Category: Improving Yourself

While reading Deepak Chopra’s book Creating Affluence: The A-Z Steps to a Richer Life, I thought it would be fun to write a series of blog posts using the same type of approach. Each week I’ll share the A-Z inspirations for bringing your spirituality to work. When I thought of what “A” would be many possibilities came to mind – authenticity, alignment and abundance were some great examples that I could use. However, I decided to go with aliveness.
A friend gave me a great card titled “How To Really Be Alive.” When I started reflecting on what being alive at work really means or looks like, it reminds me of the essence of what spirituality in the workplace is really all about: to be fully alive by bringing your whole self to work.
Here are some thoughts as to what an acronym for the word alive could be along with some lively descriptors in quotes from the card.

A = Accomplishment. For many of us feeling alive is related to the notion of accomplishment. Whether it is internal or external, the sense of working hard toward a meaningful goal and eventually accomplishing it is what helps us to “live juicy.”

L = Love. Love for someone or love of something usually brings us more meaning and helps us feel more alive. Yet how can we show our love for others at work? I showed in a training the other day a behind-the-scenes video of the world famous Pike’s Place Fish Market in Seattle. The owner of the store shared how he has the best crew since the 35 years he’s been there. It struck me that he actually used the words, “I love them and they love me.”

I = Infinity. The card challenges us to “believe in everything” because “the miracle is you.” When we can tap into our never-ending reservoir of belief the possibilities are endless.

V = Vitality. How can we bring more spirit, spunk, fervor and zest into our work? According to the card, we should “spin ourselves dizzy” or “hang upside down.” This high-energy approach to work is contagious, keeping us and our coworkers engaged!

E = Ecstatic. The card even describes ideas of how to be extremely happy. “Be ridiculous.” “Drink sunsets.” Or better yet, “keep toys in the bathtub!” When we are ecstatic with our work and co-workers we automatically increase our satisfaction level.

How do you come alive? If you had to pick which words brought you life at work, what would they be?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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I attended a program a few months ago by a professor sharing his latest research on virtual learning. He shared a fascinating application of technology for creating more enriched learning experiences for students. One comment he made really struck me. The project he had designed was for students to work in pairs to determine the flora and fauna of a region and howthey could be used for medicine. He showed them how to geomap the area and download information from the web to determine what would be useful for a hypothetical disease. He said the kids were so fascinated by the web and hand held device that they completely walked past the tree they were suppose to look at. Yes the kids were engaged in the task, but not looking up to see what was around them. They weren’t learning from the REAL reality all around them.

Here’s the interesting metaphor for us to ponder. How often do we get focused on the representation of things that we don’t stay open to the actual things that are presented to us. We spend time blogging, chatting, Facebooking about friends, work, romance, health, spirituality etc. How much time do we spend doing things that cultivate friends, health, relationships, spirituality? Have we focused so much on the technology that we don’t experience the REAL reality?

It got me to thinking of the difference between information vs. knowledge vs. wisdom. No doubt there’s a glut of information available at our finger tips. We no longer have to memorize a bunch of facts or instructions to do things, we simply look it up on the web. We have a vast library available to us of information, yet have we achieved knowledge about those topics? I asked the professor whether he thought the kids were learning how to gain information vs. knowledge from the exercise. He was a bit stumped. Knowledge comes from working with ideas, material, experiences etc. , getting your hands dirty so to speak, to have a deeper understanding of those ideas.

Now for wisdom. That is certainly not something that can be given to another. Wisdom is slow to develop and can require a high price tag since our greatest source of wisdom often comes from our mistakes or opportunities not well spent. Sharing wisdom is a way to connect with another more deeply. In the US we don’t have a culture or much tradition of learning wisdom from our elders, by listening intently to their stories, hearing their experiences, seeing the scars of their mistakes.

As much as the Millenial Generation may be the Digital Natives, and have information at their fingertips, they have a long way to go with gaining wisdom. My workplace has a potential for having 24% of employees retire in the next 3 years. That’s a lot of experience and knowledge walking out the door. I’m betting it’s also a lot of wisdom leaving too. What have you learned over the years of your work life about how to relate better to others at work? How to diffuse a tense confrontation? How to show your emotions effectively with your team mates?

