Working with Wisdom

The last time multitasking paid off for me was in 1994.

That's when I had my twins, Connor and Allyson.

Other than that, doing two, three, five, ten things at one time may seem efficient, but it is rarely effective. A Wall Street Journal article reports that our brains are just not wired to do extreme multitasking. We process more information in one day than our ancestors did in an entire year. Information overload leads to multitasking and burnout. There's got to be a better way.

In Divine Wisdom at Work, Principle 5 is Stay Present: That's Where the Gifts Are. So, how do you stay present and mindful throughout your busy day? I mute my cell phone during meetings, clear my desk off of other paperwork and files when working on one project and take a few moments to "catch the gifts" of a genuine compliment, job well done or beautiful sunset. What works for you?

"Mom, I'm Contagious!"

That's what my 13-year-old son proclaimed to me when he returned home from school. I immediately checked his head and, when I didn't detect a fever, I asked him what he meant. He explained that when he got on the school bus for the ride home, the bus driver was grumpy and most of the kids seemed in a bad mood. So, Connor decided to smile and he kept smiling until all the kids around him were smiling back. (He never could "infect" the bus driver since she kept her eyes on the road.)

Set an intention to spread joy today, with a big, bright smile or a genuine compliment or both. You can be contagious, too!

Are You Breaking the Law?

You may pay your taxes and stop at red lights, but that doesn't necessarily mean you haven't been breaking a few laws.

I'm speaking about universal laws. The one you're probably most familiar with is the law of gravity. There's no disputing it. What goes up must come down. That's simple enough. But, did you know there are other laws that govern your life every day with the same power and consistency as gravity?

Whether you believe in these laws or not, they are working in your life. So, why not use them to help you achieve your goals? Here are three to start with.

1. The Universe Abhors a Vacuum. When you create space, the universe will fill it with what serves your highest good. How do you use it? Commit to clean out the useless, confusing, energy-draining clutter (physical, technical and emotional) and it will be replaced with what you need.
2. Energy Attracts Like Energy. Vibrations is another word for feelings and emotions. We are all vibrational energy beings and we will attract people and circumstances that vibrate at our same level. How do you use it? Commit to vibrate at a high, positive, constructive level as often as possible by loving and nurturing yourself. Exercise and stay active, eat healthy food, laugh, dance, sing, play, spend time with positive people, limit your TV news viewing and practice random and not-so-random acts of kindness. Start a "Joy" list and schedule a few of those activities each week. Treat them with the same importance as client meetings and family obligations.
3. What You Focus on Expands. Our thoughts create our reality so positive thinking tends to create positive outcomes. How do you use it? Use affirmations to support your goals, write in a gratitude journal to remember what's going right in your world and visualize the magnificent life you are manifesting.

Share your law-abiding stories.

Are You Making Room for Your Dreams?

Last month, I spoke to many business groups about the CRAVE formula. Although each step is powerful, it seems like the Clean Out the Clutter one gets the most response from my audiences--whether its an entrepreneurial group like the National Association of Professional Organizers or executives at The Home Depot. There are many "aha's!" as I remind them that clutter distracts and confuses us, drains our energy and gets in the way of what's most important. And it goes way beyond physical clutter, to technical and emotional clutter--the what ifs, resentments, regrets, unnecessary obligations, toxic people, etc.

As I clean up my office at the end of this wek and prepare for the new week, I realize that it takes more than clearing the clutter, it's also about creating conscious space for the good to come. So, I've added a few more folders to my file cabinet, ones with labels like "Oprah Requests," "Cruise Engagements" and "Spa Clients." It feels good.

What files can you label to create the space for it to manifest: ideal clients, travel plans, professional development opportunities? Get out your label maker and claim those files. They won't be empty for long.

How do you nurture your inner life?

A recent USA Today article, More Americans' spiritual growth nurtured within, explores the trend of focusing on our inner lives "to cultivate balance and depth in an increasingly hectic, chaotic, 24/7 world."

To help us cope, we're developing spiritual practices, such as meditation, communing with nature and even crafting. How do you (or will you) nurture your inner life?

