1 + 1 affects every 1

Relationships are everywhere... some better than others.  And whether we choose to accept this or not (or believe it or not), every relationship that we form affects our entire surrounding - not only the people directly involved.

Have you ever been part of a group in which 2 people really detested each other?  How was the overall dynamic of that group?

Now imagive a child growing up with parents who stopped loving each other... parents who now resent each other... parents who put on their smiling face in front of their child only to turn to fighting and screaming behind closed doors.  Can we honestly say that this does not affect the child's life just as much as it does the parents?

Whether we feel stuck, without options or not worthy of a fulfilling...

• Romantic Relationship
• Employee/Employer Relationship
• Parent/Child Relationship
• Friend/Friend Relationship
• Customer/Organization Relationship

We need to remind ourselves that we are not doing our environment a favor in leaving things as they are... the energy surrounding each one of our relationships travels much further than we tend to convince ourselves.

Contruction delays

Have you ever noticed how the ones who complain that the roads are filled with potholes are also the same who'll complain about construction delays?  And often times, those same people will then turn around and complain about municipal and/or provincial taxes.

We have become so used to getting everything we want in a flash (and for free) since the rise of the internet.  But some things simply take a bit of sacrifice of both time and money... so let's all be a little more patient and grateful that we don't have to fix the roads ourselves.

Aiming at the target

It doesn't matter if your target is a personal goal, business goal or an actual target, you need to take that first shot and make adjustments until you hit your goal.

Too many people stay in the aiming (or planning) stage of the process by fear of missing their goal (making a mistake).

Always keep in mind...  It doesn't matter how long you aim at a target, you'll never know where the arrow will strike until you take that first shot.

Who's behind the curtain?

So you get up in the morning, you have plans or you make plans for the day, you put yourself in "character" and you go out into the world to play your part...

Does this sound like you some days? 

Have you ever caught yourself "acting" as someone you simply weren't for various reasons?

• It may have been because you feared others wouldn't really get you if you played your real self.
• It may have been because you felt that the situation needed you to behave a certain way.
• It may have been because you really weren't sure who the real you was anymore.

What ever the reason was that made you play this "character" in the past... here's one thing you should keep in mind.  No matter who you are, how you behave, how you dress, how you speak, where you work, who you know, etc... you will never please everyone, so why try?  Why not instead focus on making yourself happy?

BE, LIVE & BREATHE like the person that you are... the real you... open yourself and accept every part of the real you... your strengths and your flaws... and find your own joy and happiness.

You have the right to play the part of... THE REAL YOU.

Airplane wisdom

If you're like most people I know, you probably don't pay too close attention to the routine speech flight attendants give before a plane takes off.  We heard the same speech over and over again and eventually we feel like there's nothing left to learn... Or is there?

I'm not sure exactly what day this was, but it was a few years ago.  I was sitting patiently in an airplane waiting for the "usual routine" to begin.  But halfway through, I suddenly found myself hearing the exact words I'd  heard countless times before... only this time they seemed to mean something entirely different.

"Be sure to secure your own breathing mask before helping others"

While everyone would agree, I'm sure, that the idea behind this makes complete sense...you can't help others (not even children) if you stop breathing yourself.  However, taking this simple principle and applying it in other areas of life is not an easy thing to do... without the risk of being perceived as selfish.

• If a friend of yours is having money problems, is it your obligation to lend them the money?  Even if it means that you have to get that money from your personal line of credit or credit card.
• If a group of your closest friends are all getting together on a Saturday to help out a local charity, is it OK for you to say you can't join them because you need to take that extra shift at work to pay your rent?

The simple truth is that you can't help others if you don't help yourself first... even when the alternative doesn't result in your immediate death.

Who's to blame?

Do you blame the customer who wants to pay as little as possible for quality merchandise?
or
Do you blame the employee who sells a customer the wrong product just so he can make his commission?
or
Do you blame the management team that pressures the sales team to meet quota... every time?
or
Do you blame the big companies that set up shop in other countries to cut down on manufacturing expenses?

Over the years I've observed this simple, yet dangerous truth... Most of us tend to pass the blame over to others.  There seems to be this belief that "if this person or group would simply stop doing what ever we blame them of doing"... everything would be fine.

But what would happen if everyone involved instead took responsibility for their contribution to this apparent problem?  What if decisions were made from a place of love and respect... instead of only factoring monetary consequences?

Who's your customer?

I believe that your customer should be the person you have direct contact with.  To illustrate, here are a few examples...

Business -> Management (customer)

Management -> Employees (customer)

Employees -> Customers (customer)

School District -> Teachers (customer)

Teachers -> Students (customer)

If the Business would focus on making sure the management team "bought" into what it stood for, wouldn't it be more likely that the employees would also "buy" into it?  And wouldn't having employees who believed in what the Business stood for, make the experience for the paying customer, a better one?

What would happen to our society if every organization would switch to this new way of thinking?