The Magic of Distance

A dear friend and I were recently analyzing the reasons that some out-of-town business trips can generate great memories with work colleagues who already are, or because of the trip, become great friends.

Many of us have countless opportunities to visit with work colleagues in the office, at luncheons and after work events.  When we're at home, each of these sessions comes to a natural conclusion, with each of us returning to the demands of daily responsibilities - job, family and community.  When we are out of town, these normal daily demands are temporarily suspended.  Those great conversations can continue without detriment to other responsibilities.

We owe it to ourselves, and those we hold dear, to create some less time-bounded opportunities to let our conversations morph as they can when our daily responsibilities are distant.

Window of Opportunity

Sometimes our windows of opportunity are very narrow. This morning, I woke ready for my daily run.  Overcast skies and light drizzle greeted me.  This would have provided the perfect excuse to skip a day.  Getting out there and seizing the available moments provided a chance to experience much cooler temperatures than we've had in several months.  When windows of opportunity appear, we often gain more than we anticipate by quickly seizing them.

Picking Up Where We Last Parted

With great friends we can seamlessly pick right up where we left off, regardless of the amount of time that has passed since we were last together.  The comfort of so much affection and so many shared experiences creates a strong foundation that time and distance can't disrupt.  Seizing such opportunities nourishes our spirit.

Timeless Resources

I'm a continuous learner and I love sharing tools, resources and tidbits with others.  Through the years I've learned that just because I know and embrace something, life can get in the way of others seizing these offered opportunities.  It has been such a treat, to have a new colleague enthusiastically use resources I'd long ago provided that had been forgotten by other tenured colleagues.

When we provide ongoing opportunities, we don't always know what the ultimate impact might be.

Rainbow Waiting

Yesterday morning, I seized a short window between rain showers and was able to complete most of my planned run.  A beautiful rainbow greeted me soon after my trek began.  Though I had every excuse to skip a day of exercise, by taking advantage of the few moments that were available, the rainbow reminded me that unexpected gifts are available when we seize opportunities great and small.

Embracing our Unique Gifts

This morning provided another fabulous opportunity, not only to start the day, but to also provide some great thoughts to influence future days.  The remarkable Henry Winkler, keynoted an event benefiting Briarwood School, a terrific place to help bright young minds with learning differences achieve their potential.

He was gracious and engaging with all attendees, before and after his presentation, and immensely entertaining and memorable with his remarks.  Some of his share-worthy tidbits include:

• Don't put a period at the end of a negative thought (What a great and powerful way to banish negative, draining thoughts and replace them with positive affirmations and aspirations!)
• If you will it, it is not a dream
• Only one person needs to say "Yes"
• Each of us is a unique, irreplaceable bunch of qualities and if we don't give our gift to the world, something will be left undone
• Let your imagination have personality
• We don't always know the impact we might have (An autistic child who had not previously spoken said, "Fonz" and a year later had a vocabulary of 100 words)

Embracing and sharing our unique gifts beautifully connects everything. 

Absence to Presence

Though all of my zoo visits have been delightful, I've not made frequent trips since Julia and Gar lost interest in these family outings several years ago.  So, I'm amazed that I've been to two wonderful zoos 1400 miles apart within the past week.  And, absence of giraffes at one, was contrasted by the special opportunity to actually feed a giraffe at the other.

Since I readily seize new opportunities, I would have eagerly embraced the chance to feed a giraffe this week.  However, it wouldn't have had the same significance, had I not realized the previous week,  that not all great zoos have giraffes.

Interestingly, this made me vividly aware that sometimes absence, contrasted with presence, enhances the impact and appreciation.

Run to Something

I thoroughly enjoyed dinner this evening with a group of friends.  Each of us has been through major job changes during the past year.  Three of us are now very happy with our opportunities, another is consulting and looking for a job, and the other is quite discontent. It was easy for the rest of us to advise our dissatisfied friend not to simply run from her situation, but to wait and run to something truly exciting.

When things aren't rosy, escape often looks very attractive.  That's when we most need our well-meaning friends to remind us to consider the positives of the current job (in her case - 5 minutes from home, terrific company and great compensation) and to look beyond the frustrations of the immediate situation.  Merely running from a frustrating job, rather than running to something demonstrably better, will yield short-term satisfaction, at best. 

And when we find an opportunity that is a truly a great fit, we should run, run, run as fast as we can.

Random Encouragement

It's fabulous when we get needed encouragement from family and friends.  It's also great when we give and get encouragement from strangers and acquaintances. 

Yesterday morning, in heat that discouraged a normal cadre of walkers and runners, a stranger walker, said from across the street, that she admired me.  I turned to give her two thumbs up with a huge smile, and responded that we are both getting our exercise.

So many of us are doing the best that we can, and there are so very many opportunities to provide encouragement along the way.

Early Birds Get the First Nibbles

This week it was exciting to connect a dear friend's child with a likely job opportunity.  The job sounds perfect for my young friend, who graduated from college a week ago.  Her potential employer, who learned that day of an opening, is excited that she may be able to fast-track filling an important position.

