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Virtual Workforce and Business Models Can you really build and operate a business solely in the virtual world? Flexible as it may be, the virtual team comes with many challenges, due to its inherent characteristics. There will much more debate and analysis on the case for virtual work teams. What is the REAL Purpose of a Business The REAL purpose of a business is to serve - to be able to provide something of value to someone else. One of the main reasons that less than 10% of businesses don’t make it to the third generation is that the passions of the founder do not match the passions - and purpose - of subsequent generations. We must have the heart to serve others first - before profits. Do You Have the Mindset of a Winner? Being a winner is a choice, not a condition of your circumstances. Winners take responsibility for the life they created. When you are a true winner, you are living a fully engaged life. In our experience at CRG, that is achievable only when you are living your purpose. Just Say No to Toxic People! Do the people around you build you up and encourage you, or do they discourage and drain you? The reality is that each of us needs to take responsibility for our personal space and relationships in life. Toxic people come in many forms, so perk up your radar and review this list on how to identify toxic waste. Willing Slaves Fast Becoming Business Norm Overachieving professionals today are seen as road warriors - masters of the universe. They work harder, take on endless additional responsibilities, and earn a lot more than their counterparts in earlier times - and their numbers are growing. It is these individuals who bring into clear focus the question of work/life balance. Just Say No To Worry Research reveals over 90% of the things we worry about never happen. Everyone worries, but most worry is about some negative possibility in the future, not right now. Worry can breed anxiety, paralysis, and depression, rather than creative solutions. In the end, we are all personally responsible for our own thoughts and our emotional state. Can You Know The Truth About Your Spirituality? The objective of this information is to expand, confirm, or challenge your thinking about your spirituality. The truth will set you free - only if you seek to know it. Are You Easily Offended and Quick to Anger Is it just me or have you noticed increased in-your-face attitude from others? Easily offended and quick-to-anger individuals are out of control. Are you easily offended and quick to anger? Here's Help! What to Do when Others Say the Sky is Falling If you recently were displaced from your profession, you might re-evaluate who you want to be when you grow up. This is a chance to turn a new leaf. Embrace this time as an opportunity for change. Transforming Leadership is Everything Transforming Leaders embrace an organizational and professional work culture of discipline and remove any team member who does not adhere to this value. Whatever Happened to Business Ethics? I agree with info-commercial guru Kevin Trudeau that the mandate of all publicly traded companies is to make money for the shareholders -- end of story. The result is a conspiracy theorist's dream come true where, at all costs, a profit must be made. Ethics are not part of the picture. The Tyrrany of Political Correctness The premise now seems to be that ANYONE found to be offended by anything can stand on the platform of political correctness. This means any selfish, self-serving person or special-interest group with a victim mentality can use political correctness to oppress those with differing opinions or points of view. Building a Winning Team Takes Skill and Courage! When a team member -- no matter how gifted -- does not fit into the corporate environment, he or she will erode the performance of the entire team. That has been proven many times in the sports world where a talented individual’s primadona attitude can disrupt the whole team. Assessing for Success Assessments are very powerful and practical tools to accelerate the personal and professional development process. If used incorrectly or with misinformation, however, you can do more harm than good. High Performance Management Model the behavior you want others to exhibit and lead the team through the process. " Show me -- don’t talk about it." Performance research indicates that the most effective way to improve, correct, or change behaviors is through on-the-job, real-life immediate feedback, as soon as possible after the event and as respectfully as you can. Raising the Professional Development Bar Coaching is now the rage in society. We agree it has a very important role to play in contributing and accelerating a person’s progress -- but a very high percentage of individuals who are calling themselves a "coach" are simply not qualified. Why Don't You Teach the Way That I Learn? It is generally agreed that knowledge is now doubling in months, not years, and that learning is a foundational value that individuals and organizations must embrace. Otherwise, success is -- and will be -- limited. Creating a Successful Life and Career The concept of working or earning a living to help fund what you really want to do is flawed. At some level, most if not all of what a person does in life should be linked to his or her natural gifts, talents, interests, passion, and purpose. Fixing the Failures of Human Resources What is the purpose of HR? Currently, it appears they are playing not to lose instead of playing to win. HR’s function has become one of administration, not leadership. Rules, regulations, and grievances