Message of the Day - The Right Tools

Good Morning,

 

So there I was at the Louisville Main Post Office with my key in my mail box and it won't open. The key slide in easy enough, but it just would not turn. I jiggled it a bit, but failed to open the box. I pulled the key out and then slide it back in again, just to make sure it was in deep enough, and still I couldn't open the lock.

 

As I stood there, starting to get a bit frustrated, I thought of reasons why this key was not working. I thought of all the places I had to go and that the roads were still bad from the recent snow fall, and why wasn't that key working?

 

About a minute and a half into my ordeal, I looked at the key chain which held the key I was using in my futile attempt to access the mailbox and that is when the flush of embarrassment washed over me. I had the wrong key. This post office also has the mail box for the Scottish Society of Louisville.

 

This reminded me of the times when I had the wrong tool to do a job. That no matter how focused and driven I was, the work rarely ran smooth and easy when you use the wrong tool to get the job done.

 

• Using a shovel instead of an ice chopper to chip ice off a walkway.
• Using some clamps on a stair banister instead of a vise to cut a pipe.
• Using needle-nose pliers instead of tweezers to get a splinter.

 

Having the right tool often leads to both a shorter turnaround time in completing the job and at the same time, an increase in the overall quality of the job.

 

The right tools, though, don't have to be limited to hardware and gardening gadgets. The right tools could be using a spreadsheet for statistical calculations instead of a calculator and pad of paper.

 

The right tools could be using a SWOT Analysis to work you way through a problem rather than getting a list and choosing the best option.

 

When you realize that what you are doing is not working, or is taking too long, is too cumbersome, etc., maybe it is time to ask yourself if you are using the right tools?

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day - Stepping Up Is not always Staying Up

Good Morning,

 

It seems I passed along my stomach bug to my beloved wife. Not a wise thing for a hubby to do, but then again, my skills in germ warfare are limited.  Maybe something special on Valentines day will help smooth it over.

 

Anyway, this evening my younger daughter stepped up to the plate to help with the chores. She fed the critters around the house (currently 4 cats, 2 dogs, 2 hermit crabs and a beta fish), and helped walk the dogs and bring them in, in addition to the rest of her chores for the evening. It was a big help as I am in the middle of preparing for the Robert Burns Gala for the Scottish Society in less than two weeks and have many tasks to do with that in addition to my normal duties. So with Karen being ill, the extra help was welcomed.

 

Having others step up in times of need is great. I find myself doing it a lot in many different aspects of my life. What I find myself getting into trouble with, though is staying up.

 

That is, when I step up and do more, it sometimes becomes expected that this new level of activity will be the norm. This, often, is acceptable as we have more of ourselves and our time to give.

 

But what happens when we don't have that extra time and we are asked to step up. The best of us will roll up our sleeves and give what we can, but the wisest of us will then step back down, usually after doing a hand off.

 

Those who keep stepping up will eventually overwhelm themselves and that will hurt the entire organization when the house of cards comes crumbling down.

 

And don't expect those around you to warn you about not stepping up too often. Look around, everyone is busy and most of us could use the help.

 

The challenge is knowing when to step up, when to stay up and when to step back down again.

 

One solution I have found is review my priorities daily. Ask myself what is expected of me today. Know what has to be done, and then when the call for help come, and they will, sometimes multiple calls, you will have a better idea of what you can do, by knowing what you are going to have to put aside for a while.

 

Knowing that you have a project with a deadline tomorrow helps keep the calls for help in check, knowing you can step up, so long as you step down again to give you enough time to meet your deadline, or get it pushed back.

 

We will no doubt be stepping up again tomorrow to help with the next challenges, but when we do, lets keep an eye on the other items we are responsible for.

 

Enjoy.

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day - Never Alone

Good Morning,

 

I spent a good part of this past weekend enduring the stomach flu. It came on Saturday afternoon and has been kicking my butt, and other parts of my body for the rest of the weekend. Needless to say, I did not go anywhere after it hit and did a lot of resting.

 

During this time, I was never alone. My wife, Karen, was there. She made sure I was okay, and took care of me throughout the roughest parts of the illness. Her love and care reminded me of my Mom taking care of me as a kid.

