Follow the Yellow Brick Road

The other night I watched the classic movie Wizard of Oz.  Even though I have seen it so many times that I almost know the words and songs by heart, I could not stop thinking about this movie.  It was a product of the Depression made in about 1939.  I think there are almost as many lessons to be learned from it today as when it was written.

As we all know and the media loves to remind us, we are in an economic mess.  It will probably get worse before it gets better.  In order to get out of this situation, we have to remember to follow the Yellow Brick Road.  Just like Dorothy and her companions, there will be distractions because getting "home" will take different behaviors.

We need to use our brains (Scarecrow), use our hearts (Tin Man), and find our courage (Lion) to make decisions about getting "home."  It is probably a good lesson for all of us to learn to live on less and not depend on borrowed money.  We need to prioritize our needs and wants and try to overcome our fears.  But in the end, life is really all about family, friends, and relationships that remind us we are "home." 

Slumbdog Millionaire: Great Movie

One of the best movies I have seen in a long time is Slumdog Millionaire.  There are many things to like about it and some that we might not like to see such as the young boys running through slums or the use of power being used in the wrong ways.

But for me Slumdog was a movie of good over evil.  It was about trusting the people you care about taking care of them the best you can.  The main character learned through his life experiences whom he could trust and whom he could not.  It was his processing of his life experiences that gave him the wisdom for the answers.

He even gets accused of cheating because they can't believe that he knows the answers.  But he knows the answers because he has learned so much from his life and he has learned to trust himself.  It is a great movie for people of all ages.  It has my vote for an Oscar for best movie! 

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

A few weeks ago I caught the old classic movie on late night television, The Wizard of Oz.  I found that I could not stop thinking about the movie.  Most of us know the premise by heart, most of the lines, and the songs. 

Dorothy was yearning for something more--somewhere over the rainbow.  On her journey, she discovers three companions who also had needs:  Scarecrow (brains), Tin Man (heart), and the Lion (courage).  The Good Witch told Dorothy to "follow the Yellow Brick Road."  But she runs into the Wicked Witch who was there to scare all of them and to get them off of the path.  It was then that Dorothy decided she wanted to go home, but where was home and how was she going to get there?

This reminds me of our current economic situation.  For years, we lived as if money grew on trees and that we could not get enough of it.  We wanted to be somewhere over the rainbow.  But now we are living in fear and feel lost just as Dorothy was lost in the Land of Oz. 

Where is home? 

How will we get there? 

We can't go back to where we were so what do we do?

If we listen to the lessons of the movie, we need to use our brains, our compassion, and overcome our fears to lead us back home.  But home might be a different place because were can not keep living the way were were living.  We have to follow the Yellow Brick Road.

Learning from Yoga

So I decided that in addition to kick boxing, I wanted to add yoga into my life.  I have heard from many people the advantages of this type of exercise so I decided to give it a try.  Here are my initial thoughts after five classes:

• It complements other aerobic types of exercises perfectly.
• It is not easy to do (at least for me it is not).
• It is really good for the Type A personality (i.e.fast, impatient, competitive).
• Leaders at all levels would benefit.

What struck me the most was how the language used is so similar to the language used in the leadership literature about which I am reading and writing.  Phrases such as:

• make an intention
• balance
• envision yourself
• increase flexibility
• make a connection
• be open
• pause and listen
• focus
• be aware
• remember to breathe
• center yourself
• be grounded
• make it your practice

I also noticed how the classes are dominated by women.  Are women the only ones who should think about these concepts?  Explain why women seem to be more in touch with these concepts and willing to act upon them?  If I am wrong, let me know.  

In my sage-ing classes where the focus is on living with purpose and on passion,I can predict that most of the participants will be women.  Why is this? 

Is positively aging (consciously aging, sage-ing, the second half of life ...) only about and for women? 

Why aren't men more receptive to these issues?  Or are they? 

What do you think? 

Misunderstanding Dale Carnegie

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to attend a Dale Carnegie graduation ceremony as a guest.  While I have heard of Dale Carnegie for a long time, since I have not enrolled in the program I did not understand what it is all about.

My thoughts have always considered it an effective public speaking program.  My conclusion after the ceremony is that it is that and so much more.  The Dale Carnegie program emphasizes public speaking as a tool to build self-confidence in improving or establishing relationships.  It was an impressive program listening to participants share what they have gained from the twelve weeks of commitment.

