Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise civil service today!

A few days ago I worked with mayors, council and commission members, and a city manager, within the Michigan Municipal League’s Academy, delivering Civil and Collaborative Leadership: Creating a Culture Where Achieving Results is the Logical Outcome.

Local leadership teams across the nation are reporting a growing need for figuring out how to work together in respectful, productive ways, capable of achieving results for the communities they serve. Conflict is part of life. Diverse opinions offer the opportunity to gather a variety of facts and opinions before making decisions. And, civility and respectful communications are required to achieve meaningful results. Sadly, disrespect, vulgarity, and a lack of civility appear to be commonplace in our current political leadership.

I left the Academy with a sense of hope as I experienced the genuine spirit of service, soulful contemplation about how to improve, and honorable behaviors of the participants who return to their communities, often, to dissonance, with renewed resolve to serve with dignity. They stirred memory of Ted Koppel’s plea:

Aspire to decency. Practice civility toward one another. Admire and emulate ethical behavior wherever you find it. Apply a rigid standard of morality to your lives; and if, periodically, you fail ­ as you surely will, adjust your lives, not the standards.

Thank you to every leader who continues to hold high standards, faces conflict with elegance, and serves with courage, dignity, and grace.

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 change today!

Every now and then, one can easily forget to do something they’ve regularly done for decades. As my mom and many others repeated in my youth, “Better late than never.” So goes this post:

Who wouldn’t benefit from this message that I read, posted on the side of a building:

Growth is painful

Change is painful.

But there’s nothing as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.

So, where are you planted that’s not nurturing growth? What needs to be changed now to create more of what you desire? What one small change could yield large results? For something to change in our life, we have to change something in our life . . . if not now, when?

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

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 travel today!

I wish I could give credit to the person who originally penned:

With age, comes wisdom. With travel, comes understanding.

Settling in from our road trip through villages in France with gratitude and, while reviewing our photos, with awe. Earth is a glorious place with an overabundance of experiences awaiting. One couldn’t possibly take it all in within one lifetime! However, I’ll give it my best shot!

A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships were built for.   ~ John Shedd

Time to research for the next adventure!

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 resiliency today!

A bit of chaos at the Paris airport over the air controllers strike embedded a few moments of dread and deep breaths as many were scrambling to get out of Paris before flights were cancelled. With many others, we began to image camping at the airport for days, awaiting an opportunity to return home.  

Once we remembered how we brilliantly waste time and energy by creating horrific stories in the middle of stress, Curt changed courses and got to work, creating flights to NYC out of Paris.

In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.  ~ Albert Einstein

And, what an opportunity! The last minute changes to our 9,800 kilometer France road trip gave us a few days with Courtney, Scott, Reid, and Alex in Manhattan!  Yay us!

Often, the greatest obstacles in our lives are the barriers our minds create. Allowing panic invests mental energy and resources no longer available to seek solutions. The downside is a delay in getting grand hugs from our little ones back in Michigan. The blessing is unexpected time with our NYC family . . . it all works out!

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

Visit www.marilynnsemonick.com . . . Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

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

Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)

Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise travel today!

Reflecting upon our travels through French villages, vineyards, boulangeries, and markets, there are too many reason my soul yearns to travel to list. As Mark Twain wrote:

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.

Too often, I hear “Oh, the people in NYC are so ______, or those French people are so ______.  I have found the world as generously kind and respectful. Of course, when we offer the same.

Exploring and experiencing cultures that differ from ours always offers learning beyond what we can read, watch, or pretend to understand.

I bow in reverence to each and every person, meal, village, and awe-inspiring scenic view for welcoming us with open hearts. A sincere thank you for every experience that has now integrated into my soul to further define who am. Blessed and grateful.

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 adventures today!

Words cannot express the joy Curt and I are experiencing, each and every day, as we wake up in another historical village and roam it’s winding street, meet its magnificent citizens, explore the unknown to discover something we did not know, and sip wine while we people watch.  Sunrises and sunsets offer us opportunities to relax, reflect, and express gratitude for this blessed life.

Terry Pratchett’s words from A Hat Full of Sky come to mind:

Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.

Amen.

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 travel today!

