Not All Leaders Are Created Equal

I’ve always been interested in self-awareness as a leader’s capacity to take stock, to reflect, and to look at things defining a bigger perspective. But after I spoke withClaudio Fernández-Aráoz for my video series Leadership: A Master Class, I learned another reason why self-awareness is crucial for effective leadership. Here’s what Claudio had to say.

“We often think about self-awareness as the basis for developing our self-control, self-regulation, and social awareness. Our relationship management is based on those three clusters.

But self-awareness is also crucial for job allocation. Some people are outstanding for some jobs, and they are lousy for others. One of the most dramatic examples I’ve seen was in wonderful research done by Boris Groysberg and Nitin Nohria from Harvard on GE alumni. General Electric has not only a reputation of being an outstanding company, but it’s a talent factory. If you look at the profile of the Fortune 500 CEOs, the largest individual group are Harvard MBAs, and the second largest individual group are GE alumni.

Because it’s such a source of outstanding leaders, they were often recruited from General Electric into CEO positions of other companies. Each time a senior executive leaves GE to become the CEO of another company, instantly the market value of this new company spikes at least by one billion dollars, and in some cases by up to 10 billion dollars.

These two professors analyzed a group of 20 GE alumni. They found that the market value of a company always spiked once they hired this great executive from General Electric. But then they watched what happened over the next three years. They calculated the net person value of the value created, industry-adjusted, so that they could compensate for any factors in the sector.

They found that about half of these great GE executives created great value and the other half actually destroyed value.

And what was the reason for that? They weren’t always the right leader for the job. First, they may not have been a strategic fit. Some people are good for start-ups, some for turnarounds. Others are good for managing a cyclical business.

Second, they may not have been a good organizational fit. There are some organizations that focus on the long term, while others are focused on the short term. There are some organizations that are hunters; others are farmers. There are some organizations that are team oriented; while others value individuality. There are some organizations that develop people from within. There are some organizations that grow through mergers and acquisitions, while others grow organically.

Three Ways to Make a Career Comeback

Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Tweet  Weebly  Wattpad  Reddit  Google+  YouTube   MySpace   Disqus Delicious  Press   Blog  Blogger   Jux   Tumblr   Pinterest   Instagram    LinkedIn  Mashable

Hit a wall in your career? Being passed over for promotions? If you don’t find out why soon and repair the damage, it won’t be long before you’re on your way out the door.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to get the answers you need. Clearly, your managers haven’t been candid with you about your performance to this point. Perhaps they expected you to read the writing on the wall and draw your own dire conclusions. Appraisal avoidance shouldn’t happen, but it often does when the news is going to be bad.

Your job then is to gently initiate some kind of conversation with the boss you’re closest to, even if it is just to obtain a vague sense of what’s going on. But just as important, you need to start pouring energy into getting back on the radar screen.

The most effective way to do that, not surprisingly, is to over deliver. Whatever you’re doing, do it better and faster. Expand your job’s horizons to include bold new activities. Come up with a new concept or process that doesn’t just improve your results, but your unit’s results and the company’s overall performance. Surprise everyone.

A second powerful comeback technique is to raise your hand when the call goes out for people to sign up for major projects and initiatives, especially ones that don’t have a whole lot of popularity at the outset. Volunteer to work in a branch office in a tough competitive market or jump at the opportunity to be part of a big, new quality drive. A global assignment right now may take you too much out of the picture for your immediate purposes, but it is directionally correct. You need to prove you’re willing and able to go the extra mile.

Finally, if you are draining away political capital within the organization in any form, stem the flow immediately. That means you may need to stop disparaging fellow employees, even in jest, or acting in any form like a wet blanket. Right now, your attitude needs to shout one word: “Yes.”

Can we guarantee that these three “fixes” will revive your career? Of course not. The facts are, sometimes a person has been underperforming for so long that they get an embedded reputation. No matter how hard you try, you will always be seen as the same old you.

If, after a period of trying, you get the feeling that’s true in your case, we suggest you jump before you’re pushed. Find a company with a better fit, doing work you like. Then don’t wait for the silent treatment to alert you: From Day One, start building the results and reputation that will make you the new kid rising through the ranks.

Jack Welch is Executive Chairman of the Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University.Through its online MBA program, the Jack Welch Management Institute provides students and organizations with the proven methodologies, immediately actionable practices, and respected credentials needed to win in business.

