Inner Peace & Happiness
Often asked to share information on inner peace, and acknowledged for holding a space for people to attain a quiet calm and bird’s eye view – here are some quotes for you to contemplate…
“He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe.” —Marcus Aurelius
“True happiness is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” —Helen Keller
“Life is ever giving of Itself. We must receive, utilize and extend the gift. Success and prosperity are spiritual attributes belonging to all people.” –Earnest Holmes
“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” —Paul Boese
“Happiness is ideal, it is the work of the imagination.” –Marquis de Sade
“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” —Buddha
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.” —Helen Keller
“The need for forgiveness is an illusion. There is nothing to forgive.” —Rachel England
“Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.” —James Dean
“The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.” — Alan Alda
“Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better to take things as they come along with patience and equanimity.” —Carl Jung
“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” –e.e. cummings
Wishing you a joyful, productive week!
– Connie Pappas
On Courage
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
– Mark Twain, American Author
“Come to the edge.”
“We can’t. We’re afraid.”
“Come to the edge.”
“We can’t. We will fall!”
“Come to the edge.”
And they came.
And he pushed them.
And they flew.
– Guillaume Apollinaire, 1880-1918, French Poet, Philosopher
Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle.The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.
– Ayn Rand, Russian-born American Author
And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
– Anais Nin, American Author
When things go wrong as they sometimes will;
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill;
When the funds are low, and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but have to sigh;
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but do not quit.
Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you can never tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit-
It’s when things go wrong that you must not quit.”Don’t Quit,”
– Author Unknown
Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure…than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
– Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President Of The United States
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Poet
Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
– T. S. Eliot, American-British Poet
“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”
– Seneca, Roman Philosoper, Statesman
Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., American Civil Rights Leader
I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move.
– The Bible, Matthew 17:20
It is not the critic who counts;
not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled
or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man
who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;
who strives valiantly;
who errs and comes short again and again;
who knows great enthusiasms,
the great devotions;
who spends himself in a worthy cause;
who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement,
and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while
DARING GREATLY
so that his place shall never be
with those timid souls
who know neither victory or defeat.
– Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President Of The United States
“Pay no attention to what the critics say;
no statue has ever been erected to a critic.”
– Jean Sibelius, Finnish Composer
Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.
– Henry Ford
The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed.
– Lloyd Jones
Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.
– Ambrose Redmoon
Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.– Dale Carnegie
American Author
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Poet
“The journey of a thousand miles must begin
with a single step.”
– Lao Tzu, Chinese Philosopher
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves ‘who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; its in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
– Marianne Williamson, From her book Return to Love
I found these quotes after seeing and hearing David Arquette on DWTS. He is a fine and wonderful example of a man exercising courage, moving through blocks, and allowing real transformation to occur. http://www.inspirationpeak.com/courage.html
For information on collaborating with me––to manage something (personal or professional) very well and/or anything you’d like to create, please contact me for a discussion at 203-820-6599.
Sincerely, Connie
Collaborative Approach; The Awakening
Here is a post I found about collaboration within companies; first written in French – translated into English via Google Translate. It’s entitled The Collaborative Approach. Please excuse the challenges via the translation.
Collaborative approach: when employees are more than arms
The human resource is well and truly turned to a method of consultation that awakens the involvement and participation, to ultimately appeal to accountability. The method of assembly line, where everyone is reduced to a mere performer, is over, now believe the experts.
– The Sun Library
(Quebec) companies are facing…more and more are expected to change and adapt quickly. Solutions must be found eagerly. Responses that will be discussed often within the same walls of the enterprise. In his “collective intelligence”.
The reasons why a company may have to adapt are numerous. Technologies, including updates follow each other without interruption, are certainly among those that challenge most companies. In this case, it is often difficult to simply replicate the experience of the past, the challenge is definitely a challenge for the future.
And if the answer to any adjustment was within the company itself in its collective intelligence? The method of assembly line, where everyone is reduced to a mere performer, Robot, is over, now estimate the human resources specialists. The field is indeed facing a concerted fashion. In the era of collaborative approach.
“The goal of collaborative approaches is to put people who are concerned with a problem or an issue in the same room, in real time, to resolve the issue then or that problem,” said Etienne Beaulieu , CHRP, partner and consultant in organizational development Grisvert.
Even if the solution is often within the same company, “it is probably not within a single individual,” says he.
