Passionate Pursuits

Just read Tim Brown's post on LinkedIn about SuperJam.  

It's a fun, give-back story, and Mr. Brown's closing thought that "simple ideas, pursued with passion, can result in sweetly successful business" is super-inspiring food for thought.   

What took my thinking to the next level though, surprisingly enough, is the comment from Christopher Fun (yes, sometimes those comments do produce a gem).

Mr. Fun writes, " 'Simple ideas pursued with passion can result in sweetly successful business'...Question is how many pursue their work with passion v only be passionate about the results[?]"  

Hmmm...Passionate Pursuit for the Pure Pursuit of Passion.  Now that is some sweet food for thought (incredibly unoriginal pun intended).

Gratitude Attitude

This great post by Jeff Weiner, CEO at LinkedIn, is all about the high return on investment (ROI) of a simple, free, accessible management tool in business: gratitude.

I'll take Jeff's suggestion a step (or three) further - gratitude just might be the highest ROI tool in life.

Consider for a moment your home and the people you share it with.  Now think about all the little things we do for and with each other in that shared space: cooking, housekeeping, laundry, yard care, car maintenance - the list goes on an on.  Now consider the one simple thing that can turn those little chores into messages of love and respect.  Yep, you nailed it: gratitude.  

Saying thanks feels so good, but receiving thanks feels even better.  So, for the next week or so, I challenge each of us to cultivate a theme of gratitude at home: the simple act of showing sincere appreciation to each other for all the little things we do.  The benefits will seep into our workplaces, our civic engagements, our passions...

I'm betting we find that the ROI of this little tool blows us all away. 

A Long Way to Go

OK Inspiring Girls, 

Time to put your influence to work!  This Yahoo story is yet another confirmation:  we have a long way to go in helping our culture understand the detrimental messages we "unintentionally" send our youth - not to mention the critical importance of consequential thinking and empathetic decision-making. 

Tie those shoes well.  We're in for an ultra marathon. 

Sexist Back-to-School Shirt Pulled From Shelves

Another day, another T-shirt controversy. The latest wardrobe malfunction comes courtesy of the Children's Place. The kids' clothing company sparked widespread Internet backlash this week after eagle-eyed consumers spotted a shirt that they felt trivialized girls' academic accomplishments. The kid-size tee showed a checklist of "my best subjects" with checks in the boxes next to shopping, music, and dancing — leaving the box next to math blank. The shirt's kicker: "Well nobody's perfect." Get it? After nearly 3,000 outraged comments on the company's Facebook page, along with a barrage of angry tweets, the company issued an apology and pulled the product. The battle may be over, but the war on scandalous T-shirts never ends.  Check out some of the most controversial shirts to hit the market and stir the pot over the past few months.—Lauren Tuck, Shine Staff

The Children's Place 'Best Subjects' T-Shirt

As mentioned above, this week, the Children's Place faced intense social media backlash, as people accused the retailer of promoting sexism. "Guess what? You offended everyone with a brain! Can you explain what your intent was, if not to insult the intelligence of girls and women around the world?" wrote one of the thousands of commenters on the company's Facebook page. On Monday, the retailer pulled the shirt from its shelves in response to the outcry. "It has come to our attention that some of you view our Best Subjects T-shirt as insensitive towards girls and women," read its statement. "This was not our intent. There are countless women in all walks of life who excel in math, including our very own CEO." Still, by Wednesday, the Children's Place continued to face consumer backlash. "I am so disappointed by this shirt and ANY shirt from ANY company that furthers stereotypes like this," wrote one fuming customer on Facebook. "I am glad that the shirt was removed, but honestly who ever thought it was a good idea? Especially from a company with a female CEO."

Toothy Milestone

It's official:  our no-longer-so-little girl (she turned six not quite two months ago) lost her first tooth last night!  It's been loose "since she was five" and she was adamant that it must come out on its own.  A pasta dinner finally did the trick.  And boy those baby teeth are tiny!

She was more excited to go to bed last night than she has been all summer, diligently placing her tooth in the Tooth Pillow her grandma made.  We'll see when she wakes up this morning if the Tooth Fairy made a visit.  

I have a feeling that kicking off our week with a big, thankfully painless milestone on Sunday evening bodes well.  It could be a kicker (much like Luji's pronouncement that her two top teeth might come out on the same day, which judging by the looseness-factor could literally be any time). 

Here's to wishing you a week with at least one milestone - no matter how small. 

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

Update:  The Tooth Fairy has apparently adjusted for inflation since we were kids: she left a $1 bill for that tiny little tooth.  When I asked if she would save it or spend it, Luji's answer was "keep it."  Followed by, "It's funny that we celebrate the 1 because we need to really celebrate what it means - so we should celebrate the dollar instead!"  

Ah, financial (and life) advice from a six-year-old.  Can't beat that milestone.

Charging Forth

Charles Fisher, builder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, once said, "It takes courage to make history.  Who will charge forth today?"

Mr. Fisher's inquiry reflects a theme rolling through my own thoughts, and many of the questions posed to me lately... 

...How do we move past our uneasiness, step out of our comfort zone, and transform dull to delicious?  

...How do we embrace the unknown to move toward the place we are meant to be?

...How do we make our own history?

My best answer?   Perhaps staying true to our individual SASIs and remaining open to the courageous beauty of our journey IS the destination.  

After all, history is a work in progress.  

July Night

Summer. Desert. Sunset.

Introspective. Open-hearted. Adventurous.

Pink...purple...blue...the sky transitions. The sun sets. The stars are in motion preparing to welcome a new dawn.  

What will it bring?

Yoga. Business.

Good morning Inspiring Girls & Guys!

Simply have to share this article: The Yoga of Busines - CBS MoneyWatch

It's a fantastic way to think about how what we do outside of work - how we nurture our souls, cultivate our SASIs, and take care of our bodies and minds - impacts the work we do.   

It also doesn't hurt that yoga plays a similar role for me and that I can't imagine my life without it.

Please join me in unrolling your mat.

Enjoy!

girls, soccer & leadership

Over the last two days, I've had the pleasure of talking about leadership with 60+ high school girls from California, Idaho, Nevada and Utah.  When I was invited last winter to conduct a "leadership seminar" at Southern Utah University's Girls Soccer Camp, my gut (and mouth) said "YES!" even though my head was asking, "High school girls...are you sure they will relate to what you have to say?"

As usual, I am glad my intuition did the talking.  These girls are thoughtful, empathetic, and extremely bright.  When asked to describe a recent situation from which they drew a leadership take-away, the list was chock full of relevant, spot-on leadership insights. 

Suffice it to say, if the majority of our future female leaders think, share, and interact as thoughtfully, analytically, and empathetically as these young women do, we are in good hands.  

Yes, I too have felt a collective sigh building.  And I now think it's safe to let it out. 

Ahhhhh...