“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
Leonard da Vinci
Do not confuse simplicity with ease.
Achieving extraordinary things is simple, but not easy.
It takes a lot of work and a lot of time. That’s why it’s newsworthy when someone does it.
Personal Success
Resolutions
When I was a young adult, I used to love New Year’s Eve. One of my favorite things to do was to sit on the couch with a pen and my journal and write down my resolutions for the year. It was exciting! A clean slate! A fresh start! I got really excited about the possibilities.
I’d usually actualize half of my resolutions.
In time, I learned that achieving life-changing dreams did not simply hinge on writing them down – although that is an important step. I realized the secret to success: My desires had to be matched by my commitment.
The most important day for your resolutions is not December 31st or January 1st. It’s Jan. 2, 3, 4, 5, and all the days after.
Dream Big. Write It Down. And then work your tail off.
Contemplation
“If not now, when?”
Hillel the Elder
Money Is Only a Tool (Ayn Rand)
What are your beliefs about money? That you’ll never have enough? That only greedy people are rich?
Money is energy. You receive it in return for your work. If your work is valuable, you will receive currency. Focus on the giving and the rest will take care of itself.
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. –Winston Churchill
Funds (like people) escape those who squeeze too tightly. Do good work, serve people generously, and wealth will come.
You Be You
What did you find useful today?
What can you discard?
How/what can you add that is uniquely your own?
Can you tell I’m a huge fan of Bruce Lee?
Decide
Decide to be happy no matter what.
Life is a rollercoaster. There will be ups, and there will be downs. But decide to be happy through it all.*
*The Surrender Experiment – Michael Singer
“A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action…”*
No Excuses
I’m grateful for many, many things. I have a very good life: a job I love, two healthy, beautiful children, a husband who loves me, a nice home, an affectionate dog and an enormous “wine refrigerator”.
However, I’m not 100% content. I don’t like the recent spate of racist incidents around the country (KKK). I don’t like that Asians are under represented in TV, film and books. I don’t like the fact that so many in this country (and the world) go hungry each night.
Complaining isn’t going to change anything.
Writing an amazing script, raising money and getting the independent film with Asian actors produced and shown at film festivals WILL change the scene.
Organizing a passionate, savvy group of people to pressure our legislators for gun control laws WILL save lives.
Reaching out to all the different, beautifully diverse people in my community WILL help change racial stereotypes and bring some peace.
Creating programs to help homeless people get job skills and become income earners WILL change their lives.
Inventing affordable solar panels WILL help save the environment.
What can you do today/this week/this month/this year to provide “A little more bite, and a little less bark”?
*”A Little Less Conversation” by Elvis Presley
Melancholy or Merriment?
Yesterday’s blog was about being fierce and how to get there. Today’s post is about the opposite: sadness and lethargy.
2016 was a difficult and painful year for many people I know. The holidays can sometimes lead to funk, not cheer. According to Psychology Today, the anticipation of merriment might lead to pensive gloominess or even depression. We drink too much, eat too much and sleep too little. Some signs of the holiday blues include: “Headaches, insomnia, uneasiness, anxiety, sadness, intestinal problems, and unnecessary conflict with family and friends.” (Psychology Today)
How to beat it?
The article cites 10 tips. I’ll give them to you in a nutshell:
- Be reasonable with your schedule.
- Organize your time.
- Declare an amnesty with your friends and family.
- Manage your expectations. Holidays won’t be for you as an adult what they were when you were a child!
- Volunteer to help others in need.
- Alcohol is a depressant. Drink in moderation.
- Take breaks – especially physical ones, like exercise or just walking.
- Think half-full, not half-empty. The choice is yours!
- Take breaks – exercise, walk around the neighborhood. Get moving!
- Choose to see the glass half-full, not half-empty. You do have a choice.
Workshop Wisdom
I attended a workshop on educational leadership today. I walked away with lots of good stuff but one quote that stuck with me was:
Get what you want. Find a way.
Being a leader means helping others lead, really. Supporting others to be the best they can be is one of the biggest objectives and one of the most challenging. One vital channel to this goal is to make others feel appreciated and help them in their jobs.
Make your staff feel valued by obtaining resources that they need or want for their work. Show them that you appreciate what they do and that you consider it important. “Get what you want. Find a way.”
This is really the secret to success, isn’t it? What do you want? How can you find a way to get it?
The Indomitable Bruce Lee
When I was a young teen, my father gathered my sister, brother and me and told us we were going to start taking Tae Kwon Do lessons. He didn’t ask what we thought about it or if we wanted to do it, he told us we were doing it. My father was an extremely strict father. Tiger Moms these days are mere kittens compared to my father back then. So we didn’t even groan or try to get out of it.
We began. The entire time, I kept wishing I was taking dance instead. But no, martial arts it was.
My sister and I were young teenage girls and we had to spar grown men and believe me, they didn’t “take it easy” on us. JoAnne and I learned to use our elbows to defend ourselves against their powerful kicks. It worked! Martial arts was big back then because of a guy named Bruce Lee.
Our tenets were: Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-Control and Indomitable Spirit (CIPSI).
We lived those tenets. All three of us earned 1st degree black belts.
There were no Asians in magazines back then. Or TV. Even “Kung Fu” starred a white man named David Carradine. It turns out Warner Bros. stole Bruce Lee’s concept and believed a full blooded Asian on TV wouldn’t work so they hired Mr. Carradine.
Bunk!
What did Bruce Lee do? He went to China and made “The Big Boss” which made him an international star.
This is what you must do when you face rejection. When you face sexism. Racism. Any kind of bigotry. Go out and be Bruce Lee. That is, embody his spirit.
Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.
Bruce Lee
Kismet 