WOW Word-Of-the-Week #430: Purpose
October 31, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #430: Purpose
Purpose – the object toward which one strives; aim or goal.
Do you have clear goals for your personal and professional life? Is your life satisfying and fulfilling? Do you feel like there is more that you want to accomplish?
This is the final WOW from Dustin Wax’s article titled, “10 HARD Ways to Make Your Life Better” on Life Hack.
7. Write a book
It feels really, really good to see your name on a book cover, but it feels even better to know that someone, somewhere, might find his or her life changed by something you’ve written. Share your particular expertise, whether it’s story-telling or woodworking, with the world — or just your family. Time isn’t the big issue (though it is an issue — don’t let the positive thinkists tell you otherwise!) but if you commit yourself to a page a day — a couple hundred words — within a year you’ll have a pretty decent-sized manuscript. That’s something to work with!
8. Learn an art
Take painting lessons, a pottery workshop, a music class, whatever — learn to express yourself and you might find a self worth expressing. Don’t settle for being a “Sunday painter” — devote yourself to an art and master it.
9. Run for office
The world needs smart, dedicated, and upright people to take care of all the fiddly details of making things run. As it happens, running for local office isn’t as challenging as you’d think (which isn’t to say it’s easy) — Michael Moore, the filmmaker, ran for school board while he was still in high school. Just for kicks. And won! It’s fine to have your heart set on the White House or Capitol Hill, but try your hand at city councilperson, county registrar, or something closer to home first. And be clean — run for the experience of putting your community on a better path, and not for the power.
10. Set an outrageous goal — and achieve it!
The nine tips above are only a handful of ideas about how to make your life better. Maybe you want to record an album, climb a mountain, make the Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca), see 20 countries — don’t just settle for tiny goals, push yourself all the way to the edge and figure out how to make the craziest thing you can think of happen. Yes, you’ll have to learn a lot along the way, and plan months or even years in advance — that’s what makes outlandish goals worthwhile.
I don’t want to suggest that you need to do all these things to be happy — doing just one is quite a handful! But if you’re unhappy with your life, if you want to make a change for the better, you need to think big and you need to be ready to put in the work to make it happen. It’s easy to “visualize success” and to “think positively”; it’s not so easy to throw yourself into the unknown and make it work. But if you can make it work, you’ll gain far more than you can imagine.
This week’s focus is on purpose. What one thing would you like to do that you haven’t done? Do you have a hobby that you really enjoy? Have you had “outrageous ideas” that you brushed off because you thought they were too outlandish? How do you think it would feel to live your life with purpose?
Reader Responses
“I just got a chance to check out your most recent WOW. Had to chuckle that #9 was Run for Office as I’m heading to the polls to vote shortly. Also, realized that I had missed #s 1 – 6 so had to backtrack to find previous editions. Great suggestions…loved the Family-Community-Purpose categories!” – S
More often than not nowadays we hear people talking about their “bucket lists” of things they want to do before their time on earth runs out. I have always had goals in my life. While I have not completed all of them, there are a number that I have accomplished, which has made my life full. I always wanted to get a good education, including a master’s degree. In fact, my masters from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism has opened many doors in my life. It also allowed me to meet people and go places that I would not have otherwise had the opportunity. And, like you, I have written a couple of books. I always knew that I wanted to write a book on the late Marquette University basketball coach Al McGuire. From the time the idea first gestated in 1984, to completion in 1999, it was a long slog, but I never was discouraged. I always felt that I would get it done. And when I received the first copy from my publisher and since then, I always say I really did it well. Along with all of the praise that I received about the book was one comment that stood out from Coach McGuire’s youngest son. He told me at Coach’s funeral: “After reading your book, I understood my father better.” That may have been the best compliment I received. The second book had to be completed within two months. It was the hardest thing I ever did. I received quite a few compliments from people around the country. Getting married and having children has really helped my life come full circle. When I see how my daughters are turning into happy and healthy children, it makes me happier than anything else in my life. I can’t begin to explain how the love and care of my wife and children are life affirming. There are other things that I want to do in my life. I am sure that I have at least two more books in me. I would also like to do sportscasting if I get the opportunity, which would certainly put my knowledge of sports to good use. Unlike people with bucket lists, I am at a point in my life where I don’t check items off a list. I strike when the opportunity presents itself. I have always believed in spontaneity and the opportunities it presents us in life.” – “Warrior” Joe
“Awesome read! Thank you.” – Linda
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #429: Family
October 24, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #429: Family
Family – people who share goals and values and have long-term commitments to one another.
