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Important thoughts for your life

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

In the middle of April, Lisa Haneberg lost her mother. The experience prompted her to share these compelling, succinct, and spot on thoughts on her blog.

In a nutshell, she says...

1. Pettiness is waste.
2. Don’t put it off.
3. Find your space and fill it with passion, not stuff.
4. Determine what you love to do and then do it.
5. Time is precious and short – use it wisely.
6. We are our legacy.

Go read her post. But don't just read it. Give yourself five minutes (at least) where you aren't rushing off to do something else. Create the space to really focus on what she has to say. Then ask yourself how each of these things relates to how you are living your life and the choices that you're making.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Finding your infinity

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

Life is not about finding our limitations, it’s about finding our infinity.

- Herbie Hancock

So many of us are obsessed with our limitations. It's almost as though we can see nothing but the reasons we can't do, or be, or achieve what we aspire to.

What if we flipped that on its head? What if, instead of our limitations, we focused on the amazing potential and possibility that stretches far beyond what we can see from where we stand in the moment?

Have you ever bought a car, and then suddenly everywhere you look you notice another car like yours? Or like the one you almost bought? It's not because a sudden miraculous spike in the number of those cars on the road. It's because that's where your focus is. You're suddenly paying more attention to those cars.

What if you did that with possibility and potential. And then backed that up with a habit of thinking, "How could I make that happen?" What kind of difference would that kind of focus make? Do you think it might move you in the direction of your infinity?

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

It's all a matter of perspective

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

Last night I went to a drum circle outside around a bonfire. It was freezing out. While everyone was drumming, a homeless guy showed up and joined the group.

I got to talking to him, and made a comment about how cold it was, and how the grass and the ground was frozen. The thought behind the comment was how it must be sleeping outside when it's so cold.

"Oh, it's much better like this," he said. "It's not so muddy."

After laughing at how my perspective had just been flipped on its head, I thought, "There's a blog post in that."

How is a homeless guy's perspective on cold vs. wet relevant to anything I talk about here? Simple. It was a fabulous reminder of the degree to which our realities are created by our perspectives. The things I talk about here may be higher up on the Maslow's hierarchy, but the idea is still the same. Our experience all depends on the lens we're looking through.

What's your perspective? Is your world filled with potential, or is everything conspiring to hold you down? Did you just learn something from that last mistake, or did it feel like yet another piece of evidence of what a hopeless screw-up you are? Is the future a flexible piece of art yet to be sculpted, or is it a rigid ride down the rails with an inevitable outcome?

It's hard to even be aware of the lens we're looking through. It's so much a part of our experience of the world that we inevitably mistake it for reality itself. But the impact it has - positive or negative - can be enormous.

Stop for a minute and ask yourself, "What is my perspective?" What is my perspective on work? What is my perspective on success? What is my perspective on being able to bring a vibrant sense of joy into my everyday world? What is my perspective on what I can or can't do?

Make yourself a list of perspectives you want to examine, then take a look. You probably have perspectives that support the future you want to create, and you probably have perspectives that get in the way. The key is being aware of them so you can either reinforce them or begin the work of changing them.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Find meaning in the moment

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

Most of us spend much of our lives waiting impatiently for the future to arrive. Sometimes it helps to be reminded that there is meaning and value to be found in the right-here and right-now.

I recently found that reminder in a page from the online version of Charting Your Course: A whole person approach to living with cancer.  The page is about finding meaning in the cancer experience.

It is written with a focus on people facing the end of life, and maybe that's what made it so powerful to me - because the focus is inherently on the experience of the here and now, not the long-term future. These thoughts, under the heading, "When Time is Short," felt especially relevant:

As you ponder the spiritual issues of illness, you may realize that there are things you wish to accomplish, and that time may be short. What unfinished business do you want to complete? What will give you a sense of joy and accomplishment? Make a list of things you want to finish.

What if you answer those questions regardless of how much time you have? What is truly important? What is meaningful? What needs doing now that you would regret not doing?

Food for thought.

[The page is originally drawn from the book, Handbook for Mortals: Guidance for People Facing Serious Illness.]

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Celebrate life. And do something with it.

I got one of those e-mails today that both puts things in perspective and inspires. It was an update on the story of Tara Berendes.

A little over a year ago I got an e-mail from an old friend in Colorado about her nanny, Tara, who was in a coma after a head-on collision only days after her wedding. She was 20 years old. Tara remained in a coma for a month. I posted about it here. 

Today is the one year anniversary of that accident. What a difference a year makes. Tara's story inspires me, and it serves as a reminder of how petty the small worries we get wrapped up in really are.

Here's an article in the San Jose Mercury News about Tara.

A year ago, she lay near death after a horrific head-on crash in Utah. The June 1, 2004, accident, happened as the couple traveled from Los Gatos to Colorado to start their married life. It left the new bride in a deep coma with internal injuries and moderate burns. The prognosis was grim. Doctors warned her family and husband of 10 days that she might not regain consciousness. If she did, she would likely be severely brain damaged.

Berendes proved them wrong with her remarkable recovery.

"I'm healing more and more every day," said the outgoing, optimistic young woman who gives no outward hint of the brain damage she did suffer. "I've just finished taking my last college course, and now I officially have my B.A. in psychology. And I hope to go to grad school soon."

