No Half Measures

The concept of half life is dazzling and terrifying at the same time.  Nothing is a constant.  There is never ending movement.   Animal, mineral, vegetable, human are 50% incline and 50% decline.  The half life of something is just that, the point at which the decline starts.

It’s easy to measure the half life of a glass of milk left on a counter.  But what about a human being?  I’m 51 yrs old.  Should I consider my half life as being at 40?  At 50?  I consider I am nowhere near that point.  I’m just enjoying this steady incline with no end in sight.  I’d rather live my life fully this way than live a half life with fear and trepidation about growing old.

Let’s assume that the life of a glass of milk left on a counter is four hours.  That milk then has a half life of two hours.  It’s been on the counter for 1 ½ hours.  Awfully close to the two mark…No thanks.  Who wants to drink a declining glass of milk?

So, my vote is that humans are not part of the half life paradigm.  We just have life.  Always on the incline, always moving toward something bigger, better and more joyous.  No half lives, no half measures – just health and well being.  Wine, anyone?  ( It can last on the counter for days…)

Her Story, His Story, History

One of the most liberating things I ever heard was a statement by motivational speaker Dr. Wayne Dyer to ‘give up your personal history’.  Changing from anger to opportunity was as simple as deciding that ‘you are not your history’.  You are not a victim of someone’s acts against you.  You are the creator of your life.  If you don’t like what you’re creating, change your thoughts, change your actions and watch your story change.

His story, her story, history is just stories. Like most stories, our history has a bit of fact, a bit of fiction and a bit of fantasy thrown in.

Some history takes effort to let go of.  Especially the history of suffering and personal or collective trauma.  These have deep roots that need to be given a proper burial.  Unfounded fears are a good clue that we have history deep within our psyche that is preventing our growth.

Subtle intuitive nudges and urges are great clues to our buried fears.

A few years ago, I found myself travelling solo through Eastern Europe.  Someone casually mentioned that the WW II concentration camp of Auschwitz was a must see in Poland.  My heart immediately began racing.  The next day I was on a 17 hour bus ride down to southern Poland and the main city of Krakow.  From there I took another 1 hr ride to the camp.

The moment I saw the camp, I felt a coldness and a deep sadness run through me.  Without fully understanding the urge to be there, I knew that my lifelong fears of incarceration, of losing my freedom and my free spirit, and the sense of being cold all the time were somehow connected to this place.

Although it was a sunny, hot day, I shivered continuously.   I spent the day in a somewhat detached state of horror, as if I was seeing it this way after having experienced it from the other side, from inside a cold, bare wooden shack at Birkenau.  And, I knew I had come all this way in order to forgive.

One particular spot on the grounds attracted me and I lingered there, not quite sure what to do but sure that I was in the right place.  ‘Just trust, ‘I told myself.

I placed my hand on a toppled stone, closed my eyes and really, truly, forgave those who had caused such suffering. And then, I knew my sightseeing was done.  I climbed back on the bus about ½ hr before departure time, not interested to see any more, enveloped by a gentle, peaceful energy.

Curiously, that event has helped my life shift to one of a greater sense of freedom and joy.  I also began to shift from granola maker to writer and motivational speaker. My strongest message:  every human being is unique and valuable and has unlimited potential.

A couple of years ago, I met world reknown cyclist and 7 time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong at a cancer fundraising event.  He talked of how the disease had given his life a true purpose.

Upon leaving the hospital after his treatments were over, Lance’s surgeon suggested he had two choices ahead of him.  A)  put the whole thing behind him, don’t talk about it and carry on with his life  or B) create purpose by using this battle to personify all that a human being is capable of.  Lance chose B.

According to Lance, in choosing to share his story, he brought purpose and meaning to his life that went far beyond the sense of victory and accomplishment he had experienced as a cyclist.  His life became about inspiring others to break self imposed limitations.

What story are you telling?  Think about it.

A Gift from Grandma

As our new Managing Director, Martine Chartrand, took the helm this past July, I hoped my grandmother would approve.

My answer came last week.

My mother greeted me warmly one evening, delighted with my surprise visit.  She had a small bag in her hand. “These are for you”, she said.  “They’re from Grandma.  I feel she wants you to have them.”

I stared in amazement. Let me explain…

The rules in a commercial kitchen are clear: no rings, no bracelets, no necklaces, nothing pierced – in short, no jewellery.  All jewellery has to be removed before entering the production area.

