Are You A Strength Finder?

 

 

Strength Is The Key!

 

 

I’m including a link to an excerpt from Now, Discover Your Strengths as my food for thought today. Reading this excerpt will take about 5 minutes, but it may change your outlook and inspire you to take stock of your own strengths or those of your team. It could lead dramatic changes in the way you approach your life and your work. This book is a terrific investment of your time and resources. You’re likely to find a copy at the library or on Amazon.com

You can bring greater creativity and passion to everything you do if you’ll tune into the best that people have to offer.

Make it a great week!

– Tess

Copyright 2011, Destiny Rising, LLC

 

You Don’t Need A Crisis To Make A Change

It dawned on me a few months ago that bookshelves and Talk Shows are filled with stories of crises leading to change. A near death experiences, being adrift at sea or receiving a life threatening diagnosis often prompt someone to re-prioritize their life.

I asked my self what sort of crisis I might need to prompt real change in my life.  Then I thought… “Wait A Minute! I would prefer to stay healthy, grounded and prosperous while I recreate myself”.  I want a dramatic success, but I don’t want drama.

So, I have made some bold choices about career and living my life’s purpose.  I have left a successful career with a leading health charity to start my own venture. There was no incident or crisis that prompted this shift. In fact, I was happy in what I was doing.  Rather, it was my desire that prompted my change. My desire is to pursue consulting and publishing full-time.  I couldn’t live in both worlds. I could not focus on the consulting and publishing without short-changing my job and vice-versa.

And so,  I’m skipping the crisis and investing my energy into having dramatic results  Does it sometimes feel like a crisis to be without a net? Well of course. I am a child of parents who taught me to always have something else to go to before leaving a job, always have health insurance and put a little bit of money away each paycheck.  Therefore, to feed the security want-monster, I’ve got some projects that will serve as my bridge for the immediate future. Most of the time it’s an exhilarating experience!

You’ll have your own formula for how you’ll handle the changes you want to make in your life. We’re each unique. My method can’t be your method. What I can offer you is the following recommendation as you begin to think about reordering your priorities in life:

• Review your historical approach to making chang: Do you make changes in advance of crises, during crises or following crises? Why?
• Make a list of any major or minor changes you’d like to see happen in your life in the next 11 months (year’s end is always a good timeline).
• Note whether you think that these changes will be easy to accomplish or difficult to achieve.
• Prioritize your desired change.
• Select one change topic and begin the journey.

Bon Voyage!

– Tess

Copyright 2011, Destiny Rising, LLC

Now THAT’S Visualization!

Money, Money, Money

Here’s the link to an amazing story of the power of Visualization.

Enjoy.

http://www.parade.com/news/2011/01/16-the-112-million-dollar-woman.html

Make it a great week!

~ Tess

Copyright 2011, Destiny Rising, LLC

Begin Again 2011

Categorize Your Toolbox

January is my favorite month. This sounds strange to many people, but I’ve come to simply adore the opportunity to “Begin Again”.  January is a chance to embrace change, become a better budgeter, keep a cleaner house, make a difference in the world and celebrate the peace and quiet after 6 weeks of Holiday dining, visiting and buying.

This January is a particularly exciting month. This year, everything old is new again. Nineteen Januaries ago was the last time that I started the new year in a home office. My apartment/office was on the 3rd floor of a building on West Wilson Avenue in Chicago. At that time, I was an enrollment counselor at a Women’s College. At that time, I was preparing for the adventure of working for myself. Life comes full circle. This year, my home has become my office, and I’ve launched my own training and consulting firm.

Oh-How-The-World-Has-Changed: In January 1992, there was no Internet. Faxes arrived on thermal paper. We used calling cards to cover the expense of business calls, and pagers were just coming into vogue. Today, I don’t own a land line, I scan documents and send them electronically, I have unlimited calling, text and web access for $50.

Oh-How-Launching-A-Business-Feels-The-Same: While everything outside of me has changed, the physical response to the excitement and challenge of launching an enterprise feels strangely like it did long ago. While I may appear to the world to have my superhero cape blowing in the wind, it’s very scary! Roller coasters haven’t changed much, and neither has the range of emotion association with a new venture. Here’s the best part, however:  I’ve got a far better toolbox than I did “back in the day”.

Making a list of the tools in your box (your skills, your talents, your life experience) and a list of the resources that are truly at your fingertips (thank you Technology) to fill in your knowledge and skills gap is a great way for you to count to three before you jump.

So, let’s create a tool list for your “Begin Again” Adventure!

1. Credentials/Career Experience – List what you have

2. Experiences that will lend to your success (volunteer and life experiences)

3. Personal Strengths – What about your and your innate personality/the way your brain works moves you to the front of pack?

4. Perceived “needs” – Credentials, knowledge, classes

Once you’ve completed this list, you’ll be ready to start a plan. Feel free to send me an e-mail at tess@destinyrising.com to schedule a free consultation conversation about prioritizing steps to set your course for a successful 2011!!

Make it a great week 🙂

~ Tess

Copyright 2011

Destiny Rising, LLC

A Most Curious Day

An Open Book

Today is a most curious day. Yesterday, I said my goodbyes to friends, colleagues and job at a major health charity. Today, I am an entrepreneur, launching my company and my consulting practice.

Have you seen movies where someone boards a Greyhound bus from a major city and then disembarks at some spot out in the desert?  The camera pans out, and there is nothing to be seen for miles, except a fork in the road and some telephone poles. Generally, apart from the wind, remarkably calm and quiet. You wonder just what in the world will happen next for the character. Well, that’s me today. It’s a most curious feeling. Maybe I need to get a pair of cowboy boots, a red vest, denims and a cowboy hat and take my self to a diner today for a bit of diner wisdom and a slice of cherry pie. Doesn’t that sound lovely?

There’s a part of me that wants to jump on the phone, get right to it and make those first appointments so that the revenue stream can begin. Then, there’s the wiser part of me that is telling me to relax for just ONE day. Tomorrow and its complexities will arrive soon enough.

For today, I am giving myself the calm, the permission and the luxury of living between two worlds. Tomorrow, I will let my discipline, direction and ambition take over as I begin a most curious journey for 2011.

Copyright 2011

Destiny Rising, LLC