April Reflections and PRESENCE

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This April during the last 16 days of the month, many people will be practicing their traditions of worship. It is a time of reflection of who they are, how they relate to people in their community and the world at large.  Reflection takes place to recognize shortcomings and how to define a place in their life with humility and courage.  The Poet John O’Donohue explains the beauty of self-transformation by describing how we change without knowing we have it within ourselves to do so:

FOR PRESENCE – Awaken to the mystery of being here and enter the      quiet immensity of your own presence.

Have joy and peace in the temple of your own senses.

Receive encouragement when new frontiers beckon.

Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to follow it’s path.

Let the flame of anger free you of all falsity.

May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame.

May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of soul.

Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.

Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.

May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.

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Enjoy yourself as your reflection of who You Choose to be Known As results in a positive experience for you in your business and personal life! Happy Holiday to those of you who are celebrating! Here follows an anagram to consider during this Holiday:

E asy to gaze out the window

T rying to forget incivility.

H ow we handle the self-managed situation

I s

C omforting to those involved.

S o why don’t we self-manage more often? ©Jo Ann M. Radja

The above poem by Poet John O’Donahue can be found on page 42 of the book, Bless the Space Between Us, ©2008 by John ODonahue, published by DOUBLEDAY.

The above Blog was originally published by LinkedIn on April 17, 2019 under the title, “Reflections. . . April, 2019.”

Do YOU still SURPRISE yourself during the SPRING season?

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A few years ago, I wrote two blogs during the month of March.  The first was entitled, “How will you SURPRISE yourself this SPRING?” https://careermanagementcoaching.wordpress.com/2015/03/20/how-will-you-surprise-yourself-this-spring/? and the second was entitled, “What’s Your 2016 Spring Surprise?”   https://careermanagementcoaching.me/2016/03/20/whats-your-2016-spring-surprise/ An anagram for the words Spring Day was included in each Blog.      Today, I want to share with you another anagram for the words Spring Day as you  Choose Who YOU Want to be Known As.

S ervant Leadership
P erhaps is a phrase not used often in today’s jargon. Yet, 
R esolving to put your people first 
I n order to augment their contributions
N ecessary for their development and performance
G oes a long way for profitability and stability of a company.
D eciding to accept feedback from those you work with gives rise to 
A gility and accountability bubbling to the surface.
Y ou hone your strengths to be the best you want to be in your career journey. ©Jo Ann M. Radja 03/25/19
LIFE IS GOOD  “Jo Ann” M. Radja, Executive Coach
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IT’S NEVER EASY. . .

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E very business person today understands

T he #Me Too Movement.  Yet it is still

H ard to Believe that someone

I nsists he had the right to walk into someone’s residence
and announce, “He’s in

C harge now,” and begin to harrass a woman who multiple
times tells him to

S top. ©Jo Ann M. Radja

The Non-Violence movement is remembered today on the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birth.  As  a Leader within the civil rights movement in the 1960’s, he espoused how a Non-Violent Movement could provide dignity and respect for those who faced racism.  Dr. King holds, for many cultures, a heroic status of how to act in a nonviolent way.

I was in my residence when the scenario discussed above in the ETHICS Anagram occurred last Friday.  The man was not in Charge of anything.  The situation was scary to say the least.  It begged me to try to remain calm as the man had a mission that held no rationality to it.  It was only when I said that he was on camera (not mine, the building’s) that he ran out, after some five minutes.

As you Choose Who You Want to be Known As this week, consider how your actions can provide respect and dignity to others It’s never easy in a difficult or crisis situation, yet we have to do the best we can under the circumstances.  Have a good week!

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Executive Coach   Life in Good

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2018 Happy Veteran’s Day

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Happy Veteran’s Day to all who chose to protect us and our freedoms. Thank YOU!

Here in Chicago – https://abc7chicago.com/society/museum-campus-salutes-vets-with-free-days/4662822/ and many Companies as well: https://abc7chicago.com/shopping/heres-where-to-get-veterans-day-freebies/4648254/

Choose Who You Want to be Known As this weekend and heartfelt thoughts to all the Survivors this past week in California and elsewhere.

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Executive Coach

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Halloween to YOU Too!

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Halloween is a calendar date that always brings whimsy into our lives. Here is an anagram for this calendar event:

          How often do we have

          An event where all ages

          Learn to have fun and

          Laugh.

          Of course, it’s Halloween.

          Whether we dress up or not,

          Everywhere you look, people

          Escape into this moment of fantasy,

          Now and forever. . . ©Jo Ann M. Radja

Choose Who You want to be Known As — Life is Good  

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Executive Coach

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Why change is not a one-way street…

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 Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.  Today I am wise, so I a changing myself.  Rumi  13th Century Poet

The above quotation was also quoted by me in a blog published via LinkedIn Pulse https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-choice-did-you-make-today-jo-ann-m-radja/? This quotation speaks to us as we remind ourselves that we alone are responsible for our actions. We want to be held accountable for our actions.   In today’s climate of accountability within the #MeTooMovement, accountability applies both to women and men.

I borrowed today’s blog title from Marshall Goldsmith as I recently became a Marshall Goldsmith Global Leadership Assessment Certified Practitioner.  http://www.sccoaching.com/glof360/.   The complete quotation from Marshall Goldsmith reads:

Change is not a one-way street – it involves two parties, the person who is changing and the people who notice it.   

We seem to notice when someone has a haircut or wears  new clothes; yet, we may not give feedback to someone when we notice a behavior change – and we should do so – we grow when we accept feedback from another person.  It takes practice and practice and practice.

