Shift Your Thinking for Business (and Life) Transformation

By Lisa Petrilli

I wrote a post a few months back about how my life’s most important work may be to stop taking on the burdens and emotions of other people – living “in their colors” as I described it – so that I can live my life as my true self.

You see, I believe that many of us live in such a way that what we “take on” from others is not in balance with what we “release” that is not ours.

So a few months ago I started being very deliberate about starting my mornings with real intention to “let go” of what was not mine – fears for example – perhaps something I may have absorbed or begun to worry about the day before or something I’ve been dealing with for a very long time.  Regardless of how it came to me, I’ve been focusing on letting it go before I start my day.

It’s a small but transformative shift in mindset that has made a dramatic difference for me because it frees me up to focus with clear intention on what I want to create, manifest and bring to life over the next 24 hours.

Well, very recently a book by Russell Bishop (Creator of Insight Seminars and Senior Editor-at-Large for the Huffington Post) entitled, “Workarounds That Work: How to Conquer Anything That Stands in Your Way at Work” came to my attention, and I found myself responding to Russell’s message because of its emphasis on the importance of shifts in thinking for business success. 

As Russell states in his introduction in regard to addressing problems or challenges,

“…the first workaround may actually start with you! It’s not that you are the problem or someone to blame; still, it could be that something about your own thinking or mental approach to the challenge needs to shift before anything meaninful can take place elsewhere.”

He goes on to say in one later section, “How you frame the problem is the problem,” and reminds us of Henry Ford’s famous quote, “whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to talk with Russell last week, and as we were talking about how the recession has impacted companies – with fewer people being expected to do the same amount of work – he made this statement that represented a real shift in thinking for me:

“We’re not overwhelmed we’re just employed.  Our job isn’t to get it all done but to keep it all moving.” 

I can’t tell you how much that statement felt like a proverbial “a-ha moment,” and how much happier and more relaxed I was that evening when I looked back on my day and reflected on what I’d moved forward rather than what I’d finished.  I’m not implying deadlines should be missed, but most days aren’t made up of firm deadlines and this shift in thinking actually had a profound impact on my feeling of accomplishment throughout the rest of my week.

There’s so much more in Russell’s book that resonates with me – his kindred focus on the Circles of Control, Influence and Concern (which he called the Circle of Response) that I wrote about in my post, “The Circle of Control: What Smart Leaders and Marketers Know,” the importance of getting the right things done, and the criticality of aligned leadership and clear direction (vision!).

I’m honored and excited to tell you that the reason I was on the phone with Russell – and with my LeadershipChat co-host Steve Woodruff – is that Russell will be LeadershipChat’s very first Special Guest this Tuesday, January 18th at 8:00 pm Eastern Time!  We’re thrilled that the LeadershipChat Community will be able to ask Russell questions and listen to him share his leadership insights throughout the chat!

The chat will focus on four of the chapters in Russell’s book:

• Chapter 8: When Cultures Clash
• Chapter 9: Death by Decision
• Chapter 10: Moving Beyond Consensus
• Chapter 11: Are You a Corporate Firefighter?

We’ll spend about 15 minutes on each chapter and are expecting a very lively conversation!

An added benefit is that Russell happens to be one of the nicest people on the planet and though he’s not new to Twitter he is new to chats – and genuinely looking forward to meeting and chatting with the LeadershipChat Community!

So please mark your calendar for LeadershipChat and be sure to join me, Steve and Russell for 60 minutes of smart thinking and smart insights that just may have a profound impact on your life and how you view your leadership role!

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Photo is Caterpillar to Butterfly…just emerged from cocoon by JungleMama.