A Call To Optimism: From Isolation to Resilience

In a culture that feels increasingly fragmented and divided, with challenges that invite us into the most serious action and commitment, we long to feel connected, supported, and open to each other in our diversity. To really be there for ourselves and each other.

Healing can be defined as bringing together parts that have been separated. We move from a kind of fragmentation that happens in the face of great strife, whether in communities or within the individual soul, to the reparation that naturally occurs when we commit to truly seeing one another — and ourselves — with compassion.

Welcome to the Third Annual West Coast Constellations Intensive

Are You a Thought Leader?

by DeliveringHappiness on 8.19.13 | DH@work

by Laura Garnett

Ask.com says that a thought leader is an individual or firm that is recognized as an authority in a specialized field and whose expertise is sought and often rewarded. In a world where information is often it’s own currency, thought leaders are seen as a resource because in order to earn that status, they have made a career of focusing on their primary expertise. Being a thought leader has cachet and, according to Malcolm Gladwell, if you spend 10,000 hours focused on one thing, then you’ll end up being an expert at it.

Being a thought leader also takes focus, and in today’s world, that is often a challenge. Business owners are looking for the next big thing, rather than owning their one thing. However, when you do, you have the potential to lead and help shift the thinking of others. Many of us would strive for this, but, how do you know if you are actually leading others in the way they think and behave?

Read more:
http://www.deliveringhappiness.com/are-you-a-thought-leader/?goback=%2Egde_4409416_member_274130122#%21

Secrets of a Second-Career Intern

by Cary Barbor, Sep. 3

When I left my last magazine job in 2008, it seemed there were exactly zero print publications left worthy to work for. I had devoted 20 years of my career to the magazine industry, but it was no secret that the field was going down the tubes.

Also, If had to edit one more piece on why blueberries are a superfood, there was a good chance I would slide under the desk into a fetal position and never come out. I was burned out and my well of work ideas had run bone dry.

So when a friend told me about the jumpstart she got from her career coach, I went to see him. One of the first exercises he gave me was simply to muse about my job:

Turn off the censor in my head, and make a list of the places I would love to work.

Read more:

http://tuenight.com/2013/09/secrets-of-a-second-career-intern/?goback=%2Egde_4409416_member_270891693#%21

Working with Ambiguity at Work

by 

KATHRYN WELDS

“Leading during uncertain business conditions” and “tolerating ambiguity” are explicitly-sought skills in Silicon Valley position descriptions.
These competencies are crucial to navigate frequent, sometimes surprising restructurings and layoffs.
In contrast, employees outside the U.S. enjoy greater job certainty and worker protection in some countries, as outlined in Ruhr-Universität Bochum researcher Rolf Wank’s survey of typical German employment relationships .
Read more: 
http://kathrynwelds.com/2013/09/22/working-with-ambiguity-at-work/#%21

Both creative artists and business leaders recognize the crucial importance of working with and through ambiguous conditions to produce breakthrough solutions.

°         What approaches help you tolerate ambiguity?
°         How can ambiguity tolerance be increased?

#MenWhoGetIt Spotlight: Jayakanthan M

by Catalyst
September 23, 2013 — Welcome to the first in our series of “Men Who Get It” profiles, designed to showcase male executives and experts who act as Catalysts for change by advancing women in the workplace. This week, the spotlight is on Jayakanthan M, Head of Talent & Development and Diversity & Inclusion, Global Operations Centers, Thomson Reuters. Jay is an India-based expert on inclusive leadership.
Read more:
http://catalyst.org/blog/catalyzing/menwhogetit-spotlight-jayakanthan-m

Health and Happiness : The Success-Indicator by MaryEllen Tribby

An interesting post on a friend's Blog:

Health and Happiness : The Success-Indicator by MaryEllen Tribby

Nelson Mandela Was Never In Prison: "I never let them do it."

by Big Think Editors

June 28, 2013, 2:38 AM

Nelson Mandela was never in prison. Or so he told Peter Guber and a group of American businessmen. "If I allowed that jailer to imprison my dreams and aspirations, I never would have made it the whole time in prison." And so, Mandela was defiant: "I never let them do it," he said.
As Guber reflects in the video below, "I saw a man who had literally been brutalized by being imprisoned for 29 years, who saw his life, not as a prison, but as an opportunity to deliver for his country and his people an opportunity by telling that story and empowering others to believe that if they can free...it would be worth every moment he spent in jail..."

Watch here:

Nelson Mandela Was Never In Prison: "I never let them do it."