A "LifeWorks Moment" is a time, story, incident that occurred in my life when weaved into all the others, makes me the person I am today as well as my business LifeWorks. I find when I do presentations, workshops, and speeches, people enjoy being able to connect with me.
I get that look from audience members that says, "yep been there".
Its been a tough year for the the Class of '71 for the Webster City Lynx. My graduating class was a pretty good size one for a school out in the cornfields of north central Iowa. We had slightly over 200 graduates. But now we're at that age when its sad to hear but not unexpected, to learn of a fallen classmate. You're first thought is "holy cow are you kidding..." Then you stop and realize "hey we're the same age. We played on the same team, lockered next to each other." And now they're gone!
Some of my classmates have died in tragic ways. When you remember the person and then see how they have died...well it just doesn't add up.
Now the Purple & Gold of '71 will celebrate its 40th reunion in August 2011. I'm in that phase of my life where I tell people "I don't even feel 40 let alone be celebrating my 40th year after graduating." There may be a slight bit of denial going on with me!
Through the past few months several of my classmates have died. Actually enough of them passed away that it set off an alarm. So a picnic was held this past weekend for those who could attend back in Webster City. You know get the old gang back together before someone else bites the bullet. Not too many attended. But for those who did I understand it was a good time.
Forty years! Classmates have passed on. Many of us live all over the United States. Many have remarkable careers. I think the one thing we weren't thinking of in 1971 was the day when we'd share pictures of our grandchildren. Grandchildren! Are you kidding? That's tough to admit when as a baby boomer we're just never going to get that old.
And then I noticed something in one of the 'post-picnic' emails. There was a message from one of my classmates who apparently attended the picnic. This classmate wrote, "I know I wasn't very popular back then but I still remember 'the days of the Class of 71'.
Ugh! Somewhere in that line is a story. This person is in their mid-50's. They are nearly 40 years removed from that graduation night of May 1971. I feel somewhat sad for that person. Part of me wants to say "oh get on with it" and another part of me says, "well its what they remember about those days and how some people treated them."
For those who "blended in", were wallflowers, and just went about life...yep you weren't too cool then. You may have lived on the "other side of town." Or maybe your parents were blue collar workers. You may have even went to the 'wrong' elementary school. And probably like every other high school there were the "cool" kids. They may have been alittle more athletic, maybe alittle more attractive and maybe their parents had alittle nicer house and car. And I guess that buys you an attitude that says "I'm alittle bit better than you." Apparently there's still at least one class member who has that memory after all these years. So as much as we want to say "Hey we're the Class of '71 let's hear it for the Lynx..." well maybe we haven't changed all that much after 40 years.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
What is Success?
How do you answer the question..."Success is...?" The problem for most people who want to be successful is not that they can't achieve success. The main hurdle for them is that they misunderstand success. Success can have many different faces. Maltbie Babcock said, "One of the most common mistakes and one of the costliest is thinking that success is due to some genius, some magic, something or other which we do not possess."
So what is success? What does success look like? Most people have a vague picture of what it means to be a successful person.
Most individuals equate success with money. Nothing wrong with that. More power to you if you are skilled with such success. But if that's your only definition of success then you might not have the best of definitions. Through the ages, great men have taught that wealth and what it brings are at best fleeting. Everyone enters the world with nothing and exits with the same amount.
For example, in 1923, a small group of the world's wealthiest men met at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. They were the "Who's Who" of wealth and power. At that time, they controlled more money than the total amount contained in the United States Treasury. Here is a list of who was there and what eventually happened to them:
*Charles Schwab - president of the largest independent steel company...died broke.
*Arthur Cutten - greatest of the wheat speculators...died abroad, insolvent.
*Richard Witney - president of New York Stock Exchange... died just after his release from Sing Sing prison.
*Albert Fall - member of U.S. president's cabinet...was pardoned from prison so that he could die from home.
*Jes Livermore - greatest "bear" on Wall Street...committed suicide.
*Leon Fraser - president of Bank of International Settlements...committed suicide.
*Ivar Kreuger - head of the world's greatest monopoly...committed suicide.
Even Greek millionaire Aristotle Onassis who retained his wealth and died at a ripe old age, recognized that money isn't the same as success. Onassis maintained that "after you reach a certain point, money becomes unimportant. What matters is success."
