Curious about Being Centered or Aligned: How Important Is It? How Do You Center and/or Align Yourself?

“Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals, and values are in balance.” - Brian Tracy, American author

I don’t know about you, but I feel that if you reread and think about Brian Tracy’s quotation above, you will find how true it is for all of us. When I am centered, I feel great, accomplish more and produce better work and ideas.

Many years ago, I returned to college for a Master of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art. I worked in two media – clay and fiber. If you have ever worked (“thrown”) clay into pot forms on a potters’ wheel, you have discovered how centered you and that clay must be. The book, Centering: In Pottery, Poetry and the Person by M.C. Richards, saved me and still is impacting my life.

When I searched for meaningful quotations using “Center” and “Alignment” I found a few that were interesting, but didn’t address the topic as thoroughly as I wished. Here is a sampling:

• “To really be centered and to really work well and to think about the kinds of things that I need to think about, I need to spend large amounts of time alone.” - Donna Tartt, American novelist
• “I always say centered food equals centered behavior.” - Marilu Henner, American actress
• “Getting married and then having children just centered me and grounded my values. It was like a whole new world. It started happening in New York with a little play called Cruise Control, where I relaxed, and then I kept getting work in Hollywood till this series happened.” - Patricia Richardson, American actress
• “A mind at peace, a mind centered and not focused on harming others, is stronger than any physical force in the universe.” - Wayne Dyer, American psychologist
• “You believe happiness to be derived from the place in which once you have been happy, but in truth it is centered in ourselves.” - Franz Schubert, Austrian composer
• “True freedom is where an individual's thoughts and actions are in alignment with that which is true, correct, and of honor - no matter the personal price.” - Bryant H. McGill, American poet
• “To attain inner peace you must actually give your life, not just your possessions. When you at last give your life - bringing into alignment your beliefs and the way you live then, and only then, can you begin to find inner peace.” - Peace Pilgrim, American activist

Are you centered and in alignment – physically and emotionally? I would love to hear how this is or isn’t working for you.

Curious about Being Professional: No Matter What Your Career Entails, Are You Are a Professional?

Definition of Professional: (1) Of or pertaining to a profession, or calling; conforming to the rules or standards of a profession; following a profession; as, professional knowledge; professional conduct. (2) Engaged in by professionals; as, a professional race; -- opposed to amateur. (3) A person who prosecutes anything professionally, or for a livelihood, and not in the character of an amateur; a professional worker.

“I began wearing hats as a young lawyer because it helped me to establish my professional identity. Before that, whenever I was at a meeting, someone would ask me to get coffee.” - Bella Abzug, American lawyer

“A professional is someone who can do his best work when he doesn't feel like it.” - Alistair Cooke, American journalist

I chose this week’s theme, “Professional,” because in the past few weeks I have observed both extremes. A good number of people look and act professional, but then there are those who have a cloud of un-professionalism engulfing them.

We may feel that what a person wears, how he or she speaks and also carries him or herself indicates their level of professionalism. One of the words my newest business venture makes use of to establish a high level is “posture.” Someone who has posture doesn’t become ruffled easily. Posture carries with it a healthy dose of self confidence.

Professionals are not boastful and/or arrogant. They possess a quiet clarity and sense of purpose. My opinion is that it doesn’t matter what our vocation is. It matters how professionally we fulfill our duties and tasks.

What have the experts stated?

• "The professional must learn to be moved and touched emotionally, yet at the same time stand back objectively: I've seen a lot of damage done by tea and sympathy.” - Anthony Storr, English author
• “My professional life has been a constant record of disillusion, and many things that seem wonderful to most men are the every-day commonplaces of my business.” - Harry Houdini, Hungarian entertainer
• “I rate enthusiasm even above professional skill.” - Edward Appleton, English scientist
• “Professional reviewers read so many bad books in the course of duty that they get an unhealthy craving for arresting phrases.” - Evelyn Waugh, English author
• “Most professional players are their own biggest critics. Some of the things you read in the papers that strike you as bang out of order will already have been thought by the players themselves.” - Rio Ferdinand

Now, a few more that are quite specific:

• “By the time I was 22, I was a professional. A young and flawed professional, but not an amateur.” - Stephen Sondheim, American composer
• “I took a professional gamble leaving Hollywood, knowing I would be out of the loop. I'm not part of the movie world in-crowd right now.” - Chevy Chase, American comedian
• “I've made a wonderful living playing that theatrical character - the professional brassy dame.” - Ethel Merman, American musician
• “Professional golf is the only sport where, if you win 20% of the time, you're the best.” - Jack Nicklaus, American athlete
• “So I had to be careful. I recognized the responsibility that, whether I liked it or not, I had to accept whatever the obligation was. That was to behave in a manner, to carry myself in such a professional way, as if there ever is a reflection, it's a positive one.” - Sidney Poitier, American actor

How do you rate on the professionalism scale? As you know by now, I feel that the importance of being a professional in all we do and say is super important.

“The main professional responsibility of a person in business is business.” - Lee R. Raymond, American businessman

“When it comes to professionalism, it makes sense to talk about being professional in IT. Standards are vital so that IT professionals can provide systems that last.” - Tim Berners-Lee, English inventor

The two previous quotations hold particular messages for me! Let me hear from you. I love to have your reactions.