That morning, my ring had been wisely placed in my front jean pocket.  My favourite pair of costume earrings were absentmindedly placed on my locker shelf.

As I was closing up the kitchen at day’s end, my hand swept the locker shelf and the earrings flew.   I found one.  The other had vanished.

Driving home, I thought perhaps it was time for me to buy myself a really lovely pair of earrings.  It was time to treat myself to a special gift.

I decided to stop by my parents home briefly to give them both a hug, knowing this would pick my spirits up.  I popped in unannounced, catching them with 5 minutes to spare before they were going out for the evening.

My mother handed me the bag. “These are for you,” she said.  My father watched in amazement.  In the bag was a lovely pair of gold earrings that had belonged to my Grandmother Emily.  They had sat, untouched, in a drawer, since her funeral 20 years earlier.  Delicate, exquisite and timeless, they were perfect.

We hugged, we shed a tear and I drove home wearing my lovely new earrings – amazed.

I don’t wear a watch.  Grandma, I figure you decided that after 14 years running Grandma Emily’s Granola, it was time for the gold earrings instead. Thanks for your approval.

Making Space

After 14 years running Grandma Emily’s, I’m making some space.

Space for a new Managing Director, who’s coming in with new ideas and a fresh perspective for our company.  For me, that means vacating the space I’ve occupied for many years and allowing change and growth according to someone else’s vision of things. The mission remains constant.  The tactics will expand. It’s time to let another person steer the ship. I’m talking evolution not revolution.

This will bring me space as well to pursue other projects and develop other talents.  Yes, I’ll still be CEO of Grandma Emily’s.  I’ll be a CEO with a new MO (modus operandi) who’s learnt to let go.

It’s important to have concrete goals in any endeavor.  That brings purpose to the effort expended. Just as important is realizing when those goals have been met.  For me, it was time to set new goals that encompass a wider vision of my self as well as the aspect of being of service.

Teach, coach, write – three tools I’m developing to help guide the next generations of entrepreneurs just dipping their feet into the waters of self employment and risk taking. All these years of working and mistake making have afforded me a lot of material.

Delegating a business to others takes advanced planning. This change has been two years in the making.

First, the day to day operations had to be competently handled by experienced staff with the authority to run the show.  Second, the umbilical cord that attached me so tightly to my business had to be slowly cut.

The baby has been birthed.  She learnt to walk, to talk and although she’s still small, she’s solid.  She’s in a safe space and it’s time now for her to thrive.  I’ll never be far.  Just far enough to give her space to grow.

I call it uncrowdsourcing my life.   Consciously or unconsciously, we all do it.

When we take a minute to focus on the in breath and the out breath, we’re making space.  When we go through our closet and give old clothes away, we’re making space. Just the realization that it was more important to me to be happy than to be right, helped bring so much space into my personal relationships that they thrive as they never have before.

This change is all about the business thriving under fresh ideas and new leadership.    The space has been carefully prepared and we’re excited about the possibilities ahead.  I’ll keep you posted.

Bright Minds, Bright Future

After spending a day recently witnessing 15 teams pitch their ideas at the finals of McGill University’s Dobson Cup Business Plan Competition, I realized that I would never make it as a venture capitalist and definitely make a lousy judge.  I wanted them all to win.

I also realized that the future of entrepreneurship looks bright, really bright.  These young enthusiastic minds are bursting with ideas and the Dobson Centre’s director Greg Vitt, wants to ensure they stay on track when the roadblocks appear.

Asked to keep the dialogue alive by offering to mentor the students long after the competition ends, judges are encouraged to pick the groups/ideas that appeal to them.  We can coach, invest or just cajole.  I chose two students who have probably less to learn from me than I have to learn from them.

One, a PhD student in Neuroscience, wants to start a fitness company.  Another, a former Olympic champion skater, wants to run a beverage business.  And I have something to offer them?

I do.

Why is it that 2/3 of new businesses don’t last 24 months?  And that only 1/3 of those left standing will make it to year five? Simply put, it’s because we give up too easily.  No matter how great a business plan, in the tough moments when you really want to give up, it’s the greater purpose of the business you’re struggling to build that carries you beyond “I can’t do this anymore” to “I am success.  I can make this happen.”

My job is to help them dig and discover within themselves that purpose that will keep their motor driving no matter what.  All the outside mentorship and encouragement are peripheral to them finding that inner core of strength and purpose.

Sounds like a good life strategy as well.