are more important than fulfillment, passion, productivity -- and ROI. The Gift of Feedback Feedback is an important strategy in any organizational or professional development process. Making a Real Difference in People's Lives The privilege of really making a difference in someone else’s life is granted to those who have their own stuff together. Passion & Purpose It is nearly impossible to generate passion and purpose in others when you don’t personally love what you do. Our challenge is this: You must find your own passion first. If you don’t, you will have little credibility in encouraging others to engage or seek their passions. Corrupt Capitalism, Credit and Consumerism When capitalism becomes corrupt, we experience fallout. That’s what we are experiencing now in the Fall of 2008. Who Are Your Role Models Whomever or whatever we are modeling is influencing our choices and behavior. Will You Get Over Yourself - Please Concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself; seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others; arising from concern with one's own welfare or advantage in disregard of others; genetic material solely concerned with its own replication. What's Your Legacy Far too many individuals won’t leave much of a mark. Why? They engage life half-heartedly -- primary wrapped up in themselves. Then they wonder why their lives are unfulfilling and miserable. If I Had Wanted Your Opinionm I Would Have Asked For It What would your life or business look like if you changed it to fit everyone’s (in many cases unsolicited) opinions? You certainly would not be living your purpose. Can You Let Go of Your Negative Thoughts and Events? Being negative is an activity that gets the attention of others. We see this behavior in poorly parented children as young as age 2. If acting up is the only way they can get attention, guess what they do? Adults act up, too. Maturity - Don't Leave Home Without It Life experience, over time, is required for maturity to ground itself in our lives. There simply is no replacement. What Are Your Stress & Wellness Levels? Your wellness picture is a result of the combination of many facets of your life, to produce your overall level of health. Contrary to the public’s desire to have a quick fix or magic in a pill bottle, improving your wellness requires a comprehensive approach. What is Your Mindset Toward Money and Materialism Some erroneously link the accumulation of money or wealth to materialism but I contend you do not have to have money or things to be materialistic. Many who are poor are also materialistic. Reject the Victim Mentality When the victim card is played, the victim is trying to shift the onus for the condition of the person or group onto outside influences. That suggests the victim has played no role in creating the situation and that he or she has no power to change it. Are You Living an Authentic or a Fake Life? Use your discretion. Don’t whine about everything that doesn’t meet your needs, but stop representing fake positions or thoughts. They don’t benefit anyone -- especially you. Making a Smart Start Giving serious attention to the credibility you are creating as you start a new job will pay big dividends in employee engagement, team productivity, organizational results, and personal satisfaction. Decreasing Clutter and Chaos You might argue that clutter does not have a negative effect on you, but let me challenge that thought. Imagine you are going to see your doctor, dentist, or medical specialist. His office is clean but cluttered with files and instruments that reflect a state of general chaos. What is your confidence level for that professional? Not very high, right? Replacing Rage with Composure Since our behaviors always reflect the law of duality, rage is the absence of calmness, harmony, tranquility, or peace. Rage and being completely calm cannot co-exist in the same person at the same time. The Gift of Challenges and Problems The greater our ability to solve problems, the more valuable our contributions become. And, the more complex the problem, the higher the value of the person who solves it. Passion We have been created to live rich full lives, unfortunately too many people have allowed the life to be sucked out of them due to a variety of circumstances. What is Stress Costing You? Influenced by the elements present in our lives, our stress levels are way more complex than being just work- or home-related. Stress manifests itself in many physical, psychological, and behavioral symptoms, which can include headaches, fatigue, feelings of being out of control, and insomnia. Take Time to Celebrate! After making sure you celebrate your own wins and successes, you can help others celebrate theirs. A work environment where nothing is ever celebrated can quickly become disillusioned and depressed. Reducing the Seductive Nature of Addictions We must all pay attention and acknowledge the potential that some compulsive thing we are doing can very easily become an addiction... When people are addicted, they no longer have full control. How Do You Respond to Your Circumstances? Throughout history, great accomplishments have been achieved in spite of circumstances. If everything were easy to do, we wouldn’t use "great" and "accomplishment" together to describe a situation. Great accomplishments are so named because of the intensity of the circumstances and the ability of the individual to overcome them. The Perils of Procrastination What has your lack of action (procrastination) cost you in lost opportunities and/or experiences? For most of us, the price is far greater than we expect and, in many