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When firestorms raged across Southern California and land lines were down, having a cell phone to call my family was a blessing. When I could sit in my ocean front garden and use both hands while talking to my Mother in Florida, I adored my cell phone. After getting lost in a jumble of streets, a cellular call helped me find my client. It’s become my everywhere companion and yet, I am aware that we might just have too much of a good thing. We’ve all become incensed at the loud boors who turn public places into phone booths where we’re bombarded with information we don’t want, don’t need, and probably shouldn’t know. But now, we’re entering a second stage in the cellular age where this amazingly portable device can actually disrupt meaningful face-to-face conversations, the privacy of precious vacation time or the silence of reverie and deep thinking. This tiny (and getting tinier) device has become the metaphor for our 24/7 culture. It has become almost unthinkable to turn it off or plain not answer. In short, the phone controls us rather than visa versa. We live in an age of omni-accessibility according to Fordham communications professor Paul Levinson. Like Pavlov’s dog, we jump every time the cell phone rings, waving off friends, family or kids just to answer the call. We hang this device on our belts, in our pockets, or around our necks, ready to pounce when it rings. As Levinson states, “the notion of being unreachable is not alien to human life.” That’s why there are “Do Not Disturb” signs and offices with doors. Freedom, he claims, comes in simple rebellion. To reclaim our private time, according to Levinson, “there must be a general social recognition that we’re entitled to it.” What would happen if we shut our mouths, put the phone away, and then concentrated on whatever was before us: a place, a project, or-even more importantly-a person? Think of the connection that is made when someone has our undivided attention! And, miracle upon miracles, what if that person was actually ourselves? What if we had uninterrupted time with ourselves? Might we discover a chance to slow down and breathe? Might we discover a small voice that’s been trying to be heard above competing ring tones? Try it. Shut up. Put up. I think it will make our next cell phone call more meaningful. © The Resiliency Group. Publication rights granted to all venues so long as article and by-line are reprinted intact and all links are made live.

Despite a strong U.S. economy, unsettled change continues to bombard us. Mega-mergers boggle the mind with the endless zeros streaming behind a behemoth's financial size. We gasp at the number of employees who will be cast off from a consolidated giant. We see plant closures and layoffs in everything from clothing manufacturing to banking. Overnight web companies turn almost under-age youth into millionaires and executives at age 40 are left scratching their heads. Technology shifts overnight. Medical research makes DNA a poster child for both dreams and nightmares. There's so much, so fast. Despite statistics that put this as the lowest employment rate in decades, there's pain and inaccuracy behind these cold numbers. And in all of this, we're work more but feeling as if we're earning less. There's too much to do and too little time. The cry echoed across business publications, employee surveys, human resource conferences, and on-line chat rooms is this: help us with chaos and balance! Within a 48-hour period, the headlines of the Los Angeles Times business section, a cover story in the latest issue of Fast Company, and the lead article from Fortune all proclaimed the same thing: workers want help with turbulent change and work/life balance. Read the January 11, 1999 edition FORTUNE and you'll uncover an array of work/life balance practices found in the top 100 companies to work for in America. Rather than give a category of these practices, this article is meant to offer some thoughts on how to deal with the second and equally challenging issue: how to deal with the chaos of unending change. In the sixth-century, the Rule of Saint Benedict asked monks to take vows of stability, conversatio, and obedience. Stability emphasized the need to work for the good of the community. Hence, all actions taken were in the context of "will this be of assistance to all rather than just a few?." Certainly this wisdom must be at the center of the top-ranked place to work in America, Synovus Financial whose employees say it has " a culture of the heart." Obedience meant that once the monastery had made a decision (after a practice of hearing from the many members of the community), the monks followed. Independent thinking is good, to a point, in business but then the team has to move in the same direction. Of even more significance is the word conversatio, a term that is difficult to translate. Conversatio connotes a commitment to live faithfully in unsettled times and to keep one's life open. Such a paradox: remain settled; stay open to change! For the monks of the Middle Ages, living faithfully meant listening to an inner voice and responding to the call. For those of us in the 21st century business world, living faithfully also means listening and responding. Here's what we need to listen to: the stories we tell and those around us tell regarding an organization's consistent adherence to values shown by actions that match core beliefs. If there are no stories, there's trouble. It means listening with empathy and responsiveness to the needs of others within the organization. How well do you practice conversatio? Surely, at a time when we hear terms like "spirit" and "soul" more frequently in the workplace, the wisdom of a sixth century monk might help us all deal with the realities of a demanding world.

