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 http://www.The Success Studio.com
http://www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings 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 gratitude today!

I’m working in the mountains of Denver until the end of the week, hoping the predicted snow bypasses us so I can make it home for Christmas! My awareness, anticipation and appreciation of the treasures of family, friends and foods of holiday gatherings are therefore heightened.

What a wonderful time of the year to meditate on what we value, to decrease the probability of taking for granted that which stands right in front of us day-by-day.

It’s easy to acknowledge what I’d miss if I was snowed in and distant from my family on Christmas (and I refuse to play out that scenario!) So, I ponder something I heard years ago:

A single grateful thought toward heaven is the most perfect prayer.

Today, I’m grateful to be experiencing snow capped peaks, and am equally as grateful for a delay in more snow and safe travels home to those I love!

Happy Holidays, filled with gratitude to all who celebrate the season!

‎Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!
Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.
Visit http://www.The Success Studio.com
http://www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings 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 attention today!

In the midst of all the hurried, hustle and bustle of the holidays, I hope you take a few moments to stop, breathe and take in the magic that surrounds you now and then. At any moment there’s something that can literally take our breath away, if we just pay attention.

Yesterday, in between completing a project, writing reports and gently rearranging an ornament that looked out of place on the family room tree, I decided to take a break and wrap a few gifts. While looking for the wrapping paper I stumbled upon a letter my sister gave me weeks ago that our mom wrote while recovering from a serious operation decades ago.

Mom suffered severely with Alzheimer’s for years before passing over, so it was truly magical to read her thoughts when they were still clear. She shared “observing suffering and loss” caused her to “evaluate life and think more clearly.”

Here are a few messages I’m now able to meditate on this season because I stopped for a few moments and to read the magic:

Life has great meaning when one sees others having it taken away.
We need to think more of the whole family instead of our own requirements and wants.
We should help each other to develop our own personalities to the greatest degree.
Be careful not to put importance on the wrong things. We must put first things first – something I’ve had a hard time doing (she had 6 children!) and teaching you (I think she taught us just fine!)
Our lives are what we each make them. Let us not ever forget this.

And words that sat in my heart with acute tenderness as I remembered her graceful beauty:

None of us are going to be here forever. I’m sure the pain of parting will not be as deep with wonderful memories of enjoying each other.

I can still hear the sound of her voice:

Give whatever you are doing and whoever you are with the gift of your attention.

Mom, I promise – that’s a gift I will honor this year!

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!
Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.
Visit http://www.The Success Studio.com
http://www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings 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 direction today!

Yesterday, I finished work early in South Beach, Miami. So, I decided to walk the streets of the Art Deco District to enjoy the architecture, savor the abundant aromas that linger in the air and differ from restaurant to restaurant, and smile at the sparkling apparel found only in South Beach. As I sat in a Cuban restaurant, overhearing conversations from another table my ears fell on this statement:

You can’t change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction in a moment.

Specific intention and purposeful decisions make all the difference. Are you satisfied with the destination your current activities are leading you toward? If not, perhaps it’s time for a course correction. This minute is as good as any to sit and ponder your choices.

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

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

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

Read Full Post »