Word Of the Week #528: Optimism
September 18, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word Of the Week #528: Optimism
Optimism – the best possible or conceivable condition.
Do you generally feel optimistic about your life? Do you see failure as “just a setback” or a road block that you have to get around? Or does failure make you feel helpless?
This is the last trait on self-motivation from Daniel Goleman’s book on Emotional Intelligence. He says, “Consider the role of positive motivation – the marshalling of feelings of enthusiasm, zeal, and confidence – in achievement. Studies of Olympic athletes, world-class musicians, and chess grand masters find their unifying trait is the ability to motivate themselves to pursue relentless training routines.
Optimism, like hope, means having a strong expectation that, in general, things will turn out all right in life, despite setbacks and frustrations. From 
the stand point of emotional intelligence, optimism is an attitude that buffers people against falling into apathy, hopelessness, or depression in the face of tough going. And as with hope, its near cousin, optimism pays dividends in life (providing, of course, it is a realistic optimism: a too-naïve optimism can be disastrous.)
Dr. Martin Seligman, the author of “Learned Optimism,” says “Success comes down to a combination of reasonable talent with the ability to keep going in the face of defeat.”
For his research Dr. Seligman chose Met Life insurance salesmen since they must constantly rebound from getting the door slammed in their face. He discovered that in the first two years on the job, salesmen who scored high for optimism sold 37% more than their pessimistic brethren.
Then he tried another experiment: Applicants who were optimists but who failed to meet Met Life’s other standard test criteria were hired anyway. This group outsold its pessimistic counterparts by 21% in the first year and by 57% the next.
If you have experienced my Fun-damentals of Emotion Intelligence program, then you know it’s your IQ that gets you hired and your EQ that gets you promoted. Your ability to motivate yourself and stay motivated is one of the key elements of emotional intelligence. Optimism and hope fall under self-motivation!
This week focus on being more optimistic. Look at everything as an opportunity, even though it may seem negative at the time. What would you have to do to have the best possible or conceivable condition? How would it feel to know that a setback is just that and not permanent?
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FUN-photos: Northern Europe, Baltic & Arctic – Summer 2014 – Movie Trailer
September 12, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-photos: Northern Europe, Baltic & Arctic – Summer 2014 – Movie Trailer
The editing of the video that we shot has begun. Here’s a little snippet. Enjoy!
FUN-photos: A&K Arctic Expedition
September 11, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-photos: A&K Arctic Expedition
On August 6th we flew from Amsterdam to Oslo. Our A&K trip started on the 7th with a city walking tour and a cocktail reception at the Polar Ship Fram Museum. It houses the original arctic expedition ship and considered the world´s strongest wooden ship. On June 24th 1893 the Fram set out on her first expedition to reach the North Pole. The expedition ended in 1896 and in 1898 the 2nd expedition sailed to survey northern Greenland and to explore and survey the unknown northeastern coast. They were supposed to return in 1901 but were surrounded by ice that never melted and finally returned in September 1902. The Fram made 2 remarkable pioneering expeditions.
We boarded Le Boreal in Longyearbyen, Svalbard and spent the first 4 days on excursions cruising around the archipelago in search of polar bears and wild life. And we got lucky! We found a mother and her cub on 2 different days. From there we cruised to Greenland spending 3 days of excursions and landings and ended in Iceland for 2 day stops touring on land before disembarking in Reykjavik.
Then we spent 4 days in Reykjavik which included taking the Golden Circle tour and dipping in the world famous Blue Lagoon. The Golden Circle is a 300 km loop that covers three main attractions; Pingvellir National Park, the waterfall Gullfoss (Golden Falls) & the erupting geyser Strokkur. And lucky for us we got out of Reykjavik just before the Bardarbunga volcano erupted! We ended in London where we spent our last full day at the Tower of London.
This trip lasted 57 days and included 12 countries, 11 zodiac excursions, 7 airline flights, 3 cruises and 2 car rentals covering 1330 miles. We are so glad to be home, and in our opinion, the best place in the whole world!
Word Of the Week #527: Persistence
September 10, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word Of the Week #527: Persistence
Persistence – continuing in a course of action without regard to opposition or previous failure.
Have you ever failed at something and continued to try again? Are you willing to do “whatever it takes” to get what you want?
This is more follow up on self-motivation from Daniel Goleman’s book on Emotional Intelligence. He says, “What seems to set apart those at the very top of competitive pursuits from others of roughly equal ability is the degree to which, beginning early in life, they can pursue an arduous practice routine for years and years. And that doggedness depends on emotional traits – enthusiasm and persistence in the face of setbacks – above all else.”
One of the most successful people I have read about and seen on stage failed for five years before he started having some degrees of success. Now, that’s persistence!
You probably have heard of him too. He moved to Nashville to make it as a country singer. He was rejected by 26 record labels before securing a record deal. His debut album sold only 324 copies. Flat broke; he moved to south Florida and played in the local bars where, at times, nobody even showed up.
In 1974, he had his first hit single. But it wasn’t until 1977 that he became an “overnight” star. Have you figured out who it is? Jimmy Buffet! He continues to be one of the top grossing acts and has a cult following. He has continued his success by creating a clothing company, restaurants, writing children’s books and several other ventures.
This week’s focus is on persistence. The question is, “Would you be persistent for seven years?” When we really want something and know it in our heart, we will do whatever it takes to keep going. Is there anything you want that would make you continue in a course of action without regard to opposition or previous failure?
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FUN-photos: Princess Baltic Sea Cruise
September 9, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-photos: Princess Baltic Sea Cruise
On Sunday July 20th we boarded a shuttle from the Berlin Airport to the port of Warnemünde. Our 11 day cruise was on their newest ship the Royal Princess with stops in Tallinn, Estonia; St. Petersburg, Russia; Helsinki, Finland; Copenhagen, Denmark; Nynäshamn, Sweden; Aarhus, Denmark; Oslo, Norway & back to Warnemünde on July 31st.
We would never take a ship this big but they were the only option based on our time schedule and location in Europe. We also wouldn’t have gone back to St. Petersburg after already spending 4 nights there. We did go to the Peterhof Palace & Gardens which was really spectacular and had the best crowd control of all of the places we visited there. I would recommend not going in the peak summer season as the crowds were dreadful!
