ENCOURAGEMENTS Blog

“Roll over!  Dig your axe in!  Get up on your toes! Put all your weight on the axe!  Hold fast!  Hold fast!” All these thoughts were racing through my mind as we hurtled down the face of the glacier – four of us roped in and falling together.  My hands and arms were scratched and bloodied from the ice crystals …

“Shark attack! Shark attack!” I was yelling it with all my might. I could see what was going to happen and I needed to help Robert see it too. Everything would change in an instant if he heard me and did what he needed to do. His future depended on what he did, right here and right now. Let me …

Have you ever been celebrated at your work?  Have you been tolerated at work?  Which did you prefer? No contest right?  We all want to be celebrated, to be valued, to be appreciated.  Nobody wants to be simply tolerated.  We want to know that what we do makes a difference, that who we are matters. Sadly though, there are millions …

Epic: “Heroic; majestic; impressively great; spectacular; very impressive; awesome.” (Dictionary.com) How would you describe an epic leader?  Who would you say is an epic leader?  Winston Churchill?  Martin Luther King Jr.?  Jesus Christ?  Steve Jobs? A few years ago I got to thinking about epic leadership.  It’s what I would call leadership that creates history-making change in the lives of …

“Honey, it’s time for dinner”, announced my wife “What?  I can’t possibly stop, I have too much work to do”, I responded in my mind. I was working in my home-based office busy trying to successfully launch our first business.  Decades ago in a little rented house on the outskirts of town I deeply felt the pressure of launching a …

Paradox: “A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.”  (Dictionary.com) Have you ever ridden a bicycle?  Of course you have.  Did you realize that a bicycle is a profound example of a paradox?  A paradox is something that appears to be self-contradictory, but is in actuality a profound truth. Every bicycle has …

I have a friend who has been successfully battling cancer.  He is now free of cancer, but is receiving ongoing treatments to ensure it does not return.  He described the treatments to me… “They basically inject tuberculosis into my bladder.  This shocks my immune system into overdrive so it attacks and kills any remaining cancer cells.” What??  You have got …

Recently I met with an out-of-province business owner. I was learning he came from a rich family heritage including a close senior relative who had served as a beloved Premier of their province. As he relayed his recollection of his famous relative he made this statement that immediately captured my attention, “Even into his old age he remained very curious. …

What on earth am I looking at? I could paint this. That thought was rattling around in my mind as I looked at the painting in front of me.  I had never been a fan of native art, and here I was in the personal gallery of a passionate collector of Abstract North American Native Art.  This man’s personal collection …

I stood there in the window of my hotel room looking down on the busy Vancouver intersection far below. What a marvel. Everyone was getting to where they needed to get to in an orderly fashion. Pedestrians, cyclists and motorists all happily co-existing. No accidents. No mishaps. No problems. A true example of ‘civilization’. What would happen if the power …