Merging of the Blogs

I have been doing a lot of thinking.  A lot of brain-work in terms of aligning my passion, my values and focusing on my Unique Ability ( a great read by the way - thanks Alynn Anglin for recommending).  In doing this I have realized that I need to focus on where my heart truly lies - that is in leadership development.

I started the Solstice Life blog with the intention of keeping focus on the everyday things in life that cause us to take action, take notice or even take a step away.  In my reflection, I have found that this blog - Solstice Life - still really captures personal leadership and should be combined with Leadership Solstice.

Leadership is nothing if it is not personal.  Leadership takes the personal and makes you outwardly project your authenticity, your values, you mission and your vision.  You cannot have a personal leadership plan and a professional one - at some point they must merge.  And this is my point.  I will be merging this blog with Leadership Solstice.  Please visit me there, follow my feed and comment.  I have loved being connected here, and will continue to serve you there.

Here is the link:  http://leadershipsolstice.blogspot.com .  Looking forward to new connections as you spread the word.

I will show some of the more interesting blogposts there as well.

Balancing the Equinox

The Equinox happened on September 23rd at 9:04 am.  That was the exact time where the sun was aligned with the equator.  Think about your alignment.  Think about how you balance yourself - the earth and the planets do - the universe is all about balance.  How do you find your balance?

When I think of alignment, I think of living life authentically, aligned to my values.  This means balancing work and family, health & home, heart & mind.  Not easy, an always a progression towards improvement.  With each stage of our life, this balance can actually flex and change.  For example, when the kids were smaller, they needed more of my time so something else had to have less of my time.  Now that has changed and I am able to place more time on other things as the kids have learned to use their time differently as well.

Part of alignment is presence - living the moments you have when you have them.  Choosing to do what you do because you enjoy it - whether it is work or play, and not feeling guilty for either.

Once the equinox is complete, literally in hours, the sun and the earth keep moving.  It actually takes 33 hours for the sun to completely cross the equator (thanks Wikipedia).  What I found most interesting in researching this universal phenomenon was that for the poles (north and south) this is the moment that light transitions from 24 hours of nighttime to 24 hours of daylight.  What a profound statement. Imagine being always in the light or always in the dark? What would you do?  How would that feel? 

Think about your life.  Your equinox.  Your alignment and your balance.  What changes can you make to become more aligned to your light, your values?  Not an easy question, not an easy task, but a liberating one, to say the least.

Anniversaries

This week we celebrate our wedding anniversary. We get to look back on our lives together and look to the future and what is coming our way next.  We are not at a huge milestone, but proud of the fact that we have made it this far and have accomplished so much.

Thinking about the year ahead in our family, there are many milestones headed our way - new babies, 75th birthdays, 50th Wedding Anniversaries, 70th birthdays and another 50th birthday on its way.

We love to celebrate - especially the big things because it is an opportunity to put the special people in our lives in the same room for a different reason that the usual holidays where we get together.  We can even expand beyond the usual crowd and invite those that we see infrequently.

The planning, the excitement, the photos, the memories - all waiting to be had.  And what fun - to see the looks on people's faces, to see and feel the hugs, see tears of joy and happiness and create memories together....what else is life about?

Tell me how you celebrate those special milestones......send images, ideas...I would love to share!

Good Vs Not So Good

There have been a rash of athletes who have taken their own lives in the last few months of Summer.  Some reporters have speculated that this can partly be blamed on the constant pressure to perform at optimal levels and also the fact that the fans refuse to accept anything other than an amazing effort all the time.

The fan question leads back to the idea that we are (I am probably) in the last generation where it was ok to fail, because you learned a lesson.  We actually kept score in sports, and only the winners at the track meet got a ribbon, not everyone - just for participating!

Listening to the tragedies, I started to think about the people in my life and my interactions with them.  Not only my kids and my husband, but also my family, my colleagues and my clients.  How honest am I about their performance?  Do I make sure they understand that they have to try and even if they fail they will learn something and be alright?  Do I make it clear that not trying does not make them a superstar, but working hard will make them better than they are today?  Do I hold them and myself accountable for their/my actions?