Suzy Welch is a best-selling author, popular television commentator, and noted business journalist. Her New York Times bestselling book, 10-10-10: A Life Transforming Idea, presents a powerful decision-making strategy for success at work and in parenting, love and friendship. Together with her husband Jack Welch, Suzy is also co-author of the #1 international bestsellerWinning, and its companion volume, Winning: The Answers. Since 2005, they have written business columns for several publications, including Business Week magazine, Thomson Reuters digital platforms, Fortune magazine, and the New York Times syndicate.

Jack Welch
Send Me A Message
Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Tweet  Weebly  Wattpad  Reddit  Google+  YouTube   MySpace   Disqus Delicious  Press   Blog  Blogger   Jux   Tumblr   Pinterest   Instagram    LinkedIn  Mashable

10 Steps to Achieving Success in Life

Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Google+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest


Commencement speakers look for nuggets of wisdom that graduates will take with them as they journey forward in their lives. Along the way, speakers hope to inspire a life or two and create reason for a cheer, a tear or evoke fear. My speech will be titled 10 Steps to Achieving Success in Life. The list is by no means all-inclusive. However, I think it provides a very good starting point from which to develop a road map for successful living. I think the graduates will find great value in this list. I only hope that I will be able to live up to my own advice and consistently follow these 10 steps.

Continue Reading Here

Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Google+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest

The Benefits of a Managed Infrastructure
In a typical corporate environment, all of the components of your infrastructure are probably managed by an "IT guy". He or she could be called "IT support", the "IT Manager", or even the "IT Director". Regardless of the position, one of the responsibilities is probably to manage your infrastructure. The downside to this is that one person probably wears many hats and is what is called a "jack of all trades", meaning that this person is often a generalist and is not typically an expert in any one area

Continue Reading Here

Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Google+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest

6 Career Tips for Aspiring Accountants
At least a couple of times a week, I get a message from someone on LinkedIn or someone who read a post on my blog looking for advice on going into accounting. Sometimes the questions focus on education path, and sometimes they focus on the job or career you can have once you obtain the CPA designation. I've gotten enough questions and had enough conversations now to notice some themes I think are worth while to address in long form.

1) When should I take the CPA exam? You should take the CPA exam as soon as possible, but you shouldn't take it before you're ready. A lot of the old timers might disagree with me on this, but the CPA exam is harder now than it's ever been. Computerizing the exam increased the breadth of what the accounting powers that be can test and the variation in how they test those concepts. As a result, computerized testing makes studying more difficult, but on the flip side, you can take each section one at a time, unlike the old days.

Continue  Reading  Here:::

Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Google+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest

Is Your Attire Hurting Your Career?
Here are five signs that what you wear to work may be hurting your career:

• Your boss has told you explicitly that you need to wear more professional attire.
• Someone in your office feels compelled to remind you to “dress nicely” for important meetings and special events.
• A coworker with equal or lesser skills but a nicer wardrobe was promoted over you.
• On those odd days when you do take a little extra time with your professional attire, your coworkers want to know if you’re going on a job interview or if something else is happening to you.
• You keep asking to be considered for a more visible role in your organization but you are not offered those opportunities.

Continue Reading Here

Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Google+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest



Three Pillars Of Social (And Pro Tips On Each)
Let’s pull back the curtain on the basics. Social networks basically can be boiled down into three fundamental categories and each is as important as the next. Without a complete strategy to develop each, you are going to tip over as if the 3rd leg of the stool were kicked out.

Not only are the pillars all intertwined, but the order in which you design and execute them is of vital importance. This is what I refer to as social readiness. Follow this order: Design a well thought out great looking profile >>> Connect to the market >>> Learn and engage with consistent thoughtful content.

Continue  Reading  Here


Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Google+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest
"Our journey is not complete."


Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Google+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest

Food And Beverages Business

Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Google+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest

Sun Pharma-Ranbaxy Deal Has Some Important Lessons
Over the last few days, media has been abuzz with the news of Sun Pharma’s $4-billion acquisition of Ranbaxy.

 Given the fact that it is the second largest acquisition in the Indian pharmaceutical sector till date, it is not surprising that everybody is fixated on the sheer size of the deal.

