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REFLECTION: One of the cool things about writing and speaking on a particular topic (like I have with Pause for almost a decade now), is that others who are working in related areas seek you out.

In the last few months, I’ve been privy to advance drafts of two new books on stress and renewal. Today, I want to highlight for you one of those offerings.

Julia James, a life coach based in Vancouver, has just released her book called, ‘The Mini-Retreat Solution – How to Relax & Refresh Anytime, Anywhere’. In addition to reinforcing the case for taking time out in the midst of busy lives, Julia offers 80 specific suggestions for mini retreats (small bits of time out that you incorporate throughout the day). For easy reference, the mini-retreats are grouped by time of day (morning, lunch, evening) and situation (in transit, at the office, in the community). (more…)

I facilitated a day long leader development session on Tuesday with about 20 people. We took a few breaks through the day – 2 minutes – 5 minutes – 10 minutes – whatever seemed appropriate at the time.

EVERY time I called a break, a good 80% of the attendees whipped out their phones to check God knows what! And having checked, most determined that their entire break should be devoted to tending the text and avoiding interaction with their peers in the room. No, they were not all introverts!

I felt very sad about the absence of what used to be an important part of educational sessions – a chance to network with others, find out what is on their minds, develop original thoughts. It makes me worry for our future in organizations. If we only know each other by the tops of our heads – and not through our eyes, or what’s on our minds – what investment will we really have in each other’s success or well-being?

And then, if I post this on my blog or Facebook or Linked In, will I find that others share the same concern, or, will I just be fueling our electronic addictions?

Continuing the theme of the week – will it be yes or no? Here’s a Harvard Business Review guest blog by Alexandra Samuel titled, ‘This Year, Saying Yes to Saying No‘ .

Alexandra supports, as do I, thoughtfulness at the core of every decision.

Here’s the latest edition of Pause in video form. Enjoy!

Some times great minds think alike! No sooner had I posted my recent e-zine on ‘Saying Yes’ than I received a link to Kim Duke’s blog posting on exactly the same topic. Kim is an Edmonton based sales and marketing expert known as the Sales Diva – who incidentally grew up in the next town down the highway from my own hometown just east of Saskatoon.

Thought you might enjoy checking out another take on saying yes to life. Here’s the link: Saying Yes By Kim Duke

REFLECTION: One of my vacation projects involved sifting through the digital photos from our 2009 adventures. I usually pull a few pics and create a ‘Year In Photos’ holiday message for friends and family. This year, I went one step further and created a digital photo album that is about to be printed as a hard cover book. Although digital images and slide shows are fine, there’s something appealing about leafing through an album you can hold in your hands. Bless Apple’s iPhoto software for making this so easy and inexpensive.

What I discovered as I flipped my way through the photo highlights of the year is that they all shared one thing in common: a ‘Yes’ response to the possibilities. (more…)

Ethan Does Christmas 2009 – featuring a chat with Santa, a whole lot of unstuffing and unwrapping, boy toys (Spiderman, cars & remote controls), food, of course, and (Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus)…a good loud set of drums!

Here’s the latest Pause e-zine in video format. Enjoy!

REFLECTION: December can be an exciting time of the year, if you are able to see past the overwhelming pressure of holiday preparations, and find that celebratory, appreciative place of mind.

There’s something satisfying about turning that final page on the wall hung calendar. Another 12 months behind us. Another year lived, complete with unexpected twists and turns.

It’s the time of year when journalists feel compelled to look back at the year in review, creating top 10 lists of everything you can imagine – people, events, disasters, and delights. Christmas greetings and letters often take the same form – a year in the life of Family Smith.

There’s an opportunity here for each one of us to cast a glance over 2009 and the kind of year it has been for us. (more…)

Greetings from Calgary where the snow is deep and the toes are cold. I’m enjoying rubbing shoulders with a couple of hundred of my colleagues at the annual convention of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers. Hope your week is going well, too.

REFLECTION: Recently, I’ve been dipping into Marshall Goldsmith’s book, ‘What Got You Here Won’t Get You There’.  Goldsmith is an executive coach who has helped many high performing individuals ditch some of the bad habits that are holding them back from even more stellar success.

Goldsmith points out that many of our development efforts are focused on teaching people what to do – and that not nearly enough time is spent showing people what they need to stop doing. He describes the latter approach as shifting from ‘negative’ into ‘neutral’. (more…)