 

This made me think about how we are never truly alone in life.

 

There are always people who are thinking about us on some level somewhere in the world:

 

• It may be someone you gave a seminar to, where some of the words you said had a profound and lingering impact.
• It could be that you let someone go ahead of in line at the grocery store and that person's smile and thank you warmed you heart.
• Maybe it is the driveway you shoveled this last snowfall where people living there were not able to help, but you were there for them. And the hot chocolate was good!

 

If you remember these times, you will find your heart can be warmed again. When you touch the life of another, it is not a one time event. Those memories carry power and influence over your life every day for the rest of your life.

 

While we have the memories of loved ones and heart-warming events in our life, we have something to hold on to.

 

The best part is that while we are alive and moderately well, we can create more of those memories. We can stock up and create a warehouse of heartwarming memories when we need it the most.

 

Well, I feel better after typing this. I hope you do too.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://www.berenberg.net

http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/

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Message of the Day - Diamonds in the Rough

Good Morning,

 

This afternoon while looking through my email address book I saw many names of people I had worked with in the past. It brought smiles to my face to see many of these people have moved on to better roles, positions and companies since the time I worked with them. There are some, though, which make me proud to have worked with them.

 

These are the people who I found with many rough edges. People with many challenges facing them. People who needed help to get to the next level.

 

Some of these people just needed someone to believe in them and carry their belief in them for a little while until they were able to take themselves to the next level.  Some of these people just needed someone to give them just one more chance to get the job done right and show the company and world what they can do. Some of these people just needed someone to allow them roll up their sleeves and get to work and slog through the rough parts to show their capability.

 

What I remember most is seeing the potential in each of these people. That glimmer in their eye, that sign of promise by how they handled a task assigned to them.

 

When others saw employees, I saw potential.

 

To this day, I keep looking for that something special in everyone I work with. Maybe they need to be told they did a good job, maybe they need to hear a joke on a bad day. Whatever it is, I try to deliver it to those diamonds in the rough.

 

Our organizations are much better off when these gems are cleaned off and shine in ability and accomplishment.

 

Isn't it worth looking for the diamonds around you who are waiting to be helped out, cleaned off and into the spotlight of accomplishment? When you see the potential, know it will take time to help them get to where they need to be. We need to be patient and supportive (even when they make foolish mistakes). But, most of all look and find them.

 

Pay it forward to them, open and share your bag of tricks with them, connect them to your network. And when they get rolling under their own steam, become the student and learn from their brilliance. We will all be better for it.

 

In a few years, when you look through your contacts, you will then see some of the diamonds you helped along their way. And they will always remember you.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://www.berenberg.net

http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/

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Message of the Day - Linchpins - Standing Out, Making Art and Changing the World Around Us

Good Morning,

My current read is Seth Godin's newest book, "Linchpins: Are You Indispensible?" (http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/) which is due out for general release next week. This book, like "Tribes" before it is a call to action. Seth Godin is calling on us to be remarkable, to stand out, to lead, and to make a difference.

He starts this off by sharing with us how modern corporatization has continued to reduce individual employees to mere replaceable 'cogs' by working safe jobs, being obedient automatons. Further, he shows how by becoming an Artist (not just painting, but doing nearly anything which benefits others and comes from the heart as a gift) opens the doorway to our becoming that remarkable, standing out and being that indispensible person.

To be a Linchpin, we must overcome, or more accurately, outsmart our fears and mental inertia (our lizard brain) and do what we and others are afraid of doing. We must put our efforts into that which we love, what we are passionate about.

We must also change the way we look at our motives and activities. For years whenever we found we had a new skill, or ability, we would ask ourselves 'how can we make money with this'. This is actually pretty small-minded in we seek an audience willing to pay us for these skills and abilities. A Linchpin is looking for ways to share these skills and abilities in the form of gifts to their community, across the internet, everywhere and anywhere. From the gift of our artwork, doors can open to many who would willingly pay for the artwork. There are many great examples of this within the book. My favorite is the section on Keller Williams.

So what is our artwork?