The April issue of T&D contains two articles that reinforce a belief I have had for over 30 years: the hardest part about leadership is caused by the softest part—people. According to research at both the University of CA at Berkley and Stanford, a culture of compassion—in which managers and employees are friendly and empathetic, makes employees happier and more productive. In fact, Stanford has developed an 8-week compassion training course! Interesting that we have to be taught compassion and yet—our 24/7 rate and pace often leave little time for being compassionate with ourselves, much less others. Solution: Start small: Begin each meeting with one minute of simple breathing. No words. Mindfulness is essential for being present to oneself and others. I was astounded when I facilitated a two-day intensive senior management retreat and offered participants an optional gathering at 6:30 am to learn mindfulness techniques. All but one person came. They later said that session was personally very rewarding and one they hoped to practice. Look for opportunities to acknowledge employees who help others out in time of need. Create a “Helping hand” time in the morning—via twitter, face-to-face meeting, internal message board, etc. that allows employees to express gratitude to someone The second article is closely related: 92% of executives interviewed by Adecco believe there is a gap in workforce skills in the US. The largest gap comes from a lack of soft skills such as communication, problem solving, and emotional intelligence. Eighty-nine percent believe training programs could help but 42% say in-house training would be too expensive.  That’s where folks like me come in. In fact, we just created a two-day training on the Art & Science of Resiliency that looks—with compassion—at individual and managerial skills in living in a complex, changing world.

From 28,000 feet, snow still spots parts of Michigan, Illinois and other states further West. The earth looks brown and barren, dark and ugly from this vantage point. But I know that if I could walk the fields and wait patiently, I’d see signs of new growth inching out of hardened earth. I’d eventually find dead-looking tree limbs swelling with rising sap, pushing buds into blossom under the warming sun. But what if I opted NOT to be patient? What if I panicked, burned the dead-looking trees, cut off limbs, and retreated in disgust within my cocoon? Spring might NEVER come because my shortsighted actions jeopardized the natural course of events. That’s what has happened with the stock market and many of our companies. It concerns me that such actions can create a rippling self-fulfilling prophecy. I’m concerned that departed talent and trust might not be regained within the workplace. I’m concerned that customers will retreat because quality and service could suffer as employees attempt to fill the shoes of a thinned out workforce. Here’s a hard pill to swallow but perhaps all of us—myself included-have become greedy for the amazing returns and astounding growth of the past eight years. Perhaps we’ve grown fat and lazy instead of prudent and thoughtful. I think now is the time to focus on what’s important. For our families and our businesses to thrive, we need to ask ourselves what endures for the long haul and not the short gain. Innovation, engaged and talent-focused employees, customer-focused products and services and a deeply shared commitment to find ways for meaningful contribution carry the day. By historical standards, we’ve been through far more dramatic financial times. Once the U.S. had 20,000 phone companies and 2000 auto companies. General Motors was once a tech stock. As we say in the coaching world, “from breakdown comes build up.” I fully intend to be the voice of reasonable optimism. Now-more than ever-we need to meet, to talk, to vocalize our concerns and legitimize our fears so we can figure out a passage through this blip in business history. Philosopher Howard Zinn said that to have hope one does not need certainty, only possibility. Let us figure out together how to be the bearers of hope. © The Resiliency Group. Publication rights granted to all venues so long as article and by-line are reprinted intact and all links are made live.

