Serendipity, Whitespace & Downtime

photo-2No one hands you:

Downtime.

It’s tough to recognize…and even tougher to indulge in:

Serendipity.

And most important of all

just might be:

Whitespace.

Expanding or shifting your Whitespace may be the ONE BOLD THING you’ll do next time you want to change the trajectory in building your business and loving your life…

Grab a favorite magazine and look closely at an ad. See how the Whitespace allows you to focus right where the advertiser wants your attention?

Now take a look at your business / your life and notice how the Whitespace allows you to focus – or lack of Whitespace distracts you from focusing(!) – on right where you really want to be.

IMG_1586David and I added the Whitespace we craved in our life when we kept our promise to each other (and to our kids, who couldn’t say they weren’t expecting this ;) that at 50 we would sell whatever house we lived in and downsize all the *stuff* to instead live our dream of a simpler, easier and more exciting city condo and lake cabin life.

Even though our goal was crystal clear, the process itself was at times super stressful, requiring an all-in commitment to DO this. We did not want to look back years later and realized we had only talked about it without making it happen.

The impact of that one massive change was immediate, positive and powerful.

The new Whitespace we created in our life gave birth to a whole new world of possibilities.

As in all things Self-Leadership… No one hands you Serendipity, Whitespace or Downtime in your work or life… you need to carve it out, claim it, covet it and OWN IT.

CRAVING NEW SUCCESS?

It’s Up To YOU!

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©1993-2012 Ann Ulrich, THE BOLD! FACTOR®  AnnUlrich.com

Photo:  On a *downtime* getaway to our lake cabin last Fall, I took a long walk through our familiar woods and came across this magical scene. As tho painted right there to light up my day. Funny, it may have been there for years and I just never noticed? The city scene is from our deck – as antidote to our cabin life – when we chose to downsize all the *stuff*.

It’s Up To YOU!

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The Great thing about Self-Leadership?

It’s Up To YOU.

The Tough thing about Self-Leadership?

It’s Up To YOU.

To get the RESPONSE you want…

To create the IMPACT you crave…

To achieve the RESULT…

To build the BUSINESS…

To live the LIFE you’ve imagined all along…

DO ONE BOLD THING.  

OWN IT.

It’s Up To YOU!

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©1993-2012 Ann Ulrich, THE BOLD! FACTOR®   AnnUlrich.com

Photo: The metallic focus-inducing inner circle of this simple beaded coaster has been a favorite for over 20 years.

Self-Leadership in 5.4.3.2.1.

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Confident Self-Leadership in 1 Word:  Ownership.

Focused Self-Leadership in 2:  Own This.

Courageous Self-Leadership in 3:  *I Own This.*

Inspired Team Self-Leadership in 4:  *Let’s Own This Together.*

Contagious Self-Leadership in 5:  *LET’S ALL KEEP OWNING THIS!*

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©1993-2012 Ann Ulrich, THE BOLD! FACTOR®  ANNULRICH.COM

Fail or Failure?

photo-25We all have successes.

We all have fails.

Whether your Fail becomes a Failure is up to YOU!

Did work or life dish you a bummer situation?

Next time it happens, Relax. You have a choice:

You can let it trip you up… let it rip you apart… or let it be part of your dance!

I HOPE YOU DANCE!

After the music fades away, if you find you’re still stuck, here’s a powerful response that works. Every time. (Yes, I’ve had some practice!)

Your 4.0 Response To Keep Fails From Becoming Failures:

*Ouch. Observe. Own This. Onward!*

A Fail only becomes a Failure if you choose not to move on…

It’s Up To YOU!

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©1993-2012 Ann Ulrich, Ann Ulrich Inc. THE BOLD! FACTOR®  ANNULRICH.COM

Photo:  Each Summer, these Aquatennial Fireworks are shot off the bridge over the river in front of our condo – so close we can feel it – so loud we can’t hear our own screams of WOW!! I loved capturing this intense sparkle rising from the smoke as rising from the river.

Open Heart, Open Mind

photo-11A few years back, Seth Godin challenged me to prove him wrong related to one of my business concepts.

Hard as I tried, I could not prove him wrong.

He is Brilliant.

He’s willing to say the unsayable.

In a positive impact kind of way. And somehow his wisdom seems perfectly timed. Another thank you email headed his way today… his wisdom is always worth sharing:

With An Open Heart And An Open Mind – by Seth Godin

It might not be warranted, but you won’t get far without it.

Don’t bother going to that meeting or reading that book (and I’ll add: or re-thinking that conversation) unless you can momentarily assume the message comes from a place of goodwill and generosity.

Skepticism doesn’t help you hear.