I’ve been fortunate to have two really wonderful bosses over my career life. They’ve not only been mentors, but we had a sacred relationship. We were able to share more deeply who we were and be authentic with one another. We had a lot of trust and mutual respect and admiration. They were elders who shared their wisdom and experience and I eagerly listened to them. My work was enriched from those exchanges.

Think about how you gain or share your wisdom at work. How might this be a spiritual experience for you?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Have you figured out how to get the heart of what matters most amidst the chaos of our overstuffed lives? Lately I’ve been using this affirmation as a reminder in my pursuit of what is most important in my work and life. “I make time for what matters most.” This affirmation helps me to know that while I can’t get to everything that I want to on my daily to do list, I am intentionally carving out time for those most critical things each day. Sometimes that includes making time for being and not doing.
Stephen Covey refers to this concept as his third habit to put first things first. For Brendon Burchard, author of Life’s Golden Ticket, it’s about living each day fully by being able to say yes to these three questions. “Did I live? Did I love? Did I matter?” Val Kinjerski, PhD, shares another perspective of how important it is to fight for what really matters. Check her out as she speaks about it on YouTube.

Here’s how I determine what matters most:

• Finding IT: How to Lead with your Heart. First you have to discover what matters most to YOU by finding the deeper meaning, joy, and purpose of life.
• Living IT: How to Create and Live an Inspired Life. Next you need to decide how you’ll live. When you understand how to live the inspired life principles from the insideout, you will learn how to live your life the way you ought to be; full and richly.
• Giving IT Away: How to Make a Difference. The final aspect is to determine your legacy. How will you be inspired to leave your mark by giving away your time, talent and treasures to serve others and be part of something larger than yourself?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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It’s the Tues. after a long holiday weekend. Anyone have trouble getting motivated today? I know I sure was. I had a wonderful weekend and had to come back to an inbox full of emails and some training programs to prepare. How do you stay/get motivated when you just don’t feel like coming to work on a Mon. morning or after a holiday? Perhaps you are having trouble getting motivated on any given day you show up at work.

OK, here are a few tips. From a mundane task- focused perspective:

1. You can jump in and knock out the easy stuff that isn’t too mentally taxing just to get back in the groove of working again.
2. You can decide to look for those things that interest you of your projects coming up and start working on those.
3. You can sort through the most important things to do and choose the one that most interests you, then break it into smaller chunks and do at least one of the smaller chunks that day.

Or you can shift perspectives and look at your work through a different lens. I love the metaphor of changing lenses. We always get a chance to reframe or shift perspectives on how we are viewing or approaching our work (or any other life task or issue for that matter). The lenses we use to see the world are entirely up to us to choose.

When we remember we are here as spiritual beings having a human experience, each experience we have provides opportunities for connecting, sharing, giving, loving, forgiving, learning etc. When I start to get unmotivated, I shift lenses. I don’t look at the world through my small self, my ego interests and desires. I shift to say, OK what’s here for my Spiritual Self to experience? What am I called to do in this moment? What is a lesson I can learn or provide for someone else? How then shall I serve? What would bring joy in this moment?

As a spiritual being you can always find something worthwhile to do in every moment, even if it is pausing to breathe slowly to bring you back into peace and balance. Here are some simple things you can do to remember your higher purpose, your Spiritual Self, or ways you can serve:

1. Remember that you are a loving being at all times
2. Think of one person in your office who could use a little cheering up and send them a smile.
3. Listen for what others are saying from a place of compassion rather than judgment
4. Find on the internet a good quote, inspiring video clip, cartoon or beautiful picture to share with a co-worker.
5. Chant or repeat a meaningful phrase, hymn, or poem to help lift your spirits
6. Look for ways that your talents and ideas could provide support for someone else, even if it is a very simple thing you could do.
7. Ask someone “What’s stirring in you today?” and attentively listen. Show that you care about how a co-worker is feeling.
8. Stay open to how you might be asked to play a role to help someone shift through something they are struggling with. Listen, watch, wait with anticipation.
9. Be attentive to synchronicities around you. Put out a positive thought or question about what you are to do next and then see how it is answered.
10. Know that you are always creating your external world by your emotional state, attitudes, and beliefs you carry.