What happens when your marriage falls apart and you find yourself unemployed? For Alan Karl, what could have been a spiral into depression and negativity became an opportunity to look at the forks in the road of his life and decide to pursue a life-long-dream and his passions: motorcycle travel, adventure, food and photography. Three years, five continents and one motorcycle later, with the help of a Kickstarter campaign, Alan has produced the very book he told me one year ago that he wanted: FORKS - a Quest for Culture, Cuisine and Connection. How do I describe this gorgeous, coffee table book that sits on the island of my kitchen: It's a travelogue with marvelous writing about people, stories, connections and cultures.It's a stunning photographic ensemble of humanity, geography and all things green, growing and otherwise.It's a recipe book that allows me to bring cultures and flavors around the dining room table to experience 40 signature dishes. (Though I don't know where to find Brazilian red palm oil.)What leaves me in wondrous amazement (and I admit envy) is that he has pursued what he wanted with grit and determination. Resilient to the max, Alan has also demonstrated what I believe to my core: connections made around the table transcend difference of beliefs, nationalities, and ethnicity. I hope you'll visit the web site.  Pre-order the book. And then consider what would be YOUR dream.

Reposted with permission from Jesse Stoner. The original can be found on the Jesse Lyn Stoner Blog. There’s a good reason leadership quotes are popular. A few lines can pack a lot of information that teach and inspire. In A Tweet, a Blog Post, and a Profound Teaching I shared quotes from my own writing. These are the top leadership quotes by others. If I missed one of your favorites, please share it in the comments The only safe ship in a storm is leadership. – Faye Wattleton, Political Activist People are definitely a company’s greatest asset. It doesn’t make any difference whether the product is cars or cosmetics. – A company is only as good as the people it keeps.   – Mary Kay Ash, Entrepreneur and Business Leader A vision is not just a picture of what could be; it is an appeal to our better selves, a call to become something more. – Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School Professor Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning. – Gloria Steinem, Political Activist Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations. – eter Drucker, Management Consultant Ninety percent of leadership is the ability to communicate something people want. – Dianne Feinstein, Senator You manage things, you lead people. We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership. – Grace Hopper, Rear Admiral, US Navy Leading an organization is like frying a small fish.  You spoil it with too much poking. – From the Tao te Ching The things we fear most in organizations – fluctuations, disturbances, imbalances – are the primary sources of creativity. – Margaret Wheatley, Management Consultant What is needed is people who are interested not in being leaders as much as in developing leadership in others. – Ella J. Baker, Civil Rights Activist True leaders understand that leadership is not about them but about those they serve. It is not about exalting themselves but about lifting others up. – Sheri L. Dew CEO, Deseret Book Company The best way to lead people into the future is to connect with them deeply in the present. – James Kouzes and Barry Posner, Management Consultants It is difficult to steer a parked car. – Henrietta Mears, Religious Leader Those who do not move do not notice their chains. – Rosa Luxemburg, Revolutionary The important thing is that when you come to understand something you act on it, no matter how small that act is. Eventually it will take you where you need to go. – Sister Helen Prejean, Activist The future belongs to those who believe in their dreams. – Eleanor Roosevelt, American Politician You take people as far as they will go, not as far as you would like them to go. – Jeanette Rankin, Member US House of Representatives and Congress A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when the work is done, they will say: we did it ourselves. – Lao Tzu, Chinese Philosopher Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it. – Marian Anderson, Contralto Leadership that brings peace is far more courageous than the one which opens fire and goes for war. – Asthma Jehangir, Pakistani Activist A leader who does not hesitate before sending the nation into battle is not fit to be a leader. – Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel When people made up their minds that they wanted to be free and took action, then there was a change. – Rosa Parks, Civil Rights Activist Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. – Helen Keller, Activist Organize, agitate, educate,’ must be our war cry. – Susan B. Anthony, Activist and Newspaper Publisher We have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be. – Michelle Obama, American Lawyer Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by traffic from both sides. – Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader. – Aristotle, Greek Philosopher You have to look at leadership through the eyes of the followers and you have to live the message. I have learned that people become motivated when you guide them to the source of their own power. – Anita Roddick, English Entrepreneur Authority without wisdom is like a heavy axe without an edge, fitter to bruise than polish. – Anne Bradstreet, Poet Power is not an end in itself, but an instrument that must be used toward an end. – Jeane Kirkpatrick, US United Nations Ambassador I do not think that power can be delegated because I believe that genuine power is capacity. Coercive power is the curse of the universe; coactive power, the enrichment and advancement of every human soul. Mary Parker Follett, Management Consultant Leadership is the wise use of power. Power is the capacity to translate intention into reality and sustain it.   – Warren Bennis, Management Consultant True leadership stems from individuality that is honestly and sometimes imperfectly expressed…. Leaders should strive for authenticity over perfection. – Sheryl Sandberg, COO Facebook The moral authority of leaders is the essential ingredient to human security. – Florence Mpaayei, Kenyan Peace Activist If you want to improve the organization, you have to improve yourself. – Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO Pepsico We are willing to follow leaders only to the extent we believe they call on our best, not our worst. – Rachel Maddow, Political Commentator There go the people. I must follow them for I am their leader. – Alexandre Ledru-Rollin, French Politician Clearly no one knows what leadership has gone undiscovered in women of all races, and in black and other minority men. – Gloria Steinem, Political Activist Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person. – Mother Teresa, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Never doubt that a small number of dedicated people can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has. – Margaret Mead, Anthropologist P.S. I can’t resist adding this one of my own: Leadership is about going somewhere. If you don’t have a vision, how do you know where you’re going? – Jesse Lyn Stoner and Ken Blanchard, Management Consultants

Balance and the business traveler has everything to do with staying “connected”. As I indicate in my book, Work for a Living & Still Be Free to Live, we achieve a fluctuating balance by how we CHOOSE to stay connected with the critical areas of our life. Business travel can take a heavy emotional, physical and mental toll. Let me suggest some ways to stay connected with these areas while “on the road”: Emotional—staying connected with your home base and significant people. If you have children, depending upon their ages, consider the following: Take your child with you in your imagination. Ask them if they would select a SMALL toy of theirs that you could carry with you and so stay connected with them. Tape record a favorite story or a good night ritual which can be played before the child goes to sleep. With the child, track your travels on a map and together talk about some of the places or things of interest about your destination (lobsters in Maine; skyscrapers in NY, the lions at the Chicago Art Museum.) As an added bonus, you will have a new appreciation for the place where you’ll be. —Send post cards home to each member of the family (make up labels in advance and buy stamps). You only need to write one personal line. Doesn’t matter that you’ll get home before the postcard. You thought of them. —Leave love notes for your partner (under the pillow/with the toothpaste/on the bathroom mirror). My husband leaves a message with the hotel operator to deliver “Bill loves you most!” Operators really get a kick out of delivering this message —Have a different e-mail address for family members and send home messages —Take a blank book and fill it with favorite pictures of home, family, friends, pet. Always take the book with you on your travels. (I do!) —If possible, make separate calls to your spouse and your children. That way, no one has to share “air time”. Physical—staying connected with your body. Be THERE. Don’t keep two watch times. You’ll be tempted to say “But I can’t go to sleep now it’s only 7pm in CA. or “I can’t get up at 6:00—it’s only 3AM in CA. —Plan time (it won’t just appear) for exercise of any kind. Bring shoes for running or walking. Bring exercise rubber bands for muscle tone. (Take up no room) Use stairs rather than elevator where possible. —Bring any item which can easily make you “feel at home”. This