So what is it in life that inspires you to be successful? How can you achieve it? Who needs to be involved with your pursuit?
Whenever I used a tool from my grandfather's work shed, or his lawnmower, his fishing tackle, whatever it was I can hear him say..."just make sure you put it back better than you found it."
Given that thought, maybe we can each measure how successful we are if we use our lives and talents to make our individual worlds better as we've live in them.
So what is success? What does success look like? Most people have a vague picture of what it means to be a successful person.
Most individuals equate success with money. Nothing wrong with that. More power to you if you are skilled with such success. But if that's your only definition of success then you might not have the best of definitions. Through the ages, great men have taught that wealth and what it brings are at best fleeting. Everyone enters the world with nothing and exits with the same amount.
For example, in 1923, a small group of the world's wealthiest men met at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. They were the "Who's Who" of wealth and power. At that time, they controlled more money than the total amount contained in the United States Treasury. Here is a list of who was there and what eventually happened to them:
*Charles Schwab - president of the largest independent steel company...died broke.
*Arthur Cutten - greatest of the wheat speculators...died abroad, insolvent.
*Richard Witney - president of New York Stock Exchange... died just after his release from Sing Sing prison.
*Albert Fall - member of U.S. president's cabinet...was pardoned from prison so that he could die from home.
*Jes Livermore - greatest "bear" on Wall Street...committed suicide.
*Leon Fraser - president of Bank of International Settlements...committed suicide.
*Ivar Kreuger - head of the world's greatest monopoly...committed suicide.
Even Greek millionaire Aristotle Onassis who retained his wealth and died at a ripe old age, recognized that money isn't the same as success. Onassis maintained that "after you reach a certain point, money becomes unimportant. What matters is success."
So what is it in life that inspires you to be successful? How can you achieve it? Who needs to be involved with your pursuit?
Whenever I used a tool from my grandfather's work shed, or his lawnmower, his fishing tackle, whatever it was I can hear him say..."just make sure you put it back better than you found it."
Given that thought, maybe we can each measure how successful we are if we use our lives and talents to make our individual worlds better as we've live in them.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Workplace Ethics and Principles
Author John Luther wrote, "Good character is more to be praised than outstanding talent. Most talents are, to some extent, a gift. Good character, by contrast, is not given to us. We have to build it piece by piece, by thought, choice, courage and determination."
American businesses focus on profitability and success. They profess doing whatever it takes to make profits. So, the question is:
Well, if you see the recent cases of scandals, frauds, and irregularities that have been reported in the media related to businesses, government and corporations, it seems almost mandatory that ethics/principles need to make a strong comeback in the American workforce.
Character 360 is an ethics/principles training program, from LifeWorks, a personal and professional development business. Character 360 helps build strong teams and foster enhanced ethics thus creating increased work productivity.
Business ethics in today's world play an important role in a company's success or failure. A company has a special obligation to its customers and clients to be ethical. Research has proven that if your business is honest, fair, and trustworthy, people would rather do business with you than with a company that does not have these qualities.
American businesses focus on profitability and success. They profess doing whatever it takes to make profits. So, the question is:
Where do workplace ethics fit in such a scenario?
But, how do you train employees in something like ethics?
Character 360 is an ethics/principles training program, from LifeWorks, a personal and professional development business. Character 360 helps build strong teams and foster enhanced ethics thus creating increased work productivity.
Business ethics in today's world play an important role in a company's success or failure. A company has a special obligation to its customers and clients to be ethical. Research has proven that if your business is honest, fair, and trustworthy, people would rather do business with you than with a company that does not have these qualities.
A Character 360 Seminar/Workshop will promote:
- Improved productivity
- Increased profitability
- Improved employee morale
- Enhanced recruitment and retention of employees
- Better company reputation
- Long-term success
Contact me, Dick Creek, today about your company and building a stronger more productive business and reputation. Character 360 is available in the following formats:
Lunch-n-Learn
Keynote Presentation
One Day Workshop
Call me today at: 402.391.4364 to set up your event or you can email me at: rdcreek@cox.net
Take the next step towards a stronger and respected company by scheduling
Character 360
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