 But if you look beyond the fancy valuation, this courageous move by Sun Pharma founder Diliip Shanghvi to buy out the beleaguered Ranbaxy from Daiichi Sankyo has some important lessons for everybody.

Continue Reading  Here

Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Google+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest

Answers to Your Most Common Questions for Cinnabon
It is a version of our famous cinnamon roll made for that environment – definitely not intended to be the same as our hand rolled classic Cinnabon Cinnamon rolls you get in our bakeries in malls. They are different – it takes a lot of labor and square footage to make the classic rolls we are famous for, but we do have versions of baked goods (like the MiniBon Roll at Burger King or the Delights at Taco Bell that are inspired by our famous products in our hand-rolling bakeries, but different as they are made for a fast-food environment).

Continue Reading  Here

Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Google+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest

Change Your Focus to Only One Thing: Depletion at the Retail Level
If you focus on how your brands are performing at the retail level and work with your distributor and import partners in your launch months, it will help you build your brand more effectively. The market feedback that you will gather will help you educate your own team and prepare you for your next distributor call when you can show them “why your brand works”.

Continue Reading Here

Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Google+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest

State of the Beverage Industry: Catching up to Customers
Traditional grocery stores were built for their parents’ (or grandparents’) generation, when almost all meals were prepared at home and people needed to buy a lot more ingredients. My mom used to love going to the grocery store and walking the store aisles. She went every day at 4pm. Part of that may have been that she had to have enough food to feed five kids, but part of it was that it was her hour to be out of the house and socialize. Nida was her favorite checkout woman and would ask how the soccer game went the night before or if my mom liked the recipe she gave her. Going to the grocery store was a fun part of the day.

Continue Reading  Here

Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Google+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest

The East African “miracle grain” that could become the next quinoa
But teff is also similar to quinoa in another, more problematic respect, which has complicated the grain’s growth. Quinoa was once as unknown to the North American diet as teff is today. Positioning it as a miracle food—packed with protein but not gluten, full of nutrients but not calories—helped international sales soar. That has been a mixed blessing for the leading exporters of quinoa. In Bolivia, quinoa prices skyrocketed by 900% between 2000 and 2013, making it hard for Bolivians to enjoy the crop themselves.

Continue Reading  Here

Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Google+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest

How a Chemical Used in Rubber Found Its Way Into 500 Food Products
Environmental Working Group, the nonprofit that released the report, is trying to persuade food manufacturers to stop using azodicarbonamide, or ADA, which acts as a kind of baking powder in the making of rubber, plastics, and ceramics, making them lighter and more elastic. Food producers took to using the same chemical to soften the texture of baked goods.

Continue Reading Here

Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Google+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest
Send Me A Message
Blue Print Of GVO and PURELEVERAGE Business

Become GVO Affialiate Click Here

Simple Tricks to Immediately Boost Your Confidence

Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Googe+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest


Skill takes time to build. Talent takes time to nurture. So if you want to perform better right now, there's only one way: Feel more confident. Everyone's been there. We don't need research to confirm the more confident we feel the better we perform.

Of course actually finding that dose of confidence, especially when we need it most, is the real trick.

I've written about the best way to be more confident and ways to get a quick jolt of confidence. (As well as some ways to use body positions and gestures to improve performance.)

And that's why I love this guest post from Christina DesMarais, a writer for Inc.com, Forbes, PCWorld, and the Minneapolis Tribune.

Here's Christina:

Whether you have to give a speech, need to negotiate with someone, want to find a mate, or simply get ahead in life, confidence is your best friend. If you're lacking in that regard, here's how to change your thinking or in the very least make it appear as if you're comfortable in your own skin.

1. Don't slouch.

Regardless of your confidence level, slouching communicates you lack faith in yourself.

Try posting a note on the edge of your computer display with a reminder such as an up arrow in thick red marker or the words "SIT UP STRAIGHT". To correct yourself, roll your shoulders back and imagine someone just pulled a string from the top of your head, elongating your spine and raising your chin so it's in a neutral, forward-facing position.

If you're really serious about improving your posture you could try LumoBack. It's a $150 sensor you strap around your lower back under your clothes. Every time you slouch it vibrates to remind you to straighten up. The LumoBack app, which works on newer iOS devices, reports on how well you're doing, as well as other activities, such as steps taken, how much time you spend sitting and how many times you stood up in a day.