can be anything from a pillow case, a teddy bear, a small picture. —If it’s your style, bring herbal scents for the room; bath salts. One friend carries a device for drowning out sound. She turns it on and selects anything from ocean sounds to raindrops. —Try a portable vaporizer. Clears sinuses and puts moisture back into the face. —Bring saline solution nasal spray for the airlines. Also, a small atomizer of water (some kinds are mixed with aloe). Body tissues become very dehydrated on flights. Drink more water than you ever thought possible. —Always ask for a room away from the elevator and the ice machine. —Unless you have great stamina, avoid red eye flights. Much better to come in rested to do work than stumble your way through a meeting. —Find luggage that works for you. Weight, size, length of shoulder strap. —Lighten the load: if an extended trip, ship home materials or clothes you won’t need. Bring a pre-addressed packing slip. Concierge can help. Whenever possible, check your baggage. Carry only with you the necessities for work and personal hygiene and health. Wear clothes that could suit for your meeting should luggage not make it. There’s far too much carry-on these days. Mental—staying connected with your psyche. Self-talk is powerful when traveling. Why become angry and upset at weather delays (over which no one can do anything)? Mechanical problems are a fact of life. If at all possible, never book yourself on the last flight to your destination. Always have a later flight. And if you can’t make it, consider that you have been given a gift of time. —Use time in flight to get caught up on journals, periodicals, etc. For me, a successful trip is when my briefcase gets lighter and the pocket of the seat in front gets heavier. —See your destination with new eyes. Consider that you are an explorer. Try something new: a restaurant, a neighborhood, a museum, even the note the difference of people. —Keep a small journal and write observations. This also lets you bring home “more than work” to share with the home front. —Start the day quiet. Meditate. Deep breathe. Allow enough time to get ready before you leave the hotel. Lastly, expect the unexpected and let go of the outcome. Do what you can for contingencies. Bring a cell phone, essential numbers and don’t book the last flight out. Then relax into the uncertainty of travel. Stress comes from trying to control the uncontrollable. Let it go. © The Resiliency Group. Publication rights granted to all venues so long as article and by-line are reprinted intact and all links are made live.

On Thanksgiving Day, dawn spills over Dana Point Harbor where thousands of runners gather for the annual Turkey Trot. The largest holiday race in California beckons folks of all ages, sizes, shapes, and abilities. Waiting at the starting line for the 10-K, I talk to a Dad and his 7 year-old daughter. Around me, I hear bravado talk about marathons, triathlons, hard bodies and zippo fat content. Thankfully, I spy silver haired folks with knee braces, a young couple with babies in jogging strollers and runners decked in costumes ranging from Santa Claus to Elvis Presley. Running in a gold polyester jump suit, and pompadour wig while carrying a boom box blaring Elvis tunes will be some trick. Me-I just want to finish. The gun goes off and we all inch our way under the balloon arch. Runners jostle for position, elbowing their way to break into stride. Me-I just grin at the new day and feel righteous for having gotten up and down to the event. By mile two, my righteousness turns to dismay as the seven year-old passes me by. Elvis has already made the turn way before me and I am lagging behind a woman who must have 10 years and 20 pounds on me. The sense of competitiveness heats up and so does my pace. I forget that I already run two miles down to the Harbor and have 4.2 miles left to go. The runners around me set my pace. Suddenly, as I make the turn, I am struck by a humbling sight. Facing me, arms pumping runs a young man with one leg glittering in the sun. The metal shank is attached to his thigh. A thin aluminum calf leads to a metal foot curved like a rocker. He is oblivious to anyone who passes him. He is running his own race at his own pace. I slow down, take his lesson, and resume my 1-2-3-4 mantra. Lesson learned, smack between the eyes. How many times do we let others set the pace, ignoring our own goals, our abilities? How many times do we judge our success or our failure by what others have done? I finish despite the pain in my knee. Way behind the silver- haired lady. Well behind the 7 year-old. Ahead of the sleek bodied teenager. It doesn't matter. It is my race, at my pace. And it is a great day for the race-the human race. © The Resiliency Group. Publication rights granted to all venues so long as article and by-line are reprinted intact and all links are made live.

