Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Ted Tuesday: Alan Iny— Reigniting Creativity In Business

"True creativity requires you and your company to constantly doubt your current boxes and eventually replace them with new ones. In an ever-changing environment, no idea is good forever."





Good Morning Folks,

The face of business is changing and whether an individual or corporation, the pressure is on to innovate. Employment in America is increasingly operating in a new reality. The constancy of change requires today's career employee to think and act differently, because the path to the American Dream is no longer a guaranteed right of passage.


Creative disruption is shaking every industry. Global competition for jobs is fierce. The employer-employee pact is over and traditional job security is a thing of the past.

CREATIVITY is key to surviving and thriving against all odds. Alan Iny's Ted talk is very much aligned to our way of thinking.

That's why FSO's core strength is to (re)IMAGINE new and better ways of doing business. To give our clients the people, solutions, technology, and cost efficiencies to ensure a fundamental transformation from the back office as we know it today

It’s a paradox. Creativity has never been more essential to competitiveness in the business world, but the critical approach to practical creativity in organizations is often lacking. Alan Iny offers a key to the well-meaning exhortation to “think outside the box:” Apply doubt to the very models and philosophies that make up the box itself.

Even the greatest minds know the frustration of trying to come up with a brilliant idea but constantly ending up with boring thoughts and a trash can filled with wasted paper. Alan Iny suggests a new perspective for reviving creativity in your business. Believe it or not, says Iny, the key to creativity is doubt. Watch this fascinating talk that encourages viewers to adopt a new approach to thinking “outside the box.”


As the senior specialist for creativity and scenarios, Alan Iny has trained thousands of executives and BCG consultants on how to think creatively. A member of the firm’s strategy leadership team, he has vast experience in advising companies worldwide in innovation, scenarios, transformation, organization design and change management across industries. In 2013, Alan launched “Thinking in New Boxes: A New Paradigm for Business Creativity,” written with Luc de Brabandere, and published by Random House.


Here is an excerpt that was originally published in The Economist Group’s Lean back marketing blog.

Seeking new insights into who your markets and customers are, what they really want, and how best to reach and engage them requires thinking in new boxes. A “box,” in our definition, is a belief, concept, working hypothesis, or other mental model you use to interpret the world in front of you. 
True creativity requires you and your company to constantly doubt your current boxes and eventually replace them with new ones. In an ever-changing environment, no idea is good forever. 
The brain’s hardwiring will tend to lead you and your organization to hold on to tired assumptions and constraints. You’re likely to be seduced by a natural bias toward ideas that confirm, rather than contradict, your current way of seeing things.
Henry Ford famously failed to heed even obvious market signals (and insistent colleagues) suggesting that customers were evolving to want different styles and colors after the phenomenal success of his simple all-black Model T. In the 1970s and 1980s, executives at Hindustan Lever Limited assumed that customers for laundry detergent in India were primarily affluent individuals willing to pay for Surf; they didn’t notice that Nirma, a low-cost competitor, appealed to a growing segment of lower-income customers who hadn’t used any detergent before. 
As you seek to understand your organization’s customers and market, stay open to multiple interpretations of the data you collect. There are different plausible segmentations of any customer group, many legitimate ways to break down the market, and multiple ways of perceiving the underlying desires of your customers. 
Consider listing and then challenging your most fundamental beliefs about your customers and markets. Who do you currently think of as your most loyal customers? Ask bold questions that take you and your colleagues outside of your comfort zone. If you are one of the world’s largest designers and retailers of lingerie, what if 10 years from now, 95 percent of your customers were men? If you lead the world’s most popular online search engine—think Google—what if, just 10 years from now, most of your customers were looking to you instead for driverless cars? 
The first step to practical creativity is challenging some of your existing boxes. If you manage this, then you can arrive at a very successful new box simply by changing the way you think about your customers, your competitors, or your own company.
Watch Video: Have a look at Alan's short 8-minute talk, which is accessible by this link which will take you directly to the Ted site.

