Nothing to add

Posted on by DieterL

The future of our civilization is based on prudence, critical self reflection, belief in higher values, and wisdom in matters of ordinary, everyday life. It is not about grabbing as much as possible, as quickly as possible. — Tyler Cowen, Economist

Nothing to add.

Smile, breathe and go slowly!

Dieter Langenecker

PS: If you want to know how to become a social entrepreneur or how to live a meaningful life in general get in touch with me

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My Favorites: Great Stuff I’ve Found Recently

Posted on by DieterL

My monthly “My Favorites” routine includes posting links to great content I ran across, to encourage you to check them out if they sound interesting. Enjoy!

Let’s start with a wonderful story on the “Half empty or Half full?”question; it is such a great story so I have it here full length – and you don’t have to take a decision whether to click a link or not :-):

A Psychologist walked around a room while teaching Stress Management to an audience.

As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “Half empty or Half full” question.

Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired:

“How heavy is this glass of water?”

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter.

It depends on how long I hold it.

If I hold it for a minute,

it’s not a problem.

If I hold it for an hour,

I’ll have an ache in my arm.

If I hold it for a day,

my arm will feel numb and paralyzed.

In each case,

the weight of the glass doesn’t change,

But

The longer I hold it,

the heavier it becomes.

She continued,

“The Stresses and Worries in Life , are like that Glass of Water…

Think about them for a while and nothing happens.

Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt.

And

If you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed –

incapable of doing anything….!!!”

Remember to put the Glass Down

My Advice for Starting a Business

Get started, my friends! You will love it.

Getting started, again

We started off the year with high hopes. We were going to find love! Start new jobs! Let go of old hurts! Now it’s time to do an evaluation.

Are you any closer? Do you have the sort of realistic conversations with yourself that are going to stop you from repeating the same old, same old? Or are you still back in 2013? Here are some ideas to help you get back on track.

How to be a time warrior

Choosing to be a time warrior gives you ways to leave linear modes of time management behind. It frees you up to enjoy going non-linear.

What Are You Hiding?

5 Actions for Creating Openness; by Mick Ukleja

Smile, breathe, and go slowly!

Dieter

PS: If you want to comment, ask a question or inquire how personal mentoring can help you to live a meaningful life visit www.langenecker.com/lifementoring.html

Empty your cup

Posted on by DieterL

A university professor visited Zen master Nan-in to inquire about Zen. But instead of listening to the master, the scholar kept going on and on about his own ideas.

After listening for some time, Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and kept on pouring. The tea flowed over the sides of the cup, filled the saucer, spilled onto the man’s pants and onto the floor.

“Don’t you see the cup is full?” the professor exploded. “You can’t get any more in!”

“Just so,” replied Nan-in calmly. “And like this cup, you are full of your own ideas and opinions. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”

Emptying the cup means making room for Great Questions. It means being open, reconditioning ourselves, so that we can accept, for the time being, not knowing. Out of that a greater knowing will dawn.

And this applies especially for a clear-cut answer to “What is the meaning and purpose of my life?”. The answer to Great Questions like this can only emerge from the journey of living. And we can only arrive at it by the road of not-knowing – or maybe we should say, not-yet-knowing.

Sometimes life doesn’t provide the answers right away. But asking the right questions is the first step.

Your take?

Smile, breathe and go slowly!

Dieter Langenecker

My Favorites: Great Stuff I’ve Found Recently

Posted on by DieterL

My monthly “My Favorites” routine includes posting links to great content I ran across, to encourage you to check them out if they sound interesting. Enjoy!

562 years ago, back in 1452, Leonardo da Vinci was born; the word “coffee” entered English in 1582 via Dutch koffie, borrowed from Turkish kahve, in turn borrowed from Arabic qahwa, a truncation of qahhwat al-bun ‘wine of the bean; and 1767 Samuel Wallis, an English sea captain, sights Tahiti and is considered the first European to reach the island. So? Take the open mindedness of da Vinci, pour yourself a cup of coffee, imagine you are on Tahiti – and enjoy a relaxed reading!

The Antidote to Emptiness

We worship at the altar of “winners,” without recognizing that it sets up a zero-sum game in which the consequence must necessarily be a lot of “losers.” We undervalue qualities like humility, vulnerability, personal responsibility and compassion. The New York Times

Reflection is a two way street The famous Irish poet Oscar Wilde once said, “The final mystery is oneself.”But how do you unravel the mystery that is you? Use these 5 questions to guide your journey.

Letting Go of Judging People And incidentally, you will be a lot happier in the process

Make Your Work More Meaningful Since you have the ability to determine how you think about and respond to the conditions you experience, you do have control over the meaning you derive from work. Harvard Business Review

A Personal Challenge, do you have the guts to be honest with yourself? As I’ve gotten older, I find I’m more patient with people when they have good intentions and less patient with people when they don’t. I think it comes from doing my best and accepting my own flaws, and then being able to accept others more easily because of that. What’s a long term change you’ve realized about yourself?