Just as inspiring to me as her road to recovery is her combination of goal-driven determination and focus on doing good in the world.

She hopes to get into the social work master's program at San Jose State University to eventually help the disabled and other people in need.

Her husband doesn't doubt she'll achieve her goals. "She's definitely got some barriers ahead before she can do all that she wants to do,'' he said as he and his wife held hands on their cozy sofa. "But barriers never really bothered her before."

Tara Berendes chimed in: "I shouldn't be able to walk and talk and be as healthy as I am. I should be on a ventilator in a nursing home somewhere. But this miracle happened to me. I am going to do things with my life and help other people."

It's a valuable reminder to celebrate life. And to make sure we do something with it.

The One Week Smile Challenge

Want an easy way to change the world that takes no effort and a fraction of a second to accomplish?

Smile.

I'm always amazed at what a difference smiling at people can make in my perception of the world. The grumpy curmudgeon that suddenly becomes a friendly old man. The dour faced woman that suddenly has twinkling eyes.

Do I really change the world? Probably not. What really changes is how I experience it. The more I smile, the more it seems to smile back.

Ultimately, my work is about helping people create lives they love. Often, that involves a lot of hard work on their part, but a smile is simple, easy, and you can see results immediately. With that in mind, I'd like to issue a One Week Smile Challenge. For the next seven days make a conscious effort to smile at people, friends and strangers alike. See what happens.

Why not give it a try? You might just be surprised at what a difference it makes.

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Curt Rosengren

Passion Catalyst  ^SM

Career passion e-books

Cultivating happiness

Want to be happy? This article suggests doing things to cultivate happiness, rather than waiting for things to be "just right." Some of the ideas it outlines are:

- Be grateful
- Take care of yourself
- Be creative
- Move
- Get someone to take care of you
- Read inspirational material
- Contribute
- Get some time
- Be in nature
- Be happy

Whatever your life looks like, actively taking steps to cultivate happiness is bound to have a positive impact.

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Curt Rosengren

Passion Catalyst  ^SM

Career passion e-books

What would you do differently?

Jill over at The Business of Life has a great quote from Richard Leider, founding partner of The Inventure Group, that offers a reminder we could all use from time to time (like now, for example)...

People over 65 were asked, 'If you could live your life over, what would you do differently?'  They said three things:  'I'd take time to stop and ask the big questions.  I'd be more courageous and take more risks in work and love.  I'd try to live with purpose--to make a difference.'

How about you? If you were to look back on your life as it stands right now, is there anything that would you do differently? If so, what step can you take in that direction?

Curt Rosengren
Passion Catalyst  ^SM

Career passion e-books

Tsunami thoughts

[Note: This isn't the kind of note I usually post on this blog, and I dare say it borders on the woo-woo. After writing it, I contemplated not posting it because it really isn't on topic, but then decided I needed to throw the pebble into the water, just in case the ripples make a difference.]

I'm feeling a bit emotionally overwhelmed by the enormity of what has happened with the recent tsunami. Rather than dwelling on the horror of it though, I'm finding myself moved by the outpouring of support that has come out as a result. This article from December 30th, for example, says that the level of giving has been unprecedented.

What has happened is a tragedy, and yet I wonder if it could actually be the catalyst for something amazing, if we stop and look at what's happening.

There is something in people that is causing them to feel deeply and to give. To want to help. In my work, I hear again and again from people wanting to make more of a difference. It seems like that is on the rise over the last few years. I wonder if the tsunami, if we pay attention to the response, and tap into the energy and momentum toward a focus on the "greater good," could serve to ratchet that up even another notch.

There seems to be something inherent in us that wants to make a positive impact, and yet there is such a barrage of both negative news and shallow stimulants that it gets buried. The ugliness of who we are gets all the attention.

What could be done to harness the energy behind how people are responding to this tragedy? What could be done to water it, and cultivate it? What could be done to focus attention on that feeling of compassion and incorporate it into people's everyday lives? I truly have no idea, and ask it more as a rhetorical question than with an expectation of an answer.

For a moment there, I felt the brief flash of potential for a movement of some kind. Or maybe something deeper than that - a spiritual paradigm shift, perhaps. That feeling subsided and now I'm back to my standard perspective of a monkey banging away on the keyboard, but I wanted to say something and possibly, maybe, just in case, plant a seed.

And maybe it isn't about an inspired leader of a movement stepping up and creating a vision to rally around. Maybe a paradigm shift like that happens organically, at an individual level. If you're like the people I've talked to, odds are good the tsunami has inspired some kind of desire deep in your heart to help, a desire to act on your compassion. Stop for a moment and ask yourself, "What can I do to keep that going? What can I do to connect with others around that feeling? How can I make that feeling a part of my paradigm?"

Maybe part of it is simply raising awareness in people. I don't hear anybody saying, "Do you notice that feeling you've got? What if you kept hold of it? What if you built on it? What if WE built on it?"

So I guess I'm saying that.

Thanks for listening.

Curt Rosengren
Passion Catalyst ^SM

What can YOU do? Words of wisdom

This from the Worthwhile blog. Sometimes I just really feel humbled.

"Do all you can, with what you have, in the time you have, in the place you are."
- Nkosi Johnson (a 12-year-old AIDS activist who died in 2001 in South Africa.)

Curt Rosengren
Passion Catalyst ^SM