Do you regularly spend time with your family members? Do you consider your close friends to be “like family?” Do you play tennis, golf or any other team sport?
This is the third WOW from Dustin Wax’s article titled, “10 HARD Ways to Make Your Life Better” on Life Hack.
4. Take an active role in your children’s’ activities
Pick one thing your child does and commit yourself to it. Coach their team, become a Brownie leader, spend a weekend day in the workshop with them, buy a bike and ride along with them — make their passions your own. Don’t crowd them — especially if you have teenagers — but show them that you value something they do by giving them your time and interest.
5. Start a family
I don’t mean have kids. That can be all too easy! Make the decision to have a family, which means to give of yourself fully to another person or several people. Risk being vulnerable by sharing your fears, quirks, and failures with someone else; you might find it makes you stronger than ever before.
This transcends marriage and parenthood. There are lots of people who can’t marry because the law prevents it. There are people who can’t have children. These are not the essential ingredients of family. The essential ingredients are love, mutual respect, trust, and open giving. Find (or make) someone you can share that with.
6. Take up a sport
Enough with the working out already! Sure, you want to be healthy, but the whole treadmill-running, iPod-listening, 45-minutes-after-work thing is a little anti-social, don’t you think? OK, you want some solitude once in a while — fine. But at least add a sport, something you do with other people. You’ll be spending time interacting with others, while also developing team-building and leadership skills. And, you might learn something from your fellow players.
This week’s focus is on family. How many people have you shared long-term commitments with? What activities are your children or grand-children involved in? Have you spent time or showed an interest in those activities? What sport have you put off doing? What would it take for you to get involved and commit? Would developing team-building or leadership skills be of benefit to you?
Reader Responses
“I recall a quote from an elderly Aunt of mine back in the 50’s that always stuck in my mind that occurred after a family “tiff” during the annual Thanksgiving family get-together many many years ago. Three members of the family were particularly known for getting on each others last nerve. During a particularly “animated discussion my Aunt, who was known to enjoy her homemade Elderberry wine, stood up and proclaimed a “A toast to Thanksgiving, that special time of the year that we get together to remind us why we all moved apart.” – John
“I once read that family (home) is the one place where they have to take you in. I think that is one of the best lines that I have ever read. I am at a point in my life where my wife and daughters are the most important people in my life. I spend time at the park with my four-year-old, in addition to working with her on word flashcards and simple math. When she listens at daycare, she gets pennies in her piggy bank. I listen to my 10-year-old practice piano and oboe, and when she wants to show me a new step that she learned in her Irish step-dancing lesson, I take the time to watch. And I help her study and check her homework. I am grateful that I spend this time with them because it won’t be long when they begin to want to spend more time with their friends. That is fine with me, because I want them to have full lives. My wife and I make a point to do things on weekends with the girls, like our recent trip to a pumpkin patch. So, it is these little things that make a difference in my daughters’ lives and my life. It adds to my attitude of gratitude every day. Family helps to make it a wonderful life. I have much for which to be grateful.” – Warrior” Joe
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #428: Community
October 17, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #428: Community
Community – a body of people living in the same locality or having a common language or interest.
Are you involved in your community? Does your business support any local sports teams? Have you ever made a difference in someone’s life through volunteer work?
This is the second WOW from Dustin Wax’s article titled, “10 HARD Ways to Make Your Life Better” on Life Hack.