2. Understand that most people aren't thinking about you.

Self-conscious people worry too much about what others think about them. The thing is, usually other people aren't thinking about them--at all.

Imagine you had the magical power to read the thoughts of the people around you. You know what you'd hear a lot of? Stuff like this:

Crap, I forgot to stop by the bank... I shouldn't have eaten that cake Susan brought to work, now I feel fat... I hope Sara flirts with me again tonight at volleyball like she did last week... Why should I have to clean the downstairs bathroom when Bill is the only one in the house who uses it?
Notice how many times "I" might pop up? Humans are remarkably self-absorbed.

3. Nix negative self-talk.
If "diffident" describes you well, there's a good chance you're an over-thinker with a lot of negative self-talk rolling around in your head.

Pay attention to what you're saying to yourself. Every time you think something like "I can't do this" replace it with something positive such as "I'm going to give it my best shot." The key is to step out of yourself and look at your self-talk as an outsider. How would it make you feel to hear someone sitting next to you say "I'm so [fat, dumb, ugly, slow, etc.]?" Pretty harsh, right?

Nurture yourself within your thought life, just as you might with someone else.

4. Lighten up.
Some people are naturally more serious than others. If this is you, learn to smile and laugh more. Even a simple grin will suffice to entice others to want to be around you.

To make smiling a habit, set a time when you'll practice doing it for several minutes straight--maybe in the car on your way to work. It will seem weird, but after a while smiling will come more naturally. Studies have also shown that forcing yourself to smile is good for your health, as well.

Need help laughing? America's Funniest Home videos work wonders for me, and can easily be streamed online for free. Or why not plug some headphones into your computer and get happy during your lunch break with a comedy channel on YouTube? Or use the "funny" filter at Ted.com to watch TED Talks that will get you giggling.

5. Handle mistakes with grace.

How you handle slip-ups is also important. Confident people understand no one is perfectand however you just screwed up, it's probably not the end of the world.

Ask yourself: How important will this mistake seem in three months?

If whatever you did involves your work output, acknowledge your flub and vow to do better next time. If your "mistake" is only that you said something stupid or tripped over a box in the storage room landing in a mess on the floor, try laughing it off. It's the most gracious way to handle a blunder.

6. Get feedback.

Toastmasters Internationalis the classic confidence builder. It's a speaking club to which nearly 300,000 people since 1924 have turned to develop their skills, get great feedback, and learn how to be more comfortable in front of an audience.

Membership is only around $36 every six months and there are approximately 14,500 clubs across the United States.

Like   Comment   Share   Interact in a  Social Way


BY: JEFF HADEN

Send Me A Message
Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Googe+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest

Age Doesn’t Matter (In Work or In Life)

Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Googe+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest


Really? You’ve got to be kidding. Age is one of the most talked about and obsessed about aspects in life and work so how could it not matter? Of course it matters somewhat, but it need matter a whole lot less if we discontinue allowing ourselves and others to be dropped into a box of categorical assumptions based on a chronological numbe

Why is it that people seem more interested in your age than in your capacity or qualities? Why is it that we make a big stink about achievements made by the chronologically young and old rather than just the achievement? Why are we hell-bent to pass along assumptions about this and that happening (or must happen) at certain ages when life shows radically different experiences for different people at the same age? Why do people refer to themselves as “young” or “old” based on their assessment of a number’s relative age value rather than their physical, mental and inner well-being?

Read More Here

Have you ever met a person way ‘older’ than their youthful years or an older person way ‘younger’ than theirs? Have you noticed old souls in young bodies and adolescent behavior in older?

For every person who has succeeded (in life or work) early you can find examples of people doing the same after the prescribed American ‘retirement age’ of 65. Map Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey with Tackichiro Mori and Harland Sanders or map Churchill and Reagan with David Cameron and Obama. You can find examples from countless careers and life paths. You can find plenty who also made it big early and stopped early or those who persisted for a looonnggg time to realize their dreams. You can also see radical differences in people’s happiness and social impact at various chronological ages. Further, the different stages of chronological life bring different advantages, and each person brings a unique experience to each of their years.

