“The future has an ancient heart.”
I love this line from Italian writer Carlo Levi. The thought is that you are who you are from the moment you’re born, and the future reveals what’s always been there.
If you’re struggling with where you’re headed, look back at where you were when you were 5, 10, 15, 20… Continue reading
Do you have something you really want to do but never seem to make time for? Here’s a simple idea: Set a deadline.
Right, you say. I’ll just break it if it’s my deadline.
How about this?
If you’re having trouble staying focused on a project you started but can’t seem to finish, step back and think about what you’re doing. Is this something you really want to finish? If it is, then look at the situation because maybe that’s the problem. We think of ourselves as being consistent in how we work, but in truth, we shift gears on a pretty regular basis depending on the environment we’re in.
To get your best work done, you want to be jazzed up about what you’re doing AND you want to be energized about where that project takes you. Continue reading
If you place electrodes in a rat’s brain and put him in an unfamiliar maze with a piece of chocolate hidden at the end of a path, you see an amazing thing about how habits affect your brain. I’ve personally never tried this, but Charles Duhigg talks about it in detail in his AWESOME book The Power of Habit.
But back to the rat. The first time he’s in the maze, he wanders through, sniffing the walls and working his way down the path. When he finds the chocolate he happily settles in for a quick snack. All this time, his brain activity is high. He’s learning something and his brain wants to capture every minute. Continue reading
Organizational Zen is about knowing the work you want to do, and then getting it done. You don’t have to organize the world. You just want to start and finish the good work that’s bubbling up inside you.
On the road to Organizational Zen, make sure you’ve got a handle on these organizational basics.
Think about some of the best times in your life. How many of them were times you spent with family or friends, cozied up in a quiet place enjoying simple times with good people? Candles were lit. Maybe there was a storm outside. Maybe there was a game. There was definitely great conversation. Everyone felt included and everyone loved being part of the group.
If you’re like most Americans, these times “just happen”. In Denmark, hygge (pronounced hoo-gah), is about striving to create these times, to be “consciously cozy”. What an awesome choice in a time of uncertainty, unsettling change, and elitism.
Here’s how the Danes define hygge: Continue reading
I’ve talked to a number of companies about changing corporate habits. In the midst of one discussion, a friend and former colleague at L.L.Bean recommended a book about SCRUM. SCRUM business concepts started in silicon valley and are now crossing over into all sorts of new thinking.
Picture your next group project and…
Imagine redefining the concept of “team”
When you’re thinking of BIG things you’d like to do in this lifetime, block out some quiet time, do a little quiet breathing (in through your nose and out through your mouth helps you think more clearly!), and make a couple of lists.
Set the lists aside and go about your day. These need to cook for a while. Continue reading
History is filled with facts which makes it really solid. When we look back, it seems like what happened was the only possibility, that what happened was inevitable.
But then there’s “today”. You look ahead. You wonder what will happen. And you know it’s not pre-ordained because there are so many potential threads. Tomorrow could take you south, or west, or north. It could be wild or calm. Big things could happen. Or nothing special could happen. Continue reading
Organizational Habits 