Decades ago, when I began international work, I cringed at the thought of long flights, resented being away from my family for extended stints, was aggravated that Curt was not by my side to share the new experiences, which made me feel isolated and lonely, and therefore detested each trip and remained internally miserable the entire time I was away. To rise above my agony, I developed a strategy to get me out of my funk and hotel room to explore and experience the surroundings, alone.

In each “foreign” country I would search for that “origin of country woman” within me. So, when in

Italy, I would explore my internal Italian; in Australia, what is the Aussie woman like in me? Can I feel and learn from the woman in Thailand, buried deep in my soul?  You get the point. That game not only made my travels more interesting and enjoyable, it also helped me find parts of myself I did not know existed! I quickly learned and understood what Anita Desai wrote about:

Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.

To travel well is to learn. Eventually, the notion turned into a lust for explorative discovery. Although I prefer the trip Curt and I are currently experiencing together, I leap at the opportunity to journey to another land, alone, to explore more of me and savor what surfaces!

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 travel today!

We left for France with 6 inches of cut and pasted information about villages that were calling us, a map dotted with sticky notes, identifying our “must experience” explorations, and a pretty good notion of a route. Well, kind of a route. However, with less plans and more anticipation of experiences awaiting us, we got on the plane, open to that which said “stay a while.”

Intrigued at those who criticized us and stated they could never travel with us (yes, I understand, they couldn’t!), I savor Lao Tzu’s words from centuries ago:

A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.   

To me, the notion of “arriving” is less exciting than the idea of “being.” I’m always mesmerized at the awe-inspiring experiences we “bump into” as our travels unfold.

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
                                                                       ~ Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness

And, what a journey France has been! I’ll be exhilarated, yet sad, as we relax in Paris as our last stop. Yes, we have an end point. It’s what comes before that that excites me!

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 black hole shifts today!

At the 2015 Hawking Radiation Conference in Stockholm, Stephen Hawking, theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author delivered this now-famous quote:

If you feel you are in a black hole, don’t give up. There’s a way out.

Although Hawking’s theory was about physics, it may feel like an inspiring slice of advice. Something disappearing into a black hole appears to be completely lost; however, according to the known laws of the universe, this shouldn’t be possible – something entering a black hole should, in theory, come out somewhere.

To that concept, Hawking suggested two possibilities.

Either information entering a black hole is translated into a ‘hologram’ on the edge of the black hole itself, or it passes through and enters an alternative universe.

So, don’t give up; there’s always a way out — even if the exit leads to an entirely different reality.  

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

Seed tomorrow with wise black hole shifts today!

At the 2015 Hawking Radiation Conference in Stockholm, Stephen Hawking, theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author delivered this now-famous quote:

If you feel you are in a black hole, don’t give up. There’s a way out.

Although Hawking’s theory was about physics, it may feel like an inspiring slice of advice. Something disappearing into a black hole appears to be completely lost; however, according to the known laws of the universe, this shouldn’t be possible – something entering a black hole should, in theory, come out somewhere.

To that concept, Hawking suggested two possibilities.

Either information entering a black hole is translated into a ‘hologram’ on the edge of the black hole itself, or it passes through and enters an alternative universe.

So, don’t give up; there’s always a way out — even if the exit leads to an entirely different reality.  

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 travel today!

Decades ago, when I began international work, I cringed at the thought of long flights, resented being away from my family for extended stints, was aggravated that Curt was not by my side to share the new experiences, which made me feel isolated and lonely, and therefore detested each trip and remained internally miserable the entire time I was away. To rise above my agony, I developed a strategy to get me out of my funk and hotel room to explore and experience the surroundings, alone.

In each “foreign” country I would search for that “origin of country woman” within me. So, when in

Italy, I would explore my internal Italian; in Australia, what is the Aussie woman like in me? Can I feel and learn from the woman in Thailand, buried deep in my soul?  You get the point. That game not only made my travels more interesting and enjoyable, it also helped me find parts of myself I did not know existed! I quickly learned and understood what Anita Desai wrote about:

Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.

To travel well is to learn. Eventually, the notion turned into a lust for explorative discovery. Although I prefer the trip Curt and I are currently experiencing together, I leap at the opportunity to journey to another land, alone, to explore more of me and savor what surfaces!

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