Smile, breathe, and go slowly!

Dieter

PS: If you want to comment, ask a question or inquire how personal mentoring can be of help to you visit

www.langenecker.com/lifementoring.html

“When I was young, I had to choose between the life of being and the life of doing. And I leapt at the latter like a trout to a fly.

But each deed you do, each act, binds you to itself and to its consequences, and makes you act again and yet again.

Then very seldom do you come upon a space between

act and act when you may stop and simply be.

Or wonder who, after all, you are.”
-Ursula K LeGuin

Redefining Success

Posted on by DieterL

You cannot have sustainable growth and sustainable success, if you don’t have a sustainable planet.

The general aspiration is the whole world wants to live like the United States of America. According to Living Earth statistics, if the whole world has to live like an average citizen in United States does, we need four-and-a-half planets. But we have only one. We have only one and we need four-and-a-half, if we want to succeed. So, somewhere we should pray for failure ? Which is not a good thing!

So we have to redefine what enterprise is, we have to redefine success; we have to redefine what we call moving forward. If we call moving backward as moving forward, we’re asking for trouble. So, yes, we want everybody to succeed. But it is also important, because we are hugely, hugely empowered like never before, no other generation has been as empowered as we are today. We have to redefine success.

Otherwise, we’ll pay a very high price if we succeed.

Your thoughts?

Smile, breathe, and go slowly!

Dieter

PS: If you want to comment, ask a question or inquire how personal mentoring can help you to live a meaningful life visit www.langenecker.com/lifementoring.html

The yardstick of success is not measured by fame and wealth;

it is measured by your level of understanding of

who you are, why you are here

and where are you going from here. (Tulshi Sen)

My Favorites: Great Stuff I’ve Found Recently

Posted on by DieterL

My monthly “My Favorites” routine includes posting links to great content I ran across, to encourage you to check them out if they sound interesting. Enjoy!

Is it spring yet (apologies if you live in the southern hemisphere)? Wake me when it’s here. Meanwhile, fill up your coffee mug and ready your clicker finger. I hope you’ll find these selections educational and broadening–but mainly that you’ll find them fun.

MARRIED OR NOT YOU SHOULD READ THIS…

Simply a “must read“

If You Could Do Life Over… When the top 5 regrets of the dying were listed, the number one was, “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself; not the life others expected of me.” Here Are 7 Ways to Make It Right

“But what if I fail?” You will. And then? (by Seth Godin)

The Flexible Mind Leo Babauta – at his best

The Mechanics of Human Suffering “You don’t have a mind of your own. Please look at it carefully. What you call as “my mind” is just society’s garbage bin.” Sadhguru looks at the mechanics and cause of human suffering, and provides a tool to move out of the “garbage bin” our mind is.

Smile, breathe, and go slowly!

Dieter

PS: If you want to comment, ask a question or inquire how personal mentoring can be of help to you visit

www.langenecker.com/lifementoring.html

“When I was young, I had to choose between the life of being and the life of doing. And I leapt at the latter like a trout to a fly.

But each deed you do, each act, binds you to itself and to its consequences, and makes you act again and yet again.

Then very seldom do you come upon a space between

act and act when you may stop and simply be.

Or wonder who, after all, you are.”
-Ursula K LeGuin

Who’s helping you?

Posted on by DieterL

I spent today with my mastermind group .

Actually, it’s one of three mastermind groups I’m in.

I’m in one small group with a handful of other mentors that meets via skype every week to bounce around ideas and share experiences. We also meet up for a full day every now and then: this time to grill each other on our plans for next months to come.

I’m in another small group of professional speakers that meets face to face quarterly to help each other with the speaking side of our businesses.

And I’m in a big group of folks who do a lot of stuff online who meet virtually every month to discuss online strategies and to partner with each other on promotions if appropriate.

Each of those groups contributes something different to my business. Today’s session put my plan for 2014 through the wringer and helped me with priorities. Tomorrow I’ll be listening to a recording of the online group call I missed because I always get a lot of insight from hearing what’s working and what’s not for the other folks in the group.

And they all provide camaraderie and friendship too. Rather important for anyone.

Have you got something similar for your?

Three groups might be a bit over the top. But I promise you, a regular mastermind group will work wonders for you.

If you’re not part of one, why not set one up yourself? Google “mastermind group” to see how they work and speak to a handful of people who you think have complementary skills and experience to yours.

It could be the best thing you do for your in 2014.

Apart from joining Personal Mentoring, of course 😉

Smile, breathe, and go slowly!

Dieter

PS: If you want to comment, ask a question or inquire how personal mentoring can help you to live a meaningful life visit www.langenecker.com/lifementoring.html

The yardstick of success is not measured by fame and wealth;

it is measured by your level of understanding of

who you are, why you are here

and where are you going from here. (Tulshi Sen)