Last night I conducted the Introduction session for the next Book Club series that starts this Wednesday at 8 PM EST.
It is really exciting to know that I am going to be able to connect with so many people without the inconvenience of travel and locations. From the comfort of our homes, we will be connecting on a very real level and discovering our own voice.
My mission is to give people the vehicle to discover their unique wisdom and connect with others on a deep level. My goal is to do that for 500,000 people in 5 years.
The Introduction went very well, we had a great group of people. I'd love it if you were to join us for the series.
It is fascinating and empowering for me to watch myself take on different roles as a leader. As a leader of a new company, I realize how much of my unique perspective is coming through in all aspects of the program. As a leader in the meetings, I realize how important it is for me to lead by example and help people feel comfortable and safe.
And as a leader of myself, I have the opportunity to watch how I am being, and to always choose "authentic" as my modality.
This is where I am meant to be, and I accept the opportunities that the universe keeps throwing at me. There is a constant flow of this abundance, if I choose to turn in that direction and continue to make it all happen and roll to me.
What does it feel like when you step into your leadership?
I'd love to receive your comments!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Competitive Advantage
A video series of "Webisodes" are being broadcast beginning this week featuring Peg Stookey, with me as her guest.
Go here http://bit.ly/aevycY to view the video.
This is the first of 4 weekly Webisodes that discuss the book "Creating Competitive Advantage" by Jaynie L. Smith.
I hope you'll join us in discovering this book that will change your company language and your whole strategic processes.
Click on http://bit.ly/aevycY to view the Webisode
Come back and share your comments with me!
Peace
Larry
Go here http://bit.ly/aevycY to view the video.
This is the first of 4 weekly Webisodes that discuss the book "Creating Competitive Advantage" by Jaynie L. Smith.
I hope you'll join us in discovering this book that will change your company language and your whole strategic processes.
Click on http://bit.ly/aevycY to view the Webisode
Come back and share your comments with me!
Peace
Larry
Monday, July 19, 2010
New Opportunities
I'll be rolling out a new service in the next week, and I would like to relate a conversation that I had this morning with a Training/Development company about the new system.
A powerful Virtual Book Club system has been created and will debut this week that will allow very easy and comfortable access to Book Clubs very soon. This system will connect a number of people on one technology platform so that this group can connect as a whole, and also break out into smaller groups for more in depth discussions.
My passion is about the small group experience using books for the information bank, and how it allows us to discover our own unique wisdom. By being about to verbalize our ideas, we are able to discover our power.
Bob Sutton of ProThink Solutions asked to meet with me this morning to talk about my system and its potential application with his own programs. As we talked about his mission and how he has presented it currently, we saw that my system would give him a powerful process for offering his wealth of knowledge to the general public, as well as in the corporate sector.
We saw many advantages to the Virtual Book Club system for his program.
-Flexible group sizes
-Customized time frames; weekly, biweekly, monthly
-Subscription based for ease of registration
-Hands-on moderation of groups for optimized client experience
-Measurable results for clients
I'm looking forward to working with Bob to develop a program that can provide the benefits of his wealth of knowledge to a new client base.
Peace & JOY
Larry
P.S. Please post comments, questions, feedback...
A powerful Virtual Book Club system has been created and will debut this week that will allow very easy and comfortable access to Book Clubs very soon. This system will connect a number of people on one technology platform so that this group can connect as a whole, and also break out into smaller groups for more in depth discussions.
My passion is about the small group experience using books for the information bank, and how it allows us to discover our own unique wisdom. By being about to verbalize our ideas, we are able to discover our power.
Bob Sutton of ProThink Solutions asked to meet with me this morning to talk about my system and its potential application with his own programs. As we talked about his mission and how he has presented it currently, we saw that my system would give him a powerful process for offering his wealth of knowledge to the general public, as well as in the corporate sector.
We saw many advantages to the Virtual Book Club system for his program.
-Flexible group sizes
-Customized time frames; weekly, biweekly, monthly
-Subscription based for ease of registration
-Hands-on moderation of groups for optimized client experience
-Measurable results for clients
I'm looking forward to working with Bob to develop a program that can provide the benefits of his wealth of knowledge to a new client base.
Peace & JOY
Larry
P.S. Please post comments, questions, feedback...
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Ease Up
As I am working on a book club program for The Happiness Project, I read a single page in the middle of the book entitled "Cut People Slack." As I thought about this, I realized how many layers there are to the idea.
It's complicated
Gretchen Rubin helps us to see that people's lives are far more complicated than they appear from our personal perspective. How many times have I known someone for a while, only to find out that their journey has been a tumultuous or tortured one at times? In the process, they reveal their vulnerability, usually in an offhand, cavalier way that seems to disregard any possible obstacle to the very best in their life. And perhaps I do the same thing, myself.
Their situation is not based on my history.
