These two words often confused me when I was younger. Productive was the one that I was most familiar with. It had tangible results and immediate gratification. I could tell when I was productive when my list had many things crossed off. Of course, when we are younger we have more energy so it is easy to see why this is so alluring. We want to get so much done. We want to make such an impact...
Becoming Blind
Only once in my life did I experience what life may be like for someone who could not see. I was asked to attend a 4 hour board of director’s meeting for a trade association I am involved with by speaker phone. Who talked the most and dominated the conversation was a surprising perception that I gained from not being in the room to see who was talking. You lose track of some things when...
The false promise of change
You hear it all of the time. If only he or she would change. If only my boss would change. If only the situation at work will change. This new year I am going to change…… The business literature for a while was focused on organizational change and how in most cases it failed. Organizations and people find it difficult to change because both are made up so much of routine and habit. We...
Lean Life
Today I realized that I have never had an idea that was complete. Never had an idea that was finished. Never had an idea that would never change. Sounds strange, doesn’t it? (I am not talking about values but rather ideas.) There are good ideas and not so good ideas. Even good ideas can be improved upon. It is not only the poor ones that could use the help. Ideas linger. Good ones and not...
Consistency
Consistent in output, temperament, and habit.
Consistent in attention, discipline, and appearance.
Consistent in detail, focus, and energy.
Consistent in interest and caring.
It’s so hard to do this everyday because we are human.
But it’s no excuse not to try.
Spider webs
Spiders are fascinating. They are easy to notice when crawling on a wall or ceiling in a house. I have seldom been present when they are weaving their web. Spider webs are created to catch things much bigger then they are. They are built to trap. They are built to stop movement of a larger insect. The webs themselves are almost invisible until they collect on a wall. They go from being a...
Comparisons
Comparisons are very useful for some things in our lives. Before buying something expensive we read reviews of different brands, different hotels, or different travel destinations. We easily compare prices on the web every day. Comparisons are useful in chemistry in identifying different compounds by testing for their melting point, boiling point, or colors when separated using different...
A carefree life
No worries, no responsibilities, and no dilemmas. To the days and months ahead where stability, serenity, and a sense of calm will fill all of our remaining days. This is missing today in our lives. We wish these days would soon appear. It sounds so simple. We worked so hard to get there through our many years. It feels so good to dream how we are so deserving. Yet waking up each day we find that...