First quarter is over. Celebrating? Agonizing? Feeling stuck with little movement? If it’s the latter, getting control over our physical environment goes a long way to getting unstuck. Garbage out lets room for gain in! Allocate 15 minutes (or more) to go through old files and toss or shred what you don’t need, won’t look at, and can’t even remember why you have it!  My faithful assistant Bonnie created a file list as I called out what I was keeping and put in numerical files. Through the search function in Word, I will be able to locate documents when I need them. Opened up one entire file drawer!!!! (and was fascinating to see what was once valuable as well as what still had value but I had forgotten about it). Create a donation box and go through drawers to give away the bottom third—chances are you haven’t worn those items in years! Erase electronics. I know you are like me and there are gadgets, gizmos, chargers, cables, you name it—that you don’t use, won’t use, and have no idea what gadget it goes to. We can take our electronics to Radio Shack for destroying or to our City Hall. (Batteries are separate). Sell or save?  Some items I just don’t want to throw out. But I have no time to sell.  Of course, the flamenco dolls my Dad brought back from Europe after WWII might require effort on my part but… Weight - don’t wait.  Have your entire family weigh in.  Then give everyone a bag and they have 10 minutes to round up “stuff” they will never use that can go in the donation box.  The person who now weighs the most—holding his collection bag-- gets to choose tonight’s movie, or pizza, or the super-duper ice cream scoop. But the prize has to be consumable. Cleaning your space can clean your mind. Try it!  Promise. No fooling

From my second floor bedroom, I look out at a massive 150 year-old eucalyptus tree that almost overpowers the expanse of the Pacific and the Channel Islands. Starlings, crows, doves, and woodpeckers dart among the withered arms of ancient oaks.  My window opens with a rusted hand crank and a hand-hewed teak starburst looks down from the ceiling. Started in 1920 from stone quarried in nearby San Ysidro Creek, this graceful house has seen citrus growers, Wall Street investors, famous musicians, and novices preparing to enter the religious life.  Today, the Immaculate Heart Community Center for Spiritual Renewal is the main house for a 27-acre retreat facility known as La Case De Marie.  It is a nourishing place of peace for people of all faiths and persuasions. For 15 years now, this has been where I come to begin each year: to think, to write, to read, and to hike the steep trail of El Camino de Cielo that zigs and zags four miles from sea level to the top of the mountain. For so many of us, the decade that has just passed has been filled with 9/11 horrors, wars on too many fronts, natural disasters, job losses, bankruptcies and stalwart companies crushed by anything from years of inept leadership to downright thievery. Foolishly, many of us expected that years of bad decisions could be turned around in one year, rescued by hope and a “we can” mantra. Don’t we love the quick fix, the instant gratification, the miracle move? Time to get real.  I’ve come here to learn what is in my sphere of influence.  What actions can I take to help myself and others move forward as a community inhabiting one tiny planet?  How do I refocus on what matters most for me rather than on the “most” that media thinks matters?  As a teacher and student of leadership, where does one begin to reclaim that which feels lost? Retreat.  Come away.  Really away. Away from electronics that call out for attention. Few decisions come clear when surrounded by ding of IMs, the ring of cells, the buzz of meetings and the blasts of bombastic politicians and preachers. It has only taken me 15 years to realize there’s a five-step process to retreating so that you might return, ready to advance: (1) SILENCE. No talking. No television.  How can I speak with my mind and my heart if I have no time to figure out what either is saying? The great discoveries of the ages were not done with jabbering but with gathering one’s thoughts. (2) SOLITUDE. Don’t take your best beloved or your dear friend with you. A step into self-mastery and self-leadership is the ability to be alone but not lonely. (3) SURRENDER. Sounds like the white flag that follows retreat on a battlefield.  Not so, this is the surrender of courage-the surrender that faces reality rather than exerting effort wishing life was not as it is. To surrender is actually a move in aikido, the martial art in which one accepts and moves with whatever energy an opponent offers.  