It's a wake-up call - do we live in silos or do we see what is going on around us?  Are we sure that we are making good decisions not just right decisions?  It is tough to be a kid these days if everyday you are 'so awesome' and when you get to University or College, you have so much competition due to sheer numbers that you can't all be 'so awesome'!  We need to prepare our kids for the future - the real world, where you are told no, you are told 'not good enough', you are told 'fix it' - all without the why's and how's (unfortunately).

I think about my clients especially - do I make sure they understand how to resolve their issues and build solid platforms for problem-solving?  Am I letting them get away with their 'awesomeness' without pushing them beyond their comfort zone? 

It's a lot...I know....heavy for a late Summer day.....but thoughts that need to be explored nonetheless.  What do you think?  How do you make sure you hold yourself accountable to raising well-adjusted kids, clients & colleagues?

Back to School

So the day has arrived (and that is why I am posting today instead of yesterday!). It is the first day of the school year here in our area.  My youngest son is off to his first day of High School.  He looked prepared, all dressed up in his white polo shirt and grey flannels, ready to tackle the new world awaiting him.

For the last 2 years I have driven him to school every morning.  That time from 8 - 8:40 am was our time - talking, joking, listening to the radio, getting breakfast and lunch together.  Now our time is from 6:45 am - 7:15 am before he has to leave for the bus stop just 2 blocks down the street....and I watched him walk to it from our dining room window.

He amazes me.  He is staying after school today (on the first day) to attend football practice.  He couldn't sleep at all last night - and neither could I....his big brother (moving on to his own new life) promised him that everything would go well as school today and if there were any issues from the older kids, that he would be happy to text them and remind them whose brother he is...sweet, right?

All this change - even though it is going back to routine is quite nerve-wracking - yes, even for me.  At the end of it all, I am a mom, who only wants her kids to do well, have fun and enjoy every moment of their lives...and I still want to be a fly on the wall while they do it. I know in my heart this is not possible and that I have to let them be themselves and here is the clincher:  when my youngest went to bed last night we talked about playing football - I wished him all the best times and fun he could find and I promised that I would come watch his games.  His only question was "will you film my games?  you never know, this could be a way for me to get into University".  Of course, I will film every game...that is my baby after all.  No pressure from this end, play and have fun...learn about leadership, teamwork and the sport.  If it leads somewhere great, if not, every second of the experience will build a stronger adult.

How is your first day of school going?  I must apologize for the rambling - my boys have been with me all summer and I think I am suffering separation anxiety!

Fear Not the Challenge

This month will be one of challenges.  I have challenged myself to improve a few areas of my life - like most people do, except this time I have done it a little differently:
Challenges:

1. Get into the physical shape I know I can be in and feel best at.
2. Focus on developing 3 key parts of my business (they all intertwine)

What am I doing differently (because this sounds like the same old, same old)

• I have enlisted in the help of my support system - letting them know what I am doing and how so that they can encourage me instead of undermine (albiet unknowingly) my steps
• Changed the order in which I get things done a la 'Eat That Frog'
• Squeezed my time so that I can provide more dedicated focus to the 2 challenges - and they are on my calendar everyday!

Why did I make these changes?  After a lot of consideration, I realized the only thing holding me back was me. 


What challenge are you going to face (again) and actually eliminate?

The Lazy Song

I just love this song and the fact that Bruno Mars would go out on a limb and create such fun music.  His talent is very cool - he stretches in new directions.  Today - too many pop stars and musicians play the same song over again with a few different lines - quite boring and I turn them off, refuse to download (even if they are the most donwloaded singer ever!).
How about you?  Do you put on a silly face and get funky, have some fun, be creative and do things that are not your regular mix?  Why not?!
Make me a promise, after you watch the video for inspiration, you will go do something out of the ordinary!