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ups and downs Resources

Leadership Thought #449 – Are You Moving Forward Or Being Held Back?

There is a famous saying that, “if you aren’t moving forward, then you are heading backwards.” I completely agree. There is no such thing as standing still in life, Time moves forwards regardless. Too many of us spend too much energy getting stuck in our present circumstances or being held back by our past. There is nothing we can do about what has already happened. All we can do is learn from it and strive to become a better person in the process. In terms of the here and now, your attitude and efforts should always be geared towards positive ends. Leave the negativity to others. My mom often used to say, “Make the best of it, whatever “it” is.” As usual, her wisdom is a beacon of light that shines through my life.

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Leadership Thought #388 – Where Is Your Focus?

You get to decide what you focus on. You can spend your time and energy on things that bring you down or lift you up. I know people who are pretty blessed who can find something wrong with just about every situation. On the contrary, I’ve been amazed by others confronting great difficulties who manage to keep their spirits up through positive thinking and proper perspective. Life isn’t what happens to you, but what you think about it and how you end up responding to whatever has transpired. You can go through life accumulating personal baggage because things haven’t always turned out as you had planned or you can accept the ups and downs as part of the journey – easier said than done I know.

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Leadership Thought #344 – Every Day is A Gift

So much about life comes down to your attitude about it. I know privileged people who are regularly misanthropic and others with less economic advantages that seem to be mostly happy even though their lot in life seems comparatively difficult. Every day we wake up we get to make a choice about how we approach our life. We can see our existence as an amazing gift full of unlimited possibilities or a burden full of work, obligations and limitations. We can appreciate what we have or yearn for what’s beyond our reach. We can make a positive difference in the lives other people or focus exclusively on ourselves. We can build bridges to solidify positive relationships or forget to tend to the basic maintenance of effective human interaction.

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    Recommended Reading

  • Life Design Workbook

    Peggy and James Vaughan

    Please click on this link for a Summary of the Life Design Workbook.   The Life Design Workbook is a comprehensive guide that empowers you to take control of your life by making intentional choices that reflect your true values and aspirations. Written by Peggy Vaughan and James Vaughan, Ph.D., this workbook serves as a transformative […]

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  • Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion

    Joseph Campbell - Selected and Edited by Diane K. Osbon

    Listen to Book Review AudioView the Book

    Please click on this link for the Reflections on the Art of Living – A Joseph Campbell Companion Book Summary   “Reflections on the Art of Living” offers a transformative perspective on the human experience. Campbell’s unique blend of scholarly knowledge and practical wisdom provides a framework for understanding personal experiences and finding meaning in […]

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  • Managing Oneself

    Please click on this link for the Managing Oneself Book Summary. We live in an age of unprecedented opportunity: with ambition, drive, and talent, you can rise to the top of your chosen profession regardless of where you started out. But with opportunity comes responsibility. Companies today aren’t managing their knowledge workers careers. Instead, you […]

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    Favorite Articles

  • Leading under pressure

    To control the anxiety produced by moments of intense pressure, first step back and analyze the stakes. The secret is to understand that how you perceive the stakes in any given situation can be controlled. “When you get into peak pressure moments, all you can think about is how important [the stakes are], what you […]

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  • McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2024

    Which technology trends matter most for companies in 2024? New analysis by the McKinsey Technology Council highlights the adoption, development, and industry effects of advanced technologies. Despite challenging overall market conditions in 2023, continuing investments in frontier technologies promise substantial future growth in enterprise adoption. Generative AI (gen AI) has been a standout trend since 2022, […]

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  • Kickstart Your New Hire’s Success by Connecting them to the Right People

    As a manager, onboarding a new hire isn’t just about providing manuals and login information, it’s about setting the employee up to operate autonomously in their role and feel comfortable within the organization. To do this, leaders need to emphasize the importance of developing strategic relationships with colleagues across the company who can share critical […]

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    Helpful Websites

  • KPI.org

    KPI.org is an online resource for KPI practitioners sponsored by the Balanced Scorecard Institute (BSI), a Strategy Management Group company. BSI provides consulting, training, and professional certification services to commercial, government, and non-profit organizations worldwide. BSI specializes in helping organizations: Become a high-performance organization Increase focus on strategy and results Improve organizational performance by measuring what matters Align the […]

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  • Center for Creative Leadership

    Ever since our founding in 1970, our mission has been to advance the understanding, practice, and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide. Driven to serve with purpose for nearly 6 decades, we’ve shaped the industry and partnered with leaders globally to take on their most pressing challenges. By expanding human potential, we invest […]

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  • McKinsey & Company – 100 Articles on Generative AI

    Since generative AI (gen AI) burst onto the scene in late 2022, it’s captivated business leaders and society at large. The excitement is well deserved: McKinsey research indicates that gen AI could add the equivalent of $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion of value annually—and redefine the way people work and live. Over this period, McKinsey […]

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    Reading Excerpts

  • Principles By Ray Dalio

    Principles Book Summary   Part 1: Chapter 1 Over the course of our lives, we make millions of decisions that are essentially bets, some large and some small. It pays to think about how we make them because they are what ultimately determines the quality of our lives… We are all born with different thinking […]

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  • A Sense of Urgency – John Kotter

    Click on this link for the A Sense of Urgency Book Summary A Sense of Urgency – Book Excerpt (Click on this link for the Word document)   Chapter 1 – It All Starts With A Sense of Urgency …Go check, then you find people running, and they are stressed out. But this man (leader), […]

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  • The Truth About Leadership by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner

    Please click mon this link for The Truth About Leadership Book Summary. The Truth About Leadership – Book Excerpts   The Truth About Leadership By James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner Book Excerpts   Introduction – The Ten Truths The first truth is that you make a difference. It is the most fundamental truth […]

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