I remember this first hit me when I hit the age of thirty. I had often been told that a man has his best physical years and greatest productivity before thirty. Nothing about that was nor has been true for me. I felt worse before thirty than after. I became stronger, more creative and more productive after thirty, even though I gave it just as much effort before. Yes, you have to care for the body more, but you also learn more about the body by caring for it--becoming more of a partner with it than a user of it. And with my inner life there’s no comparison. Before thirty I was full of anxiety; after thirty has been a path towards inner happiness and peace.

Perhaps a prejudice akin with race and religion comes age. How often do we judge others and ourselves based on chronological age? How often do we hold ourselves back because we perceive ourselves as being too young or too old? Do we even go so far as to not hire somebody for a position or invest in their company because we think them too young or too old without really knowing their capacities inside to out.

Like   Comment   Share   Interact with your  Social  Powers 

BY: HALFDAN HUSSEY

Send Me A Message
Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Googe+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest

10 Things You NEED to Do if You Were Hired Today

Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Googe+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest


The woman right next to me was alive one second, then a taxi came up on the sidewalk of 42 Street between 6 and 7 Avenue, hit her and veered off and now the woman was lying in the street, blood everywhere. This happened on the first or second day of my work when I started at HBO. I tried to call 911 in the payphone (there were still payphones in August, 1994) and then I had to go. The woman was dead.


I loved HBO like I would love a parent. I wanted them to approve of me. And kiss me as I went to sleep at night.

Before I got the job offer to work there I would watch HBO all day long. My friend Peter and I would watch HBO or MTV for 10 hours straight. I’d go over his house around 1pm in the afternoon and by 10pm we would look at each other and say, “what the hell did we just do”. Everything from the “the Larry Sanders Show” on HBO to “Beavis & Butthead” on MTV. We couldn’t stop. I loved the product. I wanted to work there.

10 Rules If You Are Hired Today:
Rule #1: Love the product.
You have to love the current output of the company. If you work at HBO, love the shows. Watch every single show. No excuses.

If you work at WD-40, know every use of WD-40. Make up a few more that nobody ever thought of. If you work at Otis Elevators, understand all the algorithms for how it decides which floors to stop on when.

If you work at Goldman Sachs, read every book on the history, study every deal they’ve done, know Lloyd Blankfein’s favorite hobbies and how he rose through the ranks. You have to love the product the way Derek Jeter loves playing baseball.

When I started at HBO I would every day borrow VHS tapes from their library. I watched every show going ten years back. In my spare time I’d stay late and watch TV. I’d watch all the comedians. I even watched the boxing matches that initially made HBO famous. Which leads me to…
Rule #2: Know the History.
When the business I started, Reset, was acquired by a company called Xceed, I learned the history of the mini-conglomerate that Xceed was created out of. There was a travel agency for corporations. I visited them in California. There was a burn gel company. I visited them and met all the executives and learned the technical details how the gel was invented. There was a corporate incentives company. I met with them to see if any of their clients could become my clients.

At HBO, I learned how Michael Fuchs (the head of HBO Sports at the time. Later CEO of HBO) in 1975 aired the first boxing match that went out on satellite. And how Jerry Levin (the CEO of HBO, later CEO of Time Warner) used satellites to send the signal out to the cable providers. The first time that had ever happened. Ted Turner had been so inspired by that he turned his local TV affiliate, TBS, into a national TV station, and the rest became history

Rule #3: Know the history of the executives.

At HBO I studied the org chart religiously. My title was “programmer analyst, IT department” and yet I was always asking around: how did John Billock become head of Marketing (he trudged around house to house selling HBO subscriptions in Louisiana when Showtime started up, for instance, decades earlier).

Where did my boss’s boss’s boss’s boss work before arriving at HBO (Pepsi). Where did the head of Original Programming get his start? (he was a standup comedian, later CEO of HBO, before being forced to quit when choking his girlfriend in a Las Vegas parking lot). It was like reading about the origins of all the superheroes. I was a fanboy and my heroes were the other executives. I wanted to be one of them. Or better.

Same thing: know all of your colleagues and what their dreams and ambitions are. Get to work 2 hours before they get to work. If they need favors, do them. You have a whole two hours extra a day. You can do anything.