Collaborative approaches awaken the involvement, participation, to ultimately appeal to accountability, the passion of employees and their mobilization. “Unlike usual, when one has to convene meetings, and where there is no real choice to be there, these approaches rely on a concept of invitation.”
Employees at the Front
For employees – rubbing daily with customers – are often the first to face a problem and to assess its scope. They are thus able to be able to find solutions. The employee involved in solving a problem or in adapting its business to a new reality will necessarily motivated them, and his involvement will be maximized.
“From the time a critical mass of people involved have worked to solve a problem, the level of commitment to the solutions they have devised will be much greater.” The process of change it will also greatly accelerated.
A consultation can also be beneficial in the evaluation of a productivity problem in a factory, to draft a change management, develop an action plan, a corporate vision for the future, and much more .
In order to mobilize their employees, especially when many, companies will sometimes use consultants in human resources to be supported in this type of approach.
To solve a problem with a particular sector of a company – say, the production – the company will tend to bring people to this sector alone. However, a solution that could cause stress to another sector of the company and ultimately do not bring added value to the entire company. The solution after a multidisciplinary consultation will be for its positive impact overall.
In French
Article found:
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/le-soleil/affaires/zone/zone-ressources-humaines/201110/17/01-4458020-approche-collaborative-quand-les-employes-sont-plus-que-des-bras.php
Approche collaborative: quand les employés sont plus que des bras
Le domaine des ressources humaines est bel et bien tourné vers un mode de concertation qui éveille l’implication et la participation, pour ultimement en appeler à la responsabilisation. La méthode de la ligne de montage, où chacun est réduit à l’état de simple exécutant, est révolue, estiment maintenant les spécialistes.
– Photothèque Le Soleil
(Québec) Les entreprises doivent faire face à de plus en plus de changements et sont appelées à s’adapter rapidement. Les solutions doivent être trouvées avec empressement. Des réponses qui seront examinées souvent à l’intérieur même des murs de l’entreprise. Dans son «intelligence collective».
Les raisons pour lesquelles une entreprise peut devoir s’adapter sont nombreuses. Les technologies, dont les mises à jour se suivent sans interruption, sont certainement parmi celles qui bousculent le plus les entreprises. Dans ce cas, il est souvent difficile de simplement reproduire l’expérience du passé, l’enjeu étant résolument un défi de demain.
Et si la réponse à toute adaptation se trouvait à l’intérieur même de l’entreprise, dans son intelligence collective? La méthode de la ligne de montage, où chacun est réduit à l’état de simple exécutant, de robot, est révolue, estiment maintenant les spécialistes des ressources humaines. Le domaine est bel et bien tourné vers un mode de concertation. Dans l’ère de l’approche collaborative.
«L’objectif des approches collaboratives, c’est de mettre les gens qui sont concernés par un problème ou par un enjeu dans une même salle, en temps réel, pour résoudre cet enjeu-là ou ce problème-là», explique Étienne Beaulieu, CRHA, associé et consultant en développement organisationnel chez Grisvert.
Même si la solution réside souvent à l’intérieur même de l’entreprise, «elle n’est probablement pas au sein d’un individu unique», précise-t-il.
Les approches collaboratives éveillent l’implication, la participation, pour ultimement en appeler à la responsabilisation, à la passion des employés et à leur mobilisation. «Contrairement à d’habitude, où l’on se fait convoquer à des rencontres, et où on n’a pas vraiment le choix d’y être, ces approches font appel à un concept d’invitation.»
Employés au front
Car les employés – se frottant au quotidien avec la clientèle – sont souvent les premiers à être confrontés à un problème et à pouvoir en évaluer l’ampleur. Ils sont ainsi à même de pouvoir trouver des solutions. L’employé impliqué dans la résolution d’un problème ou dans l’adaptation de son entreprise à une nouvelle réalité s’en verra nécessairement motivé, et son implication sera maximisée.
«À partir du moment où une masse critique de gens concernés ont travaillé à résoudre un problème, le niveau d’adhésion aux solutions qu’ils ont imaginées va être beaucoup plus grand.» Le processus de changement s’en verra aussi grandement accéléré.
Une concertation pouvant être bénéfique aussi dans l’évaluation d’un problème de productivité dans une usine, pour élaborer un projet de gestion de changement, élaborer un plan d’action, une vision d’entreprise pour les années à venir, et bien plus.
