Inspiration for your work & life » Possibilities http://blog.givemore.com Work is more than a job. Work is how we make our lives and world better. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:15:47 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Nansen on Crossing The Line http://blog.givemore.com/nansen-on-crossing-the-line/ http://blog.givemore.com/nansen-on-crossing-the-line/#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:15:14 +0000 Sam Parker http://blog.givemore.com/nansen-on-crossing-the-line/ “The difficult is what takes a little time; the impossible is what
takes a little longer.”

- Fridtjof Nansen (1861–1930)
Norwegian explorer
Nobel Prize winner

Give more example…

In 1899, in one hour after dinner, Elbert Hubbard wrote a 1500-word essay (10-minute read) titled "A Message to Garcia."

A true story of initiative and responsibility, the piece went on to be printed more than 40 million times (it’s still well-known with the big dogs of business and required reading for Marine Corps recruits and Naval Academy students).

Get inspired and pass it along to your team.

Got young kids? Download and read them the children’s version we created (Rowan to the Rescue).

Here’s the recently produced PBS program on Hubbard. Chapter 8, Hubbard’s Rise, is the segment on the Garcia story.
_____

If you’ve not seen it… Here’s Eric Thomas on Work (calls himself the Hip Hop Preacher – 5-minute video). It’s meant for students but it’s reminded me more than once to work hard and focus.

(Don’t understand the "Cross The Line" reference in today’s subject line? Learn more here.)

Connect with Sam (guy behind this stuff)…

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]]> http://blog.givemore.com/nansen-on-crossing-the-line/feed/ 0 Pickford on Digging In http://blog.givemore.com/pickford-on-digging-in/ http://blog.givemore.com/pickford-on-digging-in/#comments Wed, 08 Jun 2011 03:15:16 +0000 Sam Parker http://blog.givemore.com/pickford-on-digging-in/ “Today is a new day. You will get out of it just what you put into it…”

–Mary Pickford (1892–1979)
Canadian actress, Academy Award® winner
Co-founder of United Artists

Give more mind…

How are you kicking off your workday?

Are you preparing your mind with solid thought, information, and support? Are you allowing the right radio or TV personalities to get you ready (are any of them good… share one)? The right news or material? The right people at the office?

Be careful to what you give your attention. It all has an influence on you. (And kicking it is much more fun than mediocrity… or worse.)

Feed your mind well. It’s where action starts.

(♫ you got to smove it, smove it ♫)

Maybe this little guy can help you get started on the right foot (1 minute).

]]> http://blog.givemore.com/pickford-on-digging-in/feed/ 0 Nightingale on Constructive Discontent http://blog.givemore.com/nightingale-on-constructive-discontent/ http://blog.givemore.com/nightingale-on-constructive-discontent/#comments Wed, 27 Apr 2011 03:15:07 +0000 Sam Parker http://blog.givemore.com/nightingale-on-constructive-discontent/ “Were there none who were discontented with what they have, the world would never reach for anything better.”

–Florence Nightingale (1820–1910)
English pioneer of modern nursing

Give more reminder…

If you’re not getting push back from time-to-time (or conversations aren’t occasionally uncomfortable), you may not be getting the full truth. And without the full truth, your choices and actions might take you in the wrong direction.

Make sure you do your best to objectively dig for truth (rather than hope or wish something to be.)

We call it "wishing it in" at Give More. If you play tennis, you get it. In a match, if your opponent hits a ball that you’ll have to run hard to get, you might be lazy and "wish it out" instead of pushing it. Avoid "wishing in" a new hire (here’s an idea on this one), a partnership, or project. Go for objective truth.

Speaking of truth… Do you know the fable The Emperor’s New Clothes? I always thought I did but it really goes much further than I knew (10-minute read, tops).

It’s about truth, conviction, and being valuable.

Read with an English accent (which apparently can sound very different depending upon which part of England you’re from) and a bit of actor’s energy, you might find yourself laughing out loud with pity as you recognize the similarities to some of our organizational experiences today.

]]> http://blog.givemore.com/nightingale-on-constructive-discontent/feed/ 0 Frank on Sparks and Possibility http://blog.givemore.com/frank-on-sparks-and-possibility/ http://blog.givemore.com/frank-on-sparks-and-possibility/#comments Wed, 02 Mar 2011 03:15:57 +0000 Sam Parker http://blog.givemore.com/frank-on-sparks-and-possibility/ “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

–Anne Frank (1929–1945)
Dutch diarist

Give more mind…

"Work is born in us. We take to it kindly or unkindly. The terms may be easy or harsh, but the contract is binding."

Studs Terkel (1912–2008)
American writer, journalist, broadcaster
Pulitzer Prize winner

Everything begins with our attitude toward our work – to how we contribute. We should be sure to guard and nurture that attitude.

Terkel’s bestselling book Working was published 37 years ago as an oral history of "people talking about what they do all day and how they feel about what they do".

When you need a quick break (outside the money hours), enjoy 9 minutes of audio from NPR (you can download it for a run too) – the story around the book and actual recordings from a few of Terkel’s interviews for the book. Particularly heartwarming: Delores the waitress (at minute 2), Terry the newspaper boy (at minute 3.5) and Therese "just a housewife" (at minute 7).

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