It is what we do, coupled with the flashes of brilliance we all receive from time to time.

These flashes, if realized, can unlock the power of our artwork. Here's a kicker, Seth Godin shares how most people, even some of the most successful people do average activities most of the time just like you and me. It is their flashes of brilliance which they capitalize on which make the difference.

A Linchpin then is someone who loves to give of themselves to help their organizations, their companies by doing what is uncommon through the gift of their artwork. They become artists and share what others are too fearful, unwilling or otherwise unable to share. In this activity, the Linchpins make themselves much more valuable to the organizations they work with and for.

I highly recommend this book, and if you have read other Seth Godin's books, "Purple Cow", "The Big Moo", "The Dip" and "Tribes" you may see Seth Godin solving a macro-scale jigsaw puzzle which implores us to stand out within the landscape of the 21^st Century by sharing how to navigate it more intelligently.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://www.berenberg.net

http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/

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Message of the Day - The Supporters of those who Support us

Good Morning,

 

This past evening I was privileged to hear a speech from a veteran speaker at Toastmasters who shared with us some of his personal experiences working as a Chaplain for a local Fire Department. The speech was so captivating that during the perfectly timed pauses, the only sound you could hear was the pen of the evaluator taking notes.

 

As a society, recently we have been supportive of our police, fire and military (which is a great thing). We see the men and women who go to the front lines and risk their lives day in and day out. To those folks I share how brave I know them to be. In 1995 I ran into a shaking building to get the support braces in place to keep it from completely collapsing. The building fell shortly afterwards, nearly killing me, and leaving both of my legs broken. I know it would be a very rare time that I would do that again. These folks do it daily. That is brave.

 

What happens when those who go to the front lines need help when they see the atrocities of life:

·         When their resolve is weakened, when they have fears.

·         When their hearts ache and cry out.

·         When a wounded firefighter is told that there is nothing more they can do, even though there is a child still in harms way.

·         When someone has to tell a family that their daddy won't be coming home again, ever.

 

That's when people like chaplains and councilors go in and helps out the police, the firefighters and military.

 

These people face the difficult situations day in and day out and help our bravest and finest deal with it as well. I could not imagine having to face all that heartache and pain, and worse yet, being on 24x7x365 notice to face those gut wrenching situations again.

 

What I am thankful for is that there are people like that that out there right now. They are there for you, they are there for me, and they are there for those who chose to be in harms way. Life is not fair and when the unspeakable happens, these people help make sense out of it, and help others who are having troubles through it as well.

 

I have a new-found respect for the chaplains, counselors who do what needs to be done to both keep our police, firefighters and military going strong.

 

This evening, I gave this man a hearty thank you, but he and his ilk deserve so much more.

 

Let's give them all a thank you, knowing when their pager goes off next, it could be for us or one of our loved ones.

 

Thank you!

 

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://www.berenberg.net

http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/

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Message of the Day - Managing - Leading & Micro-Managing

Good Morning,

 

A friend reached out to me asking for a good definition of Managing, Micro-Managing and Leading to share with his team during a time of change within his company. Change can cause a lot of stress and confusion which impacts even the best leaders, managers and can inadvertently create micro-managers out of the best of us.

 

Leading is creating a vision and getting others to both see, accept and desire to achieve that vision as their own or team's goal. A leader does not have to a manager, but it helps when a manager is a leader.

 

Managing is ensuring that resources (people, money, etc.) are best utilized to achieve the goals (like the one's above). The focus is resource utilization.

 

Micro-Managing is overseeing much if not all of the individual actions of your team members. So much so, it may be considered that two people are doing the same work. The person assigned to the task, the manager who either does the task as well, or sits right over their team member's shoulder all the way through the process.

 

Micro-Managing has its place for new hires or with changes to processes, structures, goals, etc. The challenge with micro-managing is knowing when to step back and allow the function to be performed wholly by person assigned to do it.

 

Unless that manager pulls back, the micro-managing will start hurting morale, productivity and reduce overall performance by having two people doing the same function. Staff do not feel trusted, they feel squashed, etc.  