Dans la façon de mobiliser leurs employés, particulièrement lorsqu’ils sont nombreux, les entreprises feront parfois appel à des consultants en ressources humaines afin d’être accompagnées dans ce type de démarche.
Pour résoudre un problème concernant un secteur particulier d’une entreprise – disons, la production – l’entreprise aura tendance à réunir les gens de ce seul secteur. Une solution qui pourrait toutefois amener une contrainte à un autre secteur de l’entreprise et finalement ne pas apporter de valeur ajoutée pour l’ensemble de la compagnie. La solution issue d’une concertation multidisciplinaire aura quant à elle des retombées positives globales.
luc.fournier@lesoleil.com
On Collaboration & Creation
I have discovered that no man or woman is an island, as Merton’s book title states; whether we work on a project alone or as a team, or with one other person––whether we simply chat about something with a friend, family member, or person standing next to us in line; what we are doing, what we are accomplishing, producing, creating is in fact by way of collaboration. We, as humans do not work or flourish when operating in a vacuum – we flourish and prosper when acknowledged, able to discuss, share ideas and so on. We are interdependent beings and we learn and grow with and by way of others. And to that point; if a person such as Eckhart Tolle writes a book or Wayne Dyer writes a book, when they have – the ideas, the sharings they offer are all inspired by way of their experience, contemplation and research, yes; also, and more importantly by way of their interactions within the world and with others.
~ Here are some additional thoughts on collaboration, creation, and innovation.
In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.
– Charles Darwin
A single arrow is easily broken, but not ten in a bundle.
– Japanese proverb
It is amazing how much people get done if they do not worry about who gets the credit.
– Swahili proverb
None of us is as smart as all of us.
– Ken Blanchard
No man is wise enough by himself.
– Plautus
Interdependent people combine their own efforts with the efforts of others to achieve their greatest success.
– Stephen Covey
Collaboration equals innovation.
– Michael Dell
One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.
– Kareem Abdul-Jabbor
Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.
– Michael Jordan
Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.
– Henry Ford
Good design begins with honesty, asks tough questions, comes from collaboration and from trusting your intuition.
– Freeman Thomas
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
– Charles Darwin
Creating Something Big
FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
Creation is born out of the imagination and collaboration – Einstein proved that, Leonardo did, others did too. In various documents – each admitted to collaborating, exploring with others, and exercising and using the imagination – being in a dream-like state – that state we, capitalists often Discount. May say, ‘It is not intelligent – not proven, not real.”
And so, this quote might help us begin to understand…
“A Fact never went into partnership with a Miracle. Truth scorns the assistance of Wonders. A fact will fit every other fact in the universe, and that is how you can tell whether it is or is not a fact. A lie will not fit anything except another lie.”
- Robert Green Ingersoll
Imagination: The Essence of All Things
“The poet William Blake recognized the power of imagination as the essence of our existence, rather than something that we simply experience occasionally in our spare time. ‘Man is all imagination,’ he said, clarifying, ‘The Eternal Body of Man is the imagination, that is, God Himself.’ Philosopher and poet John Mackenzie further explained our relationship with the imagination, suggesting, ‘The distinction between what is real and what is imaginary is not one that can be finely maintained…all existing things are…imaginary.’ In both these descriptions, the concrete events of life must first be envisioned as possibilities before they can become a reality.”
– Gregg Braden, The Divine Matrix
This concept – envisioning possibilities and using the imagination to create reality happens in professional sports, business, and relationships.
The athlete envisions the play, sees it occurring, imagines it before moving into action. The business person brainstorms to create a business plan, mission statement, and more to ensure the success of her business. A person about to attend a Thanksgiving dinner celebration or any family function envisions harmony and unity amongst family members; he feels it, sees it, holds it in his heart and mind and in turn, that is what he experiences.
If this is something new for you – try envisioning just one hour of your day; for instance, envision what you will do, let’s say, in a store looking for a product, envision – or better, choose how you will feel, how you will communicate with others, what you will accomplish, and so on.
With a current home renovation – I am choosing to envision ease and grace every step of the way – benevolence, harmony with people, working with the right for me people, and as a result, that is what I find – what I imagine is what I experience, and things are going well, smoothly – better than…imagined! 
