Category Archives: Change

If nothing ever changed, there'd beChange.

  • A word that always signifies an ending or a beginning.
  • A word that can cause us to look backward and smile, or toss and turn at night.
  • A word that can fuel visions of hope.
  • A word that can stir fear and doubt.

When we go through seasons that cause intense pain and confusion we struggle to find purpose in the pain.

When something we have dreamed of happens we are thrilled – but often surprised that even in the midst of the most positive transitions we struggle.

Feeling helpless about division and destruction? Here's what you can do.When we are faced with circumstances that are damaging lives and organizations, we are faced with the choice to summon our courage and lead up or to wait for someone else to do it.

The articles below are filled with stories and tools that will help you understand, navigate and lead change with more grit and more grace.

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Outside the Comfort Zone: In Hot Pursuit of the Vision!

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Change is growth.

Change is growth.

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This week I realized that it has been 8 months since we agreed to turn an unwanted opportunity into an adventure.  Today as I type this the last box has just been unpacked, the pictures are hung, and we’ve taken one quick spin around the compound on the Harley – celebrating that we are finally settled!

This weekend we shopped at one of the stores that we were in, on my first day here, causing me to reflect on that day:

  • Shortly after 3 AM the anticipated call to prayer blared from a speaker.
  • Once we were up we drove on roads that have lanes painted on them, however those lanes really don’t mean anything, as drivers simply drive wherever they want, whenever they want with no driving protocol or enforcement.  
  • As a woman – driving is not a wise option for me.  (It’s not a law, but you can get arrested if you do it!)
  • I was wearing my new black “cloak of invisibility.”  (In case you wondered, it is effective – as my husband quickly discovered how difficult it was to identify his wife when everyone is wearing a cloaking device!  Since that day we have wondered how small children learn to identify their mothers in a crowd and joked that perhaps I should add a huge Harley Davidson decal to the back of my “cloak” so he can spot me in a crowd!)
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Moving forward when you don’t know, what you don’t know…

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As my husband and I prepared for our international move we went to the bank and ordered the currency he would need when he arrived there.  The banker was a young man who had grown up as an expat child in this foreign land.  The currency arrived without incident and my husband had nothing to worry about.

Two and a half months later, as I prepared to leave the U.S. to join my husband. I went to a bank in a different city to order the same currency.  When the teller asked if I wanted small or large bills, I quickly said small.  (Using my U.S. filters and thinking about how hard it can be to use big bills in the U.S. or in Europe.)

The day I went in to pick up the currency.  Every teller knew immediately who I was.  (I thought that was odd.)  A few minutes later a teller emerged with four large wrapped packages.

iStock_000008219942XSmallAs she opened them she revealed 4 “bricks” of bills.  I was in shock! 

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For the crazy ones who think they can change the world…

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~This is one of my favorite quotes…

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”  Apple

[Tweet “I am one of the crazy ones!”]

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Understanding Change: What goes down, will go up again!

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“Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”  Dorothy

We are definitely not in Kansas!  We are across the ocean in a dry and dusty land that we asked not to move to.  After months of planning and more months of being apart we have had one month in the same place.  We are convinced that we are here for a reason and determined to turn that unwanted change into an adventure!  This is an update on our expat journey:

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Throw Yourself!

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I discovered this quote this morning…

“The only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open. Do it. Throw yourself!” ― C. JoyBell C.

It beautifully emphasizes the heart of a message I shared in the Lead Change Blog last week….  

“I recently spoke with a friend that has an extraordinary gift, and an opportunity to use that gift at a much higher level.

  • If she chooses to pursue that opportunity she has to push through whispers of doubt that her mind is already generating about all that she is not.
  • She must push through her own comfort zone and perhaps the comfort zones of her friends and her family.
  • And then, she will have to risk being vulnerable to the people that will decide if her gift is what they need right now….”

Click here to read the full post!