Inspiration for your work & life » Fortitude http://blog.givemore.com Work is more than a job. Work is how we make our lives and world better. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:15:43 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 King on Staying With It http://blog.givemore.com/king-on-staying-with-it/ http://blog.givemore.com/king-on-staying-with-it/#comments Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:15:22 +0000 Sam Parker http://blog.givemore.com/king-on-staying-with-it/ “If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving.”

- Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968)
American civil rights leader
Nobel Peace Prize winner

Give more concept…

Sometimes, if we don’t have success after repeated attempts to do something, we can lose confidence and eventually give up trying. It’s called "learned helplessness" (we learn to be helpless).

Give more check: Any areas where you and your team have stopped trying (or try, but with little commitment) because prior repeated failures and/ or a perceived inability to succeed has trained you not to try? With customer care improvement initiatives? In motivating and improving team attitudes and cooperation?

If so, what can you start doing today to minimize any "learned helplessness" that may have set in? (Maybe have a Cross The Line discussion.)

To see (6-minute video) an interesting take on the concept from a class at Penn State Erie and to learn a little more about the person behind it… click here.
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When you need a well-earned break, enjoy Al Pacino’s half-time speech (4.5 minutes) in the 1999 film "Any Given Sunday." Focus and turn up your speakers a bit to get the full feel with the background music.

It’s all about the 212 difference. (What’s 212?)

CAUTION: If curse words bother you, you should skip it.

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]]> http://blog.givemore.com/king-on-staying-with-it/feed/ 0 van Gogh on Crossing the Line http://blog.givemore.com/van-gogh-on-crossing-the-line/ http://blog.givemore.com/van-gogh-on-crossing-the-line/#comments Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:15:47 +0000 Sam Parker http://blog.givemore.com/van-gogh-on-crossing-the-line/ “The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found those dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.”

- Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)
Dutch painter

Give more reminder…

We earn more challenges by dealing with and overcoming more challenges.

Embrace your experience. Enjoy the weather.

(carpe diem, baby… you didn’t forget did you?)

weathered: (adjective) seasoned by exposure to the weather

seasoned: (adjective) made fit by experience

(sounds good)
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If you’ve not seen it (outside the money hours or on a well-earned break)… Be inspired to think more and fear less with this favorite clip from the film Defending Your Life.
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On Columbus Day: According to History.com, this American holiday commemorates a European guy who landed in the Bahamas (on what really was a business trip) thinking it was Asia (did you follow that?).

Throw in a little politics in early New York, mix in a couple presidents, add some religious influence, and in 1937 you’ve got a national holiday that eventually settled in 1971 as the 2nd Monday of October. (dat cwazy… really crazy) More here.

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]]> http://blog.givemore.com/van-gogh-on-crossing-the-line/feed/ 0 Einstein on Gomos and D-grunts http://blog.givemore.com/einstein-on-gomos-and-d-grunts/ http://blog.givemore.com/einstein-on-gomos-and-d-grunts/#comments Fri, 01 Jul 2011 03:15:05 +0000 Sam Parker http://blog.givemore.com/einstein-on-gomos-and-d-grunts/ “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition
from mediocre minds.”

–Albert Einstein (1879–1955)
Swiss physicist

Give less ego…

ego: noun: 1. the self 2. an inflated sense of self-significance

Imagine a world without ego. No…

  • Toes to step on
  • Feelings to hurt
  • Fair shares to grab
  • Territory to defend
  • Fault to allocate
  • Back to watch
  • Last words to get
  • Ideas to hold back
  • Embarrassment to bear
  • Battles to win
  • Knowledge to prove
  • Entitlement to have
  • Encouragement to withhold
  • Credit to seek
  • Grudges to hold
  • Jealousy to feel
  • Revenge to take
  • Hidden meanings to construe

Speak no ego. Be no ego.

(5 quick points to getting closer to less ego)

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Third quarter printable calendars are up here and wallpapers are here.

No Gomos™ wristbands are now available here (gomo: someone who goes through the motions)

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Got a favorite? Email us.