TED@BCG was an event produced by TED in conjunction with their partner, the Boston Consulting Group.


At FSO all of us strive to be remarkable, not average. FSO provides an environment that rewards innovation, is rich in resources, and respects the incredibly talented team we’ve built over the last six years. 
Personal, Passionate and Productive, we get the job done to perfection every moment and every day.

Have a GREAT day as I look forward to seeing all of you soon.


Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer  

Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE.  




Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Ted Tuesday: Success, Failure and The Drive to Keep Creating with Elizabeth Gilbert

"Know your purpose and it becomes your rock in the good and bad times"












Good Morning Folks,

Elizabeth Gilbert was once an "unpublished diner waitress," devastated by rejection letters. And yet, in the wake of the success of 'Eat, Pray, Love,' she found herself identifying strongly with her former self. With beautiful insight, Gilbert reflects on why success can be as disorienting as failure and offers a simple — though hard — way to carry on, regardless of outcomes.

Her message: "Stay true to yourself. Possess your passion, indulge your passion. Do it for yourself and live with the results whatever they may be."

Please enjoy her TED Talk about finding your way back home again when you feel like you run out of your creative juice.  

She’s funny. She’s passionate. She talks about rediscovering “whatever in this world you love more than yourself”. And with over 15 million YouTube and Ted views between her talks, she's proven to be well worth a listen.


With assistance and graphics from Chris Donner and great thanks to Ted and to you for watching.

Have a fabulous, productive day filled with love and inspiration.  

Cheers!


Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer



Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE


Tuesday, November 29, 2016

TED Tuesday: Robert Waldinger— What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness

"There isn't time, so brief is life, for bickerings, apologies, heartburnings, callings to account. There is only time for loving, and but an instant, so to speak, for that."







Good Morning Folks,

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. The food, family, the stories... always remind me that I have much to be grateful for. Each morning, I'm eager to jump out of bed and get to the office. I'm incredibly fortunate in that I love what I do. My team and I work hard every day to deliver the best opportunities to help you achieve your dreams and ambitions, whatever they may be.

But what else keeps us happy and healthy as we go through life? If you think it's fame and money, you're not alone – but, according to psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, you're mistaken. As the director of a 75-year-old study on adult development, Waldinger has unprecedented access to data on true happiness and satisfaction. In this talk, he shares three important lessons learned from the study as well as some practical, old-as-the-hills wisdom on how to build a fulfilling, long life.

Join 11 million others to experience my selection for this TED Tuesday, Robert's brilliant TED talk: What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness




As we usher in the "happiest time of the year," I wish you all the health, wealth and happiness that you deserve.


Have a GREAT day, be happy and…


Love Life!


Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer  

*TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences -- the TED Conference on the West Coast each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh UK each summer -- TED includes the award-winning TED Talks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize.  More at TED.com

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Ted Tuesday: Diana Nyad- "Never Give Up"

"Everyday of our lives is epic....Never ever give up...You can chase your dreams at any age...It looks like the most solitary endeavor in the world and in many ways it is, and in other ways and the most important ways it's a team...When you achieve your dreams, it is not so much what you get, but who you have become..."





Good Morning Folks.

A record-setting long-distance swimmer, Diana Nyad writes and thinks deeply about motivation. If you have a dream, and you have obstacles in front of you, believe in perseverance and find a way!

In the pitch-black night, stung by jellyfish, choking on salt water, singing to herself, hallucinating … Diana Nyad just kept on swimming. And that's how she finally achieved her lifetime goal as an athlete: an extreme 100-mile swim from Cuba to Florida — at age 64. Hear her story.

For ten years (1969-1979), Diana Nyad was known as the greatest long-distance swimmer in the world. In 1979, she stroked the then-longest swim in history, making the 102.5-mile journey from the island of Bimini (Bahamas) to Florida. She also broke numerous world records, including what had been a 50-year mark for circling Manhattan Island, setting the new time of 7 hrs 57 min. She is a member of the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

At age 60, having not swum a stroke in decades, she began planning for her white whale of distance swims: the 110-mile ocean crossing between Cuba and Florida. She'd tried it once, in her 20s, and severe jellyfish attacks had defeated her then. But now, with a strong team and a new commitment to her vision, she stepped back into the salt. She spoke about this second attempt at TEDMED 2011. And at TEDWomen 2013, in December, she talks about how it feels to have finally done it.

