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Les Brown Articles
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Can You Win the Uphill Midlife Battle? - Click To Read Article When I feel overwhelmed, it's often because I forget that I'm not in competition with the rest of the world, but I always have the option to join in cooperation. That requires that I adjust my attitude toward the rest of the population of the world and see them as other 'selves' rather than threats. This awareness, this attitude, I call 'empathy'. Understanding the Need for Radical Change - Click To Read Article Why do organizations often turn on those within it who have their best interests at heart? Why do change efforts so frequently end in 'more of the same'? Much of it has to do with the cultural systems operative in each organization. Change is scary, and the 'poison we know' often seems preferable to the 'poison we don't know'. Even rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic can be doubly aggravating when there's someone coming along behind you, putting them all back where they were. Radical change is more than 'thinking outside the box' — it's acting outside the organizational box. Discernment: Discovering a Vision for the Future - Click To Read Article It would be so much easier, I think, if I could really be the 'master of my destiny'. Yet, deep down I know that I'm a part of something much bigger than myself. To the extent that I can join the flow of that 'something', I find an energy within that makes even the most difficult engagements go almost effortlessly. On the contrary, when I fight it, even the simplest tasks take a herculean effort. Discernment allows me to come into alignment not only with my own destiny, but it creates a synergy between me and the rest of the world. Being Mindful of Who I Am - Click To Read Article There are many things that I forget in the course of a day. The most frequent forgotten fact is my own identity. It's too easy to stockpile only my apparent shortcomings in the catacombs of my memory. Yet it is precisely the awareness of who I am that allows me to move forward in my personal and my professional life. 'Purposeful Change': The Way Forward - Click To Read Article Change happens all around us, but we're not 'victims' of change. We have a critical part to play in seeing that change moves us in a positive direction. That's what 'purposeful change' is all about: getting involved as an architect of the future. Over 30 Need Not Apply - Click To Read Article For most people, physical aging is the first sign of the onset of the midlife transition. It can be a chance to avoid the ominous midlife crisis. What Is Midlife, After All? - Click To Read Article My semi-scientific survey indicates exactly what I suspected: that few people really understand when or what midlife is. Here are some data for you. Climbing Out of the Fog - Click To Read Article We 'get it' that it's important to plan for the next stage of life. We may not realize how much effort it's going to take to find our way in the dark. A Message from Your Empty Nest - Click To Read Article An empty nest exposes the cracks and wrinkles in a relationship like nothing else. Midlife presents an opportunity to move your primary relationship into a whole new dimension. How Much Are You Leaving Behind? - Click To Read Article Most people think of their legacy as the fruits of their labors. On the contrary, your true legacy derives from who you are not what you do. Appreciation As A Fundamental Awareness - Click To Read Article Appreciation allows whatever we're used to taking for granted to come forward into our awareness. This is true of our own value as well as that of others in our personal, social or business networks. Suddenly, we find we're living a richer, fuller life, and we have a much clearer perception of how we can make it that much more satisfying and rewarding. Leading with Your Strengths - Click To Read Article Making a difference starts with banishing negativity from life. Changes happen when we start focusing on our achievements and surrounding ourselves with people who support rather than disparage us. As they have unique perspectives to offer us, we, in turn have unique strengths that they need. This is what I call 'social economy' — we 'supply' them what we have to offer and 'demand' that they offer to those in their circle their unique best. The Myth of the Adult - Click To Read Article Becoming an adult is not the great milestone that it's made out to be. In fact, most of the false assumptions of childhood are just carried over there piecemeal. Change Is a Life or Death Matter - Click To Read Article People resist change, even when it's beneficial. Even when we try to make a difference, too often we do not succeed. Perhaps the problem lies in the starting point. Change begins when we begin to refocus our own awareness. All personal and professional change is an inside job. What Will Your Transition Cost? - Click To Read Article Although culturally it may cost men to become introspective and to examine in some depth what's really important to them, the cost of failing to perform this kind of self-examination could be much higher. It cost you everything you hold dear. Appreciation: Looking in the Rearview Mirror - Click To Read Article Appreciation is more than taking a positive attitude about business and about life: it's also about looking back on how far you've come and enjoying the accomplishment. No matter how much attention you need to pay to the road ahead, you still sometimes have to look in the rearview mirror to appreciate where you've come from. What successful team avoids performing a 'postmortem' on even a well-played game? Perfection is a direction, not an achievable goal; progress is what we're after. Future progress only comes from a healthy examination of where we've been. What If I Get Sick? - Click To Read Article Why do guys fear midlife? The chances of anything bad happening to you at midlife aren't that much greater than them happening tomorrow. I (Dis)Honestly Love You - Click To Read Article One aspect that suffers greatly during midlife crisis is your primary relationship. Knowing what's happening (and how to cope) is critical. Comprehending Our Frames of Perception - Click To Read Article Most of the time, I think that I'm seeing the 'big picture' when I'm trying to make sense out of what I perceive. Yet, that's never the case. I'm always seeing things from just one limited viewpoint. That's my 'frame' from which I gather my knowledge and experience and on which I impose my interpretation. It's only when I realize how narrow that frame is that I can become ready to let in other perspectives and consider other alternatives. Inter-personal Inter-ruptions - Click To Read Article When difficulties arise in interpersonal relationships, you have choices. These choices are less about what you choose to do about it, than how you choose to interpret it. Our Secret Anti-Aging Formula - Click To Read Article Transitioning into midlife is not a job for wimps. Yet, there's an effective way to do it, if you only know how. Anticipation: Proactive Responsibility - Click To Read Article Waiting for the other shoe to drop is never a viable alternative. Using the full scope of our awareness to seek out and examine many of the possible consequences of our actions allows us to anticipate and avoid them. In business as in life, taking a proactive, responsible stance may not prevent the worst from happening, but it'll certainly allow us to be prepared for it. In other cases, preventive action can allow us to anticipate — and to avoid — costly mistakes. Getting from Child-ish to Child-like - Click To Read Article Education turns out to be a process that separates the individual from his or her intuition. Midlife offers an opportunity to recapture what was lost. When Generations Collide - Click To Read Article Managing midlife affairs among generations has never been easy, and there's no quick fix. To be successful at it, you've got to start talking NOW. Emotional Pain Management - Click To Read Article 'Pain is necessary; suffering is optional' or so goes the old saying. With midlife, even a lot of the pain is optional if you choose to address it. Prayers That Are Always Answered - Click To Read Article Prayer can be a touchy subject, often because it is so easily misunderstood. Once we can connect with its essence, its essential role in life becomes clear. Midlife Dispells the Security Mirage - Click To Read Article The belief that we can work our way to security becomes a deadly trap in midlife. Acceptance at a deep, spiritual level provides the only way out. Midlife and Catastrophe Consciousness - Click To Read Article The mathematical concept of 'catastrophe' suggests a sudden, irreversible change within a dynamic system. In midlife, we face the ultimate catastrophe. The Courage to Change the Things I Can - Click To Read Article We're appalled when people stand by doing nothing while others suffer, yet, if we haven't got a habit of courage, we're likely to be doing the same thing. The Arts Are a Waste of Time - Click To Read Article Midlife is a time when science and technology, although wonderful, fails to satisfy. It stimulates our need for deeper levels of creativity. Obligations and Expectations - Click To Read Article We start out life, given a set of assumptions that act as 'training wheels' until we're ready to strike out on our own. Sadly, some people never do. Wisdom Is Knowing What We Don't Know - Click To Read Article Comprehension, as most people understand it, is not a strength but rather a weakness. People often presuppose wrongly that everyone has the same comprehension as they do. Arrogance insists that our vision of the "facts" is the right one. Humility demands that we be aware of how much of our own personal interpretation goes into our vision of reality. We begin to have real comprehension once we realize that our perspective may not be the only valid one. More Than Muddling Through - Click To Read Article Midlife crisis is the 'default' condition: the way things will happen if you do nothing at all. Want to avoid it? You can! Puberty, Morality, and Maturity - Click To Read Article The stages of moral development parallel our physical evolution. What happens when someone gets stuck in adulthood? How Deep Will Your Midlife Crisis Go? - Click To Read Article Of all the difficulties that a person can face during the course of a lifetime, the midlife crisis is perhaps the worst. That's because its source runs so deep. Is 'Adulthood' Just Postponing Growing Up? - Click To Read Article Surprisingly, that age-old question, "What do you want to be when you grow up," too often remains unanswered through adulthood. How to Deal with Slowin' Down - Click To Read Article One of people's greatest fears about midlife is that it means slowing down. Is slowing down really a bad sign? Disillusionment and the Second Stage of Life - Click To Read Article The disillusionment that marks the transition from childhood to adulthood is all a part of transitioning through the famous five stages of grief. Midlife means acceptance. Adults Ambushed by the 'More' Mentality - Click To Read Article There's a paradoxical effect that afflicts us: when we sell our talents, they lose their meaning. Yet, we desire the rewards that financial success brings. What price are we willing to pay for it? What Do You Need? What Do You Demand? - Click To Read Article It's remarkably easy to confuse 'needs' and 'wants' with 'demands'. Fulfilling our needs leads to progress; demands only lead to disappointment. Loving the Man in the Mirror - Click To Read Article Self esteem goes beyond just doing good deeds. Our memories hold images and feelings from the past that collect and weigh us down. Get rid of them! Want A Meaningful Life Get a Balanced One - Click To Read Article You want a great life, and you want it now. A balanced life seems like a good idea for 'someday'. What if the former depends on the latter? Do Fewer Women Have Midlife Crises? - Click To Read Article Casual observation suggests that women have fewer difficulties transitioning through midlife than men do. For men, it requires a cultural revolution. Success Is a Dead End - Click To Read Article 'Success' as defined by the adult world is a static concept that's bound to lead to ennui. Midlife gives you the chance to get yourself back on track. Like this article? Share it with your friends
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