The capacity to be alone is the capacity to love. – Osho

“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you murder the hater, but you do not murder the hate. In fact violence merely increases the hate. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”
–Dr. Martin Luther King

“We must never forget that it is through our actions, words, and thoughts that we have a choice.” -Sogyal Rinpoche

Our work lives are made up of a million tasks, relationships, deadlines, duties, commitment, and goals. We are often at a loss as to how to communicate difficult news, create consistency, or even just feel less stressed during the day.

When we work with teams we can find ourselves trying to be the best to the detriment of the whole or we start gossiping in the break room, even when we don’t want to do those things.

In my years of working with management of large corporations, community groups, non-profits and small businesses I have seen some deplorable communication skills, folks ripping each other apart to get ahead, and teams clueless to their impact to the larger project or individuals. There has to be a better way.

When I was managing a creative group in San Francisco, I found it difficult to deal with the ups and downs of a changing workplace (this was just after the DotCom bust). It was especially challenging because I wasn’t skilled at addressing the raw emotions of workers who were undergoing work and family stress.

This led me to seek a mediation teacher who could at least share some wisdom about finding balance on a black cushion sitting on the tiled floor of a church basement.

It was in that first introduction that I realized that I lacked a guiding set of rules for dealing with my staff, coworkers, clients and management. Learning about the ideas inherent to the Eightfold Path I was able to start the timid steps towards a new way of communicating and finding balance both at work and in the rest of my life.

I did it through the idea of Zen Business.

Don’t get so focused on one goal that you miss other opportunities that might pop up right beside you. Sometimes the journey is more fun than reaching the end. ~Jason O’Neill

“I’ll be floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.”

“I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better world.”

“A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.”

I’m guessing Muhammad Ali doesn’t need a long introduction. As an amateur he won the Olympic Gold. He then went on to become a three-time World Heavyweight Champion.

And in 1999, Sports Illustrated and the BBC named him as “the Sportsman of the Century”.

But what can we learn from one of the best boxers of all time?

Well, here are five tips from Muhammad Ali on how to break through the barriers in the world and in your mind.

There’s a lot you can pursue and accomplish in life, but you don’t need to plant seeds for happiness. It’s not a destination. You simply need to let yourself blossom in this moment, exactly as you are.

Don’t get caught up thinking about how much further you might stretch tomorrow. You’ll get there soon enough.

In the meantime, choose to embrace where you are. Right now is full of possibilities. Right now is full of beauty. There may be some shadows in your day, but it’s your choice to either dwell there or create a little light.

How can you create and share happiness today?

TinyBuddha

During summer 2010, we (Tom Peters Company) were sensing that among our clients that had survived the worst of the recession, the mood was becoming more buoyant. Our customer base tends to be more forward-thinking and adventurous than the norm, and is often a bellwether of new trends. We therefore decided to find out what this group was seeing ahead, and if there were lessons for other leaders.

Our recent survey involved a select group of clients located in 29 countries and 6 continents. Overall, we found they, particularly those in the private sector, are indeed ready to put the past behind them. One respondent summed it up this way: “We’ve been in survival mode and it has hurt our growth. We need to focus on the future and stop the survival mentality. But how?”

We used our Excellence Audit™ survey to identify the development priorities that participants now see as important. A sign that recovery is on the way was that the prior focus on cost and systems has been overshadowed by a realization that Leadership is now the key element for attention.

Managers in our sample realize that it is time to pay attention to the people that have brought them through the recession. “Now that the economy is on the up, we need to step back the pressure, to work on the experiences of clients and workers, and to use technology to help us to do that.”

According to our customers, leaders must devote attention to two action areas in our Excellence Audit, above all others.

Read the whole article at Tom Peters Group