“It's the fifth time I stand on this shore, the Cuban shore, looking out at that distant horizon, believing, again, that I'm going to make it all the way across that vast, dangerous wilderness of an ocean. Not only have I tried four times, but the greatest swimmers in the world have been trying since 1950, and it's still never been done.”

Within the first few seconds, and with these few words, Diana Nyad has painted a picture and set a mood about her challenge; to swim from Cuba to Florida. She has also established herself as someone you want to listen to, to trust that she is telling the truth, and to find out what happened. What a powerful start.
Motivation aside, so what can you learn and apply about presentations from Diana Nyad’s TED talk?

==> Show passion.
You can instantly hear the passion in Diane’s voice. As you listen, look away from the screen and just listen for a few moments. You can clearly hear the passion in her cadence, and in her vocal inflections. Notice that she is telling you a story, not reciting a stream of facts or numbers. You hear how meaningful and emotional this journey was. Now think of your own presentations; are you focused on the story, the meaning, or the facts and figures? What would happen if you let a little more passion into these talks?

==> Make it real.
Did you see the sharks? Did you feel the frigid water and experience the solitude of the pitch dark? Did you hear her singing John Lennon's "Imagine" – 200 times? These are not mere details. This is the concrete description that makes her story so tangible. You can't fake this, at least most of us can't. What you can do is go to that place where what you are talking about is real and immediate, and then describe what you are seeing and feeling. (If this is difficult for you, contact me about learning the skills of being in the moment and completely focused.)

==> It's not about your slides.
Did you miss seeing bullet points, charts and graphs, or photos? I don't think you did. In fact, I didn't notice until the end that there nothing but Diana and the world she created verbally. Slides would have been so distracting and even irritating as you wanted to hear this story from her lips. Now, if you don’t want to go completely without slides, at least try to cut back and see what happens. Then cut back some more. Use fewer slides, and put less and less on each one. Or start and end you next talk without slides, using them only as needed.

==> Keep it short.
This talk is about fifteen minutes. She could surely have talked for an hour, or many hours, but she told her story in a compelling way in a fairly short timeframe. Your audience is probably too polite to tell you, but they wish you would be a little more concise. Take out unnecessary "padding." Strip the story down to its basics. Tell enough to make your point. Then end it well.

Make it into a story. Note that Diana takes you from standing on the shore ready to set forth at the beginning, and ends with the crowd cheering and her speaking with reporters at the end. This is classic story style. As a bonus, she added three big takeaways as the final thoughts. Use storytelling structure to make your talks more memorable. And make sure you don't blow off your beginning and endings; these are key targets you must hit.

Take a few pointers from Diana Nyad. Never ever give up. Keep working to make your presentations, speeches and informal talks more concise, compelling and genuine. And, once you get to TED.com, look around. There are many speeches you can learn from, and I will be continuing to write about the ones I think have lessons for us all.

Thanks to Applause Inc for leading me to this which delivered it to you.

Thanks to you for listening.

Have a GREAT Day,



Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer
  


Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE.  






About FSO Onsite Outsourcing
Recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of the nation's fastest growing companies for the third consecutive year, and lead by industry pioneer, Mitch Weiner, FSO's growth and success can be attributed to making a positive and powerful impact on their clients' bottom lines, as well as their employees' careers and lives.


Tuesday, August 2, 2016

TED Tuesday: Remembering Scott Dinsmore— How to find and do work you love | TEDxGoldenGatePark (2D)

"But doing the impossible and pushing our limits, because there are 2 reasons why people don’t do things: one is because they tell themselves they can’t do them and the other is people around them tell them, they can’t do. Either way we start to believe it. Either we give up or we never start in the first place."





