Four Ways to Make Your Own Luck

Four leaf clovers are rare and special but you don’t need one to make your own luck starting today!  Use these four tips to start cultivating a life rich with success and joy and watch as “the road rises up to meet you, the wind is always at your back, and the sun shines warm upon your face.”
#1 Show Up! It has been said that 80% of success is just showing up.  Remember, though, this doesn’t just mean physically.  It also means showing up in mind and spirit, ready and willing to engage.  Did you ever feel like you just don’t want to bother going to that association meeting, PTA presentation, or class because it’s raining and your head hurts and after all, what real difference will it make anyway?  Snap out of this foggy state of mind!  You are stomping on your four-leaf clover!  You have got to get yourself there and show up umbrella dripping, laughing at the rain, hand outstretched to greet your new friend, contact, acquaintance.  Putting yourself out there in this life guarantees chance meetings, and plenty of small adventures just waiting for you to show up!
#2 Connect! We have all heard the buzz word “networking” over and over again and perhaps so often that it now sounds superficial – like it is trickery into somehow cleverly duping someone into being your “contact” so you can use them for your own selfish social promotion.  Don’t let this be true for you!  Make as many connections as you can by cultivating within your nature a genuine interest in other people, their lives, their passions, their stories.  You never know who you will connect with who will turn you on to your next step in life be it your career, your hobbies, or your friendships.  Like connect-the-dots games, you won’t ever get to see the big picture of your life if you skip some of the dots.
#3 Give Credit! This means freely giving good credit where it is due and couldn’t we all use some good credit these days?  Think about your day today so far.  Wouldn’t a kind word of thanks or recognition have made you feel good?  A little honest praise never hurt anyone and the more you give, the more positive energy you will give off that can only come right back to you.  So give credit as freely as you like!  Praise the babysitter, the store clerk, your boss, your assistant, your husband, children, the dog.  If someone has touched your life in such a way that has helped you or you have seen them help another person find a way to credit them.  We have got to actively recognize and commend the good in the world if we intend to perpetuate it.
#4 Create Your Own Personal Card! Not only is it great fun to design and create your own personal card but you can also purchase a decent stack of them for under $25.  (Great sites are www.vistaprint.com and www.zazzle.com) There is so much you have to offer this world beyond your job title.  What are your passions?  What are you all about?  What is your life purpose?  Do you live by a certain quote or value?  Put it all out there and use your cards to connect with people.  You can include information on how to contact you via any social media.  List your LinkedIn account, your websites, your blogs, where to find you on Facebook or Skype, Twitter, e-mail, cell phone.  Use your favorite colors, fonts, shapes, designs to show the world what your piece of this life is all about; all on a 2×3 inch gorgeous little card.  Whatever your loves are you have got to put them out there and be proud for the world to see you!
No doubt your luck has changed for the better already by pulling on your positive outlook this morning.  You are Alive, you are Leading, and you are Lucky!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

In Praise of Your Passion

I watched the movie “Amelia” about the life and death of a most courageous, adventurous woman in aviation: Amelia Earhart.   What kind of person dares to follow her passion at the risk of all else?  And what kind of husband has the bravery to support her?  Every time Amelia dared to fly, most often alone, farther and farther away from home she stared death in the face.  She so loved to fly and had such clear sense of her purpose in this life that literally nothing stopped her from taking flight again and again.
I work on an airport and see helicopters and small planes take flight every single day.  I hear the roar of trainer aircraft taking to the skies, flown by pilots in training who are living out their dreams.  I have known them to come down, too.  I have known one man in particular who lost his life trying to learn to fly.  What an awful day that was.  I remember my colleagues who had been in aviation for decades saying to me, “That happens in our industry.  Unfortunately, you kind of get used to it, awful as it is.”  This came as a shock to me, someone who has never risked my life for passion.
But do we all sometimes feel like we would be risking our life, or livelihood, if we dared to pursue our deepest passion?  What are we really afraid of?  Going broke?  Taking up too much time “for nothing important.”  Are we afraid people will laugh?  Afraid of failure?  Afraid of going outside of our routine?  In rushing to keep up with our hectic lives maybe we’re just afraid of appearing selfish for indulging in any activity without sound reason or promised success.  Daring to follow your heart may not necessarily put food on the table, afterall.
You are the star in your own life, though, let us not take this lightly.  Only you can decide to take your passion and make it part of your experience.  Maybe there is a reason and a purpose for indulging yourself in what you love to do and that is because it makes you feel good, it makes you smile, it brings you joy!  You may not have to risk it all to feel the thrill of your ability; you might only have to risk the acknowledgment of wanting to pursue it.  And that’s not so bad, is it?
“Regularly having fun is one of the five central factors in leading a satisfied life.  Individuals who spend time just having fun are 20% more likely to feel happy on a daily basis and 36% more likely to feel comfortable with their age and stage in life.”  – Lepper 1996 (from The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People” by David Niven, Ph.D.)

