The Million Dollar Consultant˙ Balancing Act Newsletter
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
BALANCING ACT: BLENDING LIFE, WORK, AND RELATIONSHIPS®
A free monthly newsletter about balancing life, work, and relationships based on the books and popular workshops conducted by Alan Weiss, Ph.D. Past copies are archived on our web site: http://www.summitconsulting.com.
Copyright 2007 Alan Weiss. All rights reserved.
ISSN 1934-3116
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Balancing Act® is our registered trademark. You are encouraged to share the contents with others with appropriate attribution. Please use the ® whenever the phrase "Balancing Act" is used in connection with this newsletter or our workshops. Our subscriber count is now 7,422.
NOTE: My fifteenth, monthly video rant, The Writing on the Wall: "Neither Rain Nor Snow, Well, Maybe Rain," is now on my web site, http://www.summitconsulting.com. It features Koufax, the Wonder Dog. Visit my blog for articles, commentary, travel journals, videos, and much more: http://www.contrarianconsulting.com.
***SPECIAL EDITION***
Balancing act is in one section this month: Who Knew?
THE 100TH BALANCING ACT
WHO KNEW?
The journey of life is not a Sunday drive. It is an intricate, convoluted trek, sometimes in a rocket at blistering speeds with insects plastered to your face, and sometimes on all fours clambering through the undergrowth, with your face plastered against insects.
But, like all journeys, I find that you have to relish the long, straight stretches as well as the hairpin curves. And you must, occasionally, stop and relax, find your bearings, choose new horizons, and rejoice in the progress. Despite owning exotic cars, I could never watch auto races because they've always appeared to me as a bunch of drivers in similar vehicles constantly turning left. I'd rather watch a cheetah steal through the Savannah, or a snail methodically ground out a few inches.
Life is about moving in all directions.
In my doctoral dissertation, I set out to prove that innovative tendencies were correlated to behavioral predispositions, using Merck, Hewlett-Packard, and Marine Midland Bank (now HSBC). In the event, I proved just the opposite: Environment was everything, and all kinds of behaviors might wind up innovative or non-innovative, depending on the surroundings and support.
I've found the same phenomenon in life. If you surround yourself with positive, honest, supportive people (including the courageous friends who will tell you when you're wrong) you are apt to be successful and healthy. But if you allow yourself to be amongst those who are Luddites and cynics, you'll wind up frustrated and failing.
John F. Kennedy said in the midst of early 60's technology and society that we would put a man on the moon within the decade. Most thought it crazed, delusional, or strictly political. There were 20,000 people in government who said it wouldn't happen. So he corralled a thousand or so who believed it could and put them in NASA. Nine years later they put Neil Armstrong on the moon.
With whom are you surrounding yourself?
Something approaching 75% of my 2007 revenue emanates from services I wasn't providing or promoting five years ago. I didn't think I'd be cave diving at 60 feet of depth at 60 years of age, but it never occurred to me that I couldn't if I chose to.
Who is around you? I choose to live with dogs because they make me laugh and force me to do things I wouldn't otherwise do, such as drive for coffee at 7 in the morning to watch the town yawn and stretch. I make sure that my work is as much fun as their chasing a ball, a standard that has served me quite well. Why shouldn't I be as happy as they are?
Is your environment joyous? I can't listen to the coda of Nessun Dorma (and Pavarotti's is the canonical version) without happy tears in my eyes. I've been lost and slept in the Norwegian woods, and lounged in presidential suites where I didn't realize there were three bathrooms until the second day.
Sinatra was fond of saying, "May you live to be 150 years old, and may the last voice you hear be mine!" What are you fond of saying? Is it filled with optimistic exuberance, or resigned fatalism?
I knew I wanted to write a newsletter that would help people understand the hidden beauties of life and the subtle mastery we can exert over our destiny. I didn't know how many would read it or how often. A sufficient number of you are still here, augmented by others every day, so that I remain energized and excited.
Join me for the next 100 issues. May you live to be 200 and the last words you read be mine. I'm still listening to Sinatra. It just might happen∑.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
NOTICES:
1. Thanks for the feedback on the "new" version of Balancing Act. I repeat that future issues beginning January 2 will be available in both HTML and plain text versions. YOU WILL RECEIVE HTML AUTOMATICALLY, BUT IF YOU PREFER PLAIN TEXT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SELECT IT.
2. FYI: The feedback was 65% for HTML and 35% for plain text (about 6% of subscribers responded, a very decent sample, and also meaning that probably the rest are just fine with the new version). Of those who favored plain text, there were four reasons: accessed the newsletter on PDAs; didn't have the software to accommodate HTML; preferred the plain text as easier to read; wanted to easily print out.
3. A few people felt constrained to comment on the colors, the fonts, my brand, and my photo. That part I considered "unsolicited feedback"!
4. The Coach is now on my web site, being conducted in March, after the roaring success of The Strategist. There are two optional, charity dinners, one with me for the Animal Protection League and one with the lovely Maria for Smile Train. Very limited seating. Maria is featuring "stupid Alan stories." We are already a third filled, but some dinner seats remain.
The Coach will provide "live" coaching of a variety of personalities and needs, methodology, marketing, fees, and so on. There will not be a "diploma" in sight!
Details: http://summitconsulting.com/thecoach.html
5. The Odd Couple® returns for the first time in 18 months after our eviction (Fripp's fault). It's in the heart of San Francisco in early March. Ideal for professional speakers and aspiring speakers who want to charge for their true value. A recent study by The National Speakers Association showed that most professional speakers are WOEFULLY underpaid.
Details: http://www.patriciafripp.com/oddcouple.html
6. We just completed an extraordinary Million Dollar Consulting College in Newport. I am willing to schedule another in the early part of 2008 if a few people are interested. Similarly, I will schedule one of my favorites, The Renaissance Journey, if a few people are interested, and I will coordinate schedules. Contact me for either of the above at alan@summitconsulting.com.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
AND:
Maria, Koufax, Buddy and I wish you all the best of the Holiday Season and New Year. May you have health, love, prosperity, and good times. Here's to sliding home just ahead of the throw∑.
Go here for our Holiday Greeting: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9594910607
© 2007 Alan Weiss. All rights reserved.
We encourage sharing Balancing Act in whole or in part if
copyright and attribution are always included.