Good Morning Folks,

Today's speaker, Scott Dinsmore, an Alamo, California native, entrepreneur and adventurer, was killed last year while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, a feat his family says was to fulfill a lifelong dream.

Dinsmore, who was hiking with his wife, died doing what he loved, something he preached through his work, on a blog on his website and in the widely viewed (3+MN) Ted Talk that follows, recorded in 2012.

Before he reached the summit, a cascade of boulders rolled down the mountain and one of them hit and killed the 33-year-old.

In his blog post Scott Dinsmore said he almost decided against booking the Tanzania trip because he didn't think he could go on a digital break.

"How ridiculous is that? To pass up an adventure I've talked about for years -- because I'd convinced myself I couldn't disconnect. Or more truthfully, because I couldn't find the courage to do it. That would have been a tragedy."

Scott Dinsmore quit a job that made him miserable, and spent the next four years wondering how to find work that was joyful and meaningful. He shares what he learned in this deceptively simple talk about finding out what matters to you — and then getting started doing it.

Then Scott made it his mission is to change the world by helping people find what excites them and build a career around the work only they are capable of doing. He is a career change strategist whose demoralizing experience at a Fortune 500 job launched his quest to understand why 80% of adults hate the work they do, and more importantly, to identify what the other 20% were doing differently. His research led to experiences with thousands of employees and entrepreneurs from 158 countries. Scott distilled the results down to his Passionate Work Framework - three surprisingly simple practices for finding and doing work you love, that all happen to be completely within our control. He makes his career tools available free to the public through his community at http://LiveYourLegend.net

What Scott has created at Live Your Legend is mind-boggling. He creates inspiration, the challenge to dream big and bold, and the tools to make all that a reality. But most unbelievable is the community he's developed of people who are passionate about doing something great, and helping each other achieve that. Have a look:




Let me close as Scott did. "And as we finish up, I have just one question to ask you guys, and I think it's the only question that matters. And it's what is the work you can't not do? Discover that, live it, not just for you, but for everybody around you, because that is what starts to change the world. What is the work you can't not."

Have a GREAT Day and Love Life!


Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer



Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE






Monday, August 1, 2016

Innovate or Capitulate: In The Struggle For Survival, The Fittest Win


"This means we can’t go backward, and we can’t stand still. We can’t rest on our laurels and we can’t keep doing what we’ve always done — even if we are doing our best, we need to keep doing it better."



Good Morning Folks,


"Innovation" is one of those buzzwords you hear all the time. People are always talking about being a "leader in innovation" or "taking innovation into the twenty-first century". It can look like some kind of innovation nation out there. It's hard to tell who is devoted to innovation and who is simply paying lip service to It. We at FSO are serious about innovation. So serious that we use the word (re) IMAGINE to define who we are: a partner dedicated to always finding new and better ways to improve service, lower costs and take better care of people.


I believe complacency is when innovation ends. The advantage every business has, but few in our industry leverage to the advantage that we do, is the ability to innovate and reinvent. So many great companies lose their edge and end up playing catch-up until they're obsolete. That’s not going to happen here.


Dramatic paradigm sights are occurring in every industry, YOUR industry because traditional barriers to entry don't exist anymore. If you don't think a new era of change and creative destruction isn't headed to your door step, you are sadly mistaken. If you want to be on top, you have to look at innovation in a new, interactive way. You have to believe it is worth coin, its worth doing wrong. You have to be willing to try your model, test it, innovate around it, get out, screw up, and then do it right. You have to understand that speed is everything in an electronic realm because you can fix mistakes before anyone realizes that mistakes were made.


We are facing the biggest transformation the way business is conducted since the industrial revolution. If you are willing to innovate, you are taking steps towards crashing your competition.