It is a place of fluid strength. (4) SERENITY. When I stop fighting against reality, when I listen in silence and marshal my intentions, there’s a peacefulness  that comes. It’s not an easy step and one I too frequently fail.  Think of the Dali Lama. Despite the oppression, grave concern, and weight of his people on his shoulders, his face radiates a serenity and joy. Of course, he’s spent a lifetime cultivating it. I’m a beginner. (5) SYNCHRONICITY. When seemingly unrelated events and/or people occur to bring about a desired result, some call it “a miracle”.  Carl Jung called it synchronicity. When I leave this place of retreat, if I have been faithful in my quiet and alone time, surrendering to what is currently in my work and life and prepared to state my intentions aloud to myself  (and later to trusted others) I know that all manner of unforeseen incidents and material assistance will rise.  I can advance. And so can you. As Goethe wrote, “Whatever you do or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” © The Resiliency Group. Publication rights granted to all venues so long as article and by-line are reprinted intact and all links are made live.

I can hear the jokes already and most of them are not politically correct. Let me throw out a word that we often don’t attach to work and yet I think it is a word of redemption, of contribution, of achievement, of community, and ultimately, of legacy. Here it is: LOVE. Kahil Gibran proclaimed, “Work is love made visible.” I would further clarify his position by insisting that a job is what you do for a paycheck. Work is what you do for a life. It is that energizing, all-encompassing activity that allows you to bring skills to bear in ways that are satisfying beyond a pay period. It is that activity that saves you from being a faceless number in a mechanistic wheel-hence it holds redemptive powers. It is that activity which makes a contribution to a larger world order. It is that activity from which you sense a measure of accomplishment and achievement. It excites you. It gives you joy. It binds you to a community of people who are stakeholders in what you do. Ultimately, it has a ripple effect and the potency of a legacy for those who follow. “Ah come on!,” you insist. “How about a garbage collector? A waiter? A store clerk? Who is going to love those jobs?” Great question. And at face value, it seems that not every employment opportunity has such grand potential. Just take the money, leave it as soon as you can for greener pastures. Screw those miserable bosses. Thumb your nose at the customer. And tomorrow you die. That’s it. Plain and simple. While you are looking for the dream vocation, the better work environment, the nicer boss, reality can step in and your one moment on the Planet is gone forever. It’s a reality made even MORE real by current events. There’s an uneasy shift that has taken us by storm and rattled our plod-along workaday world. Many are paralyzed by the insecurity of the times. The terror of 9-11 and the subsequent global aggressiveness pushed us over the edge. With a wobbly U.S. economy, unsettled change continues to bombard us. Mega-mergers boggle the mind with the endless zeros streaming behind a behemoth’s financial size. We gasp at the number of employees who are cast off from a consolidated giant. We see plant closures and layoffs in everything from clothing manufacturing to banking. Overnight web companies turn almost under-age youth into millionaires and executives at age 40 are left scratching their heads. Then, dot.coms fail, leaving bewildered employees in the rubble. Wall Street meltdown, corporate greed, and icon- like presidents who crash as fallen idols make daily headlines. Despite statistics that indicate employment is coming back, there’s pain and inaccuracy behind these cold numbers. We are working more but feeling as if we’re earning less and living in time poverty. Affluenza is an all too common word. The consistent notion that work should be a 24/7 event is being challenged by a rising number of strident voices. And with those voices comes a cry for the most urgent answer to sustainable success: finding meaningful work that makes an impact and lets us live in the bargain. Answer that plea and we’ll unleash a productive and creative power akin to a tsunami. In short we want to LOVE what we do, who we do it for and who we do it with AND love the life we create outside that work. That’s the essence... the Holy Grail... the mysterious work/life balance piece. Finding that