Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise practice work today!

Mornings begin with daily prayer, and when in Asia, I learned the benefits of the “call to prayer” several times a day. In those quiet moments I ask for help and give thanks. And, too often, I hesitate, and sometimes cringe, when I reflect upon how I’m actually doing. Then, I remember Marianne Williamson’s advice:

Practice kindness, and you start to become kind. Practice discipline, and you start to become disciplined. Practice forgiveness, and you start to become forgiving. Practice charity, and you start to become charitable. Practice gentleness, and you start to become gentle.

So, today, I stop beating myself up for not being as kind, disciplined, forgiving, charitable, gentle, and patience I’d like to be. Rather, I’ll practice to intentionally behave as the person I want to become. It doesn’t matter if we’re not in the mood to respond kindly to the obnoxious behavior of another, or immediately judge another’s actions. What matters is how we manage our thoughts, words, and actions.

As George Eliott (Mary Ann Evans, who penned in a male name) wrote:

It is never too late to be what you might have been.

Life is calling . . .  Today’s the day!

Visit http://www.The Success Studio.com . . . Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

www.marilynnsemonick.com

To read archived Wednesday Wisdoms visit http://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 celebration of others today!

This week several of us enjoyed the festivity of the Academy Awards as professionals honored and celebrated the work of their colleagues. There were several moments of appreciation that demonstrated humanity in memorable ways.

Halle Berry presented Michelle Yeoh her Best Actress Oscar, making her the first Asian woman to receive the award. Overcome with emotion, Michelle, at 60, a long-term veteran of the industry, tearfully reached into the souls of those listening and said:  

For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibility. This is proof that dreams dream big and dreams do come true . . . And ladies, don’t let anyone ever tell you you’re past your prime.

Best director recipient, Daniel Kwan reminded everyone:

There is greatness in every single person, it doesn’t matter who you are. You have a genius that is waiting to erupt, you just need to find the right people to unlock that.

Best supporting actor, Daniel Kwan emotionally thanked his wife for consistently believing in him through 20 years of struggle toward his dreams with disappointing results, constantly telling him: Your time will come.

No one achieves alone. Longevity in any field requires hard work and a strong support system. Encouragement and a safe place to fall benefits every human. Thanks for the reminders.

Life is calling . . .  Today’s the day!

Visit http://www.The Success Studio.com . . . Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

www.marilynnsemonick.com

To read archived Wednesday Wisdoms visit http://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 recalibration today!

In last week’s post, I announced that I would commit myself to an entire day of increased attention to my thoughts, words, and behaviors and intentionally live one full day of being my best self. The result: I didn’t make to noon!

Driving my husband to physical therapy we came to a screeching stall, crawling at about 4 MPH for over 2 miles. At the start of the slow-down I immediately said a silent prayer, in case of an accident. Then, we approached the root cause, observing work crews trimming broken limbs from the morning ice storm. Seriously? Thoughtlessly, I blurted out, “These people should be publically executed as an example for gawking!” So much for kindness, a gentle way of walking through life, and patience!  And, my mind echoed Mark Twain’s words:

It’s better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than open it and remove all doubt.

After beating myself up for such short-lived success and quick tempered failure, I sat with myself in the parking lot of the rehab center to regroup. Opened a book and thankfully read:

 It’s better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.  ~ Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee

So, once again, I recalibrate myself and get on with the day. With a deep breath I pray I can do better before I place my head on my pillow tonight.

Life is calling . . .  Today’s the day!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

www.marilynnsemonick.com

Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)

Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker

Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise being today!

A few days after celebrating over 7 decades of existence on this magnificent planet, I had an intriguing thought:

What if, just for one day, I could be my best self, for the entire day, no matter what?

It’s not like I haven’t announced this to myself before and of course, we can wake up every morning and make that decision. However, the truth is, I’ve never actually accomplished an entire day. One full day of increased awareness of my thoughts and behaviors, intentional focus on the present, and no matter what happens (more accurately, especially when “what” happens!) to  remain in my best-self mode.

Today, if I purposefully practice kindness for an entire day, I can become more kind. If I put gentleness into practice, I can begin to increase the gentle way I walk through life. Be more patient, become more skilled with patience (this one is beyond challenging!)

So, today is the day . . . I increase my attention and intention to choose the behavior of the self I wish to be. Let’s see what happens.

Life is calling . . .  Today’s the day!

Visit http://www.The Success Studio.com . . . Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

www.marilynnsemonick.com

To read archived Wednesday Wisdoms visit http://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! Each passing year offers us the opportunity to reflect upon moments past and settle into the blessings experienced throughout the previous 365 days. As always, I become consumed with gratitude.  And yes, the echoes of the past also surface darker thoughts of disappointment, remorse, regret, guilt, shame, and grief. With a deep breath and an embrace of life’s realities, I coach myself back on track, remembering George Eliot’s words (pen name of Mary Ann Evans): It is never too late to be what you might have been. So, today, as I approach another year, I desire to start anew. Fresh with faith, recalibrated with possibility, and renewed with hope. Looking forward . . .                                                                 Life is calling . . .  Today’s the day! Visit http://www.The Success Studio.com . . . Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.www.marilynnsemonick.comTo read archived Wednesday Wisdoms visit www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.comMarilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional SpeakerMarilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise love today!

