Episode 131: Make Kind Loud - It's the Only Way Out of This Mess
Louisa Garrett used to rely on her sarcastic sense of humor to make people laugh. But when she saw herself through the eyes of her nieces and nephews, as a model for the behavior she wanted to see in them - and in others, she had an epiphany. Being sarcastic was not a kind sense of humor, sarcasm can certainly be funny, but it is rarely kind.
"It's Better to Be Kind than to be Funny" - Louisa Garrett
Louisa Garrett used to rely on her sarcastic sense of humor to make people laugh. But when she saw herself through the eyes of her nieces and nephews, as a model for the behavior she wanted to see in them - and in others, she had an epiphany. Being sarcastic was not a kind sense of humor, sarcasm can certainly be funny, but it is rarely kind.
As the youngest of a gaggle of kids, Louisa loved to be the center of attention. She’d do anything silly to make her siblings laugh, and developed a reputation for lightening difficult situations and conversations with her sense of humor.
Now, as we finally begin to address the issues of racism and bigotry in the most substantial way since the days of MLK Jr., Louisa has her work cut out for her. She knows that all any of us can do is be kind to each other, “stand in the gap” to support the efforts of our communities to address systemic racism and bigotry, and demonstrate the thoughtfulness and compassion we want to see in others.
You can learn more about Louisa by visiting her website, and by following her fantastic activity on Facebook.
Are you ready to find clarity? The next Finding Purpose through Your Natural Strengths course begins July 8, 2020, and runs for 8 weeks, every Wednesday. Schedule a call to find out if this course is right for you.
Episode 72: Persistence, Curiosity, and Following Instincts Create Career Resilience
When Bob Musial failed his role-playing test in his first sales job, he was humiliated. He was the only new hire out of seven to fail that session, and that made him even more motivated to prove to himself and others that he would be successful in that job.
Apply All Experiences to Every New Environment
When Bob Musial failed his role-playing test in his first sales job, he was humiliated. He was the only new hire out of seven to fail that session, and that made him even more motivated to prove to himself and others that he would be successful in that job.
He could have given up; it would have been easier in some ways to choose a different path after that dip in his confidence, but he didn’t. Instead, he doubled down on efforts to prove to himself that he could do whatever he set his mind to do. Part of that was trusting his instincts and ignoring a lot of the advice and guidance he was being given. And that aspect of his career resilience, coupled with his sense of humor, stayed with him for his many career transitions through 40+ years.
“Your sense of humor will set you apart. Take your job seriously, but don’t take yourself seriously.”
When it comes to career resilience, some of us take a more zig zag path, what I like to call a “gypsy career.” For those of us who regularly choose to change industries, roles, and environments, career resilience is dependent not only on our curiosity and ambition, it depends on our ability to convey to a potential new employer that we can apply all of what we’ve learned from every experience to be successful in a completely different role or industry.
For people who choose a more linear career path, career resilience depends on an ability to stay curious, and to prove, over and over again, that they will continue to be competent as the organization shifts into the future.
What does career resilience look like for you?
“Be curious about every person you meet. A diverse network is a powerful network.”
Bob & I discussed this topic and agreed that regardless of your career path, your career resilience grows with every opportunity you take to learn, and to build strong relationships across all parts of your life. As I’ve mentioned before, protecting your future income is critical, and two aspects of that are life-long learning in every aspect of life (personal growth/development, skill building), and building your diverse network of people before you need them.
Bob Musial, principal at StreetSmart Business Development, is a coach, humorist and author, with a 45-year background in sales, marketing, advertising and customer experience. His book, “Soft Skills. Hard Returns,” contains humor-laced stories with practical applications of soft skills in situations most people encounter daily. The ebook is available on Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble and other platforms.
Connect with Bob on LinkedIn to keep up with work!
Use Humor to Engage and Connect
Storytelling is Best with an Element of Humor
Ron Feingold, like other brilliant and well-know, but not necessarily famous comedians, has worked for nearly 30 years to make people laugh, to entertain them, and to connect with them for the brief time he has on stage for each show.
Every story he shares has some element of humor in it, though sometimes it's subtle. What I love about his style is that he's doing his own thing. He's not trying to be like anyone else. He's also combining comedy with his love for music, something unique and very entertaining.
There are pivotal moments in our lives that we recognize immediately, and that we know within seconds that they have changed us and how we see the world - and ourselves. But most of our pivotal moments aren't that obvious. Most of them are hidden in our brains until an experience that may feel similar happens to wake the memory and bring it to the conscious mind. I love discovering those moments with people, uncovering them and making necessary adjustments in order to take responsibility for our current actions and decisions.
The first pivotal moment Ron shared in this episode was one he didn't necessarily know would change his world, but after processing it for a few weeks and months, he was able to identify it as a turning point.
That first story might just take you back to a similar experience, one where a virtual stranger offered time, patience, kindness and wisdom at exactly the moment you needed those things. I know it brought back a couple of memories for me. Your lesson may be different; my lesson was simply a reminder to be as present and engaged as I can when I see someone who needs that same time, patience, and kindness. A moment of kindness like that can truly be the difference between life and death.
I'll be curious to hear your thoughts about this conversation, please let me know if you have a memory pop into your head that is similar, and maybe the lesson you can take from it now, possibly decades later.
Ron Feingold is a comedian and musician, and always has an entrepreneurial idea in his head. You can find more information about him, and even book him for your next event by visiting his website. My favorite thing he does is "The Power of the Smile", exactly the inspirational performance that any organization will appreciate at a conference or training.
You can also connect with him on LinkedIn, and please take a few minutes to enjoy this: