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The Constellation Learning Newsletter
December 2006
 I
will be visiting family over the holidays, enjoying the warmth
that comes with connecting. And eating. Lots of holidays indulgences.
I intend to enjoy myself. One of things I’ve learned
this year is that time really does wait for no one: Use the
good silver every day.
For more of this year’s learning highlights
keep reading.
And may you have a very happy, healthy holiday
season!
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~
Monthly Message ~
“Everybody
is ignorant, only on different subjects.”
-- Will Rogers
The learning curve has been
steep of late. I’m looking forward to some down time
over the holidays. Except that I have a filmed speaking gig
in Chicago on the 29th. Down time is a challenging endeavor
for a “doer.”
In no particular order, in the
past two months my internet radio show, Synthology™
launched (lots of learning opportunities there),
my book arrived in finished form (we won’t go into all
the lessons involved in that process!), a multi-billion
dollar US company purchased Leadership Dynamics™ as
its mid-level management development class (the contract was
as thick as a magazine for heaven’s sake!). I start
training their trainers in 10 days. Oh, and I still led a
few programs and did plenty of other stuff. Like laundry.
The thing is, though, that I’m
having a ball. None of it has felt difficult, bothersome or
taxing. Even the laundry. In fact it has felt almost effortless,
except that I put in the time and focus and get what needs
to be done, done. But it hasn’t been draining.
When did that happen? I remember when life seemed more, well,
strenuous. I think maybe I’m getting smarter.
One thing I learned this year
(because I had to) was how to better manage my energy; it’s
all about managing one’s energy. In fact, everything
is about managing energy, whether it’s a symphony, clay,
or people. Energy is the new currency, and I’ve learned
how to count it this year.
As a way to close out 2006,
here’s some other stuff that sunk in:
__________________________
“Greatness reveals
itself under pressure and pain.” This remark
was made in reference to Andre Agassi. His determined perseverance
and gracious exit from professional tennis will stand as a
measure of greatness years from now. Sometimes sheer will
is all there is at the end of the line. The greats know this.
That’s why they last so long.
__________________________
“On the path to
excellence there is no room for perfection.”
Linda Brady dropped this one in a recent show. I asked her
to repeat it, wrote it down and have pondered it since. There’s
a lot of truth packed in that small sentence. Unless you’re
involved in science (or accounting, which is science to me)
perfection is a subjective experience. Might as well just
do your best and let it go.
__________________________
Ed Bradley died a couple of
weeks ago. A respected journalist who was on 60 Minutes
for 26 years, it was said Ed had “soul.” In a
television interview upon his death, his friend the trumpeter
Winton Marcellus said “soul is the ability to
make people feel better about being alive.”
I like that. One of the better definitions I’ve come
across. I’d like to live my way into that one.
__________________________
Winston Churchill said, “I
am always ready to learn although I do not always like to
be taught.” I agree; being taught can seem
a chore, but learning can be a delight—when I’m
willing. The old drag a horse to water truism. Maybe,
if we simply resign ourselves to the fact that the learning
never ends, we wouldn’t need to “be taught.”
Just a thought.
__________________________
“The brighter
you are, the more you have to learn.” A guy
named Don Herold said this. Don’t know who he was/is
but I think he must be pretty bright. Lately, I had been thinking
how much I don’t know, that I’d like
to know, that I never thought I’d want to know.
Things like the names of the various classical composers’
symphonies I listen to on CBC radio; things like being able
to recognize trees by their leaves or flowers by their Latin
name. Things like architecture and art; like going to medical
school to simply learn, not to earn a living.
Does this mean I’m bright? Well,
uh, I mean, sure, I’d like to believe that. More likely
I’m simply maturing, “wising up;” more aware
of my own massive areas of ignorance. Don’t need to
be that bright to finally surrender to the flow of
never-ending learning opportunities: it’s simply smart
energy management.
Happy holidays every one. May the flow carry
you into a bright—and smart—New Year.
__________________________________________
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