Monday, December 22, 2008

10 Tips to Creating an Amazing 2009

1. Become incredibly selfish, not self-centered. It's all about your willingness to take care of yourself and choose what you want and how you want it. The less selfish you are the more you'll put up with what isn't acceptable in your life.

2. Eliminate delay. That's my motto...how I live my life so I don't throw away time which is a very precious commodity. If you become a quick responder (not reactor) you won't be bogged down with a list of "shoulds", "have-tos" and "haven't gotten to life yet".

3. Thrive on the details as that's where you'll learn. You'll also learn to appreciate the little things so you can enjoy them, not just the big momentous occasions in your life.

4. Show others what pleases you. If you have the right people in your life...those who care about you both personally and professionally they want to know and if you show them you can ask for what you want, then it might just give them the 'permission' to ask for what they want in their lives as well. That's the ultimate gift to the people in your life.

5. Sensitize yourself...be aware of everything around you and how you process it all.
Pay attention to the world around you. Pay attention to your intuition. Be mindful. You will learn more from paying attention than anything else.

6. Choose your environment. There's a reason why there's a saying "you are a product of your environment" so make it a great one and that's all aspects of your environment, people, physical space, mental, network, learning...the works

7. See how perfect the present really is. You've heard me ask "what's so perfect when it clearly isn't?" well if you see right now as perfect that question becomes a moot point. It's easier to do than you think!

8. Become unconditionally constructive. The meaning of this is evident. Constructive can also mean constructive destructionism. Approach the new year with the perspective of having to eliminate what is no longer working by choice and replacing it with what will work for the future.

9. Establish reserves in all areas. Have enough everything...money, time, space, relationships so you can make the choices you need to make rather than have circumstances make choices for you.

10. Raise your standards. Decide how well you wish to live and make choices to orient your life, friends, work, goals and lifestyle around these standards. Standards means the bar you set for how you want to live your life. It's not always money related, remember that.

Make 2009 amazing!

Best!
Donna Karlin

Monday, December 08, 2008

Turning Nothing into Something

It's been a while since I've written. Between the chaos in the Canadian Government, constant change in the public service, a few challenging situations in my home life and the work I've been doing south of the border, finding the time to write even a short blog post was a challenge. In the middle of all this, I was asked if I would do a free webinar on time management. My response was "No. I won't do a webinar on time management because it's not about juggling time, saving time, managing time or re-organizing time; it's about how you respect yourself in relation to time."

I remember Thomas Leonard saying "Work is an expression of one's values; struggling is an expression of one's unmet needs. Either you are creating your life or the circumstances are." It was even more paramount during this intensely chaotic time to be able to say yes to the right things and no to the rest. That's step one in respecting yourself in relation to time. The more you give away the less you have to make a difference in your life and the lives of others.

For me there is nothing more important than to impress upon you that the more difficult life seems to be, from struggling economy to a sea of change initiatives wherever you look, remember that all you have is time...time to do, to learn, to express, to explore, create, live and have an impact. If you throw it away, then what will be left is regret.

Wouldn't you prefer to celebrate? Here's the way to get started. FunctionFox Webinar Series Presents; Time Mastery: Take Back Your Life...One Choice at a Time

Thursday January 8, 2009 2 PM Eastern 11AM Pacific
Free 30 minute webinar with 15 minute Q+A following.
Click http://www.functionfox.com/events/ to register

Best...
Donna Karlin

Take Note: The International Journal of Coaching in Organizations (IJCO) is a publication that has no equal. It brings a depth and breadth and an understanding to coaching in organisations that goes beyond any other publication I know of. I am proud to be a sponsor for this journal. Here’s an excerpt from a recent interview with Julio Olalla, founder of Newfield, one of the world’s foremost transformational learning organizations.

“Well, for example, if you physically live in pain, it doesn’t mean transformation; it means that you are living in pain. If an organization lives in suffering, it doesn’t mean anything. If the suffering is brought to a context of reflection and practice, it can generate a new future. So, in other words, if suffering is used as a revealing force, it’s enormously powerful. You may have organizations where people are suffering, for instance, because they’re not listened to. Now, they can keep suffering because nobody is willing to listen, and in that case suffering is not doing its job. But if we are willing to listen to it, it can be enormously revealing and get us into new and different actions.

Suffering could be a sign the same way that a pain in our body is a sign.”

This interview appeared in Issue 2, 2008 of IJCO. It is free and available for download until January 31, 2009. Click here to go to the IJCO website to download your free copy. Julio is regarded as a master at creating safe environments that accelerate people’s potential for new thinking and action. William Bergquist, the International Journal of Coaching in Organizations (IJCO) Co-Executive Editor, interviewed him in May 2008 at the Newfield offices in Boulder, Colorado.

And take a moment to check this out: From the award-winning documentary, "Playing For Change: Peace Through Music", comes the first of many "songs around the world" being released independently. Featured is a cover of the Ben E. King classic by musicians around the world adding their part to the song as it travelled the globe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM

Talk about the world becoming a much smaller place. Puts some things in perspective, don't you think?