What would life be like if we became intentional and made yesterday’s Valentine’s Day focus on love a daily, lifetime commitment? Living in Michigan, with a daughter who loves her alma mater, Michigan State, the tragedy this week hit home, yet again.

I read and reread the relevant words of Martin Luther King with frustration, angst, and extreme anger at myself for finding it increasingly more difficult to react with genuine love:

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

Or, perhaps we can ponder Elie Wiesel’s words. A Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor, Wiesel authored 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps:

The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.

I’ll avoid elaborating my views on guns of plenty in this nation. I will express my outrage at our acceptance of corporate greed and political control that arms people with weapons of destruction that manifest fear and hate, obliterating love for those who experience their results. And, my intense concern for today’s obvious acceptance of discrimination, leading me to an ugly understanding of how fear, hate, and acceptance of white supremacy translated into concentration camps and murder of millions.

Love as an action. What does it look like to refuse to be indifferent? What do we need to address our fears? What does driving out darkness feel like? What does rejection of hate mean for all of us? These continuous tragedies reminds us of our collective consciousness. Can we challenge ourselves to become more skilled at understanding, compassionate, and loving? If not, the obvious alternative is currently playing itself out, violently and all too often.

Life is calling . . .  Today’s the day!

Visit http://www.The Success Studio.com . . . Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

www.marilynnsemonick.com

To read archived Wednesday Wisdoms visit http://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 responsibility today!

Have you ever found it difficult to make a decision? Avoided it, postponed it, or deferred to someone else to make the decision so you wouldn’t have to? There’s some convenient luxuries in that decision. For, to choose not to make a decision is a decision made.

The indulgence you may have bestowed upon yourself is the opportunity to criticize, judge, or become annoyed by the decision made by another. Perhaps it’s best to decide you’re responsible for “it all” In your life. Of course, you’re not; however, you will live with the consequences, either way. So, decades ago, Joan Didion may have given us good advice:

The willingness to accept responsibility for one’s one life is the source from which self-respect springs.     

So, today . . . own it all!

Life is calling . . .  Today’s the day!

Visit http://www.The Success Studio.com . . . Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

www.marilynnsemonick.com

To read archived Wednesday Wisdoms visit http://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 self-awareness today!

I was so inspired the Tracee Ellis Ross interview I wrote about last week that I needed to read more about her life, her work, and what motivates her passions. Some of the first words I scanned were:

What’s most important is how we feel on the inside.

Yikes, there’s that inner world again!  How much time have you spent there recently? Or ever? After all, inner excavation is essentially the most imperative human assignment of our life isn’t it? It’s what fuels what we think, speak, and do.

We are the chooser of our own life. Don’t let being afraid stop you from doing anything.

Accumulated fears surface for many (probably most) who take the life-time expedition, and it forces the question: What parts of ourselves have we cut off because of fear?  And, the journey continues . . .

Life is calling . . .  Today’s the day!

Visit http://www.The Success Studio.com . . . Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

www.marilynnsemonick.com

To read archived Wednesday Wisdoms visit http://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 self-awareness today!

How often do you hear someone ask a child, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The typical, expected response describes what we’ll do. A doctor, lawyer, engineer, teachers, nurse, fireperson . . . and each choice distinctively carves and defines a life and lifestyle.

In an interview about embracing turning 50 and closing the chapter on her hit show Black-ish, Tracee Ellis Ross reflects upon our human experiences of growing up:

We spends so much time learning how to get what we want instead of who we want to be.

                                                                                                       .  ~ Tracee Ellis Brown

How can we encourage our children to increase the callings of their authentic essence? To listen to their soul and feed their spirit? What’s your gift? What makes your heart sing? Makes you forget about time? What do you want to contribute to the world that comes to you rather naturally? What are your dreams? How do you want to build those dreams?

Having a solid example in her mother, Diana Ross, Tracee says:

If you think my mom plays Diana Ross well, you should see her play mom!

Who are you? What are you playing? Are you living a life that welcomes your being to evolve? Life’s amazingly fast and fragile. Even if we weren’t exposed to the process of self-discovery as a child, the time is now to welcome the unfolding.

Life is calling . . .  Today’s the day!

Visit http://www.The Success Studio.com . . . Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

www.marilynnsemonick.com

To read archived Wednesday Wisdoms visit http://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 equity today!

If Martin Luther King Jr lived, he would be 94 today. A social activist and Baptist minister, he sought equality and human rights for African Americans, the economically disadvantaged, and all victims of injustice through peaceful protest, becoming a target for white supremacists.

Today, it’s not enough to quote him, be inspired by his worlds, or praise him. The world needs us to emulate him. In his words:

Our lives begin to end on the day we become silent on things that matter.

The message need not be Let’s all remember. It can mean individual andsocietal transformation. To honor him most, we continue our inner work identifying and addressing our own bias, standing up for all inequalities we encounter, and pushing up our sleeves to do the necessary work to ensure justice for all. This means more than doing good works. It also means passing good laws.

Some may say we’ve come a long way. There’s still much more to do.

Life is calling . . .  Today’s the day!

Visit http://www.The Success Studio.com . . . Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

www.marilynnsemonick.com

To read archived Wednesday Wisdoms visit http://www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com

Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)

Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker

Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com