 

If the person who is assigned the task is having issues, then short periods of micro-management are recommended. Although, constantly having to jump back in to help out when there are issues is a sign the staff assigned to the task needs training, coaching, or ultimately replacement. If there are no real issues and the manager is jumping back in anyway, the issue may be with the manager not being able to let go, or some other trust issue.

 

There is a place for Leading, Managing and Micro-Managing. Knowing when to apply each is key.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg
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Message of the Day - Bad Ideas to get Good Ideas

Good Morning,

 

Most of us have had the challenge of writers block, a mental block or just having a good ole' fashioned brain fart. It could as simple as not being able to find the right words to put in an email or the best way to present an idea in a presentation or just not having a clue what to do next.

 

There are many ways to try to chip away at this block. It could going off and doing something else for a few minutes, hours, days or weeks (depending on how bad your block is).

 

One sure fire way to getting the creative juices flowing pretty quickly is throwing the mind a curveball.

 

By going into brain storming mode, you can start listing out ideas which can help you get past your mental block. Start off with a blank piece of paper, and write down what your goal is on the title and underline it.

 

Under the underline start writing down solutions. If you can't come up with any, make stuff up. In fact, start listing really BAD ideas out.

 

If you need to find a way to solve a financial problem you could start listing things like:

 

• Start begging for money at a highway exit
• Beg a relative for money
• Sell non-vital body parts
• Get a loan
• Rob a bank
• Print money
• Sell lemonade
• Sell my old books on eBay
• Get a part time job

 

The first group of ideas were just BAD, stupid and some even harmful to your health.

 

The point is not to follow through with the bad ideas, but to keep the stream of consciousness rolling from the bad ideas. You will see the mind being freed up from its block to new or much more reasonable solutions. Often some that are just sitting right there under your nose.

 

Try it!

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://www.berenberg.net

http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/

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Message of the Day - Too Many Options

Good Morning,

Several months ago I saw Lynard Skynnard playing a new song on the Mike Huckabee show. The song was called 'Simple Life'. The concept got me thinking about our lives today and what a simple life would be like.

When I think about my evenings and what I am going to do, I see that there is a whole list of activities which can be done and many distractions there to keep me from doing what I plan to do. It is not so much as getting caught up in Facebook or playing other online games. It is there are so many things going on in our lives that we might find our home lives like our work lives with our task list a never ending list of to dos.

The simple life is hard to define. To me it would be having less options in life. Less paths to take and knowing that each of the remaining paths were something that I wanted to do.

We often look for more options when we feel constricted and trapped. And yet, when we get those additional options, we seem to open a Pandora's box of challenges. Like going to a lunch room and having friends in 10 different tables all wave you over to sit with them at the same time. You know you want to make them happy, and if you could you would go to an empty table and invite all 10 to join you, but life is seldom that simple.

We have to constantly re-evaluate our options and start trimming them back every now and again. Like hair and nails, they will continue to grow unless you trim them, so will the options which open to us every day.

When we feel trapped, maybe the solution is not more options, rather, less options. We may be able to focus our efforts in one area and have less distractions from that path.

Less is more, and less is simpler.

Something to think about.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg
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Message of the Day - The Power of Everyday Speeches

Good Morning,

 

"We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender" - Winston Churchill

 

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.'" - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

 

"General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! - Ronald Reagan

 

"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too. " John Fitzgerald Kennedy

 

These like many other powerful speeches have reached the hearts and minds of countless millions. They were given when they were needed. They said what people needed to hear. Unfortunately, most of us were not present or even alive to hear these speeches when they were originally delivered. Also, while these speeches are powerful, they don't always address what we face each and every day.

 

There are, though, many less known speeches that have come at the right time for what we need here and now. They were speeches given by coworkers, friends, family and motivational speakers. These speeches may not be recorded in history, but they mattered and they made a difference. 

 

Never doubt the importance of what you have to share, because you never know who may be waiting to hear what you have to say.

 

We may not have delivered the Gettysburg Address, but there are words that we deliver that help others at their time of need. Our words can and do make a difference.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day - Making the World Brighter

Good Morning,

 

My current read is "ice cream as a clue to the meaning of the universe" by Billy Sprague (http://www.amazon.com/Ice-Cream-Clue-Meaning-Universe/dp/0736903054). The title caught my attention and being a fan of ice cream, I figured why not.

