thrown out!”  It’s just stuff that hasn’t been touched or looked at in years.  I have closets that look like that too:)  I also wondered what kind of treasures I might find.  Things I’d forgotten I had because they’d been tucked away and out of site. 

I have also noticed of late that I have some past relationships surfacing.  People I haven’t heard from in years.  Others have shared with me similar experiences.  So why the reconnecting after so many years have passed?  That was a bit of a tangent, but not really, more of a segue. 

I think its like the stuff in my garage.  If I took a look at it all, there are probably some things that need to be released and there are probably some treasures in there as well…things I’d forgotten about but might actually serve me quite well in my life now.

One of the people who has surfaced is someone who I think of very fondly.  My greatest memories are of us staying up all night talking about everything under the sun.  Our hopes, dreams, disappointments, desires, everything.  

When I shared this with others, I find a common theme emerging.  Most don’t have relationships like this.  Not with their friends, family, significant others.  We just don’t tend to open up and share at that level on a regular basis.  We tend to talk about the weather, our jobs, our families…the roles we play in life but not really about who we are at our core. 

I remember someone telling me they were at a Carolyn Myss workshop and she had them all talk to each other and the ground rules were that they could only talk about who they really are inside, not the roles they play, not small talk and the room was silent.  People were at a loss as to what to share with each other.   At first I found that shocking but then realized that I understood…related to what they all experienced.

Why is it so hard to be vulnerable?  To share with others what matters to us.  Aren’t we most vulnerable when we keep it all inside?  When we hang on to all our little secrets?  Worried that others will discover them?  Why don’t we talk about our dreams more?  What we are passionate about?

Have you ever watched someone share something they are passionate about?  I love watching their eyes light up and they seem to get a little taller and a smile creeps across their face.  They become more animated. 

As we begin to share, we begin to realize that we are all the same in so many ways.  Different life experiences perhaps but many of us have the same challenges, the same disappointments, same hopes, same dreams when we look below the surface.   That’s where the connection lies. 

It’s time to share from our hearts.  What do you dream about?  What do you hope for yourself?  For others?  For the world?  What disappoints you?  How have you been disappointed in your life?  What makes your heart sing? 

Share with someone today…create a connection.

You will never find success if you can’t define it.  This is one of the topics in my new book, Inspiring Success.  Success means different things to different people.  It’s usually based on your individual values. 

How do you define success?  Have you defined it?

I recently came across a quote and I can’t remember the author for the life of me but it said something along the lines of this: 

“Success is having everything in life that money can’t buy
and some of what it can.”

Yep, that’s it. 

There are so many things in life that are important to me that money can’t buy.  I want to be happy.  I want to be healthy.  I want to be free to be who I am completely and to share that with others.  I want to have balance in my life – however I choose to define balance.  I want to spend time in the sun, time finding beauty in my surroundings.  I want the same for my family and friends.  I also want to spend time supporting others in their healing and time helping them to be successful – whatever that means to them. 

I want to know that I can pay my bills.  I want to know that there is food on my table and gas in my car and some left over for a movie and popcorn with a friend, for my daughter to play tennis and my husband to go hunting.  And maybe an occasional vacation wouldn’t hurt now and then.

Pretty simple and yet so important.  You’ll never find something you can’t define.   How would you know when you achieved it?  I invite you to spend some time defining success today and then go get it!

The last few days have been so beautiful.  I feel like I am so much more aware of the sun than I have been in the past.  I realize this is a good thing.  It’s about being fully present, more connected to what is going on around me.

I opened the windows today to let the breeze in the house.  I could hear the birds singing as if they didn’t have a care in the world.  It smelled like someone was having a bonfire, a smell that reminds me of the lake in the summer.  I could see the clear blue sky with the bright sun shining.  Tonight we went to Dairy Queen, another sure sign of the changing season.  I got my favorite, a Banana Split Blizzard - a small – just enough to enjoy but not feel too full.  Ahhh, the sweetness of the seasons. 

I just received an email from someone about how connected we are emotionally to the weather.  I didn’t feel like I was depressed and yet now I feel ALIVE.  I feel like I can do anything.  If only I could focus. LOL

I had the best plans for the day and have been so distracted by the weather, I can’t seem to get anything done.  Part of me feels bad about that and the rest of me realizes how important these days are.  These days of simplicity…of enjoying the weather…of being a little lazy.  These days fill my soul. 

Tomorrow I can focus.  Tomorrow I can get things done.  There is always tomorrow.  Sunny days…take advantage of them while they are here.

As I release my first CD and my first book, I have made a commitment to myself to write and share more.  I figured the time was right since I was updating my website to make this happen.  I look forward to sharing more with each of you and hope you will take the time to share as well.