The problem according to ANTHONY IANNARINO of there sales blog is change, He writes:

==> Change is more difficult than you believe. Having an intellectual understanding the reason something needs to change isn’t enough. An emotional need to change is necessary and more powerful. 
 ==> Change is psychological. You first have to have a shift in your mindset, your personal philosophy, your personal psychology. Without that shift, there will be no change.
Why something is being changed is more important than how that change is accomplished.
==> Change takes longer than you believe.  It takes longer to sell, longer to build consensus, and longer to execute before results are seen. It is mistake to believe the results of change will be realized quickly, even though change happens in a second 
==> Change comes with built-in enemies. The very fact that you are trying to make change will cause some to oppose you. Resistance is your enemy when you try to change yourself. 
Most change initiatives die not because the idea isn’t good or necessary but because it was poorly executed. The change is usually poorly executed because it lacks executive engagement. People are exceptionally gifted at waiting out change initiatives. 
We overestimate what we can accomplish in a short period of time and underestimate what we accomplish over a longer period. When results don’t come fast, change initiatives are often abandoned. The better results were only a little bit further.
==> Sometimes change initiatives fail because too many variables are changed at once. One major change might have been enough to produce a result, but because so much was attempted, nothing really changed. When too much is changed, you can’t easily figure out what is working and what isn’t.
Radical change very quickly becomes the new status quo. It soon develops its own defenders who protect it from future change.
As an owner and CEO, I am keenly aware that rapid change in business and technology is the “new normal.” The only way for our company to survive, let alone thrive, is to continuously reinvent and redefine— everything.

This means we can’t go backward, and we can’t stand still. We can’t rest on our laurels and we can’t keep doing what we’ve always done — even if we are doing our best, we need to keep doing it better.


The spirit of innovation is a cornerstone of our company. Because at FSO, we never stop rethinking, refreshing and (re)IMAGINING a better future for our clients. 
We work together with our clients to foster innovation. Our process contains not only a method for generating ideas, but also a system for managing change. Similar to our methodology for continuous improvement, we challenge all levels of our organization to challenge the status quo.  

We reward continuous improvement and innovation; as a result our employees are motived to identify opportunities for improvement and innovation. Our employees are expected to always seek new ways to make our client’s life better through our white glove treatment; the whole FSO Experience. It is not just a tagline for our brand – rather, it is the culture that drives everything we do.

Since our founding six short years ago, we’ve matured from just a service provider among many, to a true strategic partner like no other. In over 160 client sites nationally we’ve become "entrenched" and so "important" to how our clients operate from the first impression - to amazing smiles and hospitality - to all services from mail, copy, records, conference centers, security, concierge, IT and much more. We are the glue that makes our clients business run seamlessly. We are part of their company, and critical to their success.

To our team: You have been given the opportunity to show what you’re made of, to be so much stronger and better than you were just the day before, and to show the world of business a better way.  


So as you get ready to start your day take a second to think; how am I contributing to my clients' success? How can I be better?


How can I get to infinity and beyond? 


How can I be that star, that hero that brings to our clients all the positive change, wealth and success they deserve?


IT IS YOU that makes FSO who we are. Love Life!




Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer  

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"In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment." ~~ Charles Darwin
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S. ANTHONY IANNARINis the President and Chief Sales officer for SOLUTIONS Staffing, a best-in-class regional staffing service based in Columbus, OhioHe is also the Managing Director of B2B Sales Coach & Consultancy, a boutique sales coaching and consulting company where he works to help salespeople and sales organizations improve and reach their full potential. And he works ass an adjunct faculty member at Capital University’s School of Management and Leadership. Anthony teaches Personal Selling in the undergraduate program, and I teach Persuasive Marketing and Social Media Marketing in the MBA program.



Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Ted Tuesday: David Steindl-Rast: Want To Be Happy? Be Grateful

"Remember that you deserve to be happy. 
It's your natural-born right."
- Pharrell













Good Morning Folks,

"Happy," originally produced for the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack, topped charts in more than 15 countries for almost two years. It has 900+ Million views on You Tube.