See how these ideas work next time you are feeling a bit apathetic, uninspired, or unmotivated. Please share other ideas you have tried and how they’ve worked for you.

Epilogue, today my boss came in to my office and waxed philosophical about his weekend and his in-laws who were planning to visit. I could tell he needed to talk so I listened and gave him some time to share what was on his mind. I think he walked away feeling a bit lighter for the conversation.

Be a Light for those around you. It will brighten your world as well as theirs.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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If you were asked the question, what are the most special moments from work you had this past year, would you be able to answer that question? Or does your work just sort of blur together? When we are truly present with our work we have the chance to make a moment that we’ll be able to remember and appreciate for a long time.
I call making these moments “grateful heart moments.” This concept started to form inside me when two things kept happening. The first is when multiple people, including strangers, kept telling me to cherish the moments that I have with my children as time goes so fast. The other is when I would receive many emails that tell you to cherish life as it’s short or some variation like that. So I thought, how can I really do this? How can I really stop to cherish the moments in my life I want to remember forever? That’s when I came up with the concept of “grateful heart moments.”
Here’s how it works. When I’m in the middle of experiencing a moment I want to embed in my consciousness and memory, I stop and take a deep breath to breathe in the moment. I focus on capturing all the details I can – who I’m with; where I’m at; and what I’m seeing, hearing, feeling, and smelling. Then I put my hands on my heart and give thanks for this moment. I might say (silently to myself), “Thank you for this moment. Thank you for the gift of experiencing something so beautiful that I’ll remember forever.” It literally only takes a moment to capture the moment, and the best thing is that it really works! Times when I’ve wanted to experience that moment again, I’ve been able to go back to that moment in my mind and it feels as if I am there now.

Here are two recent grateful heart moments I had at work. When I doing my first teleseminar Living IT: How to Create and Live an Inspired Life, before and after I teaching one of the sessions, I would really experience the joy of doing what I had dreamed about doing for so long using my grateful heart moment approach. The other example is when I was doing my larger work in society. I was on a walk with my three boys, a beautiful sunny day at the park. We were helping my six year old was collect caps for school and picking up garbage at the same time. He said, “We are doing good for school, for the earth for the park and for us as we are getting exercise. Reuse, renew, recycle.” I then said, “You’re right, Gavin, we are. This is like the fourth habit (I’m teaching him Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Successful People) win/win. A win for the school, a win for the earth, a win for the park and a win for us.” This teaching moment was one I will never forget.

Debbie Ford in her book, The Best Year of Your Life: Dream It, Plan It, Live It shares a similar concept called “claim this moment.” “When we are committed to claiming the moment, we look upon, create and invent our ordinary experience as something extraordinary. We become a magnet for the unique and special. The lens through which we view life shifts, and we become seekers of the divine in every moment. To see with new eyes, to become aware of the blessings we hold, to create new intimate moments each day – these constitute a spiritual quest. This is the art of making the ordinary moments of your life extraordinary.”

What are your grateful heart moments? How can you claim this moment today at work?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Email Marketing Takes a Twist in Nashville Tennessee

One surprise email fought 64 others that day for my attention – and won, hands down. The subject line: “Free Shred Day”.

I thought, “Hmmmm, “FREE” – really?” and clicked on it. Sure enough, it looked like they meant it.

WOW. No limit? Don’t remove clips? That got me excited – so much that I forwarded the email to TEN friends. One of them was storing fifteen years’ worth of very old business files. I couldn’t wait for him to open this email.

And since I help companies market themselves online and offline, I knew that these smart business managers had a viral marketing success story here. I wanted to hear more about it.

We Head to the Shred

So I packed my truck, and we headed to Civic Bank & Trust, where they set up an amazingly efficient and secure operation. Since we had so very many boxes (they said we were their biggest load yet), they directed us to the Richards & Richards secure straight truck trailer, which they unlocked – and formed a brigade to unload us, smiling the entire time.

