Category Archives: Jo Ann M. Radja

What Pieces are YOU picking up?

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A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.  David Brinkley

CT weather1.JPGOne way of interpreting David Brinkley’s quotation is to understand you have to be self-reliant in your life.  You Choose Who You Want to be Known As at any given moment of  time.  Sometimes we surprise ourselves and other times it a great effort to work through whatever process is before us.  The question becomes. What pieces are you picking up in your career?

The photo above could be seen as plastic pieces on asphalt or another mixed media art project in the making, or a schematic design of a puzzle maze or magnified pieces of broken glass.  The reality is,  it is a cracked ice formation on the Chicago River.    What we see is perception.   Our perception is formed by past experiences, the present moment, the time of day, our culture and our values.   How mindful we are of our emotions and the emotions of others will drive our perceptions as well.

If you had to pick up pieces today that were left by someone else, what would your first step be?  Pick up the pieces, finish the task and then move on.  Ask someone for assistance because the job entails more than you are able to handle at this moment? or, walk away from the pieces and let someone else take care of it because it’s not your responsibility anyway?   Since the readers of this blog come from so many professions, there is no correct answer.  If the pieces are left for you to deal with this week, Choose Who You Want to be Known As.  Best of luck as you choose!
“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coach and Change Agent

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It’s a Day for YOU!

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Valentine’s Day — It’s the second best day for Hallmark Cards.  Florists and Chocolatiers also love this day.  What’s your take on it?

How about it’s a Day for YOU!  Whether the love of your life is with you or not,  Valentine’s Day reminds us that Spring is not long off. So why not celebrate this cultural day on our calendar as it’s a Day for YOU!   So many of us have endured a winter that seems never to end.  Many employers asked their employees to head home yesterday at Noon in the Southeast States.  They were greeted with so much snow, many people left their cars abandoned on highways.  So, why not give yourself a Day for YOU! to remember how you lived through it and started another day anew.

It’s a well known concept in the Coaching field that when you take care of yourself, you are able to handle more easily the next challenge that comes your way.   As you Choose Who You Want to be Known As, I hope you choose a Day for YOU that makes you smile.  Happy Valentine’s Day . . . from the Midwest!MS2GoldHeartsMP900401177020912“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coaching and Change Agent 02/13/14

Notes:  http://cdn.history.com/sites/2/2014/01/History-Valentines-final-v3.png

A Way for Silence

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When you fall down, are you alone or are you in public, or was someone nearby that helped you stand straight.  Because I have a weak right ankle, there have been a few times I have fallen down during the daytime in pubic when the pavement was not even.  The way of Silence surrounding this event is astonishing.

Since I did grow up in a football family, I watched the 2014 Super Bowl.  Early on,  sports announcers gave positive explanations why the Professional Denver Broncos may have been nervous and missed certain plays.  This worldwide event has been taken apart and analyzed by many experts in the sports field.  This blog is focusing on a different aspect to this event. . . The way of Silence.

Many of us have grown up with advice, “If you have nothing good to say, don’t say anything.”  When someone is down, you don’t step on them and make they feel worse.

I took a look for a reporter’s take on the 2014 Super Bowl published this morning and found: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1947809-super-bowl-2014-blowout-score-was-most-shocking-result-in-years.  The way of Silence was taken by a reporter who gave quiet reflection.  He wrote in a positive way how the Broncos were not the only Offense Team beaten in a Super Bowl.  The way of Silence allowed reframing to take the sting out of the Broncos performance.

We can’t change what happened yesterday in our careers.  We can only Choose Who We Want to be Known As when we fall down.  Hopefully, we can fall into the Way of Silence and reframe the situation.  Have a great week!

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coaching & Change Agent

Notes:  http://en.wordpress.com/tos/

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1947809-super-bowl-2014-blowout-score-was-most-shocking-result-in-years

The mid, mean or middle

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A few years ago while speaking to someone,  I used the phrase, a person’s viewpoint can “turn on a dime.”  It was the first time this phrase was heard by the person I was speaking to.  This idiom means that change can happen very quickly as a reaction to an event, whether inside ourselves or from one of our senses.     For many of us, we know that we change everyday, simply because we are one day older. We are able to change lanes while driving because we were initially trained to do so and we develop experience to safely do so.  We are able to change our appearance quickly with a new haircut, a new pair of glasses or a new style of clothing.  Yet, to change a behavior, to move from the mid, mean or middle is not an easy task.

Perhaps we need to remind ourselves that we don’t have to move from the mid, mean or middle (which is in the center or between two opposite sides).  It is a good place to be because it allows for an understanding of what is above or below you.  Why does your opinion differs from the first comment or the last comment in a meeting. . . or why caution may be necessary as opposed to rushing to judgment or ignoring that a problem exists.

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Opportunities are available to us.  We may have to create an opportunity or one may fall unexpectedly in our lap.  What opportunities have you noticed over the past few weeks of January, that you wished you had taken?  Was the opportunity what you wanted?  Or is your mid, mean or middle position keeping you happy in your career?  As you think about a difficulty that presents an opportunity now or tomorrow, Choose Who You Want to be Known As.

Keep warm and safe on this day, my WordPress 2nd Anniversary.   Thanks for your time in reading my Blog.

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coach and Change Agent

Feed, Fodder or Feedback

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Feed, fodder or feedback — it’s the Monday morning “quarterbacking” of what your impressions, comments and responses are about an event, project or idea. Within our culture, the idiom, “Feeding frenzy” is an aggressive attack on someone by a group. … Continue reading →

What’s your Influence?