It's impossible not to listen to Pharrell's "Happy" and think about FSO. It could be our anthem. HAPPY IS OUR ENTIRE COMPANY.  As you'll hear in today's program, the only difference between a good day and a bad day is your attitude.

You see, the secret of happiness is like the secret of dieting: There is no secret.

We all want to be happy, says David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk and today's Ted Tuesday speaker with over FIVE MILLION views on Ted and YouTube (just in case you are wondering who ever heard of him or whether it's worth your few minutes to tune in).

Everyone wants to be happy. But not all happy people are grateful (they want more of something, or want something else); but all grateful people (even though many live with misfortune) are happy.

So: it’s not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.

Every moment is a gift, and ‘opportunity’ is the gift within every gift.

The master key to happiness? Moment by moment we have this gift.

In some moments we’re not happy – because of someone’s suffering, loss of a friend, etc.

But the key here is that we’re learning something in every moment: patience, for example. And then in the next moment we get another opportunity.

How should we respond to all these opportunities? Same as you were taught as a child about crossing the street: STOP, LOOK, GO.

STOP when you turn on the water-faucet: millions don’t have access to drinkable water. Or ditto when you turn on the power switch. (David’s put little ‘gratefulness stickers’ on the tap and light-switch at his place, after a trip to Africa where these good things weren’t available.)

LOOK – open your eyes, and your hearts (use the opportunity to make others happy).

GO – Do something!

Grateful people are not fearful, and therefore not violent. Grateful people are joyful people.

Grateful people are FSO people and I am honored to be in your company.

May love, health, joy and laughter continue throughout your  life.

Now discover why happiness, as David suggests, is born from gratitude. 

Get ready for an inspiring lesson in slowing down, looking where you're going, and above all, being grateful.




Thanks to John Mark Ministries and Ted for making it possible to share this with you, and to you for watching. 

Let’s FOCUS on today, so we can build tomorrow.

Have a GREAT day as I look forward to seeing all of you soon.









Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer


Learn more about what DIFFERENTIATES FSO here

Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE


Tuesday, July 12, 2016

TED Tuesday— Nancy Etcoff: Happiness and its surprises

"We are wired to pursue happiness, not only to enjoy it, but to want more and more of it."









Good Morning Folks,

At FSO we are constantly learning new things and inspired to want to be better at everything we do. That's why every Tuesday I present some of the best and most popular TED talks on the planet.

Today, cognitive researcher Nancy Etcoff looks at happiness — the ways we try to achieve and increase it, the way it's untethered to our real circumstances, and its surprising effect on our bodies. This Harvard psychologist argues that we ogle such features because they radiate the health and fertility our species needs to survive. Have a look:


In her book Survival of the Prettiest, Nancy Etcoff refutes the social origins of beauty, in favor of far more prosaic and evolutionary explanations. Looking for a partner with clear skin? You're actually checking for parasites. And let's just say there's a reason high heels are always in fashion.

Her recent research into the question of happiness exposes results that not only are surprising but reinforce things we should've known all along: like the fact that having flowers in the house really does make us happier. As the instructor of "The Science of Happiness" at Harvard Medical School and the director of the Program in Aesthetics and Well Being at Massachusetts General Hospital, Nancy Etcoff is uniquely qualified to solve the mysteries of contentment.

Have a GREAT Day! 

 Mitch

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"Begin by always expecting good things to happen.”
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Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE.  



About FSO Onsite Outsourcing
Recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of the nation's fastest growing companies for the fourth consecutive year, and lead by industry pioneer, Mitch Weiner, FSO's growth and success can be attributed to making a positive and powerful impact on their clients' bottom lines, as well as their employees' careers and lives.





Friday, February 26, 2016

Inspire ME Friday: 30 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently.

"You are not what has happened to you; you are what you choose to become in this moment."



Good Morning Folks,

Let's end our second month of 2016 Inspire ME Friday posts strong with Marc and Angel and an excerpt from their book, "1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently."  It's filled with short, concise tips on how to do just that.  

Let's go!