Continue Reading

BY: MICHAEL ALTUCHER

Like  Comment  Share  Interact  Disqus  Delicious   Instagram  LinkedIn  Googe+  YouTube  MySpace Press   Stumble  Tumblr  Pinterest
RELATED READS YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

HBO, Prostitutes, 3am, and the best job ever

Send Me A Message

How to Deal With Crappy People

Like  Comment   Share   Interact  Google+  LinkedIn  Stumble  WordPress  Disqus  Instagram YouTube   

Ugh, I’m disgusted with my brain. I see people walking down the street and there’s like this killer inside me providing running nasty commentary about each person. Do you do this also?

I have to stop myself often: “you don’t know this person who is randomly crossing the street. You can’t possibly know that he’s a cheating lying rich Hamptons-worshipping whoremongering obnoxious trust fund baby with a 17 year old mistress on the side who doesn’t wipe, who doesn’t wash, who would wish nothing better than to see you die”.

You can’t know that! So why do I think it? Most people crossing the street probably think that about me also. Who is that freak? Is he homeless? Why can’t he comb his hair? Why is his fly open? Is he a child molesting pervert?

Most people are pretty crappy. But not all. And even the ones who are no good and not worthy of your time need a system for you to use so YOU can be happier and leave this lecherous gossipy crack addict that's in your head on the road and kick him or her to the curb.

There are only four types of people. If you understand in advance how to deal with each of these four types you will be infinitely happier. Ultimately, interacting with the four types in the way I describe below will make one fit firmly into the first type, however difficult it is. That’s the goal. You don’t want to go through life unhappy.

There is no path to happiness. Happiness is the path.

In an earlier article on my blog I gave my own Daily Practice that has helped me out of every tough situation in my life for the past 15 years (when I’ve been disciplined enough to apply it).

It has 4 legs. Many of us focus in our daily lives on only one of the legs (Physical, Emotional, Mental, or Spiritual) but we need all the legs in balance to really sit down at the dinner table without falling.

The Practice works and brings one from the brink to success and then more success. I believe in it more than I’ve ever believed in any hocus-pocus anything ever.

But to develop the emotional leg of that practice takes a lot of work and I’ve written nothing on this. Probably because it’s the hardest. In my talks people ask about the Mental side, the idea muscle. But the Emotional side, equally as important, is much harder.

The key is to identify the FOUR types of people and discipline yourself on how you should approach these people.

The Four Types of People

#1 Happy. There are people who are genuinely happy in the world. Sure they have their suffering. Everyone does. But a lot of people really are pretty satisfied with their lives at this very moment.

A natural reflex (not for everyone, but certainly for some people) is to resent people for being happy. Who doesn’t do that some of the time? Raise your hand!

Let’s say someone lives in 20,000 square foot house in Connecticut, has a sexy wife (or sexy husband), and is genuinely happy. It’s hard not to resent such a person. This resentment will block the Daily Practice from having beneficial outcomes in your life. In 2002 when I was pitching hedge fund managers to invest money with me I often ran into the exact person described above. And their families. The sexy wives in short shorts. The hedge fund managers served gourmet meals for lunchtime by loving cooks.

Like  Comment   Share   Interact  Google+  LinkedIn  Stumble  WordPress  Disqus  Instagram YouTube   

(Stevie Cohen’s house. Here’s How Stevie Cohen Changed My Life)
You can’t fake resentment. You can’t put on a mask. If someone is at a costume ball, you can easily see they are wearing a mask. You have to genuinely be happy for these people.
It’s so hard to grab a single ounce of happiness in this world, please be happy for the ones who are happy today.

 Train your mind to be sincerely happy for their happiness. Catch your resentments and jealousies before they turn into monsters. Carrie Fisher once said, “nobody wants to read about a good looking happy person”.

 She was making a commentary on comedy screenwriting and she’s probably right about that. But for you to go from success to success you must first be sincerely happy for the people who are happy around you. Like attracts. Picture all the people you might resent.

 Spend five minutes a day training your brain to be happy for them. You’ll die lonely in the jungle if you don’t do this and everyone will forget you ever existed. #2 People in pain. I’ve been unhappy often. Particularly in the past decade.

Sometimes things just don’t work out. Sometimes people die. I think the level of unhappiness and pain I’ve had in the past decade (versus prior decades) has taught me compassion towards others in a similar boat. Try to cultivate that compassion. It doesn’t mean you have to drain yourself to help those less fortunate.