When you Choose Who You Want to be Known As, consider this quotation from Marshall Goldsmith:   

The only difference between us and the super-successful among us – the near great and the great – is that the great ones [listen] all the time. It’s automatic for them.  For them there’s no on and off switch for caring and empathy and showing respect.  It’s always on.  They don’t rank personal encounters as A, B or C in importance.  They treat everyone equally – and everyone eventually notices.

Enjoy your week!

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

Please excuse the different type face on this blog – there is a glitch somewhere in the software.  Thank you.

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A Coaching Tool for YOU

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“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”  Albert Einstein

We often wonder where sayings and phrases come from.  Recently, I saw an Ad touting “me time.”  Although I’ve heard this slogan a few years ago, I came across an article I saved on this subject.  The article’s heading read:  “Your Me Time- makeover worksheet.”  It is found in the “Health GUIDE,”  page 190 of the July/August 2008 Health Magazine @ health.com (Editor unknown).  The worksheet was published in 2005 in the reference below*.
The well-known authors, consultants, founders, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz * developed and published a number of self-development tools in their book,  The Power of Full Engagement, Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal.   The “Me-Time-makeover worksheet” is another name for creating a map of your energy, developed by Loehr and Schwartz.   Your energy falls into four categories:  Emotional, Mental, Physical and Spiritual.  Each category requires you to list HOW you spend your energy during the day.  You then contemplate where you can change yourself to recover, your energy balanced consciously, where you want it to be.
Not everyone appreciates keeping a journal or diary. Yet, describing this energy map me-time worksheet as a “coaching tool” tends to be welcomed by many people.  I believe this is so because when you come to your OWN understanding of how you act, the change in behavior is more sustainable.  Your own self-development belongs to you as you Choose Who You Want to be Known As.    Here’s another interpretation  of the me-time energy makeover worksheet for your use:  spendrecover-text-for-map
Enjoy your Winter Season and pat yourself on the back for your resilience in dealing with the weather! 
“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Executive and Career Management Coach
* Loehr PhD, Jim and Schwartz, Tony.  The Power of Full Engagement, Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal. Free Press (January 3, 2005) 256 pages.    [This book was a New York Times Best-Seller.]

Season’s Greetings 2017

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“I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
― 
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow*

 

Enjoy your Holiday this Season as you Choose Who You Want to be Known As. . .

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

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Is it an Escher Artwork or A Natural Event?

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Math is where the answer is right and everything is nice – you can look out the window and see the blue sky – or the answer is wrong and you have to start all over again and see how it comes out this time.

Carl Sandburg

images-pinterest-from-googlesearch1122916-mc-escherimg-20161228-01035

Earlier this evening, LinkedIn Pulse published my Blog entitled, “Why We Sometimes Don’t Make a Choice” https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-we-sometimes-dont-make-choice-jo-ann-m-radja by @Coach_Jo_Ann on @LinkedIn.  I used a few photos to explain Choice and how the Philosopher Tom V Morris, offered insights into that subject.  

I shot the photo, above-left, yesterday morning.  It is frost on a window.  As I was putting away my flash drive, I remembered the graphic artist and mathematician, M.C. Escher.  He was well-known for intersecting images, similar in concept to nature’s frost pattern.  An example of Escher’s artwork is shown above-right.     As we are almost at year’s end, we often think about what went well for us and what we want to improve in our careers.  While we are not all artists, artwork in all forms within social media, offer a space away from our careers to relax and enjoy life for what it is.   Relaxation  brings clarity to our thoughts so we welcome each day for its own sake.

As You Choose Who You Want to be Known As during the new year of 2017, may your choices bring peace, happiness and contentment in your chosen career.  Happy New Year!

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

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When Mindfulness becomes a Personal Mantra

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Heedfulness, Mindfulness and Introspective Awareness help us retain our core values in life.  The Dalai Lama

 

While leaving a Professional Building before Labor Day Weekend, I noticed a few available individual public trays of current magazines.  One of which is called, YOGAChicago , September – October, 2016. It was a surprise to see the lead article written by Mia Park entitled, “Reflections on Mindfulness by Illinois Politicians at the DNC.” [this past Summer]  

Ms. Park quoted a number of Illinois elected officials who shared how Mindfulness was incorporated in their public lives:

Senior US Senator Dick Durbin “A moment of reflection is valuable….for you to consider what your political career might be able to accomplish.  Real world reflection helps to set the stage for value-driven policy making.”[paraphrased].

Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Cook County Board of Commissioners –   “When you’re going off into battle to debate legislation, remember who you are accountable to.”  “It’s important to be conscious of that always – it will keep you away from the forces that have led many politicians astray –  money, special interests, and many other vices that make you cease to be a public servant.”

Theresa Mah – 2nd District – Reflects on how mindfulness for politicians can acutely keep uppermost in their minds why they became public servants for the people they serve.

The complete Mia Park’s one-page article, includes the Secretary of State, Jessie White is at this link :http://yogachicago.com/2016/08/reflections-on-mindfulness-by-illinois-politicians-at-the-dnc/

The quotation by The Dalai Lama was found at page 107 of his book, Beyond Religion, Ethics for a Whole World. (2012)  He explains that:

 Heedfulness relates to being vigilant and conscientious about what we do;

 Mindfulness, in the context of living an ethical life, is about recollection of one’s core values and motivation; and

 Introspective Awareness means being honestly aware of our behavior and bringing it under control.   Of course, this does not happen overnight.  It requires practice.

As You Choose Who You Want to be Know As, consider how a Mantra of a mindful thought will bring you closer to the person you want people to see.    Enjoy!

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

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