Holy Grail is done by parallel processing, working on two tracks. The first track is to make work “work” for you in your current situation. Wouldn’t it make more sense to transform wherever you find yourself-even while continuing to search-so that if and when you leave, there’s a faint footprint of achievement, community, contribution and yes, even the memory of a beneficial interaction. Such a transformation allows you to love yourself in the process. It keeps bridges from burning and strengthens a network of relationships that one day you might call upon. The critical question becomes: how do you turn a “job’ into a “work”-into something that gives you more than a paycheck? No, you might not be able to alter the corporate strategic plan, paint the garbage truck peppermint pink or change a boss from a toad to a prince. But, there are specific action items you can take within your sphere of influence. Too often, we expect management to lead us in career directions, to provide us with recognition, to make “it” a better place. It’s just like a marriage: there’s responsibility on both sides. Using the tools offered by Bev Kaye and Sharon Jordan Evans in Love it. Don’t Leave It (available at major bookstores), you’ll find a literal alphabet soup of specific action steps to help you take ownership for your life at work Don’t wait. Time is too precious to squander. You CAN fall in love again. © The Resiliency Group. Publication rights granted to all venues so long as article and by-line are reprinted intact and all links are made live.

A worldwide web of viewers watched 33 miners being pulled to the surface following a 600,000 ton cave-in that happened nearly one-half mile below the ground on a barren plain in southern Chile. Besides showcasing the tenacity of rescuers and the miracle of technology, the miners themselves offer dramatic lessons in resiliency that anyone can learn. Lesson one: Hope relies on possibility not certainty. Shift foreman Luis Urzua practiced intelligent optimism when he reframed the event and steadfastly refused to give up. He maintained his leadership position and convinced the miners to eat only every 48 hours for 17 days. Without optimism, it could have been anarchy in that dark hole. When the probe reached the men, Urzua’s note that came to the surface expressed that hope: “We are fine in the shelter, the 33 of us.” This is not a note of desperation but one of optimism. Lesson two: Action is the antidote to anxiety. The miners stayed busy, continually clearing away rubble, monitoring gas levels, praying, and using the materials and medicine that eventually were sent down the shafts. In short, they controlled what they could control. Lesson three: Play to your strengths. Reports indicate that different men served different roles. Victor Rojas kept a journal throughout the ordeal and became the writer who sent updates to the rescuers. Yonni Rojas used his experience in nursing to serve as the chief paramedic. Mario Heredia and Jose Gonzalez became the spiritual leaders, with Mario even requesting that a crucifix be sent down so he could erect a shrine. Edison Villaroel led the group in song, requesting that Elvis Presley songs be sent down. Imagine Elvis the Pelvis gyrating more than a half-mile into the earth. Lesson four: Laughter lightens the load. Surely bringing a load of rocks to the surface as a memento for rescuers showed a sense of humor. Sing-alongs, as described by reporters, did not appear to be funeral dirges. Lesson five: Faith can move mountains. Many of these miners expressed a deep religious conviction through their Catholic faith. Faith, however, is not the sole property of one religious group. To have a sense of a power beyond one’s human limitations is to tap into a wellspring of confidence and courage. Lesson six: Don’t bounce back. Grow through. After 69 days, many of the miners expressed that they found another side to themselves and their lives. Changed men rose from the earth, men who vowed to live differently. Whether marrying a long-time girl friend, finding new comfort in family, or advocating for changes in mining operations, each of the 33 now have the possibility of becoming better and stronger through this ordeal. So it is for all of us who face events that might seem as dark and crushing as what happened on a cold day in Copiapó, Chile. The lessons offered by these 33 miners might spark a chord to help many discover personal resiliency. © McDargh Communications. Publication rights granted to all venues so long as article and by-line are reprinted intact and all links are made live.