laughter

What kind of leader are you?

What’s your purpose?  Are you a teacher of young minds or new concepts?  Are you a builder of companies or of things?  Are you a leader – someone who can mobilize others because of a shared vision? As this is the last blog about this month’s joy habit about being on purpose, I’ve chosen the purpose of leadership to wrap up the series.  Why?  Because I believe we need to reawaken the leadership qualities we all possess in order to stand up for people or things we care about. We can no longer afford to stand by thinking that someone else will do the heavy lifting.  As Martin Luther King, Jr. said “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
Read More→

Are you a builder?

Are you someone who is in constant motion?  Do you crave change?    Are you able to see opportunities where others just see rubble? If this describes some of your characteristics, then your purpose may be that of a “builder” – someone who is likely either a serial entrepreneur or literally in the building profession.  And just like Michelangelo who when asked how he could create such a masterpiece as his famous statue of David, said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” , you too are being called to transform matter into your masterpiece.  You may be an alchemist my friend.
Read More→

Are you a teacher?

Are you someone who loves to learn?  Do you ask a lot of questions?  Are you curious about everything?  If so, your purpose may be that of a teacher. Since this month’s joy habit is about being on purpose, I thought I would talk about three distinct expressions of purpose for the rest of July, starting with those teachers who open the doors for the rest of us. I’ve found that most of the teachers I know and respect are life-long learners who are passionate about sharing what they know with others. Their caring nature makes them generous and giving. Take my good friend Jan for example who chose teaching school children the love of learning as her profession. What a gift to the world Jan’s purposeful passion has been.
Read More→

What was your pandemic ritual?

Did you create a new ritual or activity during the pandemic that has now become part of your daily routine?  Is it something that has elevated you?  Hope so. Mine has. In the early days of the pandemic, my son and I created a morning ritual that I’m happy to say continues to this day.  Since we knew we wouldn’t be able to see each other in person for a while, he called me each morning on his way to work. In the first few weeks it was merely a way to stay connected to each other on a more regular basis.  But it soon morphed into something much more meaningful.  In many ways it helped to shift our energy away from thoughts of fear and anxiety and towards peace and promise instead.  This is how it began. Once we said good morning, we each asked the other “what is your gratitude for today”.  Sometimes it was as simple as the sun shining or the smell of the morning.  Other times it was deeper and required a few seconds of contemplation. And after a few months, we added an evening call that included “tell me one good thing that happened today.”  
Read More→

Are you kind to nature?

We are at the final week of my month-long random acts of kindness challenge.  I hope you’ve been able to practice some of the ideas I have shared over the past four weeks. If you have, I’m sure you’ve noticed a difference in your own level of peace and calm.  And I’ll bet your joy vibration has increased.  It’s just the way the law of attraction works.  What you give out gets returned.  Just like a boomerang. Just to recap, your first random acts of kindness challenge was on sharpening your joy habit of kindness by first showing love and kindness to yourself.  I hope you were able to try some of the suggestions I offered. The second post was about performing random acts of kindness towards children – either your children, grandchildren or those of friends or family members.  I have more suggestions that would help model kindness to growing minds.  
Read More→

When was the last time you smiled at a stranger?

What do you do when you pass a stranger on the street?  Do you smile and say hello, or do you keep your head down and keep on walking?  I guess it depends on where you live and where you’re walking.  But if you’re on a street where you feel safe, then I say, go for it.  Smile and say hello.  You never know, it might be the first kind thing that stranger heard all day. I’ve been particularly aware of how people behave whether they come from a big city or small town.  I’ve found that town folk tend to say hello and strike up a conversation with a total stranger much easier than city folk.  Now I know that’s a generalization, but that’s been my observation. So why is that?  Is it that big cities make people feel invisible amongst the throngs and it’s easier to be anonymous?  Whereas small communities tend to be more interlinked, so whether you the know the person or not is not that important.  Saying hi and being kind is just the neighbourly thing to do.  Which brings me to the topic of this week’s blog.
Read More→

How do you show kindness at work?

If you are a business owner or are in a position of influence in your company, you’re going to want to read today’s blog. I’m going to tell you about a book I read a number of years ago that helped influence the way I ran my company and interacted with clients and suppliers. I guarantee it will give you some ideas for this week’s “random acts of kindness” challenge. Just to recap, this month’s first blog about the random acts of kindness challenge was on sharpening your joy habit of kindness by first showing love and kindness to yourself. I shared some ideas on how you could not only bring a smile to your own face, but by elevating your personal joy vibration you could also help shift the frequency of others in your orbit.   Last week’s random acts of kindness challenge was directed towards children – either your children, grandchildren, or those of friends or family members.  Once again, I gave some suggestions for things you could try that would help model kindness to this next important generation of leaders.   
Read More→

The children are watching

Where did you learn kindness? Was it from your parents?  Perhaps a “kindly” grandparent.  Did you learn kindness in school or perhaps from a faith leader? Who was the best role model on kindness for you?  Or perhaps you didn’t grow up around kindness and had to learn how to be it by yourself. Sadly, there are millions of children around the world who have grown up in environments devoid of kindness and compassion.  Yet, despite their suffering, many have gone on to build lives of purpose and meaning.  Just think what they all may have become had they been loved first. That brings me to the subject of today’s blog and this week’s challenge of practicing random acts of kindness towards children.
Read More→

Are you ready for a challenge?

Do you like a challenge? Then I’ve got a great one for you this week, in fact for the entire month of June. And it’s all about kindness. Something I think we could all use a bit more of these days. Since I’ve dedicated the month of June to the joy habit of kindness, as far as I’m concerned, the best place to start is always with yourself. So my challenge for week one of your kindness challenge is to practice at least one “random act of kindness” towards yourself every day. You might be asking yourself “how can I show kindness towards myself in a random way?” Well, you might surprise yourself. Which is actually the point! The objective is not to overthink this. In fact, take planning right out of your equation when it comes to this challenge. This isn’t about controlling anything. I’m asking you to trust that your soul always communicates with you, guiding you in loving ways in the direction of your ultimate joy. You just need to pay attention. In fact, there really is no such thing as random. Trust the messages you receive and act upon them.
Read More→

You can choose your life

Did you know that you have more power than you can imagine?  You have power over the thoughts you think. You have power over the words you choose.  You have power over the company you keep and the experiences you attract.  And ultimately you have power over the life you wish to live.  It all comes down to the choices you make. Sounds obvious doesn’t it?  But sometimes the obvious gets overlooked during the distractions of your busy life.  Until that is, you make time to really think about it. Take for example the power you have to choose your thoughts.  Yes, you have a choice. This is what I mean.
Read More→
Back To Top