Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise gratitude today!

Curt and I are taking in the sun in Key West this morning and then driving through the Keys to seek a few memorable adventures in honor of my 60th. Our two daughters have organized a continuation of the celebration with all of us in Puerto Rico next week.

With time to relax and reflect, I’m keenly aware of what a blessed woman I am. Blessed to be married to one of the finest men in the world for 38 years, to have two amazing daughters who make Earth a better place because of their existence who are blessed with exceptional men in their lives, to have a family community that is strong, supportive, and incredibly tight, and to have extraordinary people around the world as friends and colleagues.

Melody Beattie expresses gratitude in a way that helps me sort out my history, empowers the present moment, and gives hope to the future:

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

Life is fast and fragile. Every birthday is a loud reminder to cherish the time we have and make the moments matter!

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.
Visit www.The Success Studio.com
www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise price paying today!

While working in Nashville and Memphis last week I enjoyed the people, the work, the art and the barbeque! I was also (as always) intrigued by the messages that garnish peoples’ desks. Here’s one that caught my attention:

Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.
 ~Leon J. Sue

Yeah, we’ll pay a price alright. So, would you rather pay the price of disciplined effort, or pay the price of regret? Your choice!

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

Visit www.The Success Studio.com
www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise planning today!

My husband, Curt joined me in Nashville, then Memphis this week. Listening to music at with him at BB Kings was a wonderful way to enjoy Valentine’s evening. Walking Beale Street we saw Elvis clocks, a plethora of “art” made from guitars, skulls and bones, and T-shirts with everything imaginable written on them. One that caught my eye:

Spend at least as much time planning your life as you did your last vacation.

Hmmm – not bad advice for something that started as an undergarment!

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.
Visit www.The Success Studio.com
www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

Wednessday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise thoughts today!

Our nephew, Trevor, performed in a brass quintet competition last week at Hartland High school. Small groups from across Lower Michigan played their best and received powerful feedback about how to take their music to the next level. As a family, we listened with delight as Trevor and his fellow artists played brilliantly and then enjoyed their medal.

His completion took place in a classroom that made me want to return the next day and meet the teacher. Every square inch of the room was covered with visuals, illustrations and quotations of success, achievement, overcoming roadblocks, recovering from failure, personal responsibility, etc. What wonderful messages for teenagers (and all of us) to dwell upon! One message I hadn’t heard in years caught my eye and stirred my soul:

Resentment is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

Be honest. Doesn’t this ring true? Although none of us would like to admit we’ve felt resentment, bitterness or envy, isn’t it part of the process to emotional maturity? So, if you are harboring resentment at this moment in any form, why contaminate your sacred Self with its poison? Today’s the day to let go, to release, and let our minds contemplate things that will take us to higher ground.

Today, I will put wings on my mind so my thoughts can soar and my Spirit can sing!

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.
Visit www.The Success Studio.com
www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise courage today!

I’m working at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville this week. As I stand at the front of the room my eyes fall upon a poster on the back wall that reads:

Courage is the decision to place your dreams above your fears.

And, I gasp. I wish I could say that courage has always played an inspiring, strengthening role in the story of my life. However, the truth is – I vividly remember years of debilitating fear. Fear so intense it consumed my mind and left no opening for dreams to have even a whisper. Worry, dread, apprehension and trepidation would be more accurate words to describe what drove my decisions. So, my dreams remained captured in the silent, still undertones of my expression.

Listening to those tones, the breath beneath thought, can be the stimulus that moves us. In stillness, we can begin to hear the voice of desires and the yearnings of our soul. Then, we can make the decision to act on them, and place them as the priority, over and above the fear that would keep us stuck and immovable.

So today – more stillness. And, tomorrow and the next day. For, the memories of living in fear and the liberation of placing dreams above those fears is one of the greatest awakenings.

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.
Visit www.The Success Studio.com
www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise awakening today!

Traveling from St. Louis to Cleveland the other day, I was mesmerized by behaviors observed in the airport. People-watching is certainly the most intriguing and cheapest form of entertainment!