cases, the desired action is never started, engaged, or completed. The Cry for Competence No one simply "gets" fully competent. Competence requires a commitment to continual improvement. If you cannot achieve competency, do everybody a favor and find an area where you can excel. If you want to stay where you are, mentor under someone to increase your competence. Creating a Flake-Free Zone I am talking about the characteristic of being flaky, which infers a habitual way of acting and thinking . . . a person’s primary method of conducting business and life. Being flaky a lot of the time reveals a foundational value of not respecting yourself and others; you are acting in an unprofessional manner. The Spirit of Abundance Some people reject the concept of abundance because many authors have wrongly linked abundance with only wealth and/or money. Abundance really applies to all elements in your life such as health, friends, relationships, achievement, your emotional and spiritual state, and many other facets. Wealth just happens to be one of many possible abundance components in your life. Success is a Team Sport Never, Never, Never, underestimate the power of a mediocre or negative team member! Great Team Members add to your team; mediocre team members take away -- and that costs you more than you might imagine. Are You a Giver or a Taker We are all familiar with this longstanding truth: "Give and you will receive." Isn’t it interesting that what takers want the most is what they get least and what givers want least is what they get the most? With the act of giving to others, people generally want to give more to us in return. The Magic of the Moment In other words, the ability to be focused and aware of what is happening in the moment leads to leadership success. Living in the moment allows you to experience life at its deepest and most meaningful level. It allows you to REALLY connect with others and learn from them and from the situations you are in. Integrity - Don't Leave Home Without It Integrity can apply to all areas of our lives and is constantly affecting our reputation and success. All of us at sometime or another has been out of integrity. But the question is, do we own up to it and learn from the experience or do we continue to conduct ourselves in ways we don’t like to see in others? The Power of Your Thoughts The research revealed that the way you think about your wins and positive events and about your loses and negative events are equally important. Life is not just about overcoming failure. Do you own and take credit for your wins? To break the bondage of our habits, first we need to become aware of how our thoughts and our language can and are hindering our success. The Power of Planning Isn’t life like that!? We think about the planning part but often leave it too late -- or we don’t plan at all and, before we know it, we are unprepared or unable to fully achieve our objective. Planning -- on a personal, professional, business, or organizational level -- is developed from purpose, vision, mission, and values, concepts we have discussed in previous Living on Purpose ezines. Success Demands Decisive Decisions Everyone reading this article is a leader. Yes, everyone! You are a leader at some level with someone. It could be at home as a significant other and/or parent. It could be at work, as a volunteer. And certainly, you are responsible for the leadership of your own life-fulfillment and your purpose. Your success is linked to your ability to make decisions. No exceptions! Life is a Risky Business Life has value because it is perishable. The same applies to risk. The value of your decision is proportionate to the level of the risk. If, in your life choices, there is NO POTENTIAL loss or injury, you have not taken a risk. If your life (outside of the mundane) has no risk, you are not living your life at 100%. This position is COSTING YOU in your life -- how much, only you can decide! Are You Dying to Live? Are you treating your life -- and the other people in it -- as precious? If you died today, what type of evidence would be left behind? Would it show that you engaged life at the 100% level or that you just plodded through? Would excuses be written on your headstone? So many individuals engage life at half-throttle, with little will, ambition, impact, or contribution. They blame others for their life circumstances and believe their situation is all other people’s fault. Success is Only Six Degrees of Separation Away Success is Only Six Degrees of Separation Away "Someday this will be true for all us. Our network will equal our networth." -Tim Sanders, Author: How to Win Business and Influence Friends Achieving Emotional Freedom - Part One "Millions of men and women are paralyzed with the fear of poverty -- and fears are nothing more than a state of mind. The good news is that one’s state of mind is subject to control and direction." -Napoleon Hill, Author : Think and Grow Rich Achieving Emotional Freedom through Financial Independence Part One: Mindset Secrets of Success "What I lack is to be clear in my mind what I am to do, not what I am to know... The thing is to understand myself, to see what God really wished me to do... to find the idea for which I can live and die." -Soren Kierkegaard The Secrets of Success Power Radical Ethics Part Two "The best mind-altering drug is truth." Lily Tomlin The Power of Radical Ethics - Part Two Last issue we discussed that we should all "give back." In this issue, we will put "giving back" into context. Power of Radical Giving Part One "Along with the responsibility of creating and generating comes the moral responsibility of