 

Billy Sprague talks a lot about Anne Frank, her courage and the impact she has had on the world. In one section he writes:

 

"You were very brave, Anne.

In one of your sad moments, you wrote: "The world will go on without me." It has, like it will without any of us, but it is brighter because of you. "

 

The world will go on no matter what happens to us. Not you, not me, not the President of the United States, not anyone.

 

The question is will it be a brighter and better place because of you?

 

Will the world, at the end of our existence, be a better place than it was prior to our being here.

 

Maybe it is a scene from It's a Wonderful Life when Clarence shows George what life would be like without him. Maybe it is a call to make an impact somewhere, somehow. It's a question we all ask about ourselves at one time or another.

 

I hope the world will be brighter after I am gone because of these messages and the impact that have had on all of you and those you have shared them with.

 

I hope the world will be brighter after I am gone because of what I have given to my family and friends.

 

What are you doing that will make the world brighter?

 

Brightening the world in all we do!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day: Mourning Your Snow White

Good Morning,

 

While on some errands today, I stopped by the local supermarket to get some wonderful cantaloupes. Standing on line, I saw the movie Snow White playing on a large screen TV. It was at the part after the witch poisoned Snow White and the 7 Dwarves were out for revenge, chasing the witch up a cliff. Afterwards, the dwarves and forest creatures mourned the apparent loss of Snow White for a long time until the Prince who wakes her from her slumber arrived.

 

This made me think of the times when we feel like we are trapped or in stasis. A goal gets put on hold. A pet project has to be sidelined. Because of our circumstances we basically give up and mourn our situation. We place flowers by the glass coffin which holds our Snow White.

 

The dwarves felt powerless and transformed Snow White's coffin into a shrine where they remained ever vigilant. The one thing they did not do was search for a solution. They did head out in different directions and get that Prince to arrive sooner. They did not search for an even more powerful witch or wizard to counter the first's work.

 

Likewise we wait for our own Prince to come and get us back into the game, or back on course. A lot of the challenges we face though, do not require a magical kiss to fix.

 

Maybe we can break this cycle and instead of mourning a failure, or being pigeon-holed, or whatever, we could head out and actively find the solution ourselves. We can ask questions instead of assuming the worst. We can research, study and network.

 

There were seven dwarves mourning Snow White to one of us, be we have the internet, social networks, organizations, etc., I bet we have the advantage.

 

Instead of mourning our Snow White, let's get out there and search for solutions.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day - The Self-Cleaning Mess

Good Morning,

 

As I was retiring for the evening last night, I went to use the girl's bathroom for a tissue as our bathroom was otherwise occupied. In going in, I saw our daughter's beta fish and noticed the water looked clean as if it had not eaten, so I opened the fish food and saw the container was half empty, where last evening it was mostly full. Then on the floor was the pile of fish food laying there in a sort of neat pile.

 

When I went to get an envelop to scoop it up, I was told that this mess was created by the cats last evening and this pile of fish food had remained, untouched, mind you, for a full 24 hours or so.

 

I mused over my daughters both using the bathroom mirror in the morning, as they do most days, now both trying to avoid stepping in or disturbing the pile of fish food on the center of the floor.

 

Next I thought about the Self-Cleaning mess, and what a great idea that would be to have all messes be able to clean themselves up without any help from us. If we spill some sauce, no problem, the mess cleans itself. If we track mud onto the carpet, no worries, the mess cleans itself up. Then, of course, my mind wandered to the problems and challenges in our lives, and having a self cleaning mess.

 

That thought scared me.

 

If messes cleaned themselves up, then there would be no incentive to learn from our mistakes, they would just be cleaned up and we could move on as if nothing had happened. Why bother trying to do something right, the mess would take care of itself. While it sounds like fun, we would become incompetent people, relying on something else to take care of our mistakes and overcome our challenges.

 

No thank you. In fact, thank you for that mess that I can clean up. That I can learn from. Thank you!