Here are married couples who seem to be completely disconnected and unaware of the presence of each other (or, at least I’m assuming their married because of that particular behavior)! Mom’s and dad’s who also look detached from the eyes, hearts and souls of their little ones who will be little for so little time. Those same parents, irritated at the childlike behavior of their precious wonders who are simply being children. Elderly people whose eyes look and feel distant, empty, null and void.

Then I observe young love (or maybe lust). Here’s a noticeable glimpse of joy, playfulness, pleasure and hope. Over there is a rare parent looking deeply into their child’s eyes and smiles at their delightful, yet completely silly behaviors. And to my right, an elderly couple holding hands and sharing a glance of “knowing” what’s really important.

I can’t help but wonder: When do we forget the charm, wonder and awe of each other and of life? When does the genuine excitement and thrill of each treasured day become regular, monotone, tedious, repetitive and apparently boring? When do we begin to forget to cherish moments and hold each other gently in our hearts?

Then, I open a magazine and read:

To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe. ~ Marilyn vos Savant

This airport layover in a relatively mediocre setting has awakened my senses and slapped me upside the head. I too often walk through an entire day relatively dead to the glorious splendor all around me. I’ve missed moments of bliss as I stood at the altar of dull.

Not today. Today, I will heighten my awareness and appreciation of everything and everyone who surrounds me. And, I’ll do what I can to take this into tomorrow. May you genuinely and completely enjoy your day!

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.
Visit www.The Success Studio.com
www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise reflection today!

I’m working in the fine city of St. Louis this week. And, like many of you, the last few days I’ve heard commentators, colleagues, comrades and companions of Martin Luther King reflect upon him as a man and a marvel who created miracles with his exceptional passion, unstoppable persistence and legendary oratory.

While listening I wrote down several of his quotations. Many of them I remembered him delivering, in real time, on my family’s little black and white television set when I was a child. With today’s social media, I imagine his words have gone viral all across the globe this week. And, why wouldn’t they when the words he spoke decades ago are piercingly relevant today:

All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.

When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to injustice everywhere.

A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded people purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.

A riot is at bottom the language of the unheard.

I suspect we’ll experience intense global change in the next few decades. I pray we surface at least a few wise, courageous leaders who walk us through it with increased understanding, compassion and grace.

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

Visit www.The Success Studio.com
www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise “whats” and “whys” today!

For the first time, I’m experiencing Amelia Island in Florida. What a lovely place to work! Sitting on my balcony, looking at the enormity of the ocean, listening to its sound and attempting to do my daily, disciplined “sit” with silence; I glance at a hotel magazine and notice an interview with Billy Crystal (creative avoidance – I’m not yet as disciplined as I’d like to be with stillness!)

One statement in the interview immediately reminded me of his character in the movie City Slickers. Remember that movie?! And, of course, my train of thought led me to more and more thinking (and thinking is NOT supposed to be part of stillness!), so let me share . . .

While preparing for the next 12 months, don’t forget to ask yourself the “one thing” question. Remember that line in City Slickers? Curly explains to the Billy Crystal character that the secret to life is finding the “one thing.” Crystal immediately asks, “What’s the “one thing?” To which Curly responds, “That’s what you have to figure out.” That’s what we all have to figure out! It may not be easy; however, it’s got to be rewarding! (And, if I were more disciplined with my quiet time perhaps I’d be closer to knowing my “one thing!)

So, I ask: What is the one thing you could achieve that would make 2012 one of the best years of your life? And, what is the one thing that would inspire you to press on to succeed, even when you don’t feel like it? What is that one thing that could give you motivation and courage in the moments you feel you have none? What gives you your inner drive? What’s your why?

You will be tested. You will encounter obstacles. You will experience pain. It will suck at times. You will want to quit. So, you need a significant reason WHY you want to forge ahead and continue to pursue and persist through the pain, obstacles and sucky stuff. ~ Darren Hardy, Success Magazine

During your daily (yes, daily) scheduled quiet moments, contemplate your “one thing” and your “why.” It’s often said the answer is in the question. This year, let’s get in the habit of asking ourselves the important ones! (And, I wish you increased discipline with your stillness practice!