Our friends, neighbors, family members,work colleagues (current and past), fellow volunteers and friends of friends are all potential connectors for opportunities of every sort.

In my young friend's case, she was the only new graduate who attended this business forum.  Early (or at least present) birds tend to get the worms (first bites at opportunities).

Lots or Lost

Wow!  What a difference a transposition of letters makes!  When we think of lots of opportunities we are optimistic and future thinking.  When we are lost, we are uncertain, hesitant, fearful and stuck.

What a vivid reminder that the smallest inputs make a huge difference in outcomes.  Here's to lots of possibilities and no lost opportunities!

Real People Create Our Opportunities

How many times have you left an event feeling energized and educated?  My guess and hope is many, many times.  And I sincerely hope that most of you who have attended Sterling Bank events have left with news you can use, contacts you will pursue, and a renewed emphasis on productive, self enlightened networking.  How often do you take time to acknowledge the real person who invited you or entertained you? 

When you get an event oriented invitation from Sterling Bank and many other companies, most often, a real person indicated that you might be interested in attending.  Yes, we all get automated invitations to do absolutely everything! But, we all need to acknowledge those who provide appropriate chances to meet, learn and grow.

 I will continue to invite those who might be interested to engage in discussions that I think are productive. And I hope others will continue to include me when they think I can add value or benefit.

New

New is something we:

• have not experienced
• don't know
• haven't accepted

New is something that:

• was just invented
• we haven't viewed in this way
• was repurposed
• was improved
• was changed

New is:

• exciting or intimidating
• welcomed or rejected
• better or worse

Each day as we awake, we encounter new possibilities. How we embrace each new day is our choice.  Thank goodness I love new opportunities!

Great Day!

The day started beautifully with everyone home, (one of the many benefits of Georgetown is Easter Break) cheery and interactive.  I had the chance to advance a charitable cause near and dear to me at a breakfast meeting. And, at work, I was able to creatively and successfully advance three distinct opportunities. At lunch I was able to encourage a friend who is re-entering the workforce. 

Though the day was filled with activity, I left the office energized.  I was vividly reminded that I'm at my best when I can creatively address priorities.

And the day is concluding with my loved ones near.   Start to finish, the day was filled with love, challenge and exhiliration.

Goldilocks v. Gildedlocks

In this age of abundant choices we've become like Goldilocks - we want everything just right, if not better. That's simply not always possible. And in some instances, it leads to average or detrimental results.

Courses, opportunities or projects that are too easy can bore us; if they are just right we cease to learn, stretch and grow. Courses, opportunities and projects that are a bit too difficult probably provide the right challenge.

Food and beverages seem to be categories where the Goldilocks Syndrome is justified - too little or too much can be unhealthy.

We know that too little exercise compromises our well-being; moderate increases beyond the recommended levels help us achieve improved health.

Interpersonal skills tend to be an area where a deficiency significantly negatively impacts happiness and success; and exceptional abilities make a tremendous difference in friendships, careers, contacts and contracts.

What's just right in community engagement of our time, talent and treasure? The needs are never-ending, so we can question what difference one more hour or one more dollar will make. To those served, the impact can be life-changing.

Help me not to be Goldilocks, but Gildedlocks - one who always understands and applies the effort-consequences-benefit equation.

Timing

This week has been another crazy juggling act. I'd put a notation on my calendar for an event that I'd like to attend, even though I knew the possibility was very iffy. How glad I am that I kept that visual reminder to alert me to an option that I would otherwise have missed. When, at the last minute, I decided that I could make it, I called to see if space was still available, grabbed my purse and headed to a remarkable event.

Participating was energizing in so many ways - great content, connecting with interesting colleagues, discovering two opportunities to build our business, meeting face to face someone I'd interacted with on the phone and via email, and the chance to encourage a friend who was having a very down day.

This was another vivid reminder to me of the value of keeping optional appointments tentatively available on my Outlook Calendar to capture special opportunities when schedules change.

Timing matters!

Something Better Just Around the Corner

When we don't get what we think we want, we're disappointed, frustrated and confused. It seems purely theoretical when our friends say, "when one door closes, another opens" or "something better will come along".

It often takes time to see that "no" or "not now" can be the springboard to other, better opportunities. We often quit exploring the range of options when we are presented with the possibility of something that will be "good enough".

My dear, talented friend was exploring career opportunities after a sabbatical. She networked like a super-star, shared countless job openings that were a great match for others she knew, and researched the universe of companies to discover the best job for herself.

Her best opportunities for her new career came through connections she had and created. When she reached the point with a particular company that she was the top candidate and was assured that internal timing issues and approvals just needed to be completed, she could have stopped looking. She didn't.

She continued to interview and explore possibilities. The first company's delay cost them a fabulous associate. But it yielded a far better job offer for my friend. The answer she thought she wanted would have locked her into a job that was "good enough". Because she didn't let her frustration nor the first company's assurances that a job offer was coming halt her exploration, she truly did find something better just around the corner.