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Quarterly Quote:
" An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break."
-- Chinese proverb
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Great Link!
This is a clip from Steve Job's Stamford commencement speech, June 2005, on which my Interesting Nugget on Connect the Dots is based: (5:08)
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Steve Jobs
Connecting the Dots
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Reviews
"Ms. Secrest is a dynamic individual with a lot of energy and enthusiasm for Lithuania and Vermont. We are thrilled she has accepted this appointment."
-Zygimantas Pavilionis, Ambassador of Lithuania to the United States
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Your Thoughts?
Engaging in dialogue
I'd love to hear your reactions and thoughts to this newsletter. To drop a note: click here:
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Greetings!
This past week was important for me as I became the Honorary Consul of Lithuania to Vermont. (Curious? See the website) Some of you may know that I am a fourth generation Lithuanian-American. I lived in Lithuania during the independence period from 1991-93, and then worked at the Lithuanian Embassy in Washington, DC. Since having children, my focus has been to share my Lithuanian heritage with my daughters. And now, I'm back playing a more official role with Lithuania. It's something that seemed to have happened very serendipitously, and yet, now that it's here, there's a part of me that says "Of course!" I just couldn't see it before. It's got me curious about being open to possibility and saying "yes" when we don't understand it fully. About allowing ourselves to follow the energy where it is, and trusting that it will make sense later on. I'm intrigued by connections and how things are interrelated and we just don't know it. How one seemingly inconsequential event, like the Lithuanian Embassy staff coming to my home while they were in the area skiing (I knew one of them from long ago), has led to a whole new door being opened. I don't yet know how this volunteer role will connect with my Watershed Coaching work. Maybe it won't, but I am trusting that this is the next step on my path, though I can't see the end. What about you? Have there been times in your life when you didn't understand why something happened only to later realize the importance of it? Please join me in this inquiry. Warmly, Kerry |
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Connect the Dots Backwards
An Interesting Nugget
"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well worn path; and that will make all the difference."
- Steve Jobs, Stanford commencement speech, June 2005
I find this thought about connecting the dots backwards to be so powerful because it gives power to trust in the unknown, listening to your inner self-- following your nose to explore and engage in things that don't seem to be "logical." It reminds me that if we follow our hearts, it will make sense in the end, because looking back we will be able to see the tapestry of our life that has been woven with all these threads of our life.
In the speech, Steve Jobs speaks of how taking a calligraphy class in college resulted in his insistence upon beautiful type fonts for the Mac computer. I can clearly see particular dots of my life- going to Camp Neringa as a child, saying yes when a college administrator gave me the information to go to the USSR for a student exchange that included a brief stop in Lithuania, and inviting an old Embassy acquaintance to my home when he called me in Vermont- they've all led me to this moment as Honorary Consul. And later I hope and expect that I'll be able to see how this Honorary Consul dot led me to other unexpected places. "Connecting the dots backwards" deepens my trust in listening to that inner voice and following my heart. |
Reflection Exercise
Moving from Theory to Action
To support you in cultivating an appreciation for following your heart, trusting that you will be able to connect the dots backwards.
1. In looking back at your whole life (if it's easier, think about the last 5-10 years), what unexpected opportunities/choices/decisions have you made that really followed your heart, and now can you see how they're connected backwards? 2. Reflecting back (many years or even the past few months) are there places where you didn't follow your gut, and you regret or wished you had probed a bit more? 3. After completing these two questions, what is your learning for yourself or the next action you'd like to take?
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Book Review
Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means for Business, Science, and Everyday Life
Albert-László Barabási
This is an unusual book review, as I haven't yet read the book! I was looking for something that would speak to us all being connected in unseen ways (kind of like Lithuania and Vermont), and found this book coming out June 24th in paperback. I have pre-ordered it for myself based on the reviews, and thought you might be interested too. Here's an excerpt of the book review:
"A cocktail party. A terrorist cell. Ancient bacteria. An international conglomerate. All are networks, and all are a part of a surprising scientific revolution. In Linked, Albert-László Barabási, the nation's foremost expert in the new science of networks, takes us on an intellectual adventure to prove that social networks, corporations, and living organisms are more similar than previously thought. Barabási shows that grasping a full understanding of network science will someday allow us to design blue-chip businesses, stop the outbreak of deadly diseases, and influence the exchange of ideas and information." Sounds interesting and really speaks to the theme of bringing seemingly unrelated events together. Let me know if you read it! |
 Kerry Secrest is a leadership coach for individuals and organizations who inspires the best in individual and organizational performance.
For more about Kerry, click here:
Please feel free to contact me with comments, questions or to find out how I can support you or your organization!
Watershed Coaching, LLC
904 Upper Dummerston Rd.
Brattleboro, VT 05301 ˇ 802-451-0842
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