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You don’t have to be a “person of influence” to be influential. In fact, the most influential people in my life are probably not even aware of the things they’ve taught me. Scott Adams We’re saying good-bye tomorrow to the year … Continue reading →

The SOMETHING we deal with wherever we are…

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Last week when I awoke, it was one degree outside.  When I came home, some 13 hours later and as I opened my car door and stepped out, it felt wonderful and much warmer.  It really did.  I checked my cell phone and was surprised to read it was only 14 degrees.   What?  That’s all?  The something we deal with wherever we are is getting through our day the best we can by being resilient.

Snow fell this week in Vietnam; it caused a traffic jam, not primarily because of the weather.  Many people who had never seen snow drove to see where it fell.  Snow fell over the Middle East as well.  A Jordanian Prince joined other people to help a motorist out of a snow bank.  Below is a Picasso image of resilience that the editor(s) of http://www.essentiallifeskills.net/   chose to represent resilience.  What do you think?

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When we are at our workplace, the SOMETHING we deal with  usually comes up when an emotional response takes place.    [Should I take a moment and manage my emotions before speaking to anyone else?]   How did this happen?  What’s the first response to our staff?  What information do we need that we don’t as yet have?  What must we address right now, later today or tomorrow?   How am I dealing with the element of survival at this moment?  What can I do that I haven’t done before to control myself, and remain aware of what’s going on to assist other people?

As you choose Who You Want to be Known As this week, when YOU deal with that SOMETHING, consider this – – – 395807_157593734356934_1584943477_n2karlinsloanwordpressdotcomGoogle121713

I hope you Shine brightly, whatever your activity this week.

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coach and Change Agent

Note:  The images shown in this blog post were allowed to be copied and pasted from Google Images.

 

December doesn’t take a back seat, ever!

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Is it the end, or the beginning.  You DECIDE.

We often consider what’s left to do during the month of December.  Many cultures within our communities celebrate a number of  holidays in December, usually with streams of LIGHT.  What if December doesn’t take a back seat, ever!   What if you start considering what’s important to you today in your career and what you presently know you have to work at to achieve it.  Here are a number of food for thought quotations for you to consider:

 

Make a pact with yourself today to not be defined by your past. Sometimes the greatest thing to come out of all your hard work isn’t what you get for it, but what you become for it. Shake things up today! Be You…Be Free…Share. Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

If your dream is a big dream, and if you want your life to work on the high level that you say you do, there’s no way around doing the work it takes to get you there. Joyce Chapman

 

The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.  Thomas A. Edison

 

Sometimes there’s not a better way. Sometimes there’s only the hard way. Mary E. Pearson, The Fox Inheritance

 

Every job from the heart is, ultimately, of equal value. The nurse injects the syringe; the writer slides the pen; the farmer plows the dirt; the comedian draws the laughter. Monetary income is the perfect deceiver of a man’s true worth. Criss Jami

 

She was tough in the best sense of the word. She’d taken blows, the disappointments, and had worked her way through them. Some people, he knew, would have buckled under, found a clutch, or given up. But she had carved a place for herself and made it work. Nora Roberts

 

All success comes down to this . . . action.   Rob Liano

 

Whatever action comes to mind, Choose Who You Want to be Known As.   Have a great 1st week of December.

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Executive and Career Management Coach

Note:  The above quotations are found at http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/hard-work.

Symbol of GRATITUDE

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thCADXFPZ6SymbolOfGratitudeBING111913Neuroscience is understanding the fundamental nature of ourselves…how we think, feel and do.  Dr. Charles “Ed” Connor

 

 

 

Two days ago in my home State of Illinois, a multitude of tornadoes struck communities in at least 13 Counties.  [It was reported some 17 tornadoes were sited and by Monday morning, 80 tornadoes blew through the Midwest Region.]

Many people who were interviewed, spoke about how grateful they were to be alive.  While their home was destroyed, they could rebuild.  While their possessions were taken in this act of nature, their life was spared.  While years of joy in maintaining and furnishing their home was wiped out in a second or two, they were in a community of friends and neighbors (nearby and within Illinois), who gave them solace and friendship. The SYMBOL OF GRATITUDE resided in their hearts.   Finding the personal truth in yourself during a time of crisis is a learned virtue as these citizens Chose Who they wanted to Be Known As.

The symbol of gratitude itself has been a bit difficult to track down.   The circle is an accepted symbol of inclusiveness and represents many aspects of our human nature.    Our Global community throughout the world has roots within the spirituality of GRATITUDE and the use of a circle symbol.

An art exhibit entitled, “Beauty and the Brain Revealed”  is presently on display at the AAAS Art Gallery in Washington, D.C.    Five days ago,  Megan Gambino posted a Blog explaining this Art Exhibit  http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/artscience/2013/11/do-our-brains-find-certain-shapes-more-attractive-than-others/).  Her Blog included a brief video of two Neuroscience Experts who discuss how our brains relate to abstract shapes.

Whether from exemplary observations of our neighbors or from recognized Neuroscientists, Choose Who You Want to be Known As in your careers,  during this wintry week of November, 2013.

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coach

Notes: “Beauty and the Brain Revealed” is on display at the AAAS Art Gallery in Washington, D.C., through January 3, 2014.  Read more: http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/artscience/2013/11/do-our-brains-find-certain-shapes-more-attractive-than-others/#ixzz2l6p7kWlg Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter

Why do we find some works of art so appealing? The exhibition Beauty and the Brain Revealed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science builds on a 2010 collaboration between the Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute at the Johns Hopkins University and

the Walters Art Museum to examine how the brain perceives abstract sculpture. The original project was initiated and funded by the Johns Hopkins Brain Science Institute. Gallery visitors will wear 3-D glasses to explore digitally morphed versions of sculpture and learn how 3-D

shape characteristics relate to aesthetic preferences. Through January 3, 2014

http://srhrl.aaas.org/projects/science_society/neurosociety/art.shtml November 19, 2013.