Upcoming Workshop

Thursday, September 25th - 8:30am to 11:00am

Emotional Intelligence:
People Skills for the Business World…How can you stand out?!

Enterprise Center, 121 Loring Ave, Salem MA 01970

Emotional Intelligence (EI) describes an ability, capacity, or skill to perceive, assess, and manage the emotions of one’s self, of others, and of groups. Self-awareness, self-management social awareness and relationship management are vital business skills. This workshop explores the five components of Emotional Intelligence (EI), and how this framework can be used by the business owner/entrepreneur to build more successful relationships with people on every level- from clients to employees.

Participants will leave with tips, tools and strategies to expand their EI both professionally and personally! Speaker: Carrie Stack, Say Yes Institute.
FREE.
Register for this workshop!

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“When you fight something, you’re tied to it forever.
As long as you’re fighting it, you’re giving it power.”

Anthony de Mello

What are you waging war against?
What struggle, issue, battle or injustice are you dragging around with you…
day after day…
month after month…
and, for some,
decade after decade?

Some are very busy with what went wrong…
what didn’t happen (and should have),
what could have happened (but never did),
what was said (and shouldn’t have been)
what wasn’t said (and desperately needed to be!)
what was done (as wrong as it was)
or what wasn’t (and now it’s too late)!

Some are so consumed with the battle that they believe they should have won,
that they can’t see the toll that this is wreaking on daily life.
Using tremendous amounts of energy, so many drag it all around, tattered and worn,
wondering why they are so tired in life,
and why it’s hard for them to see the positive and celebrate what they DO have.

Is this you?
In any way, are you in this?
Do you have any frustrations, injustices, struggles or frustrations that you keep close by,
to quickly access on a daily basis?
If the answer is yes, it’s time to make peace with them.
At this point, nobody is going to win.
And, every day you keep it with you, you are losing more and more…

Today, try letting go…
Making peace is often the only way
to finally make your life yours.

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“The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world.
There will most likely be no ticker-tape parades for us, no monuments created in our honor.
But that does not lessen our possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our unique talents.
Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time
to share what we had to give.
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring,
all of which have a potential to turn a life around.
It’s overwhelming to consider the continuous opportunities there are to make our love felt.”
Author: Leo Buscaglia

Reflection: The impact and the power of our lives is immense.
Take time today to reflect on how remarkable you are and spend a few moments in awe at the greatness of your life. Shamelessly acknowledge all that you give to the family and friends fortunate enough to be in your world.

And, remember…A parade does not a hero make.

“Little by little, one travels far.”

J.R.R. Tolkien

She said that she didn’t feel like she was making progress. She swore that nothing had changed, and she had been doing nothing…
not one single thing to make her life more of what she wanted.

As we were talking she started naming what had changed in the past year,
and we were both amazed at the list…

• Her job….changed. She started her own business.

• Her housing…changed. She bought a condo on her own.

• Her relationship…changed. It wasn’t what she wanted and she ended it.

She didn’t give herself credit for what HAD changed,
because she was focused on what she felt had NOT changed.

She still didn’t feel like she was focusing on health and weight loss, like she had said she wanted to.
She still didn’t feel like she had made progress financially, in savings and future planning around retirement.
She still didn’t feel like she had been able to organize her time, and her activities, in a way that made her feel successful.

By focusing on what had not changed, she didn’t give herself credit for what had….
And, little by little, she had made great strides over the past year, and she had missed it.

Today, take time to notice all that you have, instead of have not, done.
You’ll be amazed at what you’ll find…
as you celebrate, little by little,
the milestones you have reached,
the successes you have had, and
the distance you have covered!
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“While we have the gift of life,
it seems to me the only tragedy is to allow part of us to die—
whether it is our spirit,
our creativity,
or our glorious uniqueness.”
Gilda Radner

Life continuously challenges us to make choices,
and still find a sense of balance.
Sometimes it feels like managing all of the parts of life is a graceful and easy flow…
doing all parts equally,
all parts fully
all parts well.
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However, many times it may seem like there are parts of life that get no attention,
for long periods of time,
until one day it feels like there’s a hole inside,
where once energy (and life) had lived.
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Giving time and attention to only one piece of you,
at the expense of all others,
is a loss,
to every part of you.
~
Today, think about where your time and energy goes…
and, where it doesn’t.
You are the only one that can shift things…

You are the only one that can bring balance,
and life,
to all parts of you.
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“The discipline of writing something down
is the first step to making it happen.”