(Know the 4 keys to being resilient?)

]]> http://blog.givemore.com/honda-on-failure-to-success/feed/ 0 Nike Excusing Us Not http://blog.givemore.com/nike-excusing-us-not/ http://blog.givemore.com/nike-excusing-us-not/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:09:59 +0000 Sam Parker http://blog.givemore.com/nike-excusing-us-not/ Don’t waste a moment going through the motions. Smile & Move.

(Thanks for killing it, Nike.)

Thanks for the tip, Robert! Got a favorite? Email us.

ComplainLess

Need a ComplainLess™ reminder wristband?

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]]> http://blog.givemore.com/nike-excusing-us-not/feed/ 13 Martin Luther King: I Have a Dream http://blog.givemore.com/martin-luther-king-i-have-a-dream/ http://blog.givemore.com/martin-luther-king-i-have-a-dream/#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:10:06 +0000 Sam Parker http://blog.givemore.com/martin-luther-king-i-have-a-dream/ Martin Luther King lived for just over 39 years.

He traveled over six million miles, spoke on over 2500 occasions, became an icon for civil rights, was Time magazine’s Man of the Year at age 35, and won the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize.

When you have some time (outside the money hours or during a well-earned break), enjoy his “I Have a Dream” speech below (really starts going around 12:20), read his Nobel Prize acceptance, or listen to this quick audio clip from his Drum Major Instinct sermon for a little inspiration (full text of the speech).

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]]> http://blog.givemore.com/martin-luther-king-i-have-a-dream/feed/ 0 We Love Joe http://blog.givemore.com/we-love-joe/ http://blog.givemore.com/we-love-joe/#comments Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:31:19 +0000 Sam Parker http://blog.givemore.com/we-love-joe/ “Treat people as people. Everybody is important to me, you know.”

Joe Taylor, 69, has worked 50 years with the same company without one sick day (since 1959).

He’s a quality control manager for Peer Bearing (a bearing manufacturer near Chicago, IL) and commutes 2 hours a day (each way). He started with the company when there were 5 people (they now have about 1300).

Joe’s a 212in’ Smover. (2.5 minutes)

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]]> http://blog.givemore.com/we-love-joe/feed/ 0 Gladwell on Overnight Success http://blog.givemore.com/gladwell-on-overnight-success/ http://blog.givemore.com/gladwell-on-overnight-success/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:14:26 +0000 Sam Parker http://blog.givemore.com/gladwell-on-overnight-success/ From CBS & The Early Show…

Malcolm Gladwell talks about his book Outliers: The Story of Success and how the “overnight success” usually involves a lot of hard work (mixed with a little luck).

The book’s well worth the time – some great insights on what it takes to succeed.

The hard work piece you already know (hopefully). It’s the impact of luck and culture that are pretty facinating.

Here’s the author’s Q&A on the book (it’s his site – the excerpts there are a bit weak) and the prologue to the book (the publisher’s site – an interesting story about community and its impact on health).

]]> http://blog.givemore.com/gladwell-on-overnight-success/feed/ 3 Nike Revving Us Up http://blog.givemore.com/nike-revving-us-up/ http://blog.givemore.com/nike-revving-us-up/#comments Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:39:56 +0000 Sam Parker http://blog.givemore.com/nike-revving-us-up/ 1 minute to kick off the day or week…

(I can’t stand how great this is. Teary-eyed inspiration, baby.)

Somebody needs to make something as powerful for the work world.

Got a favorite? Email us.

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]]> http://blog.givemore.com/nike-revving-us-up/feed/ 3 Nike Waking Us Up http://blog.givemore.com/nike-waking-us-up/ http://blog.givemore.com/nike-waking-us-up/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:14:48 +0000 Sam Parker http://blog.givemore.com/nike-waking-us-up/ 1 minute to kick off the work day. For smorning people only.

That’s an AC/DC track from Back in Black (1980) in the background. It’s called “Rock & Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution.” (But our midlifers already knew that, didn’t we.)

Got a favorite? Email us.

(smorning: morning for a Smover – one who smiles & moves)

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