Tag Archives: Change

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How Outside Perspectives Can Reveal YOUR Purpose

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How outside perspectives can help you clarify your purpose.

A few weeks ago I was guest hosting the Lead With Giants Tweet Chat with Dan Forbes.

When we asked the question, “What have you learned from considering another perspective?”  Lori King responded and indicated that 120 characters was not enough space to list all that she has and is learning.

Because perspectives fascinate me, I asked her if she would be willing to write more and allow me to share what she has learned about perspectives in a guest post. I’m delighted that she accepted.

It is fascinating that although I’ve spent a lot of time thinking and writing about how other perspectives increase understanding, and fuel intellectual and organizational growth, Lori’s post emphasizes how the perspective of others can help us find clarity about our purpose.

Below is her story…

Lori A. KingThree years ago, I made the decision to leave a business I started with a partner.

It started with a strong desire to take the summer off to spend time with my elementary aged children. I felt guilty for working when I was at work and I felt guilty at home when there was work to be done, which is all the time when you own a small business. The summer flew by and the next thing I knew, my kids were going back to school. I wasn’t refreshed, revitalized or ready to return to work. Instead, I dreaded going back.

You must do the thing you think you cannot do.I have an angel hanging next to my computer with this quote on it that my business partner gave me:

I had always loved it. I thought about the quote many times over the years applying it to this or that event; but, it never quite fit. As

I write this now, I know what it is I thought I couldn’t do. Leave.

And leave I did.

The process was a painfully slow awakening and one of the hardest things I have done.

While my children were in school, I had time to reflect and listen deeply to figure out what is my purpose in life. I was always too busy before to have the time to think in this manner.

  • I began meditating.
  • I read more books than ever.
  • I attended online webinars about topics I was interested.
  • I attended Twitter chats and became an ambassador to a popular chat on the world of work.

As time went by, I struggled with where I was in my life. I asked “Why?”

  • Why did I get a biology degree?
  • Why was I CEO of a translation business?
  • Why did I enjoy leadership and chats regarding the world of work?
  • Why couldn’t I let go of my social media handle that connotes translation?

I voiced these questions to a dear friend I met on Twitter. It’s interesting when you are so immersed and swirling around in your stuff you don’t see what’s right in front of you.

This was her perspective: It’s all connected.

Biology has everything to do with how the body communicates, translation is communication from one language to another and social media definitely falls into the communication field.

While I stayed home with my kids, I felt incomplete. I have always been a career-minded person. A couple clients hired me to assist them with communicating on social media. My first client said my name was perfect, “You translate my thoughts to the world.” As I kept seeing my world through the lens of my past and felt stuck, these people were not immersed in my story; and therefore, it was easy for them to be forward thinkers.

With these perspectives supporting what I think is my purpose, I show up every day communicating with purpose. I feel aligned and joyful whereas 10 years ago I was over-worked and stressed.

I got validation after listening to the first WBECS Pre-Summit webinar with Judith E. Glaser: “Healthy Cells, Healthy Cultures” in which she discussed the relevance between healthy and unhealthy cells in the body to healthy and unhealthy cultures in the world of work. I see the bridge from biology to communication, I see a bridge from language to communication and I see a bridge from where I am now to working in social media communication thanks to just looking at life through a different lens.

The connections are endless!

Please share:  Has something happened to you that you can look at from a different perspective and see the light?

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Why Persist?

8 Reasons to Keep Working for The Change You Desire

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Over the past few months I’ve had several opportunities to visit with groups of people whose lives are being impacted by policies they don’t like or agree with.

Most of them have communicated their concerns with the first level key stakeholder – hoping for a fast change. Now it’s clear that although that person cares, change can’t happen from that level.

So individually some of them have:

  • Sent one email to the decision maker.
  • Sent more than one email to the decision maker.
  • Sent one email and attended one meeting.

Collectively their over-riding belief is that the key-stakeholder can’t be trusted and change just isn’t going to happen.

So most have stopped communicating while others never bothered to communicate directly with the one person that can make change happen.

At the same time, they are still so troubled by the situation that each time the topic comes up, almost all of them continue to express lots of frustration and absorb the not so positive energy of those around them.

So why persist?

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5 Tips to limit over-correcting throughout a behavior change

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Have you ever realized you needed to change your behavior to be more effective but over-corrected?
  • …Like learning to drive, and turning the wheel to fast or hitting the brake too hard and then doing the complete opposite?
 A titled leader I know has a great gift for detail.  
  • He makes a plan, works his plan, dots i’s crosses, t’s, and always delivers before the deadline.
  • If you have a question about a project, he’s researched it, and has a file full of information that can help you.

The challenge is that he is not an attention seeker and he doesn’t fight for the spotlight.

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Learning to Leverage the Gift of Your Change Agents

Without going crazy!

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Not long ago I met with someone that was struggling because new team members were speaking up and contributing at a higher level than he was comfortable with. He had a bigger title, more experience, and a deeper understanding of the organization’s history. He trusts the detailed work that the founders of that organization did to set it up and feels like is his it responsibility to ensure that their guidelines are followed. The new team members either don’t know or don’t fully understand that history, but they have strong skills, great experience, a huge desire to serve and are unafraid to challenge the status quo.

It was good for me to hear this man’s perspective, as I am usually on the other side of that experience –Deeply believing that:

[Tweet “We were all given a brain to think and a heart to serve.”]

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Would you say yes, If…

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I published an article a month ago, about how our international move altered the path I thought I was on to my big dream. In that post I shared how much I trust in this altered path, even though it doesn’t make complete sense yet.

About the time I published that article I heard this quote, [Tweet ““Your perspective will become your prison or your passport.”~ Steven Furtick”]

Two weeks ago my husband and I took a vacation to Africa. On the plane I read Nelson Mandela’s book The Long Walk to Freedom, deeply considering how a wide variety of good and bad experiences changed his perspective, caused him to seek truth, ponder deeply, and shaped the man he would become. At several places in his story I thought of different struggles that others have faced that have taken them to their knees and challenged their perspectives and then changed their futures. In the midst of those reflections I wrote these words…

Would you say yes, if you knew:

  • That great risk would lead to a greater reward?
  • That a job loss would lead to a new career in a new industry?
  • That a heartbreaking betrayal would make you softer and stronger and wiser?
  • That learning to forgive would help you experience uncommon peace? 
  • That years of unwanted change and confusion would lead to growth? 
  • That an uncommon sacrifice would create the change you’ve dreamed of?
  • That an ending would create a better beginning?