giving something back." Bob Briner, Author Ninety Proven Leadership Principles The Power of Radical Giving - Part One Are you giving back your share? The Powerful Sound of Silence In our civilized world, we enjoy numerous conveniences. Like everyone else, I enjoy most of them. But with the invention of electricity, we created 24-hour lives, constantly feed by input or, better stated, noise. So what is the impact of such a noisy environment and lifestyle? Let’s see. The Tyranny of Urgency Addiction Today’s society has progressed to the point where in some work environments unless you operate with urgency addiction you are negatively judged. You are seen as a slacker not willing to pay the price for success and not committed to the cause. However it can also be a way that we feel exhilarated and useful. If it gets strong enough we get addicted to the perpetual motion and being busy becomes the goal. The Power of Living in Your Truth and Authenticity We have become conditioned to hold back the real truth in many situations. We hold our truth in. Stuffed into our minds and bodies, our truth clogs our entire systems, like a plugged fuel line to a motor -- not operating at full potential -- sputtering through life. The Value of Your Network and Networking A Network is a group or system of related or connected parts. The action form of Network is Networking — the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions. Both the Network and Networking are important. Hey: Are You Having Fun -- Yet? When you look around the world today, it seems that a lot of the fun has gone out of our lives. We take ourselves and life so seriously, we have stopped enjoying what we are doing. Fun is something that provides amusement or enjoyment in your life. The Power of Leverage Almost all successful individuals understand the power of leverage. And that success in any endeavor is accelerated by using leverage. The Power of Persistence: Doing Whatever It Takes Almost without exception, most high achievements are the result of persistence. If showing up and waiting for success is all it took, we would all be experiencing the sweet taste of victory. We know that’s not true. The Gift of Encouragement Encouragement means to inspire, incite, foster, or stimulate courage with hope. Everyone needs encouragement at one time or another, from the CEO, mother, father, child, or employee, to the professional athlete or performer. The Gift of Forgiveness The greatest benefit of forgiveness goes to the person giving it -- not receiving it. The definition states to "give up" means to release. The fact of the matter is that the harboring of resentment or bitterness affects our physical, emotional, and mental health -- not the offender. Your Credibility Level is Important -- Only if You Want to be Successful. In today’s self-absorbed and self-centered societies, somehow we have missed one of the most important characteristics required for true success: a person’s credibility level. But to do something about it, we need to understand this concept and the impact it is having on us and others. Who’s Taking Responsibility for Your Life? Today’s society would like us to believe that our situation or anything else that keeps us from achieving our wants or desires is someone else’s fault. Of course, deep down we know this is utterly false. Responsibility is the high road; to not take responsibility means we can blame everyone but ourselves for our current circumstances Is Your Life Easy? Easy does not mean being lazy or without any effort, but easy involves accomplishment without struggle. Until we relinquish the belief that "Life is Hard," we intentionally or unintentionally promote and live a difficult life bogged down in drama. The Real Laws of Attraction: Why Positive Affirmations Don’t Work! In the past couple of years, several books on the subject of Attraction have been published. But recently some new thinking has been put forth to refute some of the past motivational dogma. Do you know individuals who don’t achieve the levels they would like to or that every time they take a step forward, they seem to take a step back? I will outline a couple reasons why that might be happening Health: Is Your Lifestyle Killing You? Health care is quickly becoming the number one concern in the Western world. Today our life expectancy is higher than ever; the average lifespan for men and women exceeds 70 years. People are now looking at the quality of their life as equal to or more important than the length of their life. Discovering the Truth about Your Spirituality Writing about spirituality can be sensitive. By not writing about it, I would deny each of you access to questions and thoughts that can help you truly fulfill your purpose in life. I am not talking about the politically correct, watered-down version of spirituality that typically refers to our core values; I mean the foundational beliefs on which our lives exist and function. The Character Trait of Being Thankful What is being thankful really about? It starts when each of us can consciously be appreciative for the things we have or we have enjoyed. I have found this is only the first part to being thankful. If we want to have a thankful heart and spirit, the second part requires us to choose the attitude that our thankfulness is greater than our disappointments, frustrations, or the negative events we are or have been experiencing. Are You Living Your Purpose? As each of you read this article, take a moment to reflect on your life. What do you see? Do you see someone who has embraced life to its fullest? In conversations with friends, colleagues, and new acquaintances, I