A Marketing Success?

After they relieved us of our doc boxes, sipping on their lemonade, I offered my business card and asked Sheila Gilliland, Marketing Consultant for Civic Bank, to fill me in. How did this event get started? What were their marketing objectives? How was it going?

Sheila’s answers were a marketer’s dream. Richards & Richards, an office records management firm, is a client of Civic Bank, and they just started talking about it. The bank is always on the lookout for a great way to help the community. They are a community-based bank, and so their marketing is really all about community outreach. If the community wins, they do too.

Positive Word-of Mouth

The bank relies on positive word-of-mouth and places only one solitary paid ad in its entire marketing plan. Way to go.

This very successful shred event was a first for the bank, but not for Richards & Richards. Andy Moon, Richards’ Security Consultant, informed me that they hold free shred days at least twice a year. Their last event yielded 337 vehicles and unloaded over 53,000 pounds of documents. They saved a bunch of trees, I might add.

Richards and Richards, also a locally-owned company, smartly uses Facebook, Twitter and email blasts to attract shred day participants.

New Client Acquisition

According to Andy, the shred days yield new customers, typically anything from a small florist to a huge hospital.

Sheila reported a few days later that the event was fruitful for them, too, with at least one new client and seven inquiries – in just two days after the event – likely more now.

See the full story and details on how to get a Free Safe Box from Civic Bank in Nashville TN.

What innovative marketing campaigns have touched your community?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman: With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

My grandmother was born in an ethnic neighborhood of Chicago in 1900 and had never seen a live cow growing up. In first grade her class was given cut-out farm animals and told to trace and color them. She had a cow to draw and painted it purple because she liked the color purple. The teacher ridiculed my grandmother for coloring a cow purple and exclaimed that ‘cows aren’t purple’. The teacher ripped up the cow in front of the class and told my grandmother to start over, this time painting the cow brown or black.

Luckily for my grandmother, at age ten her best friend convinced my grandmother to take an art class with her. From there my grandmother found a deep life long passion for art. She went on to study in France and become a professional painter, and later in the 1960’s, she became a pioneer in the field of art therapy. My grandmother’s biography, written when she was in her 80’s, was called “Cows Can Be Purple”. My grandmother was able to move past the message quite clearly given to her that she should not be creative in what she drew.

Were you ever given messages of what you can’t do? Are you still carrying around those messages? Perhaps when you were young, adults you trusted or respected squashed a dream or stifled your ideas. You may know people who have had their dreams stepped on or who put a box around their ambitions because it wasn’t accepted by others. Too many times we carry those messages of what we can’t do with us for years, never examining or questioning whether they are true for us or not. What a waste of potential talent, energy, and joy.

I will write several blogs about the self-limiting beliefs we carry and how those hold us back from fully living and being true to our passions and purpose. For now I want to invite you to step into the potential that awaits you. What possibilities are there that you’ve been waiting to explore?

Here are some suggestions for looking at the world through the lens of potential and possibility. First, challenge your mental framework by asking yourself – What If?

* What if I didn’t buy into a self-limiting belief about myself –that I’m unmotivated, not smart enough, unloved etc.

* What if I stopped seeking other people’s approval or stopped worrying about disappointing others?

* What if I was infinitely supported by the Universe to follow my soul’s calling?

* What if I believed I was talented, loved, lovable, creative? How would I live if that were so?

Try these questions out for a while and see what bubbles up for you. Maybe you’ll hear that inner calling to try something that you’ve been thinking of doing for some time. Perhaps you’ll feel the nudge that’s been pushing you to step out a bit farther into the unknown. See if there are things rumbling in your soul that you feel you need to discover. Answer these questions and sit with what stirs for you.

I leave you these words from the poet Rumi:

Be melting snow, wash yourself of yourself.

A white flower grows in the quietness,

Let your tongue become that flower.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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One spiritual practice that I continue to learn about and grow into is the practice of gratitude and appreciation (I’ll be writing a lot about this topic). When we are in a state of appreciation we are transmitting some of the highest and most spiritual energy vibrations as possible. As appreciation elevates our own energy levels, our energy levels with others elevates as well. We then attract more of the kind of energy we are putting out there. Like Louise Hay says “the more grateful you are the more you have to be grateful for.”

