I have a friend who is really upset because she feels she was pressured into a particularly large purchase and not appreciated afterwards. It occurs to me that this could be a concern for many single women, especially as they grow older. We read daily of various scams to help older people part with their money. While I don’t think that women are the only ones affected, they do seem to be targeted more often than not. In the case of my friend, the issue wasn’t one of the salesmen being dishonest,
Monthly Archives: August 2007
Who is Responsible for Leadership?
By Shae Hadden
Bio
Whether we’re talking about the problems in our organizations, our local communities or the world, the conversation seems to revolve around two themes: having someone to blame (a culprit) and having someone who will lead us from our problems toward a solution in the future (a hero). What if leadership was an expression of each individual’s responsibility for creating the future, instead of being a solution to a problem?
Responsibility is not about who we can blame, who caused
Empowerment Revisited
By Shae Hadden
Bio
When I worked for a public service agency, I used to think that I was responsible for certain results, but I never felt ‘empowered’. I equated being empowered with having the boundaries removed that seemed to stand between me and getting the job done. I remember one instance in which there was an immediate and urgent need to provide a client with resources (which would impact a budget over which I had no authority). Without the ‘power’ to commit to this expenditure, I
Prayer: Connecting with Possibility
My friends and I have been told by a couple of our wives and
girlfriends that we are a unique group of men. It is ironic that we
don’t really understand why, but we are all extremely open, vulnerable
and nurturing in our relationships with each other, as well as with
other people in our lives. I don’t know why, perhaps it comes with time
and the fact that we’ve all worked in some form of transformational
training for most of our careers.
Whenever
we ‘Souls’ get together, we follow
Fun
I had a lot of fun yesterday and last night. It was so much fun, I
wonder why I don’t have this kind of fun all the time. I am
distinguishing between happy and fun here. I am happy most of the time
and enjoy what I am doing, but fun is somehow different. The day was
spent playing golf with my buddies and then we all went to an Italian
cooking school and spent the evening laughing and eating an incredible
dinner.
But
what we did isn’t the source of ‘why’ it was fun. I’ve
Friendship
I am spending a few days with a group of my best buddies. We call our
gang the ‘Old Souls’. This started about 7 years ago when nine of us
from all over the USA gathered at Vince’s farm for a long weekend,
generally to talk about whatever was on our minds to and specifically
to discuss our experiences and reflections as we entered mid-life.
We’ve been gathering three times a year at various locations ever
since. Some of the faces have changed over the
Affirming the Future
After retiring from her career in real estate, Dr. Anne Marie Evers
became an international motivational speaker, author and workshop
facilitator. Known as “The Affirmations Doctor”, this ordained minister
and counselor has applied her training in child psychology and personal
development to several children’s Affirmation programs, including the
popular anti-violence Affirm and Learn Enhancement Program, the Kids’ Affirmation Program (KAP) and The Kids Affirmation Club.
Dr.
Evers
Mindless Media
I am having a hard time finding anything good to say about the news
media in North America these days. I hate to think this, but perhaps I
am becoming a curmudgeon. For example, I was impressed by the rapid
coverage of the tragedy in Minneapolis with the bridge collapse. Within
minutes of the occurrence, CNN, NBC, FOX and CBC were ‘on it’. We had
heard about all there was to hear within a few hours, and then we
witnessed some pretty good coverage of the rescue efforts.
But
going into
Discernment: Harold’s Story III
By Stu Whitley
Bio
This is the third in a three-part series.
I
read somewhere that good decision-making—indeed, good relations—
depends upon a virtuous cycle of respect, trust and candour (which
takes some time to establish, but which can easily be interrupted).
Attitude, after all, is everything. Perhaps that last statement needs a
bit of refinement: the ethical
attitude is everything. By that I mean the determination
Empowerment
I was speaking with a friend today about how we sometimes feel
‘disempowered’ in certain situations where people repeat their patterns
of the past and where we have no ‘accountability’ for the outcome. I
realized as we were talking that we generally look at ‘being empowered’
as a solution in our careers and personal lives—as the pathway to the
promised land that will deliver us from whatever circumstances are
challenging us in the moment. When