I think back to how I've approached people as I meet them and begin to learn about them, and I see that I compartmentalize them to fit into all the boxes that I have created for my life. Each tidbit of information, opinion, and feelings are compared to, and matched with, ones that I have experienced. I now have a "reference" point of my own history with which to view what they say or do.
With this set of reference points, I could sidestep the onerous task of admitting that I don't know everything. Yet, in truth, I cannot know their experience, because it is not my experience. Sometimes it's not even close. This ignorance seems to make me uncomfortable, but once it has become clear, I can accept and admire. Or not.
They are constantly changing.
One of the most recent revelations about the people I meet is that this is who they are - now. Then, this is who they are - now. It is constantly changing.
I can only offer this freedom once I have discovered it for myself. When I can see that I am not the same person that I was a year ago, and I can say that this is OK, then I can open my mind to that fact that the person in front of me is in transition. Always.
If I let go of what I had come to know about them up to this moment, I give them the freedom to discover more about themselves. It is through honoring this transition, their transformation, that they are affirmed to continue their journey.
"Forbearance is a form of generosity."
Gretchen uses this sentence to cut people slack who might be in a challenging circumstance that requires otherwise rude or rash behavior. We have no idea why someone is driving erratically, or reaches a flash point for seemingly innocuous events. Their circumstance may be something that we would react to with equal behavior.
But generosity isn't just about identifying with the reaction, or the cause of the reaction. They are doing their best. Just like you and I are. They may have less skills at this, they may have different reference points from which to handle circumstances. Generosity allows for these extremes. Generosity says that I don't have to understand.
Peace
My last thought: peace. Is it really important to know anything, to rationalize anything, to excuse anything? If I want peace, I can let go of all judgment and righteousness. Maybe it's not mine to own. Maybe it's not mine to grade. I can witness. Maybe my simple gift is to witness and be there, to hold for them the OK-ness of who they are in that moment. To cut them some slack when they can't. And I know tomorrow is another day for them. Today, I begin again.
It starts with me. Ease up on yourself, Larry.
Much Love
Larry Watson
InspiringConnection.com
I'd love your comments!!
It's complicated
Gretchen Rubin helps us to see that people's lives are far more complicated than they appear from our personal perspective. How many times have I known someone for a while, only to find out that their journey has been a tumultuous or tortured one at times? In the process, they reveal their vulnerability, usually in an offhand, cavalier way that seems to disregard any possible obstacle to the very best in their life. And perhaps I do the same thing, myself.
Their situation is not based on my history.
I think back to how I've approached people as I meet them and begin to learn about them, and I see that I compartmentalize them to fit into all the boxes that I have created for my life. Each tidbit of information, opinion, and feelings are compared to, and matched with, ones that I have experienced. I now have a "reference" point of my own history with which to view what they say or do.
With this set of reference points, I could sidestep the onerous task of admitting that I don't know everything. Yet, in truth, I cannot know their experience, because it is not my experience. Sometimes it's not even close. This ignorance seems to make me uncomfortable, but once it has become clear, I can accept and admire. Or not.
They are constantly changing.
One of the most recent revelations about the people I meet is that this is who they are - now. Then, this is who they are - now. It is constantly changing.
I can only offer this freedom once I have discovered it for myself. When I can see that I am not the same person that I was a year ago, and I can say that this is OK, then I can open my mind to that fact that the person in front of me is in transition. Always.
If I let go of what I had come to know about them up to this moment, I give them the freedom to discover more about themselves. It is through honoring this transition, their transformation, that they are affirmed to continue their journey.
"Forbearance is a form of generosity."
Gretchen uses this sentence to cut people slack who might be in a challenging circumstance that requires otherwise rude or rash behavior. We have no idea why someone is driving erratically, or reaches a flash point for seemingly innocuous events. Their circumstance may be something that we would react to with equal behavior.
But generosity isn't just about identifying with the reaction, or the cause of the reaction. They are doing their best. Just like you and I are. They may have less skills at this, they may have different reference points from which to handle circumstances. Generosity allows for these extremes. Generosity says that I don't have to understand.
Peace
My last thought: peace. Is it really important to know anything, to rationalize anything, to excuse anything? If I want peace, I can let go of all judgment and righteousness. Maybe it's not mine to own. Maybe it's not mine to grade. I can witness. Maybe my simple gift is to witness and be there, to hold for them the OK-ness of who they are in that moment. To cut them some slack when they can't. And I know tomorrow is another day for them. Today, I begin again.
It starts with me. Ease up on yourself, Larry.
Much Love
Larry Watson
InspiringConnection.com
I'd love your comments!!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Giving or Sacrifice
Does it feel better to say I sacrificed something, or does it feel better to say that I gave something? That's a very important question for me to ask myself.
Martyrdom in this life is frequently an attitude of sacrificing for the sake of a reward. Delayed gratification. When done among my neighbors, it is about expecting that someone notices and gives me a pat on the back, a little leeway, a leg up. When done from a spiritual perspective, maybe I expect some special reward, an extra gold star.