You will find that it is necessary to let some things go, simply for the reason that they are heavy. So let them go... LET GO of them.  Tie no weights to your ankles.

"Yesterday afternoon my twin sister called me from her hospital room.  She's been in a coma for almost a year now.  Entering the holiday season and New Year with my sister back at my side is a priceless feeling. We actually spent the entire night together, talking and laughing. She's still weak, of course, but surprisingly coherent.

That's the opening paragraph to an email I received this morning from a reader named Amber.  It caught my attention for obvious reasons.
Amber then went on to say, "But you know what the really crazy thing is?  A month before my sister's accident, we got in a ridiculous argument and didn't speak to each other for that entire month. And today, honestly, neither one of us can even remember why we were so darn mad.  We were just being stubborn and holding on to the wrong thoughts.  I'm so grateful we were able to let it go and get another chance to love each other."

Wow!  Talk about a wake-up call and a great reminder for all of us to LET IT GO.

And since the Spring is upon us, which inspires many of us to refocus our energy and attention on the right things, I think it's a perfect time right now to start letting go of the wrong things.  Wouldn't you agree?

So today, I challenge you to this: As we start a month...

1. Let go of your temper. - Never do something permanently foolish just because you are temporarily upset.

2. Let go of petty grudges. - Life is far too short to be spent nursing bitterness and registering wrongs. If there's someone in your life who deserves another chance, give it to them.  If you need to apologize, do it.  Give your story together a happy, new beginning.

3. Let go of the idea that everyone has it better than you.- If the grass looks greener on the other side...  Stop staring. Stop comparing.  Stop complaining and START watering the grass you're standing on.

4. Let go of lingering false beliefs. - Stop from time to time and ask yourself, "Is it true?"  It's funny how we can sometimes wrap our minds around things and fit them into our version of reality.  But thinking something does not make it true. Wanting something does not make it real.  So watch your thoughts. Be wise. When your identity is not rooted in the truth, it can lead to toxic and lonely places where we seek approval from the wrong things.  (Read Loving What Is.)

5. Let go of expired ideals. - Growth is painful. Change is painful.  But in the end, nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you do not belong.

6. Let go of yesterday's tragedies. - You are not what has happened to you; you are what you choose to become in this moment. Drop the needless burden, take a deep breath and start again. Ultimately, you will know you are on the right track in life when you become disinterested in looking back, and eager to take the next step.

7. Let go of your tendency to avoid problems. - You cannot change what you refuse to confront.

8. Let go of life's little annoyances. - Don't let dumb little things break your happiness. Frustration and stress come from the way you react, not the way things are. Adjust your attitude, and the frustration and stress is gone.

9. Let go of assuming other people are more "normal" than you. - The only normal people you know are the ones you don't know very well.  Period.

10. Let go acting standoffish and unapproachable. - We all need to learn to be more human. Don't avoid eye contact. Don't hide behind gadgets.  Smile often. Ask about people's stories. Listen.

11. Let go of the idea that some people are below you. - Even if you've worked really hard to get to where you are in life, there's no such thing as a self-made person.  Someone believed, encouraged, and invested in you. Be grateful and be that someone for others too. That goes around eventually comes around.  No one has ever made themselves strong in the long run by showing how small someone else is. So don't be lazy and make assumptions about people. Ask about their story. Then listen. Be humble. Be teachable. Be human. Be a good neighbor.

12. Let go of the idea that you are what you physically own. - You are an incredible human being who's entirely detached from what you have physically acquired in this world. Remember to remain humble.  Ultimately, two things define you more than anything else: Your patience when you have very little, and your attitude when you have more than enough.

13. Let go of wanting stuff you don't need. - Don't think of cost.  Think of value. And remember, it's always easier to find wealth by needing less, instead of making more and more and more.  (Read The Total Money Makeover.)

14. Let go of seeking happiness from outside yourself. - In life, you have to create your own sunshine. Happiness starts from within. So read something positive every morning and do something positive before you go back to sleep. Keep your focus on all the positive possibilities and opportunities, and you will feel great. Feel great, and you will do great things.

