There is No Maximum to Human Potential

Life is What You Make It

This past week I have been reflecting on the thought of living an authentic life - a life that is genuine to me and my passions.  I was able to meet Peter Buffett as he came to perform at the Bellevue College Luncheon that I co-chaired.  I found Peter to be musically gifted and a very genuine spirit.  He shared a story with us that caused me to reflect on my own life - my personal journey. 

   
Peter told the story from his book, Life is What You Make It, about when he went to college at Stanford and after 1.5 years of school he still did not know what he wanted to do with his life. One day he inherited $90K from his grandparents and told his father, Warren Buffett, that he wanted to take a year off to persue his music. His father encoraged him to do this, helped him write a budget, and he left Stanford and moved to San Francisco to work on his music career.  He ended up having a very happy and successful career and never returned to Stanford.  I was impressed by his parent's approach of telling their children to pursue their passions.  They explained that Dad's (Warren's) passion was investments - but that Peter and his sister would need to follow their own passions.  This gave him the courage he needed to create his path in life.  Peter later mentioned that if he would have kept his $90K in Birkshire Hathaway stock it would be worth $70 million today.  He did not flinch when he said that living the life he designed was worth more to him than the $70 million.

I am so happy that 5 years ago I decided to pursue my passion for helping people and entrepreneurship by becoming an Executive Coach and starting HumanPoint.  I took a risk going out on my own, it was not easy, it was very stressful and scary to venure out, but today 4 years later I am so glad that I did. Today I love my job, my clients, and the experiences I have each week. 

My question to you is- are you living your passion? If not, what are you going to do about it?

It is like the Chinese proverb:  When is the best time to plant a tree? 20 years ago.  When is the next best time?  Today. 

HumanPoint's Amy Hedin in the News

 

 

New York Post, February 17, 2011:

I Do Yoga With My Bosses: For NYC Workers, Yoga is the New Golf

 

Best Practices from Zengage at Zendesk.com, February 15, 2011:

Mobile Devices Are Transforming Customer Service

How Well are You Using LinkedIn? Success Magazine Blog Post

How Well Are You Using LinkedIn?

How CEO's can Improve Speeches- HBR Blog Article

5 Quick Tips for CEO's

 

10 Ways to Survive During a Difficult Life Transition

A friend asked me recently for tips on surviving a major change in her life- getting over it- and how to cope with the day-to-day until she feels better.  I sat with her and brainstormed the following ideas- wanted to post in case it could help anyone else out there dealing with a similar life transition.  Would love to hear any others to add to the list. 

1. Go to the gym everyday.  Everyone feels better after they workout.  Everyone feels better about themselves when they work out.  Everyone looks better when they workout. 
2. Read positive books - get some new information in your mind in order to think differently about your current situation.
3. Write down your thoughts- get a journal and be refective about where you are- and how you are feeling.  Also jot down what you are thankful for everyday to stay focused on positives.
4. Allow yourself time to grieve.  Don't try to push yourself too hard- or avoid the pain with unhealthy behaviors.  Instead focus on  getting to acceptance by allowing yourself time to journey through the other stages. 
5. Seek professional help - it sometimes helps to have an objective person to discuss our situation. 
6. Calendar social activities- reach out to friends and book your social calendar out so you are not sitting at home obsessing about things you have no control over. Get out and blow off some steam. 
7. Pray - ask for peace and understanding for your situation.
8. Focus forward- write down goals and things you want to do and become next.
9. Plan a project or something- it takes you into your analytical mind and gives you a break from the emotions.  Spreadsheets and numbers are a great distraction.
10. Help someone- volunteer your time and talents to those less fortunate.  It will lift your spirits and help someone else lift theirs.   

 

Life Ain't Like a Sad Country Song...For Long...

I remember September 15, 2009 like it was yesterday.  To date, it was one of the worst days of my life.  I was crossing the street asking myself what else could possibly go wrong today.  My marriage was over, my two employees were leaving for various reasons, my life was flipped completely upside down.  I felt completely helpless.  I remember asking myself that day, why do these horrible things happen all at one time?  Couldn't they be spread out or given in smaller doses?  As if life sees that you are down and then decides to give you one final kick in the gut.  It reminded me of the country song where the guy left her, her dog died, she lost her job, and it was still Tuesday morning.  

I think it is important to remember during these tough times, especially when negative things are happening all at once, to just stand up and keep walking forward.  To realize that this will not be permanent and that life will return to "normal" eventually.  The only thing we can control during these times is our determination to keep fighting, our effort to stay positive and focused on who and what we have, and ask others for help and support.  

Looking back on this date and time in my life I realize now that I felt helpless for a very short amount of time, landed on my feet both personally and professionally, and am in a very happy place today.  During this time I learned four life lessons.  

1. The first lesson I learned is compassion- understanding how a person feeling helpless is the worst possible feeling- recognizing this and offering a word of encouragement when I see it.  Also not being so judgemental towards others as they may be secretly going through something very difficult.  To give people the benefit of the doubt more than I would have in the past.  
2. Second lesson, to be more thankful for what I have versus what I don't have.  There are always people worse off than we are.  It is good to remember this during the tough times.  
3. Third lesson, to cherish the people in my life that love me.  I have always been very independent and during this time I really leaned on my close friends and family.  As a result, I feel like I have even stronger and more open relationships.  
4. Fourth and final lesson- this too shall pass.  It is so easy to think during a horrible time that we will feel this bad forever.  This is a false belief that we all feel when we are in the center of the crap that we will feel like s**t forever. Like everything else in life, it will pass and we will feel better.  

So, our lives may feel from time to time like we are living out a sad country song.  We just need to remind ourselves that it is not for long!  

Where Good Ideas Come From By: Stephen Johnson

Employee Assessments

I currently use assessments in my coaching practice and have been using the ProfileXT since 2004 and it is the most valid and reliable assessment I have found. This tool can be used both pre-hire and post-hire. For selecting a tool for pre-hire use you must be more selective as you must follow DOL guidelines for hiring in order to avoid any potential legal issues with non-selected candidates. I recommend visiting this link http://www.dol.gov/compliance/topics/hiring-testing.htm on DOL and downloading Testing and Assessment: An Employers Guide to Good Practices. On page 23 they describe a "reliability coefficient." Personally, I would not use a tool for pre-hire with a reliability coefficient under .80 to be safe. Many standard personality assessments on the market have a much lower reliability coefficient. I use these for post-hire team building applications. In addition, I would ask to view the latest validity study and make sure it is recent - not from 1970. I would also select an assessment company that has a large client base and many years of validity studies. I would also make sure the tool you select can be customized to measure a person to a specific job. Finally, I recommend making the asssessment 1/3 or less of your overall hiring decision.

Innovation Is Not Just Change

Innovation. It's a word bandied about all the time. Most agree it's a positive thing and business leaders  always want more of it.

But despite thousands of books and articles on the topic of innovation and leadership there is no agreed upon set of practices to produce it.

Of course, innovation and leadership are intertwined. A prime focus of leadership is bringing about a better future--more profits, streamlined procedures, and dedicated motivated employees. So, in this way, leaders are necessarily innovators.

Someone who is a mere spectator of the status quo, then, cannot be considered a leader.

Most people equate innovation with change, but that's not the whole story. Change occurs constantly whether we're aware of it or not.  A random event, insight, or accident may bring something new to light, but that's not innovation.

What might be learned and applied from some change might lead to innovation, but the chance occurrence is not itself an innovation.

Most people have had the experience of coming up with a "big idea" but doing nothing, only to hear later that someone else with the same idea succeeded in making it a reality just as we had imagined. This is the chief distinguishing factor between a dreamer and an innovator.

The key difference between mere change and innovation is intentionality.

A useful definition : innovation is intentionally implementing a useful change that can be sustained and repeated.

It is always related to a practical value that accomplishes a goal in the real world: new products, processes, or tools which allow people to work better and smarter than they could previously.

Fascinating Talk - The World Values Happiness Above All

Click to view TED talk