Spirit loves me no matter what, unconditionally, and holds me in grace. What more can I expect? Reward implies that there could possibly be limitations in God's presence.
What if there is no delay? What if the service is the reward? What if we are getting more reward from the act than what we are giving up or sacrificing?
In the recent release "Well Being", it has been researched and discovered that people feel better about their lives when they spend money on others instead of themselves. (Shopping therapy isn't as effective as giving.) People who volunteer feel much better.
"There is nothing BUT self-interest. The only thing that changes is the definition of Self."
Self can be the bottom of Maslow's pyramid. Self can be our highest good. Self can be the God-centered part of us that is only too happy to be realized through service. Self can begin to encompass our fellow man, and the planet.
At that level of Self-interest, it might not feel like a sacrifice. Maybe it feels like love expressing. What is the other word for Love?
Martyrdom in this life is frequently an attitude of sacrificing for the sake of a reward. Delayed gratification. When done among my neighbors, it is about expecting that someone notices and gives me a pat on the back, a little leeway, a leg up. When done from a spiritual perspective, maybe I expect some special reward, an extra gold star.
Spirit loves me no matter what, unconditionally, and holds me in grace. What more can I expect? Reward implies that there could possibly be limitations in God's presence.
What if there is no delay? What if the service is the reward? What if we are getting more reward from the act than what we are giving up or sacrificing?
In the recent release "Well Being", it has been researched and discovered that people feel better about their lives when they spend money on others instead of themselves. (Shopping therapy isn't as effective as giving.) People who volunteer feel much better.
"There is nothing BUT self-interest. The only thing that changes is the definition of Self."
Self can be the bottom of Maslow's pyramid. Self can be our highest good. Self can be the God-centered part of us that is only too happy to be realized through service. Self can begin to encompass our fellow man, and the planet.
At that level of Self-interest, it might not feel like a sacrifice. Maybe it feels like love expressing. What is the other word for Love?
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Being Empty
At the conclusion of a Heart Circle, we have a moment to say something about our experience. I said, "I feel empty."
At the time, it was very hard for me to know what I meant by that. The words seemed so inadequate compared to the experience. In the years since, I have gotten a better grip on the logic, if not the actual experience.
We can go into a room that is completed devoid of furniture, and we can see the space that is in the room. You can measure it, if you like. You can see it, you can walk around and dance and reach to the ceiling.
When the room is crowded with furniture, or even people, it seems like we have no freedom to move around, to dance, to flow freely. There's no space.
Is that true?
Did the space go away? Was it replaced? Or is the space "occupied?"
I would say it is the latter. The space is there whether it is occupied or not. The space is always there. When we remove the furniture, the space is still there.
The metaphysical, emotional, and spiritual potential within our lives is always present. It is the "space" of our lives. I frequently will go out and buy some "furniture" to occupy my space; goals, plans, schedules, history, pain, judgments, identity.
As I place it in my "room," I become accustomed to it and think it is a fixture. I forget about the space that underlies it. I begin to believe that it is more important than the space.
I begin to believe it is permanent.
Emptying the room seems pretty dramatic. Just throw it all out in the hall, in the basement, for the garbage truck. A lofty goal.
What if I just remember the space? What if I remember the immutable forces of this life that do not rely on the furniture to support, or to decorate, to create a "mood?"
What if I can remember the space of love, peace, potential that underlies all the furniture that I have drug into the room?
What if I can dance in the space, regardless of history or identity?
Help me to remember...
At the time, it was very hard for me to know what I meant by that. The words seemed so inadequate compared to the experience. In the years since, I have gotten a better grip on the logic, if not the actual experience.
We can go into a room that is completed devoid of furniture, and we can see the space that is in the room. You can measure it, if you like. You can see it, you can walk around and dance and reach to the ceiling.
When the room is crowded with furniture, or even people, it seems like we have no freedom to move around, to dance, to flow freely. There's no space.
Is that true?
Did the space go away? Was it replaced? Or is the space "occupied?"
I would say it is the latter. The space is there whether it is occupied or not. The space is always there. When we remove the furniture, the space is still there.
The metaphysical, emotional, and spiritual potential within our lives is always present. It is the "space" of our lives. I frequently will go out and buy some "furniture" to occupy my space; goals, plans, schedules, history, pain, judgments, identity.
As I place it in my "room," I become accustomed to it and think it is a fixture. I forget about the space that underlies it. I begin to believe that it is more important than the space.
I begin to believe it is permanent.
Emptying the room seems pretty dramatic. Just throw it all out in the hall, in the basement, for the garbage truck. A lofty goal.
What if I just remember the space? What if I remember the immutable forces of this life that do not rely on the furniture to support, or to decorate, to create a "mood?"
What if I can remember the space of love, peace, potential that underlies all the furniture that I have drug into the room?
What if I can dance in the space, regardless of history or identity?
Help me to remember...
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