As I sat there, I kept thinking that this program would benefit anyone in any industry and at any position.  But people have to be open to feedback and have a strong desire to improve. It is all about wanting to be the best leader and person one can be.

I highly recommend this program to everyone.  If you have experience with Dale Carnegie, do you agree or disagree with my comments?  Maybe I should not have concluded this after one three hour night.

Beyond Retirement: Now What?

Beyond retirement:  Now What?  While it is true that it helps to have our health and enough money to cover our needs, the next phase of life requires more if we want to live a quality life for the rest of our lives.  What does this involve? 

If we shift the paradigm from aging to sage-ing, then the tools that we need to understand so that we can make some intentional decisions about our future include:

• Exploring images of aging--What does society tell us about getting older?

• Engaging in life review--What can we learn from our life experiences?

• Healing relationships--How can we repair relationships that have not worked so well--before it is too late?

• Embracing our own mortality--How can learn to die gracefully in order to live gracefully?

• Leaving a legacy--What do we want people to remember about us?  Are we living our lives in ways that they will remember us in that way?

I have been told that these concepts of sage-ing are common sense.  Do you think so?  Do you think most people know how to implement these tools in their lives?  I am interested in what you think about this.  Thanks. 

What I Will Remember: Yoga

While yoga has been around for centuries, it is rather new to me.  I have tried it before, but I am now determined to integrate the practice into my life as much as I can.  What I will remember is that yoga reminds me that the body is made up of parts that are all interconnected.  The same is true for any organization.  When change takes place in one part, other parts are affected also.  In management, we call this "systems thinking" to remind leaders that one decision can affect many people because we are all connected in organizations.  Let the body be a reminder of the connectedness of life.

Where is Heaven?

For years, I have been asking questions about "heaven" of several pastors and others.  While there are probably no definitive answers, there is a theme that I find comforting.  One pastor even wrote a sermon on the topic as a way to answer my question.

While this was several years ago, but what I remember him saying was that he believed heaven was on earth and that it was the life we created while living.  Then last week I am reading an interview with Martin Sheen in the AARP magazine (one of my favorite magazines these days).  He is talking about how he was the seventh son of nine boys and one girl and that half of his siblings have died.  This is the conversation that followed:

Q:  So you think you'll see those people in the afterlife?

A:  Oh, I'm not concerned about that.  I'll see them in this life.  I don't think we go to heaven.  I think we become heaven, and I think that's the difference.

Q:  And what does that mean?

A:  It means that we create heaven right here, right now.  We project it.  I don't have to wait until I'm dead.

I think this is worth thinking about because it would guide how we live our lives.  What do you think?  I am interested in talking more about this. 

Forever Young

One of the best documentaries I have seen is called Young@Heart.  It is about a singing group of older people (who are sages) who sing youthful songs.  The song that struck me was by Bob Dylan called Forever Young.  This became the theme to my holiday cards this year.  Listen to this trailer:

This movie is a perfect example of the journey of becoming a sage.  They face mortality, practice forgiveness, and they know they are leaving a legacy.  Since they do not fear death, they live life to the fullest.  It seems so easy, but we can learn so much from these people who are not acting, but living!

What I Will Remember: Hard Work and Luck

Move over Mrs. Fields.  The "cookie guys" from Des Moines, Iowa are here!  This is a great story about two guys who own a Cafe called Baby Boomers.  They went from selling 200-300 cookies per week to 3,200 nationwide and the number is expected to just go higher.  

Just two years ago they went from handing out free cookiesto the homeless living under bridges to selling cookies nationwide after Obama, his staff, and his family discovered them.  Fortunately for them, Obama's Iowa campaign headquarters were located right next door.  Now they are busy baking them for inaugural parties both in Iowa and Washington, DC and all around the country.  In fact, one of the guys told me last week that their cookie has been given the official title of "inaugural cookie!"  There are plans for them to be on Oprah and The Today Show.

When I congratulated the guys on this success, they reminded me of all of the hard work that led up to this point.  This story reminds me that we just never know when we will get our big break.  So in the meantime, we have to do what we love doing and do it as well as we possibly can.  Then maybe someone will notice and more luck will come our way.

I read this quote years ago and I believe it with all of my heart:  "The harder I work, the luckier I get."  Since this has been true for me, I just keep on working. 

What I will remember is that it is easier to be lucky if you work hard.  Let me know what you think of this story.