All The Time and Money You Need

What are your dreams/goals? What would you do if you had all the time in the world to achieve your dreams? What would you do if you had all the money in the world to achieve your dreams?

Is it really money or time stopping you? What would you do if you BEHAVED as IF you had all the time and money you needed to achieve your dreams? Most people think they don't have the time or money to start their dreams.

I think there's a great power in just starting something. In just taking that first step. I have many friends who went to college in their later years and started new careers. Those heroes of mine realized that the time would pass anyway and so they just began; when they became committed, they solved the money part, too.

A lot of businesses spend a TON of time planning things. But, all the planning in the world cannot predict the future. Cannot predict what will happen next. Amazing things happen in our lives and horrible things happen in our lives. The only thing that is certain is to hold on to a vision and BEGIN to work towards it.

When I asked "If you had enough time/money, what would you do" on Facebook a year or so ago, the people who responded had very simple and lovely dreams, I got answers like:
I'd have a vegetable garden
I'd exercise more
I'd write a book

Those things are SO achievable in my mind, but in the mind of my respondents, they weren't. They were paralyzed and couldn't begin; couldn't start. When you look at those goals, think of how YOU would begin them . . . the funny thing is, as I look at those, just 15 minutes a day could make a difference. Weeding and planting for 15 minutes before or after work daily would start a garden. Exercising 15 minutes before or after work; walking on break -or lunch would start an exercise plan. Writing for 15 minutes a day would start a book. It's NOT really time and money that you need, it is just that you need to begin,  you need to start working toward your dream today . . .

I'm a huge fan of Jon Acuff and he's just launched his "START" book. Here's a little video that might inspire you today to start working on your dream: 

The Co-workers of Tomorrow

These lyrics from a Sondheim song popped into my head when I read this article, Top 10 Skills Children Learn from the Arts
Careful the things you say / Children will listen
Careful the things you do / Children will see and learn.
I parent two children and the current school system feels extremely focused on testing/measurements and the arts feel like an afterthought. Luckily, my kids have a dedicated music teacher who shows up at zero hour and hosts a choir. I have experienced so many people in a working (and volunteer) environment that have learned none of the valuable skills the article speaks of: creativity, confidence, problem solving, perseverance, focus, non-verbal communication, receiving constructive feedback, collaboration, dedication and accountability. I want my children to be great friends, co-workers and citizens. So I will always strive to keep them involved in the arts by encouraging their creative endeavors and signing them up for classes that interested them.

The 4 People Who'll Kill Your Team

We're all on teams; at work and when we volunteer. Here are some of the people that will kill your team and why. Leaders, if you see this behavior, don't let it persist -course correction is required. I'm a big fan of behavior/impact statements. Even if you want to say, "You're a jerk." You'll get a lot farther if you describe the behavior and the negative impact it has.


 

Glum -this person will never come up with ideas of their own but will constantly remind you that yours won't work.
Set the ground rules . . .
If you have an employee like this make it clear that they need to stop the behavior. When you hear it, course correct quickly and privately. "Comments like that are not productive. If you see an issue, you need to come up with a solution."




The Marine Sergeant - this person is an aggressive and loud bully. They will do anything it takes to make sure you realize how great they are and their idea is. No one can defend themselves or get a word in edgewise.
Set the ground rules . . . 
If this person is your boss or someone with control over your job, the harsh truth is - it might be time to find another job. Bullies-as-leaders are rarely known to get better and they usually place more bullies around them.
If this person is a co-worker, use behavior/impact statements like, "When you raise your voice and pound on the table, it becomes very difficult to have a conversation. Let's come back to this topic when you aren't raising your voice to me."




The Critic - this person never has a positive thing to say.
Turn it around . . . 
Whether you work for this person or this person works for you, you can always ask this person, to list the things that they see working well. In other words, in addition to their criticism, find out what they think is working; in this way you'll get them to start looking at the full picture.



Tom Sawyer - this person manages to get out of doing any actual work.
Set the ground rules . . .
Keep yourself on guard for manipulation. Say, "no", when you need to. If you lead this person, then ask set clear expectations and don't reward this employee if all his/her work has been done by others.