ACT

ACT: Activists … Choose … Today

Dictionary.com lists as a definition for Activist …"an especially active, vigorous advocate of a cause". This started me thinking: Am I an Activist for anything? Is there a cause I am passionate about? There certainly is no shortage of causes that are important. Rather than focusing on any single cause I want to instead comment briefly on the "active" part of an Activist.

When I think of ACT I connect it with … ACTIVISTS CHOOSE TODAY. In other words, now is the time to ACT. Not everything can be done in a single day, but there are a lot of important things that can be done if we open ourselves to what is possible. It is easy to put things off until tomorrow in the hectic world of today. But do we recognize the good we can accomplish each day? So I am challenging myself to examine what I can do "Today". Today is a gift we have been given and I need to explore how I can make the day the best it can be for myself, my family and for others.

Are there things that would be important for you to ACT on today? If you ACT what will be the impact? Think of the possibilities … think of the difference taking "action" can have on the world around you.

Signing off for now - LD Guy from MN

IDEA

IDEA: Innovative … Design … (that) … Empowers … Action.

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas … I love ideas. I enjoy coming up with new ideas. I relish hearing the ideas of others. Perhaps at the heart of this is that I like the idea of "new", the idea of "novel", and the idea of "original". My love of "ideas" is one of the reasons I enjoy connecting with people on Twitter.

One way of thinking about an IDEA is to view it as an INNOVATIVE DESIGN that EMPOWERS ACTION. Ideas are at the center of innovation. Ideas are at the core of doing or designing something new. An IDEA really becomes powerful when it EMPOWERS or inspires ACTION. It can be discouraging if an IDEA never makes it off the "drawing board". An IDEA that is acted upon, however" can engage and EMPOWER you and others.

Do you have an IDEA that you want to explore? Do have an IDEA of what to do next? What is your big IDEA? Think about translating your ideas into action and seeing what happens. Think about the possibilities … think about the impact.

Signing off for now - LD Guy from MN

TIME

TIME: Today … Include … Moments … of … Encouragement

It seems one of the topics I "talk" about on a regular basis is "time". I might mention … Where does the time go? … or … If only I had enough time. … or … When would be a good time for us to talk about this? Each of us deals with the same time paradigm … 24 hours a day … 60 minutes in an hour … etc. So how do we make the best use of our time?

If we think about TIME in the context of TODAY being a time where I can INCLUDE MOMENTS of ENCOURAGEMENT this could prove to be a good use of our TIME. I have discovered for myself that time spent encouraging others virtually always reaps rewards. A caveat is that the encouragement needs to be authentic for it to have more than just a short term impact.

Encouraging others can lift their spirits. It can empower them to go beyond where they are today and to reach for new heights. It is simply encouraging to see the influence encouragement can have on people's lives.

So do you have a little TIME to spare? Can you make TIME today to encourage others? TIME's awaiting …

Signing off for now - LD Guy from MN

ASK

ASK: Always … Seek … Knowledge

I have had the great fortune over the years to be able to obtain a good education. I graduated from High School, College, and Graduate School … ultimately obtaining a Ph.D. in Chemistry (over 20 years ago). One of the first stops in my career was teaching Chemistry. Something I was able to do for almost a decade. I mention this because I have spent the majority of my life exploring the "concept" of ASK. It has been a "way of life" for me to ALWAYS SEEK KNOWLEDGE.

How does one ALWAYS SEEK KNOWLEDGE? I would suggest at the heart of this is the desire to be someone who asks questions. Asking questions is a key way of seeking knowledge. Questions are the cornerstones of discovery. Questions are also a key way of promoting dialogue. Through dialogue collaboration becomes empowered and the results that flow from collaboration can prove to be amazing.

Do you ASK questions to discover new things? Are you willing to ASK yourself "what can I do to help others"? What would you like to ASK?

Signing off for now - LD Guy from MN

HOPE

HOPE: Helping … Others … by … Providing … Encouragement

Hope is powerful. Hope can get people through difficult times as they look ahead to brighter days. Hope relies on us trusting that what we believe in is possible.

HOPE can be something that we share with others. By HELPING OTHERS to see that "it is possible" we can instill HOPE. PROVIDING ENCOURAGEMENT is a tangible way we can help others to have HOPE. When we have HOPE it will empower us to move forward and achieve marvelous things.

Is HOPE at work in your life? Can you be a source of HOPE? Do you see the difference it can make in your life? … in other people's lives? I HOPE so.

Signing off for now - LD Guy from MN

SKILL

SKILL: Sharing … Knowledge … 2 … Inspire … Life-long … Learning

Dictionary.com lists as one of its definitions for skill: "the ability, coming from one's knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc., to do something well". Each of us has skills that we, and others, can point to that stand out. You may be a skilled artist, or a great teacher, or a terrific listener, or a marvelous dancer, etc. We get better at our skills because we practice and "put into practice" these abilities.

I'd like to explore skills in the parallel context of transferring skills to others. So one aspect of SKILL is SHARING … sharing our KNOWLEDGE, sharing our experiences, sharing our perspective on how to become good at something. The goal of this type of SHARING can be to INSPIRE ourselves and others. For example, an artist can show others some of the techniques they use to capture the world around them that can encourage others to take up a paintbrush and create pictures themselves. Perhaps the ultimate goal for SKILL transfer is to INSPIRE LIFE-LONG LEARNING for ourselves and for others. There is the opportunity to get better at a SKILL through practice and through practice we can achieve higher levels of mastery. With this as our goal, LEARNING about the skill can truly be a LIFE-LONG pursuit.

Are there opportunities for you to share a SKILL with someone? Perhaps they will be inspired to pursue the SKILL and become an admired practitioner. Opportunities await.

Signing off for now - LD Guy from MN

GROW

GROW: Give … Respect … 2 … Others … & … Win.

"Growing" and "Growth" are key topics in the world today. Business are seeking to position themselves to grow in the "new economy". Growth also is of significance on a personal level. When I was young one of the things I would think about is what would I do when I "grow up". As I have gotten older my thinking about what it means to GROW has evolved. As I seek to GROW I now connect it with GIVE … give RESPECT, give hope, give insights, etc. One thing about giving RESPECT is that when we do this for OTHERS a tangible outcome is that we all WIN when it comes to areas such as collaboration, contribution, engagement, etc. So by being able to focus on GROW a winning situation can arise.

So are you ready to GROW? Can you help others to GROW? Think of the possibilities … think of the impact.

Signing off for now - LD Guy from MN