Tag Archives | Expand

The 3 E’s – What Do They Mean? Why You Should Care?

By on March 20, 2013 in Mind Matters, Work-Life Success

To my way of thinking there are three aspects or necessary components to growing in life, work, fulfillment, success, balance, relationships, anything really.

Explore, Expand, Evolve

This sort of sums up my philosophy of both my work and my life.

You really need all three to be your most effective, to live your best life, to have your most successful career. They work together, building on one another and circling back and forth to form an intricate web which is the foundation for all growth, in business and in life.

But what do these words mean? How do they apply to you? To your business? To your life?

Here’s the boiled-down Cliff Notes version of my understanding and my practice.

Explore = Assess

  • Look at the situation, the problem, the reality, the goal
  • Learn more about options, choices, motivations, thought and behavior patterns
  • Generate ideas, contemplate possible solutions
  • Who am I? As a person, as a professional?
  • What am I doing? Or not doing?
  • What do I want to accomplish?
  • What is missing? Or what is not working?

Expand = Move forward

  • Be more productive
  • Formulate a plan
  • Take action
  • What do I need to do to get from A to B, or A to F?
  • Where can I get help?
  • How can I best use my time?

Evolve = Change

  • What do I need to change?
  • What isn’t working?
  • Where am I stuck?
  • Do I need to shift my focus?
  • How do I need to revise my plans and strategies?
  • Do I need to modify my behaviors?
  • Are there patterns or habits that need to change?
Your Mini-Mission for this week: How can you apply the 3E’s to your life or business?

Leave a comment or share on our Facebook page.

Just joining us… Find all of the Mini-Missions here…

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What You Need to Do On Your Next Birthday!

By on October 24, 2012 in Life Juice

When we reach a certain age…many of us feel pretty apathetic about our birthdays. Some go so far as to dread or deny their birthday. Why? I never got that…and I hope I never do. Don’t dread aging; celebrate it. You’ve earned those years, those experiences, those lessons. That wisdom has come at a cost, but in my ever not humble opinion, wisdom is worth the price.

So, I’ll share with you my Birthday Manifesto…

Celebrate the years gone by, they are what makes you the person you are today.

Embrace the wisdom earned, respect the lessons learned, and use them them as you move forward.

Be grateful for this day, this time, this life…as imperfect as it is…it is all you have and all that you are guaranteed.

Grab each moment as it comes, squeeze every last bit of joy you can.

Savor the people around you…they are what give your life it’s flavor and true meaning.

Reflect on where you are, where you’ve been, and where you want to go…that will be your road-map.

Be yourself…but make sure you’re the person you want to be…that is the only thing truly within your power.

Decide what you need, what you want, and what you’ll focus on…Pay attention to those things every day.

I choose to use my birthday to catch my breathe, reflect, savor and regroup for the next year.

I’ll take some time to disconnect today, to think about where I am in my life, and where I want to go next.

What do truly want for my life?

What kind of person do I really want to be in this world?

How do I want to use the time I have left? (What if I only have a year, 5 years, 20? How does that affect my answers?)

What do I hope to accomplish?

What I long to create and

What do I want to experience, learn, try?

What deserves my attention…and what doesn’t?

Our time is finite, our energy is finite, our attention is finite.

My birthday wish for all of you is that you will make the most of all three to have your best year ever as you inch…or leap…closer to the life you truly desire.

(Actually, yesterday was my birthday…but since I was disconnected I didn’t realize this didn’t post correctly…doesn’t matter, still true every day.)

 

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Change or Die: It’s Just That Simple

By on March 23, 2012 in Life Juice, Mind Matters

Change is constant; you can either embrace it and move forward or resist it and get run over.

Do you fear change? A little uncertain?

The usual conversation in our head goes something like this:

“Well maybe it would be good, but what if it doesn’t work out. Things aren’t going that well, but at least I know what to expect. I’ve been doing, thinking, and acting this way for so long, I don’t know how to be different. People won’t like me if I change. It’s not worth the hassle. I’m not sure I can change anyway.”

We need to recognize that’s only our fear talking. We have been conditioned from birth to conform. We are creatures of habit. We live what we learn. We are mistrustful of new ideas. New ways of doing things seem uncomfortable.

