For the last several months, I’ve talked about identifying your values, discovering your gifts, and living your passion. I hope I’ve inspired you to think differently about your future – to realize how you can live joyfully while also making a contribution.
So now it’s time to flex our wings – to leave the nest of our current, complacent situation and fly towards something new and challenging.
For me, that means rededicating myself to photography, a lifelong passion that has taken too low a priority in my life for many years. And once I get an exhibit or a website up, I hope you’ll drop in for a visit!
Meanwhile, I’ll continue pursuing my other passion, making presentations that help people improve their people skills. I’ve enjoyed this immensely for 22 years, and it’s something I seem to have a gift for, so I’m not giving it up!
But we often have to stop doing some old things, in order to free up the time and energy to take on new things.
Ask yourself, “How can I say no, to say yes to the best that is within me? To say no to activities or commitments which are toxic — draining, stressful, or damaging at worst, or simply a waste at best — in order to put my time and energy into activities and commitments that bring joy and satisfaction to myself and others?”
For me, this has meant making a couple of tough decisions:
First, I will no longer offer in-depth training programs made from scratch to meet the unique needs of each client. Though I’ll miss the close relationships forged by working with clients in this way, I’ll gain an enormous amount of discretionary time.
Second, I’m going to author much, much less. My writing is “out there” in 20 books published by Harvard Business School, McGraw Hill, Pfeiffer International, and others. And my advice appears in 222 Strictly Business articles, written over a period of 18 (!) years. It’s enough.
And while I hope that my columns have been interesting and helpful to you, I know you’ll summon the strength to live without “Managing Smart” every month! Today (unlike 1994, when I began writing for SB) there is a virtual blizzard of terrific how-to articles at your fingertips 24/7. Some of my favorites are the daily e-zines I receive from www.Workforce.com, the Human Capitol Institute at www.HCI.org, and Talent Management at www.talentmgt.com. Not only do the articles and free webinars provide excellent suggestions for managing up, down, and sideways, but they also invite feedback, so you can compare your views with other people from around the globe.
I’ve enjoyed bringing you my “Managing Smart” thoughts very much, and I hope we’ll keep in touch via email, LinkedIn, or phone. I’ll close with the same encouragement that a friend of mine recently offered, when we were discussing trading a comfortable present for a potentially exciting future: “If you don’t like the flight, jump out, your chute will open. It always has, right?”
All the best,
Jeanne
If your organization would like a keynote speech on this or other topics, call Jeanne at (402) 475-1127 or (800) 410-3178, or email her at jbaer@cts-online.net. Feel free to browse her website at www.cts-online.net or profile at www.linkedin.com/in/jeannebaer. Copyright 2012 Creative Training Solutions