Three Ways to Enlighten Up Your New Year

1. 1. Plan for Joy. Begin to make a list of all the things that bring you joy, from the simple "reading a riveting novel" to the sublime "practicing yoga." Go deeper and remember what made you most happy as a child, like ice skating, playing Monopoly and coloring. (Did you know there are now more than 100 crayon colors?) Our family just rediscovered the joy of ping pong. We hold nightly tournaments in our garage. What a refreshing alternative to the virtual video version. One of my greatest joys is playing with my best furry friend, Honey.
   Start with 20 or 30 ideas and keep adding to that list. Whenever possible, add these activities to your daily schedule and treat them with the same respect and urgency as a client meeting or an important project. Pretty soon, all the joy planning will begin to happen spontaneously. The bottom-line benefits of more joy in your life is there's less room for stress. Joy increases creativity, leads to positive problem solving and is highly contagious. Make joy a priority for the New Year.
2. Start a Gratitude Ritual. At the end of each week, take fifteen minutes to send three hand-written, genuine, thank you notes to those you appreciate. Emails don't count. (Sending it on Friday means they are most likely to start their week on Monday with your thoughtful message.) It may be a customer or client, a colleague, coworker or employee. Consider sending a note to one of your toughest competitors. After all, aren't they the ones that keep you striving to be your best? Track down the address of a beloved teacher, childhood friend or special relative you've lost touched with. Remember to include your spouse and children and other close family members. By following this gratitude ritual, you honor others and remind yourself of how many people support and appreciate you. What better way to build authentic business relationships?
3. Set Your Intention for the New Year. Most of us will have goals or resolutions for 2008. Intentions are different. As I write in Divine Wisdom at Work, "An intention is the broad, bright light that leads the way for the more specific goals you set. It is the sacred promise made between your soul and the universe to take responsibility and assure the quality of what you will manifest." Choose one word that most resonates with you to be the theme for this coming year. It might be Joy, Peace, Harmony, Fun, Friendship, Growth, Prosperity, Simplicity, Dream, Trust, Balance, Wisdom or Innovation. My intention is Light. To me, Light signifies hope, awareness, wonder and whimsy. I intend to shine the light through my Working with Wisdom programs so that others can recognize and fulfill their true potential. And so it is. What's your intention?

Clean Out the Clutter

Did you know that studies show most people abandon their resolutions within 14 days of the New Year? I contend that we could turn many of those resolutions into reality if we take the time to clean out the clutter before the end of the year. While "Clean Out the Clutter" is the fourth principle in my book, Divine Wisdom at Work, it is almost always the first principle readers say they start with because accomplishing that gives them the clarity and energy to do anything else. It's also the first step in my most popular Working with Wisdom program, CRAVE Your Goals!

When most people hear "clutter," they think of the physical clutter on our desks, in our drawers, in our closets and right there on our floors. That's always a good place to start.

This month, however, I challenge you to go deeper than that and consider the other kinds of clutter in your life that also distract and confuse you, drain your energy and keep you from achieving what's most important. The universal law states, "The universe abhors a vacuum." By clearing out that space, you invite the universe to fill it with what serves your highest good.

Choose one or two from this list and, when you accomplish that, choose another. Before you know it, you'll be ringing in the New Year clean and clear and ready to embrace everything you desire and deserve.

• Emotional Clutter: What regrets and resentments are you willing to release? Are feelings of unworthiness getting in the way? Is it time to forgive yourself or someone else and move on? Are some of the goals on your list really someone else's goals--perhaps the wishes of a parent or spouse or even your own old goals that don't fit who you are now? No wonder you've never achieved them. If your resolution list is cluttered with "should" goals, it's time to revise or retire them.
• Technical Clutter: How many e-newsletters and daily email reminders do you subscribe to? Five, fifteen, fifty? And how many do you read? Unsubscribe to the rest and you'll already begin to feel lighter.
• Commitment Clutter: Make a list of all the business and social groups you're involved with and rank them on a scale of one to ten in terms of your satisfaction. How well does each group support your goals, whether that goal is making valuable contacts that turn into clients or enjoying the company and conversation of like-minded people. Is it worth the time, money and energy to maintain your membership? Consider dropping out of any group that scores less than a seven.
• News Clutter: The news media relies on fear and lack for its survival. Bad news sells and it can also debilitate us. While we can feel for the victims of murderers, diseases and natural disasters, is it in our best interests to watch and read all about it? Is there any benefit to us to learn the latest mess Britney Spears has gotten into? If you tend to fall asleep with the evening TV news, that's a good place to cut back. As you continue your news diet, fill that time by reading inspirational books and magazines. Seek out good news. Visit YouTube, search for "inspirational stories" and get to know a young man named Patrick Henry Hughes. See what one woman created when she decided to "Show the World What's Possible" at DarynKagan.com. Each time you find yourself confronted with news, whether it's the "if it bleeds, it leads" TV news or the gossip at the water cooler, ask yourself, "Does this serve me?" If the answer is no, just choose to walk away.

