Celebrate What’s Right with the World
As I return from a few days enjoying northern Michigan I was pleased to see that I received an email from my friend Pete Emhoff that simply read: You will not want to miss this. Takes 20 minutes, but is worth it. http://www.celebratetraining.com
When Pete talks/writes, I listen.
So I settled into one of my mobile offices, Uptown Coffeehouse, yesterday afternoon. The header of the site intrigued me – Celebrate What’s Right with the World. I plugged in my headphones, and hit “play.” What I experienced in the twenty or so minutes left me both speechless and inspired.
I wasn’t prepared for the message of James DeWitt, a photographer for National Geographic. He is a teacher at heart: vulnerable, artistic, and passionate. His message is simple: make the choice – in every moment – to celebrate what’s right with the world.
Before you chalk this up as some cheesy-touchy-feely piece, hear me out. This isn’t like the emails I get with PowerPoint synthesized music and clip art. This is a genuine, professional done PREVIEW of a lengthy work designed to inspire and educate. And because I enjoy learning I took three pages of notes (I know, not a surprise!).
DeWitt identifies the conflict with adapting the approach he proposes; citing that it is easy to succumb to the mentality of fear, scarcity, and competition. On the other hand, if we choose to celebrate and see the beauty and possibilities in every situation it will transform us.
So here’s the teaser or for some of you who may not take the time to view his work, the point he is seeking to make:
If we celebrate what is right in the world it will change our vision:
- It will keep us open to possibilities
- It will give us energy and connect us with our passion
- It will make us more accepting of change
You might guess that I identified with the message celebrate what’s right with the world. It reminds me of a first century well-educated Jewish leader who debated with the philosophers of Mars Hill and wrote encouraging letters to people around the world. Here’s what he wrote, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
If you take the time to watch the piece, leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Motivation:The Power of the Right-Brain
“Who’s speaking today?” asked one of my co-workers at the conference center I worked at a few years ago. I quipped, “Some guy named Daniel Pink.” Little did I know that his message would intrigue me to learn as much as I have about behavioral science and its impact on motivation.
Because it was April 1st the attendance was abyssal but his topic was extraordinary. His book A Whole New Mind was a New York Times Best Seller and the former speech writer for Al Gore was making the circuit touting a message – in his words “making a case” for doing business and life in a whole new way.
Since most of my schooling concentrated on “left-brain” thinking and learning his challenge was refreshing. ”Today, the defining skills of the previous era – the ‘left brain’ capabilities that powered the Information Age – are necessary but no longer sufficient. And the capabilities we once disdained or thought frivolous-the ‘right brain’ qualities of inventiveness, empathy, joyfulness and meaning-increasingly will determine who flourishes and who flounders.” This wasn’t a feeling. He wasn’t expressing a philosophy. He was backing up his findings with empirical data that rocked the very core of what I had been taught.
Mind you, I knew in my gut (I’m a “N” – Intuitive – on the Myers-Briggs) that the skill set labeled as “soft” mattered. But now there was evidence. Those who poked fun at me with disdain, “That’s touchy-feely crap!” would have to listen. Could it be true that EQ (Emotional Quotient) matters as much as IQ?
For my own study I put together a MindMap Summary of A Whole New Mind.
I’m grateful Pink’s message continues to pick up steam. He has just published a new book with more evidence to support his case – Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. I spent two days last week at Barnes and Noble ferociously taking notes. No doubt I will be sharing some things. For now, watch this clip from his talk at TED.
And…let me know what you think.
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