Everyday life.

We can learn from it in so many ways, and I am continually reminded of one of those key ideas from a hit country song You're Gonna Miss This performed by Trace Adkins (if you're not a country music fan you might know Trace as the runner-up on Donald Trump';s The Celebrity Apprentice).

The song shares three moments in a young woman's life. These are times of everyday events - and the chorus offers this advice to her:

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

(You can read all of the lyrics and watch the video if you'd like.)

The song is sentimental, country and I love it. But I don't just love it because of the sound or the overt message. I love it because it gets to the heart of something we all must do if we want to be more effective, continual learners.

You see, there are nuggets of learning available for us every day - and not just in unusual, major events of the day but in the mundane of everyday. However, we can only mine those nuggets when we want to gather them, are aware of them and remain present in those mundane moments.

When we do those three things, we can capture the moments, the memories and the learning.

Let's explore those three points.

Desire

To learn from any situation, even a "normal" one, you must want to be learning! When I listen to this song, I hear the author imploring the young woman to recognize the importance of the moments, and that there are lessons for her in those moments.
The fundamental starting point for any learning - whether from life situation or a formal learning event - is the desire to learn.

Awareness

Awareness starts with the recognition that learning opportunities are all around you. If you don't recognize that fact, you';ll miss thousands of opportunities. When you are aware, your subconscious mind will allow you to be more observant. In order to capture the learning moment you must be observant with . . .

Your eyes - what do you see?
Your ears - what do you we hear?
Your nose - what do you smell?
Your hands - what do you touch?
Your heart - what and how do you feel?

When the situation feels especially rich for your learning, take a second and step back. Close your eyes (literally or figuratively) and take in the experience. Doing this will help you to lock it into your memory for future reflection, enjoyment and learning.

Being Present

The old saying goes that the present is a gift, so we must unwrap it! Remaining in the present moment allows you to fully unwrap the gift. If you have desire, and are heightening your awareness, you are on the right path. Being present means immersing yourself in the situation. These aren't the times for multi-tasking, or thinking about something that comes next.

Here's an example. Have you ever been watching a movie and been completely wrapped up in it? You feel transformed by the story, the sights and the sounds. When this is true, the time flies by! You don't look at the clock or even think about how long it has been or how much longer it will be, do you?

In these cases you are completely present with your experience of the movie. Being present allows you to enjoy and get more from the movie. Being present in your life will do the same - only your life is both real . . . and yours.

Desire, awareness and remaining present. These are the keys to learning continually and to capturing the memories we don't want to lose. Your life is happening, and the lessons are there. Take these steps and build these habits and you won't miss it. You'll have the lessons and the memories - and a more successful and fulfilling life.

I heard this author on the radio for about three minutes, and within ten more minutes had this book loaded on my Kindle.

The Science of Fear is about risk. How we assess it as human beings, and how that leads to the things we fear. It is fascinating and full of facts and great stories. It even makes me laugh - not only at the mistakes others make in their thinking, but the ones I make too. (My wife Lori found it odd that I was laughing out loud at a book about fear - I don't think it was any sort of proof of my heroism!).

It explores the science of how we think, why we think, and the shortcuts we all use when we think. It also explores how and why we make decisions. The examples are from advertising, medicine, politics and much more. This book gives me much to think about in terms of how we are persuaded, and gives us tools to help us think more critically.

If you enjoy books that help you understand the world around you better (think Made to Stick, The Tipping Point, The World is Flat and others), this book should earn a place on your reading list. If your focus is more narrow on thinking and decision making skills, I still believe it is well worth the read.

I'll put it this way, I'm glad my radio was on in the car that morning.

It is National Teacher's Day in India today. I learned from this Wikipedia entry that many countries celebrate teachers on a designated day - though few pick the same day.

But today, September 5th, is National Teacher's Day in India.

Celebrate by taking five minutes today to do these three things:

- Think of a teacher you are grateful for.

- If at all possible call or send them a note of thanks.

- And teach someone else something of lasting value today.

Also posted in Learning and Training.

That was the message of the short keynote I gave last week to Rainmakers, a fast growing, difference making business networking organization in Indianapolis last week. My goal was convince them that everyone is a leader, and that we can all become Remarkable leaders too.

They've posted the full keynote here.

I hope you will take a look and share it with your colleagues and fellow leaders.

(If you'd like me speak to your organization or have us deliver customized training for you - contact us here.)

Also posted in Leadership, Learning, and Training.

This is a question that politicians and the news media have been talking about for some time. With the announcement of Gov. Sarah Palin as Senator McCain's running mate last Friday, the conversation has grown louder.

This post isn't about politics, and will leave you to draw your own conclusions. It isn't written from the right, left or center, but from the perspective of leadership. While I hope it helps you answer the question posed in the title, I also hope it gets you thinking much closer to home, about the leaders you observe and possibly even hire.

While we can, I hope draw connections between the position of President and that of other leaders let me start with a belief that no previous job can completely prepare you for the U.S. Presidency, because I don't believe there is any job like it. Since no one running has been President before, everything being said about experience should be considered carefully.

Both candidates (and their VP picks) have relevant experience - some in Washington, some with foreign affairs, some with more national media experience, some with more "Executive" experience, some as a father, and one as a mother - and all of these experiences vary across all four candidates. So - all have some relevant experience and none have all of the pertinent experience. Regardless of what they will say or imply, none will be ready on January 20 (or later if become President later due to a tragedy).

Beyond Experience

Since it is not possible for anyone to be prepared completely for this job, and because it is unfathomably complex, a leader must take great care in surrounding themselves with others who can help them succeed as a team. When considering this, think about these questions:

- Who are they surrounding themselves with?
- Do these other people have skills, talents and experiences that build on the weaknesses of the leader?
- Are they willing to put together a team of people with a variety of perspectives, knowing that in the dialogue that comes from these differences, better directions will be set and more effective decisions made?

If expertise of the candiate alone can't be the deciding factor, then consider the questions above, and the ones you think of as well, to help you make your own determination.

What About Change?

Both parties and candidates want to create change. Unless a candidate is following a very popular two-term President, candidates are ALWAYS wanting to create change - whether it is a campaign talking point or not. So what can we learn so far about each candidates' willingness and ability to change?

Let's look at any leader's skill at creating change. Leaders who are skilled at change can:

- distance themselves from the status quo.
- build a clear and focused picture of the desired future, after the change has occurred.
- persuade those who must change too to come on board - and sooner than later.
- create a dialogue so that the change doesn't belong just to them, but is a vision owned and shared by many.

One of the decisions each voter must make when choosing a candidate to vote for, is to consider their policy positions, of course. This post has focused on what I believe to be a factor at least as important - who will be most successful at leading.

There are many other factors beyond experience and change. I write about these two today because they are two of the most widely discussed points today.

I hope these ideas help you think about Presidential leadership, leadership of any other public office, and in leadership closer to home as well. I also hope you will share your thoughts in the comments below - in a non-partisan, leadership focused way.

Also posted in Leadership.

Labels: presidential candidates