One author who has taught me a lot about appreciation is Mike Robbins. He wrote a book Focus on the Good Stuff. In his recent blog post and audio message he shares with us wonderful insights on appreciating the simple things. You’ll want to check his blog out.

One of the insights he shared was to be easily impressed. This happened to me this morning as I went with two of my sons to the grocery store. I was easily impressed with my experience. I shop at a large grocery store in Minnesota called Cub Foods. It’s a do-it-yourself approach when it comes to bagging your groceries and bringing them out to your car. Yet today I had multiple workers who had the spirit of appreciation in their mindset at work to help me out. One of the workers helped me bag my groceries and I even had two gentlemen fight over who was going to help me take my other cart (yes, I needed two carts since my boys took up most of the first one) to the car. He also helped me put my groceries in my already full car. I’ve only had this happen to me one other time at this store in the ten years I’ve been shopping here. The other time it happened was within the past couple of months. I believe what’s happened is that I’ve recently been easily impressed with Cub and raised my energy level to a state of appreciation when I shop there. Thus, I’m then attracting those to help me as my spirit of appreciation flows out to others.

How can you grow your spirit of appreciation in the work that you do? What simple things do you appreciate? How will you be easily impressed?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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I’ve been a coach for several years now, working with clients who want to focus on either professional or personal goals. One approach to coaching is to help people see the gap of where they are vs. where they want to be. The role of the coach is to help people take steps to close the gap and achieve their goals. I’ve been a bit uneasy lately about having people focus on the gaps in their life. I’ve also felt that in our ‘achivement driven, strive for success’ world, we don’t allow for the unfolding to happen as it needs to, perhaps along a different rhythm than we are used to following or in a different way than we expect.

So here are a few tips to get you started with creating and allowing – Set your Intentions then Step Back. Set your intentions on what you desire, be very clear on what you wish to bring into your life. Then ask that the Right Highest Good be done for everyone. Surrender and humility are needed here. It takes a fair bit of humility to recognize that we don’t always know what’s in the Right Highest Good for all parties involved.

Do you find either of these challenging- Setting a clear intention of what you want to create? Stepping back and seeing what unfolds next?

If you have experiences with Setting Intentions then Stepping Back, please share them here.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Spring is a busy time for people- planting, finishing school papers and exams, playing outdoors. As the sun gets longer in the sky we find more energy to do many things. Do you equally find time to reflect on who you are being?

The Ying-Yang symbol represents balance between female and male energy, receptivity and action, being and doing. Are you enjoying the Being-ness of your life as much as the Doing-ness?

Lao Tzu, a Taoist philosopher, wrote of patience for things to emerge in the right time. While we Westerners are so busy making things happen, we often forget that we can sit and wait and watch as life unfolds. Spring time allows us to turn the earth for things to be planted and grow. Are you also allowing for things to emerge?

I’ve learned over time that my life is more enriched when I allow things to emerge and unfold rather than try to force or grasp. Work and home, growing and resting are both halves that allow for a meaningful life.

Resting, waiting, or simply being, may be a challenge for you. Our western culture teaches us to make, do, achieve. I had a fascinating discussion that brought to my awareness how American my thinking is. I was in India just after the start of this new millennium. I was both impressed and concerned by the zeal with which the Indian businesses and people were embracing our Western digital World Wide Web frenzy.

I shared my concerns with an Indian businessman and said, not realizing my American cultural arrogance, “I worry that by you adopting our (U.S.) technology frenzy that you’ll lose what’s unique and wonderful about your own (Indian) culture.” He said in the most wonderfully, composed way, “Madam, the Turks ruled India for 300 years and we remained Indian. The British controlled India for 200 years and we remained Indian. The US may be dominant for another 100 years and we will still be Indian”. I loved it. When you have a 3,000 year perspective you know about patience, allowing, emerging.

What are you tending to, planting in this time of spring? What are you allowing to emerge, unfold and sprout? How do you replenish your spiritual soil by doing and being?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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