Furry Teachings Greetings! Balance. I'm not a type-A person, yet I'm running much of the time. It's sort of like: at any moment I've got pies in the oven, pies being readied to go into the oven, and, dreams of pies yet to be baked. Being busy isn't the goal. I enjoy moving vital projects and partnerships along with my vitality. I depend on my vitality. I like the coinage: "positivity." Much of what I do requires positivity and positivity requires energy. As I moved into 2010, I knew I needed to do some things differently to create a more dependable reserve of energy. I came up with an experiment. Really, I decided to realize a dream, stop putting off a goal, and, do an experiment. Stephen, my assistant, was skeptical when I told him what I wanted to do. "I'm not sure a barking, four-legged friend is the plate you want to put on a table already full of plates. Do you know what you're getting into?" Yup, in fact, I had a fairly good idea about bringing a new set of insistent, puppy-driven demands into my life. What I didn't anticipate was my puppy's key role in helping me recharge everyday, in helping me step outside myself, in helping me see anew how important balance is in the whole energy field of my life. I named him Bear, and call him Buddha Bear. He's an English boxer. He will always have his tail! I consider him one of my teachers. From Bear, I understand how important the basics are in life. We get a chance to recharge everyday and it's all about the basic stuff you need, so as to take care of yourself and others. The who I bring to work is as important as the who I take home to friends and family. What I know about working together, about being fearless in letting the team flourish, about being open to new ideas, each rest on a positive foundation built throughout the day, and after work, and while we rest. As the old central European proverb goes, A good rest is half the work. Recently, in facing a health challenge, I leaned on everybody. People were, and are, great. And I also leaned on the new being I live with now, Bear. He lets you know what he needs and he offers an unconditional, joyful response in return. Balance! The who I bring to work is as important as the who I take home to friends and family. Everyday. One way to transform is to not think it through, but "do" it through; do something different; not always put yourself last in line. Do you have an easy goal you've been putting off? Go for it. Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain.  ~Carl G. Jung Anyway, I fulfilled a long-term goal of having a puppy, and, end up learning something about balance in my life. . . .and how to support bringing my positivity to work--everyday. (If you send me a small jpg of your own dog(s) and pets, Stephen told me he'd make a web page dedicated to the great four-legged beings in the background of all our positivity! I'd sure like to see what your friends look like. Then, in my next newsletter, I'll share the photo album with you all.) Let me know what you think. As always, feel free to pass along, opt in or opt out of my newsletter. Have great days, Leslie Ins & Outs of Motivation and much more... Leslie Yerkes has been teaching courses in the executive education program at The Weatherhead School of Management's Dively Center for many years. Her classes represent the intensive version of public speaking about the same subjects. Several years ago she began teaching two section: Managing For Motivation, and, Managing the Generations. Leslie fits her experiential learning approach to two broad frameworks about motivation. One is to bring in her long-standing understanding about the whole person at work, the second is to differentiate what some of the generational differences are with respect to leading and motivating today's diverse, inter-generational workforce. Leslie Yerkes Leslie is co-author of  the best selling 301 Ways to Have Fun at Work (Berrett-Koehler) and is the author of Fun Works: Creating Places Where People Love to Work (Berrett-Koehler); Beans: Four Principles for Running a Business in Good Times or Bad (Jossey-Bass) ; They Just Don't Get It: Changing Resistance Into Understanding (Berrett-Koehler); and in 2008, Beyond Kicks Carrots: Motivation for the 21st Century (Norma Sustenere Publishers.)  Fun Works, published in a revised edition in 2007, is considered a cornerstone of the research and work in the field of the positive, high performance workplace. As always, these subjects and much more are used as topics for her keynote speaking. For more info: funworks@catalystconsulting.net - 216.791-7802 Quick Links Catalyst Consulting Group, Inc.  |  Amazon author page