Monday, January 5, 2009

Leadershape: Day 2

HELLO and welcome back!!! I trust most of us are back in the swing of things and returning to normal schedules after weeks of vacation. Don't ever do that again. Don't leave us for so many days, unable to check in and share in our community. We missed you.


Now that you're back, I'm gone. Last Friday I left for Edinburg, Texas (8.5 hours from Dallas - and yes, still in Texas). I will be here for a week facilitating a session of Leadershape. For those who were around in May, when I facilitated another session in Austin, you might remember me talking about this worthwhile organization. Leadershape is a national program designed to help college students enhance their leadership capacity, while underscoring the importance of leading with integrity. It is a solid week of 16-hour work days, crazy sleeping conditions (more on that later), bugs, bugs, and more bugs, but countered with a terrific faculty and 54 motivated students.


Eight-five percent of the student population at University of Texas- Pan American is Hispanic, so you know my week will be filled with lots of "ahas". I've already learned: how little I really learned in high school Spanish; Mexican food at On the Border really isn't Mexican food at all; and 8.5 hours - even if you are in the same state - can seem like a world away. I'm loving it. And, have I mentioned there are palm trees and that it was 87 degrees today?


But onto the real topic at hand. Creativity and community. I left Dallas with bags packed, but no real idea what I would write about for the week. I could write about my experience here, but I did that last May (5-10, if you want to check it out) and highlowaha promises never to repeat the same idea twice.


I could write about what I saw in the dollar bin at Target yesterday, when I stopped in to buy a soap dish, flip flops, an egg mattress, a hanger, and a cup from which to drink. But, we're not ready to jump into Valentine's Day quite yet. Besides, I'd feel compelled to tell you about why I was buying those things and not enough time has passed yet to make it funny. You'll have to wait. I could talk about fun items on the desk of the nice intern who is letting me use her computer (still no Internet). She has lots of fun pictures attached to her bulletin board, presents sitting on her floor left over from a Christmas Adopt an Angel Program, raffle tickets, t-shirts, and candy. All typical items for someone working in Student Affairs.


The small speaker, sitting in front of me, and connected to her computer has the brand name "Creative." That seems to have potential, but hmmmmm.... not quite enough to go with. Speakers broadcast, but what would I broadcast?


Wait. I see something.


O.k. I'm back. It's perfect. Like all good Student Affairs practitioners, Jodie has a quote jar on her shelf.


I randomly selected three quotes and so... maybe we can get creative interpreting what one - or all three - quotes means to us. Are you game? This seems especially poignant, since many of our community members are entering the new year with varying levels of energy and excitement, as well as varying emotions.


Here they are:
  • Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love. -David McCullough

  • Happiness is not a matter of events; it depends upon the tides of the mind. - Alice Meynell

  • If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can't buy. -Anonymous

Two more things pertinent to this activity and then I'll sign off, so I can get back to the business of shaping your minds.

First, when I was in college I found a company called, "The Edge Institute." I have NO idea if they are still in business, but while they were I bought a box of 365 quotes called, "Unlocking Your Potential." Each quote came on a small card whose cover had to be popped open. I bought a box and vowed, for one year, that I would open one card a day and force myself to figure out how that day's quote was relevant to my life. I'd put the card in my pocket and carry it around for the day, serving as a reminder of what lesson I had learned. I gave a box to the guy I was dating at the time and he recently called me to tell me he still had the box and that he still hasn't opened them all (20 years ago). I guess he is pacing himself! Maybe today one of the quotes I've posted will feel fated to have come your way.

Second, it just so happens that we ended last night's session talking about the importance of introspection to our development as leaders. It seems fitting then that we should begin this day, then, with a little introspection of our own. We are, after all, leaders in our own right.

Play along with me by responding to one of the three quotes and I'll play along with you. Have a topic you want to hear about this week? Let me know and I'll stretch my own creativity to deliver something on the topic. Don't have a topic, but you want to throw me a word, a concept, a number, or some other random piece of information? Go ahead. It will be a good exercise in stretching my creativity and it will make the week extra fun.

Signing off until tomorrow...

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is good to be back...I think.
Definitely good to be back at HLA but I'll have to weigh in after a full day of work is under my belt (packed with student meetings even though students don't return until the 21st) as to whether I'm happy to be back in the grind.

The quotes all seems to speak to me. The first because I am in a job/career I love and that has been made clear to me again now that I am in a job that feels "right".
The second because it has been a struggle to find happiness when you are weighed down with stress.
And the third and most poignant....I can't tell you how much of my stress lately is related to money. Still having a house in KY that hasn't sold and doesn't appear to be going anytime soon has taxed our finances to the point of "strained beyond belief" but it is true that I am still rich as I have many wonderful things that money can't buy...
-A job I love
-A wonderful husband and daughter
-A loving family and in-laws
-two beautiful cats (who survived our two week hiatus without getting angry at us)
-friends who feel like family
and the list could go on...

Thanks for reminding me that "wealth" isn't as important as having those things in life that are "priceless".

Anonymous said...

Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love.

That quote really reminded me, on my first day back to my last semester of nursing school, the reason that I am doing all this. I am compassionate about helping people and want to be a great nurse the rest of my life. Doing something I love to do as my job is a real success!

Let's see if I can help prompt you at all Dr. B...
A word- courage
A concept- energy
A number- 23
A random idea- an infinite staircase

Who knows...

Anonymous said...

