One of the big messages that I passed on to the new board is the need for a full day of strategic planning.

Up until now the current board in their 8 yr. history had never taken this step. They functioned on random meetings late at night.  As a result they never had the benefit of creating a clear map that would carry them from year to year.

It is this day of strategic planning that allows a company clearly focus themselves on the intentions for the year ahead.  There is reflection on the past year, focus no the long term objectives and planning for the present in order to fulfill their mission.

You would be hard pressed to find a successful company that does not have this Annual Meeting.

So my question is;

If it works for top companies, can it work for you?

Imagine what it would be like if you took a full day to plan your personal year.  To reflect on the year past, to assess your personal, family and work goals.  To determine the best game plan to help you towards your objectives, and to set a solid action plan for the year ahead.

Moving forward from that day you would have a clear sense of how your days ahead will be. You will not have to worry about endless wasted days throughout your year. You will have the opportunity to live your days completely on purpose.

Tell me what you think about an annual personal planning day. How do you think it could impact your life?

If you are getting ready to read a post about products you can buy for that ’special someone’ this coming Valentines Day, click back or do another search on Google.

This post is my thoughts on a non or less commercial approach to the day. These gifts are free, and at the same time rare and priceless.

Here are my 4 Top Gifts For Valentines Day.

Love

Though this may seem obvious, given that the theme of the day is expressing your love, it can easily turn into something done out of a sense of obligation. Take some time to prepare for the day. For the rest of the week spend a few moments each day (you don’t have to watch all the commercials) reflecting on your love for that special person. Really build the awareness so when the day arrives your love is truly felt. Be purposeful in directing your love.

Sincerity

When you have that person you love and you are now strongly aware of that love, be sincere in your expression. Don’t buy a last minute gift, or something that you like (ie. superimpose your tastes on them). Take the time to pick something that shows your appreciation of the person, and that you care enough to buy something that is significant to that person (guys, lingerie is not the favored gift). And remember its not how much you spend but what you spend it on. A picture collage of special moments in a simple frame can be more meaningful then a diamond eternity ring (don’t worry she’ll still like the ring)

Compassion/Sensitivity

Unfortunately there may be people that you know that are not on another persons Valentines radar. Every HUMAN being needs to feel loved, respected and valued, and if they are within your range of view they should be able to feel that from you. With this in mind I would like to suggest two things. One, choose a random acquaintance and recognize them on V-Day. Two, it is not possible to recognize everyone so be sensitive to someone that might not have any Valentines. Don’t go around comparing with others what you got, it might make others feel uncomfortable and left out. The day should be the recognition of love between two people, not a “look what great present I got” day.

Compassion and Sensitivity is a great way to express love for your fellow man.

Commitment

No this doesn’t mean that you should pressure him into marriage or talk about moving in together. Commitment means you show that this expression of love is something more than a one in 365 day event. Love is something that should be expressed on a regular basis. This doesn’t mean that you need to buy him/her presents regularly. It means an ongoing recognition that the person is special in your life.

Ways that you can show love on a regular basis :

• Greet your partner at the door with a warm smile/hug.
• Stop what you are doing (watching the game/playing on the computer) and give your full attention.
• Call in the middle of the day just to say “I love you“
• Buy a nice card just because, and write something sweet (yes you can be sweet)
• Say I love you (The obvious is often the most missed)
• Bring home her favorite chocolate
• Bring home his favorite sports magazine
• Candle light dinner.
• Go out on a date (more for married couples)

These are just some of the ideas that I have. Please share some of your own.

As you can see these gifts are not exclusive to Valentines Day, and for those that think that V-day is the only time to express your love and affection, Then you are looking for love in all the wrong places.

Whats the meaning here?

Last night was a busy night. I had to leave by 7:30 and my wife was having a group of moms come over to prepare loot bags for a school program. The kids that bed time was the time to fight over everything and through endless tantrums. By 7:15 our patience was really starting to wear thin. By 7:20 we were starting (lets say more in the middle) to lose our cool.

Now the fighters and tantrum throwers are 7 and 5 years old. And even though we sometimes expect them to act like adults, the reality is they are normal healthy kids and fighting and tantrums are part of what they do.

So why do two adults loose their cool over this?

One of the thoughts that came to my mind was that we were getting frustrated because we were concerned about what others were going to think.

You see for us the best response would have been to ignore the kids while they were having a cow. There is no communicating with them when they are in this state. They would eventually calm down and then we could get them to bed.  But because guests were coming we needed to stop this right away, because we can’t have our kids acting this way when they arrive. What would they think??

So we got frustrated, we raised our voices they raised their voices, they tantrumed more we got frustrated more and by the time we finally got them into bed we were all drained and irritable.

Why?  Because We cared about what other would think.

If we didn’t care we would have taken the better approach. The tantruming might have been shorter and the interactions healthier, by the time the kids got to sleep we would have been more relaxed and less exhausted. The learning experience would have been much better for the kids as well.

Sometimes we will break our standards, step out of alignment with our values and goals because we are worried about What others will think? We are so concerned with their interpretation of what they see that we are willing to sacrifice the best paths in our life’s journey.  Not only do we prevent our own growth, but the frustration of being out of alignment causes us to not function at peak performance in other areas of our life as well. When our mind is in a negative state it is hard to accomplish much positive.

So though it is important to care and respect our fellow man. When it comes to making the right choices in life, sometimes you cant give a Damn what they think.

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