Posted: August 22nd, 2011 | Author: Clare Fountain | Filed under: At work | Tags: challenges, focus, inspiration | No Comments »
This fabulous Dr. Seuss poem provides food for thought regarding our approach towards challenges and the choices we make. This will save you time by helping you to keep focused on your goals, get out of any slumps and have a laugh at the same time! Are you waiting for something to come along or out there moving mountains? Enjoy……
…
Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
…
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
…
You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
…
And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.
…
It’s opener there
in the wide open air.
…
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
…
And when things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.
…
OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
…
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
…
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
…
Except when you don’ t
Because, sometimes, you won’t.
…
I’m sorry to say so
but, sadly, it’s true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.
…
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.
…
You’ll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you’ll be in a Slump.
…
And when you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.
…
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked.
A place you could sprain both you elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
…
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right…
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
…
You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…
…
…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
…
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
…
NO!
That’s not for you!
…
Somehow you’ll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
…
With banner flip-flapping,
once more you’ll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!
…
Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
…
Except when they don’t.
Because, sometimes, they won’t.
…
I’m afraid that some times
you’ll play lonely games too.
Games you can’t win
’cause you’ll play against you.
…
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you’ll be quite a lot.
…
And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.
…
But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
…
On and on you will hike
and I know you’ll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
…
You’ll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life’s
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
…
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed.)
…
KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
…
So…
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!
…
—Dr. Seuss
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Posted: January 4th, 2011 | Author: Clare Fountain | Filed under: At work | Tags: leadership, Save Time | No Comments »
A leader is a person followed by others. I once read that ‘leaders are people who take responsibility for their own actions. They see a gap between what is, either in the form of a problem or an opportunity, and they do something about it’.
Nelson Mandela is one of my role models. He saw a gap, had a vision for the future and continued to lead his people despite some challenges that would have stopped the average person.
His inauguration speech helps to understand what it takes to be a leader……
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our Light, not our Darkness that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you NOT to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that others won’t feel insecure around you.
We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just some of us, it is everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear our presence automatically liberates others”.
What would it look like in your field to shine and therefore lead others to shine? What would a ‘shining’ plumber look like? What would he value? Integrity (doing what he says he’ll do), punctuality, honestly, efficiency, best practice standard of work etc.
I encourage you to look at people you consider to be leaders and understand why people follow them. What do they value? What do they do? They might not consider themselves a leader – these are the people I find inspiring. They constantly strive for never-ending improvement across all areas of their life. They learn from their mistakes, they remove barriers and above all remain true to their own values and principles.
What values are required to be a leader in your field. Are you prepared to take responsibility for your actions and continue to strive for excellence?
Top Tip - Leaders need followers – decide which is for you and go for it!
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Posted: December 16th, 2010 | Author: Clare Fountain | Filed under: At work | No Comments »
Who’s in charge? Here is how you can manage your inbox if you use Outlook 2007. The menu items in more recent versions would be similar – this information tells you what to look for!
Manage You
- Block out a set amount of time to check and respond to emails and STICK to it – eg 10 mins every 2 hours.
- Prioritise what you need to reply to on the spot. Knock off as many instant replies as you can eg meeting availability requests etc.
- Block out time in your diary to comeback and respond to more detailed emails/issues.
- Turn off notifications/popups that show new messages – you choose when to check, not the email.
Manage the software
You can make emails received from certain people a different colour to assist you with prioritising. Visit ‘Organise’ on the ‘Tools’ menu. Select ‘using colours’/’colour messages from xxxxxx’ and choose the colour.
To put emails that you are only cc’d on into their own folder. Set up new rule, select ‘move messages from someone to a folder’/’where my name is in the cc box’/’move it to specified folder’/select specified folder (maybe create a ‘cc’ folder).
To see the first couple of lines of an email in your inbox. Select ‘Using views’/’messages with auto preview’.
Making a quick appointment. Drag an email across to the ‘Calendar’ bar and it will open up an appointment and put the email text into the meeting notes. This can help you be prepared for meetings by having all the information in one place. You can also attach emails to the meeting – Choose insert from the appointment menu/select ‘attach item’ for an email or ‘attach file’ for a document.
Set up a quick task. You can also drag an email across to the task bar and set up a task so the email text is already in there. You can set a start date/due date/reminder and track the status.
Set up a quick contact. Again drag the email across to the contacts bar and it will open a ‘contact card’ with the senders details inserted and the body of the email in the notes.
These are just a few features of using Outlook that will save you time and make the most of a software product that can support you to be organised! If you have any other tips to share please feel free to post them onto my blog at www.clarefountain.com. This article will also be posted there so you can easily share it with others!
Top Tip
Make sure you manage your email before it mangles you!!!
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