Haven't has much time to check in here with the kids and Grady home from school and work for two weeks. They are off to their schools and work and I popped in to discover another football snack has snuck up on me.
Help!
I see I have Quaker Oats as the secret ingredient but when exactly does the snack have to be there??
SIgning off to enjoy the quietness of my home.
Susan

Peggy said...

If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can't buy. -Anonymous

I love that! I think I'm going to create an altered notebook (only a cardmaker like me, at prdesigns creative greetings can make) that I can carry around and add different quotes, feelings, ideas (yeah, I know it's called a journal) but I think a goal I'll set this week is to create a HLA journal for 2009.

Cool! Check out my blog this week to see the progress I've made on my aha journal, and to check out quotes I post each date for:
40 Tips for a Better Life in 2009
(I found this somewhere else in cyber space)
http://prdesigns.blogspot.com


Claudia - IMHO I think you should re-think your mission statement...
"highlowaha promises never to repeat the same idea twice".

Yes stick with the never repeating the same idea twice... but whose to say if you tweak the idea, add a twist or enhance the original idea, that it's NOT a new idea! Some ideas should really be repeated because they are terrific ideas!!!

Cheryl Houston said...

Ooh! Peggy, I can't wait to see.

I love reflecting on quotes and I love that your ex still has the quotes and is taking his time reflecting on them. That's what I'm going to stick with thinking anyway. Last year a quote calendar was sent to a past employee and I kept it. I've also kept some of the quotes that I loved best.

Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love. -David McCullough Or... If you love what you do, you'll never work another day in your life. Can you choose to love what you do even if it's not a job that you feel true passion?

Happiness is not a matter of events; it depends upon the tides of the mind. - Alice Meynell Hmm... tides of the mind. Not sure what Alice is talking about. Are some days spent splashing in the shallow area and some days being pulled out by the undertow? I guess so. Which one is better?

If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can't buy. -Anonymous I often think of the quote, "I have all I need." I tease my children when they've just finished a meal and I hear, "I'm hungry." My response is, "Are you kidding me? You just ate. There are children in Africa that are starving and you just ate more than they eat in a whole day or a whole week for that matter!" I don't need cable TV. I don't need internet access. I don't need a lot of things. I have a lot more than many others. :)

a word: Lottery
a number: 12
a concept: technology
something random: Red Carpet

Katie said...

Happiness is not a matter of events; it depends upon the tides of the mind. - Alice Meynell

If there is one thing that this Winter break home in KY has taught me- it is that my happiness is not based upon the events in my life, but instead is based upon my mind. For me, I have learned that any single event can bring great joy into my life, but the real happiness comes afterward when my mind comes into action and I feel happy. I have realized the difference between joy and true happiness. Joy is felt in the moment, but happiness can last a lifetime. I may not always have moments of joy, but overall, I have a life and a mind full of happiness.

a word: sunshine
a number: 23
a concept: water
something random: a couch

Anonymous said...

I have only a second before I have to get back to the Challenge Course.

Great to hear from so many of you already today. It feel good to have Highlowaha back in the swing. Now we just need to hear from some of our other regulars (Brian, Kelly Montana, Stacie, Julie, Kristen, Tera, etc...) and many of our frequent visitors (Nicole, Laura, Treye, Cristine, etc...) and all will feel right with the world.

You have challenged me with some of your prompts. We'll see what, if anything, I can come up with.

Susan... I suggest mailing your treat no later than Wednesday morning. If I've learned anything, it is USPS does not work like clock work.

maureen said...

Ok I have just a few seconds before the troops come through the door....

a word: dedication
a concept: honesty
#- 8
a random piece of information from my totally useless information calendar:

The oldest word in the English language is "TOWN"

who would have figured or even cared!

Have a great day HLA

Kristen Giger said...

Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love. -David McCullough


I chose to give a quick reflection on this quote, as I feel that it really states the obvious. I really don't think success can be measured in dollars and cents any more than one can rightly compare apples and oranges.

For instance, the CEO of a big company who works more hours than I can count in a week and brings home 7 figures each year probably has a pretty sucky home life. He's either not married, or his wife hates him and his kids hardly know him. Though the money is in the bank, how can one truly feel that man has been successful??

Real success, for me anyway, involves a happy, healthy family with a few close friends who share common beliefs and values. I can go fishing or hunting all day and come home empty, but still feel as if I have had a successful day. i know that there will be many other opportunities for me to catch fish or harvest game. I really enjoy being outside in the middle of God's creation sharing precious time with those close to me. I may even end the day with a dinner prepared from an animal I harvested on a prior "successful" day.

Who knows, maybe that CEO I talked about earlier is happy with his life the way it is...I guess I feel true success leads to happiness, and if you are truly happy, then that's what matters...

Enough rambling...other potential ideas:

A word: philanthropy
A concept: gravity
A number: infinity
A random idea: what if your knees bent backwards?

Anonymous said...

dr. b- i just have to state the fact that, out of all the numbers offered up today, katie k and i gave the same...23! There has to be something with that, doesnt there?

Kristen Giger said...

COKE REWARDS: RVVMX5PATPWL

*Someone please post later tonight or tomorrow to let me know you got this!

Brian K. Root said...

I don't know much bout LeaderShape, but I'm pretty familiar with HOBY and KeyLeader... I'm sure LeaderShape is rather similar. I always enjoy helping with these events.

...................


I really like the quote: "If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can't buy"... I need to remind myself of this often.

........................

Speaking of quotes... I used to regularly post inspirational quotes outside of my RAs' doors. They really really appreciated it. There's nothing better than an inspirational thought for the day.