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.
Visit www.The Success Studio.com
www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise dreaming today!

Here in early January many of us are in the “what do I want this year to be” phase. Pretend its one year from today, January 4, 2013, and you’re reviewing your 2012 life. When you look back and reflect upon 2012: What learning helped you know more about truth? What pleases you most? What makes you giggle? What are you most proud of? Who are you glad you met – and stayed connected to? What will you not repeat?

How do we really know the desires of our hearts? How do we turn those desires into reality? Here are a few things others have shared with me that always help:

Make time to be quiet. In life’s busy-ness it’s easy to get caught up in the rush of things. Every day (yes, every day) pull yourself away from people, cell phones, computers and TV. Otherwise, how can you hear to the depths of your heart? You’ll be vulnerable to listening to what other people want for and from you; however, the desires of your heart will go unheard.

Pay attention to what thrills you. What great thoughts move your heart to excitement and joy? What would you most like to accomplish; to become? What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail . . . if success was guaranteed? Questions like these can move you to the dream zone, where your heart can express itself and help you with direction. So, regularly schedule some “dream time” for yourself, and make note of the joyful expressions that speak to you.

Write down the dreams of your heart. Make sure you have pen and paper with you at all times. Write down what surfaces during dream time, as well as what whispers and screams during your busy days (since you’ve consistently welcomed the heart to express itself during your dream time, you’ll notice it will begin to speak outside of those scheduled times). Don’t filter the dreams that surface. Write them all down – this is your DREAM list! There’s nothing foolish or outlandish about what speaks to you. Your dreams and goals are unique to you and call you to become your best self. Achieving our specific goals bring joy to our life because they create more congruency with who we want to become.

Prioritize your dreams. What dreams are most important to you? Which ones do you really want to accomplish and in what order? Which are most feasible? Which can you accomplish immediately, with little or no additional resources? Which require more information, resources or personal attributes than you currently possess (there are life calling clues in there!) Remember, creating a life worth living requires dreaming, THEN action – consistent action!

The pain of discipline or the pain of regret . . . which do you choose?

When your life is near the end, will you look back with joy or regret? Each day we move closer to what we desire, or away from it. The choice is yours.

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

Visit www.The Success Studio.com
www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise, deliberate self-improvement today!

Reviewing the list of goals set for the next 12 months, I anticipate great adventures, full of challenges, struggles, disappointments and victories – all part of the self-improvement process. Selecting the qualities we want mastery with is one of the most important things we can do. Many who have left legacies worth considering stood upon the foundation of continuous growth and development.

A young Benjamin Franklin, who eventually became a skilled entrepreneur, writer, printer, scientist, inventor and statesman, was brilliant, eloquent, driven, opinionated and argumentative. On a trip to Europe, one brave confidant was kind and bold enough to pull him aside and give him feedback. He told Ben it didn’t matter how intelligent or well-spoken he was, it didn’t matter. People would literally avoid him because they couldn’t tolerate being in his presence.

Although he was devastated by the feedback, it didn’t cause him to deny, rationalize, wallow, blame or resist. Instead, he began a focused, deliberate self-improvement process. To start, he listed what he believed to be the attributes of an influential leader and prioritized them by selecting thirteen virtues he felt most worthy of his attention. Then, he organized himself around a demanding schedule of acting, monitoring and improving.

He focused on one attribute for 13 weeks then started all over again. Rotating through his top 13 translated into intentional improvement of a specific quality four times every year. Did he effectively improve in areas that made him more influential?

Hell is when who you are meets who you could have been. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Where will you focus your personal self-mastery efforts in 2012? When prioritizing your list, make certain it matters to what you want to accomplish, and more importantly, to who you want to become.

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!
Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.
Visit www.The Success Studio.com
www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com