Share how you are winning the war on clutter.

Run for Your Life

I grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and was back home visiting family this past weekend. Each year, the runners in the New York City Marathon begin in Staten Island, cross over the Verrazano Bridge and head through my old neighborhood on their way to Queens, the Bronx and, finally, to Central Park in Manhattan. It's a 26.2-mile journey.

On that sunny Sunday morning, my mom, son Connor and I leisurely walked the two blocks to stand on the sidelines of 4th Avenue and cheer on the runners. First came the wheelchair participants on high-tech recumbant arm-powered bikes. Then, the elite female runners, the elite male runners and then the rest of the more than 38,000.  Yes, 38,000.

As I watched the smiling faces whizz by (they had miles to go before they would begin to hit the infamous "wall" and get their second wind), I was inspired to think how much time and energy goes into becoming a marathoner. Some, I'm sure, have run all their lives and for others, this was their first major race. What prompted them to make that commitment, to find the time to train and the courage to compete? I felt their energy, their pride, their joy. They were so alive.

We may not be destined to run marathons but we all have events and challenges in our lives that make us feel completely alive. For me, it's when I'm presenting a Working with Wisdom program and seeing those "light bulbs" go off as members of that audience smile and nod with recognition as they have their "aha!" moments. Personally, it's when I'm playing with my family at the beach or reading an enlightening book or listening to inspiring music.

When do you feel most alive?   

The Day I Robbed a Bank

Did I tell you about the day I robbed a bank?

It was a typical busy workday and I had a dozen ideas and tasks swirling in my brain. I was rushing around running some errands. In between stopping by the post office and the office supply store, I deposited a few checks at my bank's drive through. After driving a few miles away, deep in thought about all I still had to do that day, I glanced down at the passenger seat and noticed an odd object. It was a plastic cylinder. Oh, no! It was the plastic cylinder the bank uses to get checks from the car through the pneumatic tube to the tellers. I just robbed a bank! I did a quick u-turn and promptly placed the cylinder back where it belonged before anyone knew it was gone.

That got me thinking. How much have I been missing because of the brain clutter that gets in the way? What business opportunities have passed me by because I didn't take the time to follow up with a networking contact or pick up on the signs of a colleague in need of my services for her clients?

Elaine St. James, the author of Simplify Your Work Life, writes, "Maintaining a complicated life is a great way to avoid changing it."

Think about what clutters your brain--like unnecessary commitments, jam-packed schedules, regrets, resentments and that incessant "to do" list. What tasks can you eliminate or delegate to someone else or to technology? Clear out your mind so you can focus on what matters. Anything less would be a crime.

Eat, Pray, Love

Elizabeth Gilbert never considered herself a religious or even a spiritual person. But when she found herself desperately wanting more than the joyless life she was living, she was inspired to pray for help. The guidance she received—not immediately, but over time—led her to leave her old life behind and take a leap of faith to travel to Italy, India and Bali. She wrote a best-selling book about her experiences and has inspired millions to begin to find their own purpose and path. See a clip from her recent visit on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

What are you trying to figure out all by yourself about your work or your life? What is keeping you clutching to that illusion of control? Is it time to release it and ask for guidance—whether it’s to God, Spirit, the Universe or your Divine Wisdom within? Start small with a simple request and silently, patiently wait to be guided. Share your experiences here.