Randy Siegel builds the people who build organizations.
Organizations hire Randy to transform high-potential employees into a new generation of leaders. Randy gives them the leadership and communications skills they need to rise through the organization.
CEOs hire Randy to help them become more charismatic leaders, spokespeople, and ambassadors for the organizations they serve.
His work is based upon a proprietary process that facilitates self-discovery to clarify personal perspective, true purpose, and professional image.
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I've been journaling a lot recently about fear, and I uncovered yet another of my "root fears": What if there's no magic? I call it magic, but you could call it God, Spirit, the Divine, the collective unconscious, order, the spirit world, psychic phenomena, or a myriad of other labels.
If there is no magic, I fear this process of living is meaningless, and if our lives are meaningless, I feel there's no reason to exist. The mere thought of living life without magic is enough to plunge me into an existential crisis.
My crisis was diverted today when the church bulletin for my "out-of-the-box," "off-the-wall" Asheville church, Jubilee, arrived. In it, Jubilee's founder and minister Howard Hanger writes a marvelous message that addresses magic.
Howard reminds us that December is the month when we most celebrate miracles. Jews celebrate the miracle of an oil lamp that burned eight days and call this celebration "Hanukah." Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, conceived by the heavenly Father. Wiccans celebrate the miraculous return of the sun to the higher sky on Solstice, and our friends of African heritage celebrate the miracles of home, love, and community in a celebration they call "Kwanza."
"So many miracles. So little time." Howard writes. "But just maybe each of these unexplained and unexplainable phenomena holds up a wise, ancient finger and points to the stars and galaxies, to the oceans and rivers, to the jet stream and Gulf Stream, to our hearts, to our DNA, to love."
During this season of miracles, let's celebrate the magic, meaning, and loves of our lives.
Be Happy, Truly Happy
Do you ever read something and have a magical "aha moment"? Here's one of mine.
Erich Fromm in To Have or To Be? describes a modern misconception. He writes that most of us spend our lives trying to:
Have enough (money, power, things) so that we can...
Do what we want in terms of work and how we spend our time, because then we can...
Be happy.
Unfortunately, most of us get stuck at the first step: we never "have enough." As a result, we put living our lives on hold.
"Once I pay off the house, I will consider changing careers."
"When the kids are grown, I'll deal with my marriage."
"When I retire, I will take up painting, golf, or traveling."
Fromm says that in order to have a rich life you need to invert the formula. First, you need to:
Be who you are. Know your strengths, weaknesses, and your purpose. This self-awareness will lead you to...
Do what you love. When you use your unique strengths to be of service to others, you will be rewarded, and...
Be happy. You'll have what you need. That doesn't mean you will have everything you want, but it does mean you will have what you need. Dick Leider says in The Power of Purpose, "There are two ways to be rich; one is to have more, the other is to want less."
How can you invert the having, doing, and being cycle? Stop making money your primary goal. Instead, follow your passion, heart, and values. Stop measuring your success by your bank account. Measure your success by your happiness.
Happiness is a feeling that comes from inside; it cannot be bought. Sure, you can feel unhappy if you don't have enough money to meet your basic needs, but after that, money will not make you happy. To be happy, do what you love to do and do it to be of service to others.
Aha!
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Copyright Randy Siegel 2007. All rights reserved.