Lead a vivid life that does good

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as the winds of change blow do you lean in and fight, or harness the change and sail off on an adventure

Change is constantly upon us, and the winds of change are always blowing in our lives.

So often we lean in against the change. Fight it. And burn a heap of energy trying to get back to where we came from.

Usually, in the end, the change forces us there anyway, and we arrive there beaten and bruised and worn out.

When we fight change hard, we actually miss the opportunity to share in the adventure and journey of the new direction.

Next time change is upon you, you have a choice:

Lean in and fight,

or

go with it and head off on the adventure!

Business is the elongated shadow of one man

It’s funny how shadows can be good and bad. A person standing in the right spot to shield the sun from our eyes, is a good shadow. Yet the clouds maneuvering themselves in front of the sun on a bitter winters day, creates cold and dark shadows.

As a leader I know I cast good and bad shadows.

As a leader, I have made some dreadful decisions that have caused the company and people significant hardship. In these times the shadow I cast has been lousy.

As a leader, there are even times I manage to cast a good, positive, warm shadow. By learning to care more. Or execute better. Or empower my team. When I do this I see the culture ripple down throughout the organisation in a beautiful way. I think Robert’s phrase says it all and I’m reminded again this week about the shadow I cast.

Still a long elongated way to go … but a work in progress.

As a leader what shadow are you casting?

The best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago

Had the tree in our back yard pruned. Its been in that spot for 12 years (growing for 14) and best I can guess my kids started climbing it 7 years ago.

It reminded me of the old Chinese proverb. “The best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago, the second best time is now.”

This of course applies to more than just planting trees.

The best time to start loving

The best time to start learning

The best time to start doing good

… was 10 years ago …

… The second best time is now!