$Account.OrganizationName
Ricky's Review
Ricky's Monthly Newsletter January 2007

In this issue

Out & About

Leadership is building relationships

Quote of the Day
 

Out & About

In Search of Happiness!

****************************************

Let me begin by asking you some questions. What is genuine happiness? What is authentic? What is meaningful to make you happy?

Is it material wealth? Is it health? Is it having happy relationships? Ahhh...such a simple question...but not so easy to answer!

So what is joy? Is it more than happiness? When you ask someone about their holiday, they say, "Yes, I'm happy with my holiday." When you ask someone about their new watch, they say, "Yes, I'm really happy with my new purchase."

So is happiness so elusive and so bound to material links that we're only happy when we have some material? Or can we be joyous even though we don't link it to material gains, monetary status or man- made things?

Can we experience JOY just by getting up in the morning and saying, "Just for today, I'm going to do, be and experience the best day of my life!"

Can we experience JOY just by doing stretching exercises, breathing deeply into our lungs and wishing the world to be a better place because we're going to contribute something of value and worthwhile today?

In surveys that ask, "What is the most important thing in life?" happiness is by far the most common answer. When you ask people what they want more than anything else, 'happiness' comes out tops. And if you ask most parents what they want, above all else for their children, their answers will be mostly the same: "To be happy!"

The plethora of the vast quantities of happy yellow faces that adorn pin-on buttons, pens, refridgerator magnets, signs, wallpaper, stationery, bumper stickers, chops, knobs for pens and pencils, happy signs on computers and mobile phones...the list is endless!

One day, future archaeologists will dig up all our artifacts. I'm sure that they'll scratch their heads and say that our generation was the generation of homo happilus.

I say that happiness comes as a result of hard work, perseverance, resilience to hard times, self-renewal on a daily basis, and comes from the sweat and rigorous vigour that comes from applying oneself. Sure material wealth has a major factor to it, but the main thing is to experience bitterness, disappointment, failures, fears, struggles. And when one is finally successful, the fruits of labour will be there...happiness!

Food for thought? I know I appreciate happiness when I am happily achieving. When I worry for no reason, happiness is elusive. But when I'm successful in overcoming the problem and challenge, there it is...happiness!

Winston Churchill said, "The truth is incontrovertiable. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it...but in the end...there it is"

So much for happiness. Now let me happily get back to work!




Greetings!

Happy New Year! Welcome to the January edition of Ricky's Review. One year ends, and another one starts. This time it's the 007 year, so what we can do is to rally in what perhaps James Bond stood for. Instead of 'licence to kill', let's adopt a mindset of 'licence to can-do!'

I wish you a challenging and 'can-do' year! I believe that if anyone can do something, then you can do it too. You can do! (Must be relevant, of course!)

So get a head start...list your goal/s for the year...health? more money? better business? better relationships? write them down...focus on them...make sure you really want them...know why you must have them...then, on your marks...get set...go!

Have your best year ever by doing the best you can on a daily basis. One day at a time. Give it your best shot. Connect better with others...daily. Do that one extra bit of work...like a rubber band we don't know how strong we are until we stretch ourselves a bit more...one day at time.

Don't forget to enJOY yourself too along the journey. Don't be so serious on yourself. Happily achieve, that's the way to achieve happiness.

And last, but not least...WELCOME to all those new subscribers. I trust that this newsletter will help you with some hints, tips and food for thought along the pathways to wherever you wish to go! To your success...

Ricky

PS: If you have any comments or feedback, do drop me a line or two
by clicking here. I'd love to hear from you!


  • Leadership is building relationships
    		•

    With Shirley Taylor, the organiser for the major event of the year on April 25 2007 ... the Asian Summit for Secretaries and Admin Professionals ASSAP2007

    To learn more about leadership & building relationships, come and attend a fun and learning one-day workshop that I'm presenting on "EQ in the Office...how to bring out the best in yourself and others" co-facilitated with the inimitable
    Ms Shirley Taylor     on April 27 2007.

    ****************************************

    Great leadership is built on great relationships. Sure, the job of the task ahead is most important, but by adding and increasing the catalyst of relationship, you'll get more out of people.

    Leadership is intensive on relationships, and if people aren't following you, it means that your people skills are not as strong as you'd like them to be.

    Remember, whatever you do, or sell, or consult, or advise, or manufacture, or produce...you're really in the people business as they are the ultimate consumers of whatever you're producing.

    Sure, you can lead by telling others to do their work because of your rank. But you'll only hire their hands, not their hearts. Until you can create 'Heartship' along with Task-ship, your employees won't follow you willingly.

    Relationship management, one of the major quadrants of Emotional Intelligence is uncommonly seen. I've noticed that 'Boss-ship' is more prevalent than 'Leader-ship'. I think it's important to be able to do both styles, and to use them in their proper context to be effective.

    Relationship management includes the following 8 competencies:

      • Developing others
      • Influencing others
      • Communication skills
      • Being an agent for change
      • Conflict management
      • Building bonds with others
      • Demonstrating leadership principles
      • Modeling true teamwork & collaboration

      For the coming year, why don't you focus on just one of these competencies for every day of the week? For example, on a Monday just focus on developing some of the people who report to you. And how about your spouse and children? Spend some quality time with them to do just that.

      Then the next day, focus on influence. Sharpen up your presentation skills for the day. Speak clearer on the phone. Make your message have more clarity, make it more-to-the-point, and make sure people know exactly what you're on about. If you can influence other people with your ideas, wouldn't that make you more effective?

      You'll find that as you go on with this focused practice, your relationship skills will sharpen. And when you do so, you are also honing your leadership skills. Remember you don't need a title to lead. You can lead from whichever position you are in.

      Go on. Do it! I promise you it'll pay great dividends both at work and at home!

  • Quote of the Day
    		•

    From Stuart Wilde, one of my favourite philosophers, from his book, The Secrets of Life

    On Projecting Energy

    There isn't any necessity to constantly project your mind into the future. That disempowers the present. If you are putting on a picnic three Saturdays from now, you may have to do some organisational stuff today to make sure it happens.

    But that isn't projecting your energy forward - it's saying, "In order for us to have a picnic three Saturdays from now we need to order some picnic baskets today."

    The idea is to develop yourself clearly inside the present and to not pollute the future with too much thinking, so that the place where you are not (the future) is clearly defined.

    That helps you strengthen the present. The average person is very poorly defined because they're confused. Their energy is everywhere other than in the here and now.

    In polluting what is not yet real they dibilitate what is real.

    What do you think about Stuart's philosophy? Any comments? I invite your thoughts, so do write to me if you have any thoughts to add to this

    :: +65 9619 2048