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© 1993-2012 Ann Ulrich   THE BOLD! FACTOR®  ANNULRICH.COM

Photo:  I love capturing pictures as simple parts of a whole. This is a favorite vase.

Swing Like A Kid Again

Next time you’re starting a new project, meeting a new client, building a new dream, blossoming a new relationship, creating a new strategy, putting a fresh new spin on a tired old program, or re-imagining a confident new YOU…

Swing Like A Kid Again!

Free yourself from old expectations you know are holding you back.

Stop caring what other people think.

Toss the instruction manual … pick the beginning, middle, or end … and simply START.

Let yourself Swing Like A Kid Again! Remember the feeling?! Push me higher! Run under my swing Daddy! Let me Soar till my feet touch the clouds!

Let’s free ourselves to Swing Like Kids Again.

Why did we ever stop?!

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© 1993-2012. Ann Ulrich  THE BOLD! FACTOR®  ANNULRICH.COM

The Antidote To Your Rat-Race-Rush Life? Social Generosity.

photo-7So where in this Rat Race are we all Rushing to?

And when we eventually get there… then what?!

An unintended consequence of our choice to live a Rat-Race-Rush Life (and yes, it is our choice!)

We risk misusing our personal power to get ahead of each other

instead of helping each other get ahead.

The antidote?  Practice Social Generosity.

The beauty of practicing Social Generosity lies in its simplicity:

Do One BOLD Thing Today… To Help One Person Get Ahead.

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© 1993-2013 Ann Ulrich  THE BOLD! FACTOR®  AnnUlrich.com

Photo:  This wire art just looked like a rat race rush(!) to me when I wrote this post. It’s a wire bowl hanging in our kitchen – where it looks much calmer ;)

Guilty Pleasure

photo-12On a recent flight home, I broke the golden rule of being a good seatmate:

I interrupted the reading-immersed woman sitting next to me.

Noticing she had not come up for air since firing up her ereader, I asked if she always preferred reading digital books.

I mentioned still loving to curl up with my ink-doodled piles of books vs holding my hard metal iPad.

Her comment will forever crack me up:

*If I were reading a business book like you, I’d have no problem holding that book in my lap for all the world to see…*

She continued, *I’m reading the 3rd book in the 50 Shades of Grey series… I’m traveling with my team and believe me I don’t need anyone to know what book I’m devouring… it’s my secret guilty pleasure.*

The look in her eyes told me she sure hoped I didn’t know anyone on her team! 

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© 1993-2012 Ann Ulrich  THE BOLD! FACTOR®  ANNULRICH.COM

Photo:  Ahhhh what better to signify Guilty Pleasure than one of my favorite cuddle-up blankets. This living room blanket is always nearby when I immerse in hours of reading.

Calm Courageous Confident vs. Crazed(!)

photo-10LOVE this. From always-brilliant Seth Godin:

Often, our instinct is to make the current bump in the road far more urgent than it actually is.

It focuses our attention and rallies those around us to take immediate and deliberate action.

After all, if this is the big one, of course we should drop everything and deal with it.

Missing from this equation is the cost of dropping everything. The short-term herk and jerk that is delivered by an organization that responds to those that amplify problems into catastrophes inevitably leads to poor performance in the long run.

Employees who do this ought to be counseled to cut it out. It’s not what we hired you to do. Bosses who catastrophize are often hesitant to admit it, though, and if you work for one, it’s going to continually hurt your ability to do your best work.

And non-profits who catastrophize to meet their next funding goal inevitably sabotage the very work they set it out to do in the first place, all because it’s an easy way to raise some extra money.

from http://sethgodin.typepad.com

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© 1993-2012 Ann Ulrich  THE BOLD! FACTOR®   ANNULRICH.COM

Photo:  Our Italian stone dining room table is more fun with this contemporary platinum-y runner. It’s at once calm, courageous, confident and yes, even a bit crazed. Perfect!

Earn The Relationship First

photo-13Years ago, I was brought in to lead a turnaround.

My directive was to win back revenue lost amidst a volatile marketplace.

I rolled up my sleeves and focused on meeting with the right people to get an understanding what, in their minds, the real issue was.

As is often the case, the real issue was buried deep beneath the façade of perception.

My big takeaway in that career-defining project?

Winning back lost revenue is not only about revenue…

It’s about Relationships.

When you reach out to build trust – and grant trust – you begin re-building 2-way relationships…

…and from that point forward you never need to chase the money again.

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© 1993-2012 Ann Ulrich  THE BOLD! FACTOR®   ANNULRICH.COM

Photo: Love the metallic focus-inducing center of this simple silvery coaster I’ve had for over 20 years.