 

I am a better person because I have cleaned up my messes, and sometimes those of others (you folks in my neighborhood tossing the empty soda cans on the street, I am on to you).

 

The Scooper attitude (reference The Dog Poop Initiative by Kirk Weisler) kicked in when I saw the mess on the floor and well, the mess was cleaned up. Of course, the pile of fish food is now sitting on an envelope awaiting further instructions from the boss of the house (aka my wife, Karen who turned very sour at hearing this message as her instructions to the girls in the morning were not heeded). I guess that is a mess for another day.

 

Enjoy cleaning up the messes in our lives.

 

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg <---- NEW
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Message of the Day - Accepting How Our Goals Change

Good Morning,

 

Sunday evening, our family watched a short documentary on Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Antarctic expedition. This was Shackleton's third trip to the last continent. In his previous two attempts, other explorers had achieved his goal's first. On this trip, he was to lead the first overland expedition across Antarctica.

 

He had two ships, one going south from New Zealand and the other from south of Argentina. The first ship would land and lay supplies halfway across Antarctica, and the second ship, the one Shackleton was on, the Endurance, would come across from the other side, and then use those supplies to get the rest of the way across.

 

The mission was doomed from the start. His ship, the Endurance, was mired in ice early on and ultimately was locked in the ice for months. Then the ice crushed and destroyed the Endurance, leaving the crew stuck on ice flows. Once the ship was gone, the goals of making the first Antarctic crossing were gone. Shackleton now focused on saving his entire crew.

 

It would have been easy for Shackleton to find ways to keep his dream alive and salvage something of the mission, since he had been wanting something like this for decades. But, Shackleton was a great leader and knew that he had to change his goal.

 

He continued to make course corrections and goal changes when he needed to, to make sure his crew survived. In the end, everyone of the Endurance crew lived and were all rescued. It was an ordeal lasting over 2 years in some of the most inhospitable environments on Earth.

 

The success in surviving was a willingness to not cling to goals which fed only pride. It was a willingness to focus on what was important, and go after those goals.

 

How many times in our lives do we cling to goals which no longer hold the value they once did. That we are only pushing forward because of the pride or fuel for our ego?

 

We should look to Shackleton's example for knowing what is important and change our goals when it is the best thing to do. Even if we don't win the prize we originally wanted.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg <---- NEW
502-533-9336 

Message of the Day - Noggin Time

Good Morning,

 

My current read is Susan Buckeley Butler's "Become The CEO of You, Inc.: A Pioneering Executive Shares Her Secrets for Career Success" (http://www.amazon.com/Become-Ceo-You-Inc-Pioneering/dp/1933705000). Although the focus of the book is on helping women succeed, I found a lot of useful information in this book. One re-occurring theme throughout the book is time for thinking. 

 

We must spend time thinking.  Susan Bulkeley Butler suggests about two weeks of thinking spread throughout the year. This is about 1 hour a day.

 

Thinking about what?

 

We should think about decisions we need to make. We should think about challenges we are facing. We should think about conversations we should have. We should think about goals we want to make. In all that we do every day, week, year, etc., we need to build in time where we can spend some alone time just thinking.

 

If we can get into a habit of having some alone time when we travel to work, or in the mornings when we get up, or just after dinner, etc., we can get into the habit of allowing ourselves time to reflect what is important in our lives.

 

John C. Maxwell concurs on the importance of spending time thinking and reflecting in his book "Thinking for a Change".

 

I have found that when I am facing challenges or have to make big decisions, I do my best when I can spend some time in the morning reflecting on the issue. That is, step away from the current scene, and when I am alone, think about the challenge. Maybe even roleplay the situation through my mind a few times. The though, is to get away from the situation, even if it means going into a different room, and having some quiet time to free up your mind, and allow the creative juices to flow.

 

My best thinking time is in the mornings when I first get up and am not fully awake. I am not sure why, but this is when I can formulate my best ideas and solutions to problems. It has been during this time that I have made major breakthroughs in various challenges in my life. 

 

If you don't do so already, schedule yourself some noggin time to help you keep yourself on track in life. 

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg <---- NEW
502-533-9336