Creating this way is an exercise and a practice – just as physical training or the exercise of courage – any skill. The more we include the imagination – consciously envision an outcome, the stronger and more fluid our practice becomes.
Achieving, Accomplishing, Creating
As they relate directly and indirectly to achieving, accomplishing, and creating, this month I am sharing excerpts from The Divine Matrix; Bridging Time, Space, Miracles, and Belief by Gregg Braden.
All comments/responses to this information are welcome:
“When we understand us, our consciousness, we also understand the universe and the Separation D I S A P P E A R S.”
– Amit Goswami, physicist
“Through the reality makers of imagination, expectation, judgment, passion, and prayer, we galvanize each possibility into existence. In our beliefs about who we are, what we have and don’t have, and what should and shouldn’t be, we breathe life into our greatest joys, as well as our darkest moments.” p.1
- Gregg Braden
Viable Results
How many of us have made real concerted efforts, only to find the venture or project didn’t go the way we had wished?
Seems…whether in business or life, setting goals and/or developing new projects only works when we have first chosen a clear and overriding intention…included and connected all parts of the puzzle. Only then, when the intention is set from the core and we engage in a proven process can we create real, meaningful results––attain self-confidence and genuine fulfillment.
People often create from one position––the desire to engage in a business deal or venture, a new career, or workplace and have the income and financial rewards they hope for, yet they fail to look beyond those things, to also include personal fulfillment and peace of mind/happiness.
I have found this way of operating, initially, seems easy for high-functioning men and women––to dive in and take the bull by the horns, so to speak, only to find that that drive had pushed them into something, not right for them after all.
Getting to the core issue, first, and connecting all parts of the puzzle and engaging in a process which includes professional collaboration is the way to attain real and viable results.
– Connie Pappas
Accomplishing What We Do Want
The most important relationship each one of us has is the relationship we have with our thoughts. Thoughts and feelings carry a vibration, like all else, and in turn, that vibration attracts…
Rather than observe and choose our thoughts carefully, especially when stressed or challenged, we often allow random, weed seeds to take over and enter into the heart and mind; what the Tai Chi masters call ‘monkey mind’. In doing so, we become distracted from what we really DO want. Energy goes toward negative, fear-based ideas––things we do not want to see happen. When we worry, we are giving these ideas our attention/energy–– feeding them.
Worry has no real use; it neither prevents, nor changes a situation. Instead, focusing on the problem and entering into a dialogue about it, to identify the core issue––get to the heart of the situation will help diffuse and turn it around.
Rather than go into that dark or dramatic place, where the monkey mind lives–doing ourselves a disservice, why not cultivate, clear, positive thoughts, and grow the most beautiful, lush garden ever.
The likelihood of real change and the ability to accomplish and create what we do want depends on the ways in which we look at things, and in turn, focus our energy, feelings and thoughts.
The Art of Authentic Acknowledgment
How many times throughout the week are you acknowledged? And how often…criticized? Most say, on average…criticized a few times a week and acknowledged, maybe, once a month. It’s sad that few of us realize or remember the value of a sincere acknowledgment.
And so, with that in mind–consider this; how does an acknowledgment differ from a compliment and when do you feel inspired to offer someone acknowledgment, a bit of recognition?
At NYU, while in the coaching program, we discussed the seemingly simple art of acknowledgment. Unlike a compliment, acknowledgment validates and honors the person’s action. It is a generous offering and it inspires confidence. …deeper than a compliment and generally more meaningful to the person receiving it. An acknowledgment is usually in reference to a behavior, attitude, or personal quality.
During the time-period while attending classes at NYU, after we learned the value of the acknowledement, some of the women within the coaching program chose to practice the art of acknowledgment with their husbands. …was an interesting new way of being, and something few had practiced before. And once they did, within a few weeks, they reported that that simple, generous act of acknowledgment made a tremendous difference within the relationship. It became easier to communicate, it heightened the intimacy within their marriage, and led to much greater cooperation between them.
Acknowledgment is a generous and loving act, helping to bring out the best out in people – not only in personal relationships, additionally––in business and within the workplace too.
When you choose to acknowledge a person, make it authentic by offering an example, being specific, generous, and clear.
– Connie Pappas
Founder, Inspired Resources, LLC, NYU Certified Coach
dba Inspired. Collaborative Coaching Services