15. Let go of wanting to be repaid of every good deed you do. - Don't worry too much about what's in it for you.  If you're making a positive contribution to others, there's always something in it for you.  You were born with the ability to change someone's life.  Don't ever waste it. Be kind. Be present.  Be someone who makes a difference.

16. Let go of all the little white lies and charades. - How do you build credibility? It's not rocket science. Be honest. Follow through. Honor your promises. Say sorry when you screw up. Be the type of person you want to meet and spend time with. Be the type of person whose actions, words and values always agree with each other.

17. Let go of any hypocrisy. - For instance, don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines.

18. Let go of putting everyone else's needs in front of your own. - Give as much as you can every day, but don't allow yourself to be used.  Listen to others closely, but don't lose your own voice.

19. Let go of fearing what your intuition is telling you to do. - Fear kills more dreams than failure ever will. So don't let fear shut you down; let it wake you up. Do one thing every day that scares you. The more that you act on your intuition fearlessly, the more your intuition will serve you. If you genuinely feel something, pay attention.

20. Let go of waiting for the stars to align. - Remember, you don't always need the perfect plan. Sometimes you just need to give it a try, let go, and see what happens. Just do the best you can until you know better. Once you know better, do better.

21. Let go of the need to get everything done at once. - Keep going.  True purpose has no time limit. True purpose has no deadline. Don't stress and overwhelm yourself. Just do what you can right now.

22. Let go of the "all or nothing" mentality regarding success. - Appreciate the grey area between the extremes of success and failure - the journey, the process, the path - what you're learning, how you're helping others learn too, and the growing process you allow yourself to participate in. And above all, never let success get to your head or failure get to your heart.

23. Let go of criticizing yourself. - Nobody is inspired by your misery or self-deprecating comments.  If you wish to inspire yourself and others, be joyful. Have fun. Love yourself. Forgive yourself. Accept yourself.  Be unapologetically YOU.

24. Let go of those who say you aren't attractive enough. - More women worldwide are suffering from anorexia and bulimia than are fighting breast cancer. There are similar statistics for men too. Love yourself the way you are, because you are beautiful just the way you are.

25. Let go of changing just to impress people. - Change because it makes you a better person and leads you to a brighter future. Change because you know it's the right thing to do for YOU.

26. Let go of needing everyone to like you. - Everyone doesn't need to like you, and some people won't no matter what you do. Try not to take the things these people say about you personally.  What they think and say is a reflection of them, not you.

27. Let go of all negative influences.  Period. - You can't expect to feel good if you surround yourself with negativity.  Be with those who bring out the best in you, not the stress in you.

28. Let go of thinking that giving up the wrong things (and relationships) means failure. -Giving up and moving on are two very different things.

29. Let go of the idea that it's too late to start over and get it right. - Remember, it's always better to be at the bottom of the ladder you want to climb than the top of the one you don't.

30. Let go of putting things off for one more day. - Stop procrastinating.  Stop wishing for it and start working for it. Do what you have to do today so you can do what you truly want to do, and be where you truly want to be, tomorrow.

Afterthoughts
Sometimes the hardest part isn't letting go, but rather learning to start over in certain areas of your life. This is a challenge all of us face.  If you're struggling with any of the points above, there is a clear path to the new beginning you seek. Your present habits are simply broken and need to be mended. When you trust a broken set of habits every day, it's only a matter of time before you feel broken too.

It doesn't have to be this way though. You can make adjustments starting today that will instantly help you feel better, think more clearly, and live more effectively.

Have a Happy, Healthy, Safe and Refreshing Weekend,
Love Life!


Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer  



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"The greatest source of happiness is the ability to be grateful at all times." ~~Zig Ziglar
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About the Author:
Welcome to the fastest growing onsite outsourcing company in the nation! Led by Mitch Weiner, co-founder and industry pioneer, FSO is "the" award winning enterprise-wide outsourcing and people solutions firm servicing a multitude of clients across North America.

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