"The Career Engineer," Randy Siegel helps clients electrify their careers and transform their lives by becoming high voltage communicators™.

Through training, coaching, speaking, and writing, he encourages people to fearlessly stand in their power by becoming the full expression of all they are.

For more information, contact: Randy@PowerHouse Communications.com

Asheville, NC
Atlanta, GA
Washington, D.C.
Phone: (828) 236-0045
Toll Free:
(888) 836-0045

 

Postcard from Asheville, N.C.

I thought things were supposed to slow down in the summer, but not this summer. This has been a particularly busy one, I have been to: Washington, D.C.; Athens, Georgia; Dallas, Texas; and Sonoma and San Francisco, California. And I have another trip scheduled for Boston later this month. Trust me, I am not complaining; I love the work.

All this traveling has given me time to think, and I've been recently reflecting on the baggage we carry and how lovely it is when we lighten our load.

Some of you may remember that my oldest brother Chip died of heart trouble several summers ago. At his funeral, I received a wonderful gift. My ex-wife attended. I had not seen Jill since our messy divorce almost ten years before. Before the service, she walked up, put her arms around me, and with tears in her eyes expressed genuine concern for my well-being. I can't explain it, but as I looked into her face, I saw my own. In that moment, all the hurt and pain from our divorce dissolved, and I found peace.

"Grieving is completed when we can remember a person peacefully, appreciating what we learned from him or her," writes Charlotte Kasl, Ph.D., in her wonderful little book If the Buddha Dated: A Handbook for Finding Love on a Spiritual Path.

Is letting go as difficult for you as it is for me? I recently bought a CD; on it is a song that I can't stop playing. Its words touch my heart:

    I am letting go.
    All I need to learn is along this road.
    I just want to be the best man that I can be.
    Breathe.
    This is my resolution.

This month, we'll explore push button power.

Push Button Power

Perhaps you've seen the Staples commercials where employees are placed in a variety of difficult office situations. To resolve those problems, all they have to do is press a handy "easy" button. Recently I began to wonder how much more productive I would be if I had a magical "big picture" button.

When I am beating myself up for sending an invoice to a client with a typo, I could tap the big picture button. Immediately, I would ask myself, "How important is this, really?" and my anxiety would dissolve. Or when I catch myself doing busy work, I could touch the big picture button. I would instantly realize that my time would be better spent taking some time off and painting. Some of my best ideas come to me when I paint.

Too often, I am so caught up in the trees that I lose view of the forest. What I need to do is rise to thirty thousand feet to regain my perspective. By tapping my imaginary big picture button, I can rise above the clouds, look down at the situation, and ask:

  • What is the big picture?
  • Am I thinking big enough?
  • If so, what is the best I can do right now to accomplish this goal?

Most of my clients have a very different perspective than mine. They are big picture people. Instead of having difficulty thinking globally, they are challenged when focusing on the details. These folks could benefit from a "detail" button.

By simply pressing this button, they would descend from the forest into the trees and ask themselves:

  • What am I really trying to accomplish here?
  • Am I using my time right now in the best possible way to accomplish this goal?
  • What one thing could I do right now that would further my goal?

How about you? Are you a detail person or a big picture person? Which button could most benefit your life and work?.

Try this experiment with me today: several times throughout the day stop and tap your respective button. Rise up to thirty thousand feet, or descend into the trees. Ask yourself, is what I am doing really moving me in the direction I want to go? Then, refocus on the big picture or the details. Perhaps you'll find that becoming more productive can be as easy as touching an imaginary button.

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Copyright Randy Siegel 2006. All rights reserved.