Continue Read Here



BY: MICHAEL ALTUCHER
Like  Comment   Share   Interact  Google+  LinkedIn  Stumble  WordPress  Disqus  Instagram YouTube   

If You Don't Prioritize Your Life, Someone Else Will

Tweet   Share   Comment  Google+  LinkedIn  Tumblr  Disqus  Instagram   Stumble

Read  More  Learn More

“A ‘no’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.” So said Mahatma Gandhi, and we all know how his conviction played out on the world stage. But what is less well known is how this same discipline played out privately with his own grandson, Arun Gandhi.

Arun grew up in South Africa. When he was a young boy, he was beaten up twice: once for being too white and once for being too black. Still angry, Arun was sent to spend time with his grandfather. In an interview with Arun, he told me that his grandfather was in demand from many important people, yet he still prioritized his grandson, spending an hour a day for 18 months just listening to Arun. It proved to be a turning point in Arun’s life.

I had the opportunity to apply Gandhi’s example of prioritization to my own life, hours before one of my daughters was born. I felt pressure to go to a client meeting the next day. But on this occasion, I knew what to do. It was clearly a time to be there for my wife and child. So, when asked to attend the meeting, I said with all the conviction I could muster…

“Yes.”

To my shame, while my wife lay in the hospital with my hours-old baby, I went to the meeting. Afterward, my manager said, “The client will respect you for making the decision to be here.” But the look on the clients’ faces mirrored how I felt. What was I doing there?! I had not lived true to Gandhi’s saying. I had said “yes” to please.

As it turned out, exactly nothing came of the client meeting. And even if the client hadrespected my choice, and key business opportunities had resulted, I would still have struck a fool’s bargain. My wife supported me and trusted me to make the right choice under the circumstances, and I had opted to deprioritize her and my child.

Why did I do it? I have two confessions:

First, I allowed social awkwardness to trump making the right decision. I wasn’t forced to attend the meeting. Instead, I was so anxious to please that even awkward silent pauses on the phone were too much for me. In order to stop the social pain, I said “yes” when I knew the answer should be “no.”

Second, I believed that “I had to make this work.” Logically, I knew I had a choice, but emotionally, I felt that I had no choice. That one corrupted assumption psychologically removed many of the actual choices available to me.

What can you do to avoid the mistake of saying “yes” when you know the answer should be “no”?

First, separate the decision from the relationship. Sometimes these seem so interconnected, we forget there are two different questions we need to answer. By deliberately dividing these questions, we can make a more conscious choice. Answer the question, “What is the right decision?” and then “How can I communicate this as kindly as possible?”

Second, watch your language. Every time we say, “I have to take this call” or “I have to send this piece of work off” or “I have to go to this client meeting,” we are assuming that previous commitments are nonnegotiable. Every time you use the phrase “I have to” over the next week, stop and replace it with “I choose to.” It can feel a little odd at first — and in some cases it can even be gut-wrenching (if we are choosing the wrong priority). But ultimately, using this language reminds us that we are making choices, which enables us to make adifferent choice.

Third, avoid working for or with people who don’t respect your priorities. It may sound simplistic, but this is a truly liberating rule! There are people who share your values and as a result make it natural to live your priorities. It may take a while to find an employment situation like this, but you can set your course to that destination immediately.

Saying “yes” when we should be saying “no” can seem like a small thing in the moment. But over time, such compromises can create a life of regrets. Indeed, an Australian nurse named Bronnie Ware, who cared for people in the last 12 weeks of their lives, recorded the most often-discussed regrets. At the top of the list: “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

I have a vision of people everywhere having the courage to live a life true to themselves instead of the life others expect of them.

To harness the courage we need to get on the right path, it pays to reflect on how short life really is, and what we want to accomplish in the little time we have left. As poet Mary Oliver wrote: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

I challenge you to be wiser than I was on the day of my daughter’s birth. I have great confidence in the good that can come from such a decision.

Years from now when you are on your death bed you may still have regrets. But seeking the way of the Essentialist is unlikely to be one of them. What would you trade then to be back here now for one chance—this chance—to be true to yourself? On that day what will you hope you decided to do on this one?

Like   Comment   Share  Interact

BY: GREG MCKEOWN
Tweet   Share   Comment  Google+  LinkedIn  Tumblr  Disqus  Instagram   Stumble YouTube