Curious about Transformation: What Causes It? And Is It Worthwhile?

Definition of Transformation: (1)The act of transforming, or the state of being transformed; change of form or condition. (2) Change of one from of material into another, as in assimilation; metabolism; metamorphosis. (3) A change in disposition, heart, character, or the like; conversion.

I chose “Transformation” for this week’s blog for several reasons.

First, the business I have been involved with since summer has experienced a stunning transformation. When I joined the group, we were aligned with a well known company that, when approached with suggestions for improvements, severed the relationship. Our business has worked to put the improvements to work and tonight will be rolling out the exciting changes.

Second, I have recently read about and also experienced “ah ha” moments that trigger transformation of the ways we think and live our lives.

Third, I feel that the movie, “The Secret,” has created a transformative effect across the country. Through the media coverage, the books and those who are proponents of and users of the Law of Attraction, many attitudes and lives have been transformed.

Notice that each of the parts of the definition above use the word, “change.” We all know how difficult it is to change. And, yet, we have heard again and again that if we don’t change we will continue to have the same results over and over. If we are happy with our results, we should continue doing what we have always done. However, most of the people I know would be thrilled with a change for the better, but are afraid to try.

Have you experienced or started to work on a transformation? It may consist of different areas of your life: physical, financial, educational, family, and emotional. The great news is that if one works on transforming one of these areas, transformation will occur in other areas, too. I have witnessed this so often at the gym. When a student of mine works on losing weight and achieving a high level of fitness, the benefits color other areas.

What do the experts have to say about transformation:

• “Personal transformation can and does have global effects. As we go, so goes the world, for the world is us. The revolution that will save the world is ultimately a personal one.” - Marianne Williamson, American author
• “First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.” - Napoleon Hill, American writer
• “Transformation in the world happens when people are healed and start investing in other people.” - Michael W. Smith, American musician
• “Transformation literally means going beyond your form.” - Wayne Dyer, American psychologist
• “In the kind of world we have today, transformation of humanity might well be our only real hope for survival.” - Stanislav Grof, Czechoslovakian psychologist
• “History is the transformation of tumultuous conquerors into silent footnotes.” - Paul Eldridge, American educator
• “If you say, I'm for equal pay, that's a reform. But if you say. I'm a feminist, that's a transformation of society.” - Gloria Steinem, American activist

I especially like American actress, Judith Light’s quotation, “The message of transformation and how we all can live from our heart, not just from our head, was a very important message for me to learn in my own life.”

Let me hear about your work on transformation and what started it.

Curious about Improvisation: How Much Does It Happen in Your Life and Different Situations?

“Leadership is an improvisational art. The game . . . keeps changing. Competition keeps changing. So leaders need to change, to keep reinventing themselves. Leaders have to be ready to adapt, to move, to forget yesterday, to forgive, and to structure new roles and new relationships for themselves, their teams, and their ever-shifting portfolio of partners.” – Tom Peters, American businessman

It was the above quotation that gave me the idea to use “improvisation” for this week’s blog. Usually, when we think of improvisation we think – or, at least I do – of comedy groups and/or musicians, especially jazz.

Peters, however, made me consider improvisation in a whole new way. Working with a leadership group, I appreciate his focus on change and adaptability. I am pleased that he points out the newness and reinvention that is part of leadership today. We no longer adhere to the old version of the leader who says, “Do it, because I say so.” Thank goodness.

Besides the area of leadership, the art of improvisation can aid our presentation skills. I have several speaker and storyteller friends who have attended improvisational workshops and have found them to be a great help in relaxing and preparing them for a plethora of presentation challenges.

The other quotations I found were as interesting as always. Here are a few:

• “Improvisation is too good to leave to chance.” - Paul Simon, American musician
• “This deep feeling for the soul of common people; their life became the main impulse for musical improvisation before I learned the basics in piano.” - Modest Mussorgsky, Russian composer
• “Improvisation is terribly haphazard.” - Leo Ornstein, American composer
• “The genius of our country is improvisation, and jazz reflects that. It's our great contribution to the arts.” - Ken Burns, American director
• “Certain kinds of speed, flow, intensity, density of attacks, density of interaction... Music that concentrates on those qualities is, I think, easier achieved by free improvisation between people sharing a common attitude, a common language.” - Evan Parker, British musician
• “To write a book about improvisation is partly a contradiction in terms. Improvisation is spontaneous. It's in the moment.” - Sally Schneider, American writer
• “I never know what it's going to look like. Wouldn't be much point in painting if I already knew the outcome. I have a subject in front of me and I start flooding colour and making marks, I don't know, it's improvisation isn't it?” - Peter Wright, British celebrity
• “Out of 30 years of Second City I was probably the third African-American with the main stage cast. I was surprised when I first heard that. I think part of the reason that improvisation has never been popular with African-Americans is that it isn't popular in the inner cities.” - Tim Meadows, American comedian

I wonder how much you improvise. In selling, even when we are using a tested system, I feel that we still need to add our own personality to the script through improvisation. How about you? Do you make use of improvisation? I would love to know how.

I agree with Indian director Satyajit Ray who said, “There's always some room for improvisation.”