S.U.M.M.I.T. Leadership

"Nothing in life is to be feared.  It is only to be understood."  - Marie Curie It's funny how our perception of fear changes when we relate it to Halloween. During the Halloween season we often seek out fearful experiences, on purpose. We heighten our desire to see scary movies, go to haunted houses, decorate our houses eerily, tell spooky stories to our children, and experience things like scary corn mazes. It becomes a tradition for us, our friends, and our families, to make a pastime out of getting scared. We become thrill seekers and are more than willing to go along with the scares that come with celebrating the holiday.  What would normally be terrifying and unsettling actually becomes exciting and fun. We get a kind of nervous adrenaline rush, by participating in everything that accompanies this type of self-induced fear. We get a natural high when we are faced with the spine-tingling, heart pounding experience, and oddly it becomes an enjoyable experience. Often,...

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptable to change." -  Charles Darwin The world as we know it is ever changing. This has been quite the year of disruption. And because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are experiencing massive amounts of change, and changing ever so quickly. Changes to how we live and how we work. Families are forced to adjust to having to work from home, and supporting their children who are also doing their schooling from home. Businesses are changing how they do business, and trying to adjust to all of this disruption. Businesses that are lacking the flexibility to adapt, are finding themselves failing.  As individuals, in order to successfully navigate in today's ever changing and fast-paced world, we have to stay flexible and be open and willing to change. Adaptability means being able to adjust to any situation at any given time and also consider the best approach for each part...

"One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect.  Perfection simply doesn't exist. Without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist." - Stephen Hawking Why do we often pressure ourselves to perform perfectly in so many areas? We desire to be perfect fathers or mothers, sons or daughters, friends and lovers. We desire to have the perfect bodies, to say the perfect things, to create perfect offerings to others, to accomplish every undertaking with perfection.  Unfortunately society, social media, our cultures and sometimes even the people we associate with, teach us to seek perfection. So we end up expecting it from ourselves. Sometimes we feel that people will like us better if we are "perfect". Sometimes we simply don't realize what we are doing. And some of us subconsciously punish ourselves in our quest for perfection by repeatedly setting the stage for failure. The desire to be perfect burdens us as people and ironically is the pathw...

  "Life must be understood backwards. But it must be lived forwards." - Soren Kierkegaard We often hear that the past is the past. That we shouldn't live in the past. That the past does not equal the future. These, in part, may all be true statements but it is important to not forget the past.  Our past helped to shape who we are today, no matter if it was considered 'good', 'bad', or 'indifferent'. Everything about you is a result of your doing or not doing. About your thoughts, your attitudes, your beliefs, your behaviors and your actions. We've all been hurt, we've all been wronged, we've all done wrong. We all wish that we could have done some things differently. We all wish some things could have turned out differently. Though it is true you cannot go back into the past and change the things we said, or did, or the way that things turned out, but we must learn to understand our past and come to terms with the life we have lived. On...

"The best mirror is an old friend." - English proverb Lifelong friendships. Not everyone is lucky enough to have them, or enough of them. People who we literally have grown up with, and have been there with us over the years. They are there and always are whether we know it or not. The best friends are sometimes like stars…you don't always see them but you always know they're always there.  I don't always spend a lot of time on social media these days.  I go through periods of getting engrossed in it, and then periods of down time when I don't spend much time on it at all.  In fact, I haven't been on Facebook much in the past 5 years, but decided to click on to it this morning just to see what is going on. I noticed I was tagged in  a post from just three days ago. A picture from 2013 of an old friend, Paul and I, and our sons, when we happened to bump into each other at a pumpkin patch, when we were there with our kids. In the post, he wrote  "Those ...

  "When you're following your energy and doing what you want all the time, the distinction between work and play dissolves." - Shakti Gawain If we're lucky, we have work that is fulfilling and meaningful. We may all know those people who tell us they can't wait to start work each day. They just love what they do. The time just seems to fly by for them. How many times have you heard "Do what you love, and love what you do and you'll never have to work another day of your life." Not everyone might have work that seems significant. But there is a way to find significance in whatever it is we are doing. We can find ways to make our work more meaningful, no matter how humble or routine it may seem.   It's all about perspective. We have the choice to reinvent ourselves to become vital in whatever it is we are doing. To make a difference, to contribute, to add value. Small subtle changes in the way you work could make a difference on what you get out of...

  "Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there." - Will Rogers We've all got a plan, and it's a good one. We get excited when we think about it. Life will be great when 'this' happens. Everything is ready. So what do we do? We sit and wait for the perfect moment to get started. We wait for life to start happening. It is good to be poised and ready. Having goals and desires and the right attitude is definitely a step in the right direction.  Just knowing where we want to go and preparing to go there isn't enough. At some point, sooner than later, we need to get moving. To take action. To put in some effort. It's risky, I know. Things can go wrong. Things may not work out the way that we plan. But there really is no alternative. You actually have to get up and get moving if you want to get somewhere.  Yes, being on the right track means you are at least headed in the right direction to get to your destination, to achie...

  "To listen well is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well." - Chinese Proverb Listening is a very powerful tool that we don't often use enough. Our tendency is to want to speak, first. And yes, some people may actually be seeking your advice in a given situation. Heck, they may have actually come to you with a specific question. But, often they actually already know the answer, and are just seeking to confirm their thought process but are afraid of putting themselves out there, and for fear they may be wrong, or look silly. It is natural for us to want to help others. Sometimes it's not always clear what the best way to go about this is. Especially if the answers or opportunities aren't readily apparent. But the best way to go about this is to ask questions and listen patiently and caringly to others. Our desire to speak and give advice can be a bit vain in nature if you honestly think about it. Some people love to hear themselves talk, and rarely ask ...

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision, the ability to direct individual accomplishment toward the team's objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." - Andrew Carnegie Amidst the COVID 19 pandemic we have been forced to work differently. Teamwork has always been an important part of how we work, but there is some irony in the fact that teamwork is more important now than ever, with everyone working so far apart from each other. More people are working from home, or from remote locations to remain in a safe environment. "The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team." - Phil Jackson A team’s greatest strength and effectiveness lie in its team members. Thus, great teamwork is necessary for teams in order to accomplish the overall objectives and goals of an organization. Businesses thrive on great teamwork. Great teamwork motivates unity within the workplac...

"You are far too smart to be the only thing standing in your way." - Jennifer J. Freeman Do you ever get the feeling you are standing in your own way when it comes to achieving success? Do your own thoughts and beliefs about yourself and your abilities hold you back from achieving the kind of life or success you deserve?  Whether you can admit it, or if you realize it or not, most everyone does. We can be our own worst enemy. Our tendency is to continually compare ourselves to others who have attained the things we desire. We tend to manifest feelings of inferiority because we may not be where we want to be in life. These feelings are often turned into thoughts that we are not good enough to achieve these things. Very often, this leads to feelings that we don’t deserve good things. Even if we do work hard and achieve some worthwhile objectives, we believe that we are not really entitled to our successes, and we often engage in behaviors that sabotage our successes. Then there...