1. Start a business
My dad, who has been self-employed almost all his life, used to tell me that “Only jerks work for jerks.” Working for someone else puts you at their mercy and subjects you to their whims — and often their poor management skills. Not only that, but the profit of your labor goes into their pockets. Starting a business puts you in control of your work life, and your money. It’s hard — small businesses fail every day. But the rewards of even a failed venture can far outweigh the risk. Just knowing that your failure was the result of your own choices — instead of a decision made at a corporate office a thousand miles away — can be liberating.
My Community of Friends!
2. Organize a group
What makes you passionate? Chances are being around other people who are passionate about the same thing would make you even more passionate about it. Often the only thing keeping you and them from coming together is that nobody’s put out a sign saying “Come and talk!” Getting a group going is a tremendous challenge, and very often the personality of the founder leaves a tremendous mark on the group as a whole. Seeing a group grow and take off can be tremendously awarding — but even failing can teach you important things about leadership.
3. Volunteer
I don’t mean spend Thanksgiving at a soup kitchen, though that can often be challenging enough. What I mean, though, is to make a long-term investment in your community by joining school committees, donating three hours a week in a shelter, hosting a monthly read-along at the library, tutoring at-risk children after school, teaching adult literacy classes at a local prison, or any of a million ways to play a role in the lives of people who need you. Perhaps the most pressing need in our society is for people to take an interest in and engage with their communities.
This week’s focus is on community. How could you become more involved in your community? What activities or interests are you passionate about? When was the last time you volunteered? How did it make you feel to be of help?
Reader Responses
“When I saw the word “community” in your column, I was reminded of a Seinfeld episode where Jerry and Elaine talked about “being ostracized from the community.” Jerry asks, “There’s a community?” Almost as if he is simply living in his own world, with no outside contacts except his small group of friends. In other words, none of them are connected AT ALL to the world around them. After my wife and I found our first house she said, “I really love this location.” It has three parks within a five minute walk, two very good schools and a nice mix of young families and empty nesters – the type of neighborhood or community I grew up in during my formative years in Chicago. People look out for each other and the school provides a nice grounding for our daughters. That is what I appreciate most about our community. When I met the mayor of our village several years ago, I told her how impressed I was at how well people kept up their properties in our community. She said the reason was that many of the people were educated homeowners who took great pride in their homes and – by extension – their community. That has stayed with me ever since. We feel very fortunate to be living where we are. We work with our daughter’s schools and participate in local activities. It is a wonderful feeling that evokes a one for all and all for one attitude. That is what makes living in our community special. ” – “Warrior” Joe
“So many word plays on this; many have the same or similar positively perceived meanings; common unit, or “calm” unity, common unity and one that many see as an antithesis of those positive meanings that one being “communism”. ;-)” – John
Celebrating 30 Years of FUN-damental Attitude Adjustment!
October 15, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Celebrating 30 Years of FUN-damental Attitude Adjustment!
A different kind of WOW! It’s hard to believe I am celebrating the 30th anniversary of the founding of my company.
1st Brochure Picture
In 1982, the Missouri Restaurant Association hired me to present “The Spirit of Service” seminars for their members around the state. When I got my first pay check no taxes had been taken out and I became self-employed! (I had no idea that was the plan) When audience members asked me for a card I realized I needed to create a company.
It’s been a great 30 years! I am so very lucky that I “fell into” a career I LOVE and am still passionate about.
My celebration gift to you is rolling back the price on all of my books, CD’s & DVD’s by 50%. And wait – it gets even better – shipping is free too! Check out the sale at https://fun-damentals.com/store/.
Also, I have added FUN-photos to my website that includes a lot more pictures from our travels. They are listed in ascending order and grouped in order. Click on any picture and it allows you to view them as a slide show. Pretty cool, huh!
I want to thank all of you who have responded with such wonderful and positive feedback on my WOW’s. And I want to encourage all of you to continue to send me your thoughts.