Lee Iacocca

Some say that they don’t have time,
others say they don’t need to,
but the bottom line is, writing a goal is a commitment.
A commitment to you, and a commitment to owning what you want.
Yet so many aren’t willing to commit to what they want….
(Some won’t even SAY it, let alone WRITE it!!)
Why is that?
Why do so many hesitate to put dreams, ambitions and direction on paper?

• Writing a goal down means you want it.
• Writing it down means you believe it can happen.
• Writing it down means you are owning your life, and the direction it is going in.

The question then becomes:
Why aren’t we all writing down our goals (in all areas of our life)?

Do you think that some just don’t want that kind of focus, clarity and intent in their world?
Or, do you think maybe some would rather be surprised about what happens next in their life?
Do you wonder about how many think it’s scary to think you really are in control (meaning, responsible!) for your life?

Some don’t want to write down their goals, and they aren’t going to.

But, you’re not one of them, are you?
You know what you want, and you’re going to get it…
and that’s why you’re looking for a pen right now.

Congratulations on taking your life where YOU want it to go…

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“Listen…
Are you breathing just a little
and calling it a life?”
Mary Oliver

This captures it all, doesn’t it?
Read it.
Read it again.

Now, answer the question…
Are you?
Think about it…
Are you??

And, if you’re breathing “just a little,”
and it’s been that way for far too long,
what are you going to do about it?

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“You cannot plough a field
by turning it over
in your mind!”

Anonymous

There is a point to planning, and thinking, and developing a direction in which you will head.
But, for many, they stay there…for too long (and some stay there forever!).

You cannot iron out all the wrinkles from the couch.
You cannot do everything in your head, or on paper.
At some point, you need to DO it, whatever “it” is.

Some things to think about:

• What goals are you currently planning to reach?
• How long have you been in this phase?
• Is it time to do something now?
• What will your first action be?

Know that you won’t have it all figured out before you start, but surprisingly, most things somehow get figured out once they are in motion…

Today, if you are ready, take a step.
Make a movement.
Do something.
(And, if that scares you, know that tomorrow you can go back to the couch, and spend more of your life thinking….)

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“Take your life in your own hands and what happens?
A terrible thing: no one to blame.”
Erica Jong

I have had two very interesting exchanges with people recently, both cases were with people that were trying to convince me (which meant that they were trying to convince themselves), that they had no control around something in their lives.
Both examples were around work and focused on explaining why they had no power (or hope) that things could, or would, be different.

On the job, who is getting the glory, and who is taking the fall?
Both can wreak havoc on a team if some people are feeling like they aren’t getting the recognition that they should, for a job well done, OR that they are taking responsibility for something that they shouldn’t be.

It can be very freeing to feel like nothing can be done in a situation,
because that means you are free to tolerate (or even accept) the current state.
You can complain, become frustrated or angry, and feel quite confident in making your case for misery or angst.
There is something happening TO you, and you are an innocent victim of such circumstances.

The greatest tragedy in this is the fact that you have handed over your ownership and your POWER.
You can’t control external variables, but you can always control how you respond.

You have the power to determine how your process, and therefore how you experience, life.
Today, use that power.
You deserve to live a life that YOU create.

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“As long as one keeps searching, the answers come.”
Joan Baez

Sometimes we can be impatient.
We want what we want…now.
We don’t want to work at it.
We don’t want to wait for it.

We want to know the answers.
We want to have the results.
We want every dream to come true…
every day.

While it is important to believe that we deserve what we desire,
the need for immediate gratification can sabotage any goal or dream…

Sometimes we don’t get what we want, even though we really wanted it.
Sometimes we get something different, that we didn’t know we even wanted.
Sometimes we get something even better…
Sometimes the answers don’t come easily.
Sometimes answers don’t seem to come at all.

That doesn’t mean give up.
It often means, keep looking…keep going…keep searching.
As long as you keep showing up for life, one day the answers you seek will be there.
It may take time, but they will come.

May these two men remind you that every step of your journey in life
(though the mist, through the haze, through the years…компютри втора употреба)
is worth taking.

Continue asking, searching and living …
and trust the answers will come.
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