Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise choices today!

I’m leaving Prague on an overnight train to meet my relatives in a little Ukrainian village called Dubrynychi. They have limited electricity and plumbing so, we’ll use an outhouse and boil water if we want it hot. And, we’ll feast off the harvest of the land as we sip Slivovitz and tell stories.

My gramma and grampap are from Dubrynychi. When I was 13 and asked Gramma about home, she responded by telling me that, when she was 13, she was to marry to the town’s butcher, who was 45 with a best friend named Vodka. I suppose her parents were securing a roof over her head and food on the table. One of her dearest friends, a 19 year old young man (who she said was not a romantic interest at the time) thought that was a horrific idea. So, he talked her into sneaking onto a ship to travel wherever in the world it took them. Fortunately for me, they ended up in America. They married during the adventure and shared decades and 13 children together. It’s her next words I’ll never forget:

Love is not about tingle and bells. Love is about respect, admiration and self-less care for another. It requires sacrifice and is a choice you must make on a regular basis. Some days that choice won’t easy . . . you make it anyway. And, in the end you understand why. What you eventually have because of your repeated choice can’t be replaced by any other life experience.

I’m now old enough, have been married long enough and have struggled through enough to know the truth of Gramma’s words. I’ve also acquired enough wisdom of my own to be profoundly grateful for her courage, sacrifice and love. Often, we can’t imagine the eventuality of the choices we’re making in the moment. So, we make them based on the principles we decide to live by. What choices are you making today that are creating your tomorrows?

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

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

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Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise associations today!

Leaving Venice, on a train to Prague! I’ll be walking the same streets the famous German-born American theoretical physicist, regarded as the most important scientist of the 20th century and one of the greatest physicists of all time walked almost 100 years ago!

Albert Einstein was a professor at the German University in Prague where he spent most of his free time in a salon on the Old Town Square playing his violin and stretching his thinking in his debating circle with the likes of authors Max Brod and Franz Kafka. I can’t help but remember the saying:

You become who you hang around with the most.

The people we spend our time with determine what conversations dominate our attention, what observations we repeatedly translate, and what attitudes and opinions tempt our consideration. When I pause to consider the people I think out loud with, people who challenge my thinking and offer me another perspective, I breathe in complete awe and gratitude. I am forever grateful for those who have influenced my thinking and acting in ways that have literally defined me. Who are you allowing to influence your life?

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

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

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Wednesday Wisdom Special Edition

Seed tomorrow with wise choices today!

Special Addition: Wednesday Wisdom on Monday!

As you all know, I don’t promote products. So, I gently want to tell you about my dear friend’s (who is a brilliant researcher, educator, consultant and professional speaker) newly released book, Trailblazers: How Top Business Leaders are Accelerating Results Through Inclusion and Diversity. I’m excited to receive it before leaving for Eastern Europe because now I can read it on the plane!

Lenora is an exceptional woman who has devoted her life to raising awareness and assisting individuals and organizations in their pursuit of optimizing human potential. Her results-oriented book provides clear and compelling guidance to those who seek to leverage their environment to ensure talent thrives for the good of all. In her words:

Take a look at today’s top companies and you can’t help but conclude that that diversity and inclusion deliver results.

Lenora and her writing partner, Redia Anderson, share best practices and innovative techniques from companies like IBM, Verizon, Dell, The Coca Cola Company, Shell, Merck, and more. So, while I’m gone I don’t want you to miss out on the opportunity to learn from and spread the word of Lenora’s wisdom . . . or miss out on free great stuff! Order Trailblazers on September 20th from http://www.LenoraBillingsHarris.com and receive BONUS MATERIAL!

Today, may you bump into an idea, a person or a culture that that stretches your thinking and enriches your life.

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

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

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Wednesday Wisdom

An exceptional tomorrow requires wise choices today!

Our daughter, Courtney and I are packing for the great adventure of visiting relatives in Eastern Europe for the first time! My brothers, Greg and Jerry have made the trip several times, which is always made in the fall because it’s harvest season. Greg speaks the language, so we’ll really “meet” them!

We’ll use an outhouse and if it’s like other Eastern European nations I’ve been blessed to visit, we’ll probably experience the generosity of food prepared and delivered by neighbors. I’m in awe of that kind of kindness to complete strangers, which requires significant sacrifice. They’re offering something they have little of and work hard to produce.

Austrian psychiatrist, psychotherapist, WWII concentration camp survivor and author of Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl wrote of sacrifice:

Only to the extent that someone is living out self transcendence of human existence is he truly human or does he become his true self. He becomes so, not by concerning himself with his self actualization, but by forgetting himself and giving himself, overlooking himself and focusing outward.

Reading his words and anticipating our travels make me feel humbly privileged to be a part of the human experience and completely appreciative of the generous spirit available to all of us.

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

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

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Wednesday Wisdom

An exceptional tomorrow requires action today!

I’m working on the mesmerizing island of Phuket, off the south of Thailand. Ancient tribes have inhabited the island since the early days of humankind and archaeologists are still busy trying to understand its history from centuries ago.

The world heard of the island’s dramatic chapter in 2004 when the Andaman Tsunami devastated its west coast, with a tragic loss of more than 3,000 lives. Interestingly, there’s a group that lives precisely where the tsunami hit hardest, yet suffered no casualties at all. They are the sea gypsies, or as they call themselves, the Moken. Of all the peoples of the world, they are among the least touched by modern civilization. 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon reported:

The Mokens miraculously survived the tsunami because they knew it was coming. Their intimacy with the sea saved them. They know its moods and motions better than any marine biologist.

The animals seemed to understand that something was about to happen as well. Elephants stampeded toward higher ground on the mainland. Divers noticed dozens of dolphins swimming for deeper water. And, cicadas, which are usually very loud, suddenly went silent.

I’ve often wondered how animals know to grow thicker hair for colder winters and to fly south on cue when winter is about to send its frigid weather earlier. And, why humans seem to have forgotten the “signs” of life are clear when we pay attention.

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

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

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Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise choices today!

Hello from Ho Chi Minh City (still called Saigon by the locals I’m working with here). Over the years, Vietnam has been invaded and occupied by several nations, each leaving it’s thumbprint on this land of mysterious beauty, deep culture, gracious people, and indescribably delicious food. Because of the influence of Western architecture people have referred to this fine city as the Pearl of the Far East. And, everywhere I look I see, hear and feel treasures.

Thich Nhat Hanh, is an expatriate Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Monk and one of my favorite philosophers. When I’m stressed and seeking insight I often turn to his wisdom. Here are a few I find myself remembering repeatedly:

Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.

Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone. The future is not yet here. If we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.

Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts.

We have more possibilities in each moment than we realize. The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.

Because of your smile you make life more beautiful.

If you don’t already study Thich Nhat Hanh’s work, I hope one of the above quotes will encourage you to start.

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

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

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