Until then I hope you have FUN & fabulous rest of your year! Susan
Reader Responses
“It was so nice to see your newsletter! I can’t believe it has been 30 years since we worked together. Best wishes for many more future successes!” – Brigid
“A HUGE congratulations dear Sooz! That is a major accomplishment. I just finished helping my daughter make her bath teas for her business. Even though my antique business failed I am so happy and proud of women like her and you who just keep chugging along getting better and better at what you do.” – Elaine
“Way to go! Love the photos from the archives:-)” – Gloria
“Happy Anniversary! Time do fly when you’re having fun, don’t it? :-)” – Bill
“Congratulations. It seems like it was just yesterday that we first started talking about your great customer service fundamentals and attitude adjustment. Time has flown. I will always appreciate the work you did at the seminars we had at our trade shows. You are the best! Continued success to you.” – “Warrior” Joe
“Congratulations on your 30th Year! You Rock” – Em
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #427: Hard
October 9, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #427: Hard
Hard – requiring great effort or endurance.
Do you think that “life is hard?” Have you ever accomplished something that required a great effort on your part? Do you think that anything can be accomplished if you stay focused and are positive?
This quote triggered this week’s WOW. “When I hear somebody sigh, ‘Life is hard,’ I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?’ – Former columnist Sydney J. Harris
Then I found Dustin Wax’s article titled, “10 HARD Ways to Make Your Life Better” on Life Hack and thought it was a great fit. The next three WOW’s will cover his commentary.
Dustin starts by saying, “Some of the most worthwhile things in life aren’t easy. One of the things I dislike most about “power of positive thinking”- style personal development philosophies (such as “The Secret”) is the implication that if you just have the right attitude and the right state of mind, the rest will just fall into place. I think it causes a lot of hurt and disappointment in people who invest their time, effort, and of course, money into these systems and find themselves, one or two or five years down the line, exactly where they were before.
“You must not have wanted it badly enough,” the authors of these philosophies seem to be saying. “There must still be something wrong with you.”
I don’t think that, ultimately, God or the Spirits or the Universe or the world “provides.” I think a lot of times the world puts obstacles in our way, and no amount of positive thinking makes them go away. And I think that a lot of the people who are “successful,” by whatever standard you want to use, have as much “wrong” with them as a lot of the ones who aren’t successful. Maybe more.
In any case, wherever the motivation comes from, the things that really make our lives worth living can be quite difficult. (And who knows, maybe thinking positively helps take some of the edge off of doing the hard stuff?) What’s more, they can take a lot of time to do and even more time to get right. But I think that doing is the important thing, not the result — throwing yourself into something with all your heart, mind, and soul is the success, not the “growing rich” part.
This week focus on those things that you think are hard. Does it feel like you have more than your fair share of obstacles? Do they scare you or motivate you? Have you ever thrown your heart and soul into a project? Did you enjoy all the hard work and feel successful in the end?
Reader Responses
“Sent out your Word–of-the-week to my team this week as usual. It was a homerun for one of my employees. Thanks for the continued WOW words of the week.” – Jeff
“Nothing worthwhile in life is easy. There are obstacles thrown in our paths every day – some out of our control, others of our own doing. It is dealing with those, but not letting them block out our goal. We still have to keep our eyes on the prize and do the footwork so that we can accomplish whatever it is we want. The first step is commitment. We have to be committed to a goal or a way of life or something that we want. We must know what steps we have to take to get there, and have a realistic time frame as to when it can be accomplished. If some obstacles do start to get in our way, we have to find a way to get through them, but one at a time. Once all of these have been settled, we push ahead, staying positive and keeping our eyes on the prize. The key is staying committed to the goal even with all of the obstacles that block our paths. If we follow all of this, more often than not we will achieve what it is we want. But we must realize that there is no magic formula. Just because we keep a positive mental attitude does not mean that the pathway to our goal will be laid out before us. Each of us was given free will. We have the free will to do whatever it is we want, but it is up to us, not anyone else in our lives. No one can do the footwork required of our goal. Now, there are always going to be times when after all of our work and positive attitude and belief in ourselves that we don’t reach our goals. That is life. It happens. But this simply points out that the goal is not always the end-all and be-all. It is the journey in search of that goal that makes us better people. And quite possibly prepares us for another goal that might be more important to our lives in the long run. Great word, Susan. Have a wonderful weekend.” – “Warrior” Joe
“PERFECT WOW for me today. Thanks” – Debra