I am a thinker
Now this by no set of circumstance means that my thoughts are valid, cutting edge, ignorant, intelligent or leading. This only means that in moments I have with people and my environment I think… Think about my actions. The actions of others. The inactions of us all.
#HRevolution
I believe the biggest impact we make is in the relationships we have with those immediately around us. Whether that be family, friends or colleagues. At HRevolution this weekend I met up with past colleagues and friends. I met a lot of new ones. We shared time and space. It is ridiculous to say that we will all talk or connect on a regular basis. But we can say that what we learned from each other, good and bad, can possibly help us be better and transition our actions for the future.
In the final session I attended with Paul Smith & China Gorman we had a discussion around the idea of influence. Now those attending and present in the session you heard my thoughts. I am big on action. Writing things down to commit to memory. Committing not only to others but to yourself. Creating a contract to and for yourself and then being accountable.
So when I came across the following TEDx talk today it just fit with what I believe.
3 Things we learn about ourselves
This past week I wrote about Apollo 13: INNOVATION through CHAOS. There I talked about how sometimes, something dramatic and drastic needs to happen in order to move us forward. The following TEDx video was appropriate coming home from HRevolution.
The story: Ric Elias, a front-row passenger aboard US Airways Flight 1549, gives a TED talk about the three things he learned while his plane was crashing.
Lessons from a traumatic event
Here are the 3 things he learned and took away from his face-off with death:
- How are you changing your relationships? – “I collect bad wines… cause if the wine is ready and the person is there, I’m opening it. I no longer want to postpone anything in life.”
- What would you change in your relationships and the negative energy in them? – “The time I wasted in things that did not matter with people that did matter. I no longer try to be right, I choose to be happy.”
- Are you being the best parent you can be? – “Dying is not scary… but it is very sad. In that moment I only wished I could see my kids grow up… Now the only thing that matters in my life is to be a great dad.”
A Takeaway
Too often we wait. Wait for the right time. The right moment. The right person. The perfect set of circumstances to somehow tell us that we should move! That we should act. A sudden shift to move us forward. To take a chance and step from fear to confidence.
At HRevolution many of us mentioned the business impact. I think we subconsciously realized that the personal impact of how we interact with people also holds a strong correlation to what impacts the business! The two are never mutually exclusive!
3 Things for you…
To tie it back to this weekend at HRevolution… I would just ask the following:
- What are you waiting for and what is it going to take?
- What set of circumstances will be presented to you so that the things you have kept yourself from doing for so long become urgent for you in the now? What things will you do as a result of it all?
- Are you being the best parent, husband/wife, son/daughter, business partner, colleague you can be?