Spring into Success!

There is something about the dawning of springtime that calls us to start fresh.  Slowly, the air smells sweeter and the sky seems clearer as we shed a layer of bulky winter jackets, slip on a light silk scarf and step out into the misty morning.   What to do with this glorious new season?  Reinvent ourselves!
There is something to be said for having a little “spring in your step.”  Move a little quicker today and watch how the world around you leaps to your aide.  Momentum builds on momentum!  Your customers will value your sense of urgency and respect for their time.  Your manager will be appreciative of your initiative and passion (and may just see the rejuvenated potential in you!)  As soon as you begin to move with purpose and tackle projects with verve and focus, accomplishments start stacking up.  And this feels good!  The more you accomplish today, the more you feel you CAN accomplish tomorrow.
Success comes to those who cultivate it for themselves.  Breathe in the delicious hint of spring that’s kissed the air today and let it move you.  It is a scent of passion on the breeze of a more successful season for you!

Leaders Worth Following Have a Clear Vision

It has been said that "If you think you are leading but no one is following you, you are really only taking a walk." How true is that?  Many so called "Leaders" really only have the title (or the name plate on the door to their office) but they cannot truly say that people are following them. . .willingly. 

But it is still true that teams need leaders if they want to accomplish their goal.  All of the great leaders I have worked with (to be honest, they are few but this makes them that much more unique) are humble, passionate, energetic, and have a clear sense of purpose.  They are focused on the future while organizing the daily tasks in such a way that naturally coaxes their team toward the "little successes" that in the end add up to greatness, power, and might within their industry.  These leaders stand for something, they have written their mission statements and identified their core values.  In doing so, they can react quickly in situations where others might falter or hesitate.  They know their truth so completely inside and out that they become transparent; their vision becomes the window through which their teams can clearly see a brighter day.

When you can say to yourself - even in the quiet of your own heart all alone - that no matter what you will be truthful, you will be accountable, you will protect the rights of all people, you will listen with an open mind, you will be fair, and you will work with purpose and a little humor in all situations, you will naturally have the ability to make decisions and guide teams to success.  When your values are aligned with who you are as a leader, the team will become aligned behind you.

People want to know they are supporting a leader who has their best interest at heart and who is headed in a direction everyone wants to go.  Honor and embrace your team fully and with resolve; when you turn around you will find they are surrounding you, too.

An Object (or Mind) In Motion

"An object in motion tends to stay in motion." This is a universal law of physics but I believe it also applies to our minds and ambitions. Did you ever notice that when you are not involved in enough activity, even the small activities feel heavy, burdensome, and not worth your time? The ironic thing is, you have plenty of time but your bored self is to busy . . . being inactive.
I believe the rest of that theory goes: "An object at rest tends to stay at rest. Unless acted upon by an opposing force." Fill your day today with that opposing force! The cool thing is that within your own mind lies both the object and the force and ability to act. You have the power within your own self to move! Immerse yourself in activities, in the stuff of living! The busier you are the more time you have.

I have held jobs that bored me to tears after being in the same position, performing the same tasks repeatedly. Where I once jumped in with excitement and verve, I now felt resistance and heaviness. The very same projects that I loved I now loathed. But before I let myself sludge for too long I begin writing a list each morning. An action list! I title my list: 5 Things I can do today. It has to be 5, because then even if you only get to 3 of them, you did good. List 5 things right now that you CAN DO today. You cannot save the world in one day, you cannot end world hunger TODAY. But. . . .Who can you e-mail or phone that can become a new member of your network? Who can you visit and ask about their job, hobbies, interests? Do you want to start a journal? Buy the coolest one you can find and put pen to paper! Whatever it is you crave, write down one step you can take toward accomplishing it.

Living means you have the ability to ACT. Remain in motion. As long as you are Alive you are Leading!!

Welcome! Are you Alive and Leading, too?

Thank you for visiting my new blog spot, Alive and Leading. I once heard a saying that went something like this: You have to be the lead actor in your own life. Or maybe it was: You are the star in your own life. Either way, the idea has stayed with me for decades, lingering on inside my mind as a "little voice" coaching me on whenever I felt overwhelmed or kicked around by conflicting priorities in my life. As soon as I remind myself that I must take the lead, I am at once in control of any situation and that is truly powerful. Owning the truth FOR YOU, not trying to live out what you think someone else wants to be true for you, makes all the difference in whether your life is fulfilling.

You decide; your thoughts create your environment. What have you created for yourself? Satisfaction, excitement, adventure, love, success? If you are reading this, remember you are also ALIVE and LEADING!