Question that thinking.

It’s a knee jerk response. Look at the broader reality of history. The only way we grow both as individuals and as a society is through change. All of our pioneering inventions that improved our lives, our innovative solutions that solved major world problems, involved massive change. Changes in our technology, changes in our practices, and most of all changes in our mindset.

We would have no iPad, no apps; we might not even have the internet. Horror! 

We’d still be sending messages via telegraph instead mobile phones that allow us to call and text from almost anywhere instantaneously.

We’d still have to get up to turn the channel on the television, instead of using a remote that can operate all of our electronics in one handy little device (OK, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.) Worse yet, we might not even have televisions.

We’d still be using leeches instead of antibiotics. And dying from common viruses with no childhood immunizations.

We’d still be using iceboxes, waiting weeks for our mail to be delivered via Pony, pumping our water at the well. I won’t even mention going out back in the middle of the night. (OK, I mentioned it.) Shutter the thought!

Good grief, we might still think the world was flat and never get to visit Hawaii or Tahiti or Bali (or wherever we’d like to go.)

You get the idea. We cannot grow, advance, improve our lives, and change the world or our individual circumstances, without being willing to change. We would be confined to the life that we were born into, repeating the same behaviors over and over again, no hope for advancement, and a better life.

What do we have to fear? Success. Happiness. New friends and colleagues. Expanding our horizons. Learning new skills.

Those things don’t sound so bad, do they?

What do we have to lose? The comfort of routine. The familiar. The approval of those around us who are fearful of change. Pride if we make a mistake.

Those things don’t actually serve us, do they? Well maybe the pride, but usually it’s misplaced anyway…

Change. Be bold. Be daring. Be hopeful. Be creative. Be alive.

The ball is in your court.

It’s your turn. What do you think?

 

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Get Involved in Your Community

By on January 13, 2012 in Responsible Living, Work-Life Success

Photo by Dennis Herrara (CC BY-ND 2.0)

Smart Moves

Did getting more involved in your community make your list of goals or resolutions?

Here’s why it should.

Any form of community involvement can be a wonderful thing in itself. The satisfaction you experience by contributing to your community and the people around you is priceless and many times is the most positive thing you do in your day. Although community involvement by its very nature is altruistic, you will often find that you receive more than you give.

But beyond the personal rewards, being active in your community also provides a tremendous opportunity to network with people who live in your area and the professional connections can help you advance your career or bring in more business. It can also present a fantastic opportunity to make new friends and build your personal support network.

Start participating in neighborhood or community meetings, take part in activities relating to your kids’ school or join a volunteer group or cause that interests you. The choices are endless. Find something that appeals to you and fits into your schedule. Don’t view this as another demand on your time, but as a possibility to enhance your career and your life.

Plus you’ll be setting a great example for your children.

I have over the years been a part of the school PTO and joined a local literacy tutoring group. I found both to be enjoyable, rewarding and very beneficial in adding to my pool of connections.

What type of community involvement have you done or are you planning to di in the future?

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Change is Necessary to Move Forward

By on July 1, 2011 in Mind Matters
Decide

Image by mattwi1s0n via Flickr

 

“Growth is the only evidence of life.”  ~John Henry Newman

We are often paralyzed by this weird inability to make changes even when we know that we must in order to move forward.

Why is that?

I think it is really because we have this innate fear of making a wrong decision. So to avoid that terrifying (in our minds) possibility we avoid making any decision at all. This usually results in life (or other people) taking the decision out of our hands, which is what we were secretly hoping for anyway.

That way we don’t have to take responsibility for the consequences of our non-decisions. See, it was somebody else’s fault.

But that behavior keeps us stuck in a holding pattern, not unlike a car on a one-way street sitting at an intersection.

You can’t turn around and go back.

You have to choose which way to go. Right or left. The road less travelled or the road most travelled. Just choose.

If you don’t, you will sit idling until you run out of gas. Not a happy prospect.

The moral of the story is decide…something…anything. If it doesn’t work out, you can choose something different next time. Most often it’s not a matter of life or death. That’s just a story we tell ourselves.

BE BRAVE!  BE BOLD! DECIDE! MAKE A CHANGE!

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