still come across many who are searching for their personal purpose or life direction. Especially the baby boomers, who, I have observed, want to move from success to significance in their lives. It is not as if their life is traumatized or currently unsatisfactory but clarity around their personal purpose seems to elude them The Case for Courage The current condition and state of our lives have been strongly influenced by our choices. Those choices -- consciously or unconsciously -- were directed by our level of courage/confidence. Without courage, what are we giving up, missing, avoiding, not resolving, not doing, not starting, not embracing, or not changing? Self-Worth - Your Success Depends On It Even though our society seems to be restrained in discussions about Self-Worth, it needs to be included as part of everybody’s success plans and strategies. It already affects all of us -- in a negative, neutral, or positive way -- so let’s include Self-Worth as part of our awareness program. Can Friendships Extend Your Life? As a publisher of assessments, I am always looking for the next trend or tool we can offer our clients. Not long ago, I was completing an online health assessment that claimed -- based on your lifestyle, health practices, and background -- to predict your life expectancy. Well, that piqued my curiosity. I was not surprised to see many of the common factors we all acknowledge, such as smoking, lack of exercise, and eating platefuls of my favorite Hungarian Salami -- but I never guessed what was next. More beneficial than sufficient sleep and moderate exercise was this: the companionship of close friends. This item alone would significantly increase my life expectancy. I’m not talking about a month or two; the difference was calculated at several years, depending on my level of active friendships. The Case for Commitment One of the critical characteristics to anyone’s success is his or her commitment level. Commitment is defined as an obligation or pledge given in trust. Unfortunately, our society and world today seeks self-gratification; thus discomfort of any kind is a reason for breaking commitments. Reflecting On Our Impact Have you changed anything in your life because of 9/11? Immediately after those tragic events, most of us took the time to reflect more deeply about our lives. Many considered the meaning of life by attending religious services and/or focusing on the spiritual aspects of our lives. Some made a greater effort to connect with others. Each day we make choices -- consciously or not -- to engage our lives. Are you happy with what you see? Are you a participant in your life or merely an observer? Are you clear about what really matters and the impact -- or lack of impact -- your life is having? The Power of Measurement Our lives operate around measurements. Without them, we cannot function. Think about it -- even undeveloped countries use the rising of the sun and moon and the changing of the seasons as measurements. What about the modern world? Without measurement, our economies and lives would literally collapse. Everything is about measurement-- money, travel, time, age, weight, volume, temperature, stock indexes, etc. Why Don’t You Teach The Way That I Learn? I believe there are 4 primary learning styles and that each of us has preferences in our learning. (I’ll explain them in a moment.) In fact, many of you actually prefer multi modes or approaches to learning, depending on what you are learning. Now think about this for a moment . . . if this is true for you, isn’t it true for your children, colleagues, employees, or family and friends? The Power of Lifelong Learning The difference between "who you are now and the person you really want to be" lies in two simple things: your level of knowledge and the application of that knowledge. What's your Legacy? I don’t recall the exact source, but a few years ago, a study was conducted with individuals over 70 years of age. They were asked this question: if they could change anything in the way they had lived their lives, what would it be? The answers were direct; three simple thoughts were revealed. Number One: They would take more risks. Number Two: They would take more time off to relax. Number Three: They would commit to something that would last beyond their lifetime. Attracting Your Perfect Job or Career Each of us is born with specific talents. Before you can attract your perfect career, work or life, you must be clear about your gifts, talents, and interests. The challenge for many of you will be that your gifts and talents don’t fit the Standard Industry Classification (SIC) Code. While it may be easy to define the skills necessary to do the job of a welder, bus driver, or receptionist, how does an intrapreneur and an entrepreneur fit into the code? Many people do not! Making career decisions using the status quo is not always beneficial. For many of us, that process misses the mark. Are You Living Your Life to It’s Fullest? Nobody loves the excitement of running a busy business more than I do, but I still need to ask myself -- am I putting off or simply omitting some important things from my life? I know I could be doing more, and I don’t mean just being busier. What about you? How are you really doing with your life? What do you need to do differently to increase your impact -- and create your legacy? Personal Style The research is clear: Personal Style is as real as you reading this line of type, but rarely do individuals come to truly understand their Personal Style so that they can proactively deal with their natural tendencies.

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