Tag: success

Living Social and Spiritual – Why are we here?

Published on by Courtney Anne WilsonLeave a comment

Last night I had the privilege of being in the presence of one of the world’s greatest teachers. An inspirational icon and example of what it takes to live a life on purpose. A woman who follows her passion and whose every move and decision is dictated by her heart’s desire to offer up her gift to the world and to be of service to others.

Oprah, such a power house of a woman who speaks to you in many ways and at every level, left me with one defining moment that resonated at my core and that lingers with me as I wake this morning. She said (something along the lines of) ‘There is no life without a spiritual life. And by spiritual I don’t mean religious. You can be spiritual without being religious and the reverse is also true, you can be religious without being spiritual. Spiritual, in this context, is the connection you have with the spirit within you – the core of who you are’.

A famous quote to follow up her point-“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

So I ask myself these two simple, yet loaded, questions.

  1. Do I live a spiritual life?
  2. What do I do that connects me to my spirit?

I started to explore.…

  • I meditate every day to center myself and to listen to my inner voice (if only for 5 mins)
  • I practice Ashtanga yoga, to connect my body, mind and spirit (even when I’m tired or resist)
  • I dance to feel and to harness the power of music and movement (and to literally stop thinking)
  • I walk along the beach to bathe in the abundance of the ocean (and sense the bigger picture)
  • I watch movies to discover meaning and the power of story (recognising my own story)
  • I check in with myself when I need to make a decision or respond (even after I may have reacted unintentionally)
  • I hug and sit by trees to connect and honour the wisdom of the land (knowing nature has it all worked out)
  • I connect with others and travel to experience diversity and appreciate other cultures/view points (validating the different aspects of my consciousness to avoid sitting in judgement too long)
  • I surround myself with people that are aligned in values and who ask more of me (despite my moments of resentment or reluctance)
  • I follow my passion through the work that I choose to do with and for others (even in the face of uncertainty)
  • I hold an intention to add value in everything I do (in spite of a world telling me to take all that I can get)

In exploring these relatively simple questions, I discover what I need, what it is that excites me, what brings me happiness – and we all want to be happy!

It’s so easy to get caught up in the social side of life, where we want to fit in with the latest trends and fashion and where its hassle free to follow the crowd and simply do what everyone else is doing or thinks we should be doing.

But what last night’s defining moment made me realise is that in order to live a meaningful and happy life it is simply dependent on being you – the spirit of you – the best version of you. The level of happiness you experience is directly related to the connection you have with your spirit within and the choices you make every day to honour your spirit. It is our ability to bring together and be Social and Spiritual – a new way of living.

So my question to you is this…

What do you do every day that connects you to your spirit, your passion, your personal calling?

As you ponder this question, I leave you with a few of my favourite quotes from Oprah Winfrey…

“Energy is the essence of life. Every day you decide how you’re going to use it by knowing what you want and what it takes to reach that goal, and by maintaining focus.”

“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”

“I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.”

‘Turn up the volume of your life!’ – Living Social and Spiritual

Oprah Biscuits

Courtney ‘Co-Creator’ Wilson

m: +61 (0)417 107 888| e: courtney.connect@outlook.com

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Do we practice Creative Collaboration?

Published on by Courtney Anne WilsonLeave a comment

After an amazing 3 week holiday in Brazil, February not only brought a time of reflection and relaxation but also surprising connections and opportunities abroad. And to top it all off, February concluded with the 2nd CC Event, where we continued to build relationship with one another while exploring The Circle of Collaboration©…. a tool to guide active team building through clarifying and aligning values and visions.

I will share more about my Brazilian connections and collaboration opportunities in my next post, so stay tuned.  Right now, I wanted to share the highlights of the February CC Event…

As we all continued to take networking to the next level, we opened our minds to what is possible and created trust amongst the group by discussing current issues and exploring ways to overcome them. It was very evident through the conversations that what we all valued authentic relationships at home and in the workplace – not only with others but also with ourselves. It simply reinforced that absolutely, without a doubt, building relationship and creating trust is the first step in establishing effective team work and reducing competition.

This finding fit in perfectly with the knowledge sharing of the morning. As we consider coming together to collaborate and co-create on projects, I encouraged a change in the way we think about and perceive Collaboration; to align with Creative Collaboration as opposed to the familiar ‘Corporate’ Collaboration so many of us are used to working within.

When we creatively collaborate we need to move from:

  • A hierarchy based approach that is directive in nature to a role based approach that fosters cooperation;
  • A profit driven venture that places higher importance on profit over people to a purpose driven venture that nurtures its people and honours their true value (which ultimately serves the bottom line because the truth is it’s the people who build the business and the profit);
  • An egocentric consumer focus that stays true to the old saying ‘What’s In It For Me’ (WIIFM) to an altruistic contribution focus aligning with a the new and improved saying, that I like to call, ‘What Can I Contribute’ (WCIC). In doing so, we overcome scarcity and add value through sharing knowledge.

Creative Collaboration is rewarding for everyone and the way forward for all workplaces, businesses and projects, alike. Furthermore, visualise Creative Collaboration as a way to becoming interdependent, like a collective community where each member has an important role to play in the whole, and we address and reduce the fear of losing autonomy and/or becoming co-dependent. Follow these 7 essential ingredients and achieve success through creative collaboration:

Ultimately we each need to make the COMMITMENT to ourselves, our role and the team; to creativity, diversity and sharing knowledge; and to contributing towards the collective vision!

This is what it will take for us to come together and purposefully #ActOnPassionsandVisions.

So the next time you find yourself teaming up with others, ask yourself do we practice Creative Collaboration? Consider these concepts and watch your team flourish!

The next CC Event will be held on Friday March 27th – I hope to see you there!!!!! Details coming soon…

You can also connect with the CC Community via the CC Page and/or CC Group on Facebook to contribute, share knowledge and participate in upcoming events.

Courtney ‘Co-Creator’ Wilson

m: +61 (0)417 107 888| e: courtney.connect@outlook.com

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Emotional Intelligence

Published on by Courtney Anne WilsonLeave a comment

Does Emotional Intelligence matter more than IQ?

At school and university I was diligent and disciplined and graduated with straight A’s and high distinctions. At work I consistently deliver beyond expectations. Yet all through my life, I can honestly say there is one thing that consistently challenges me and, at times, holds me back from true success – the ability to manage my emotions and my relationships, especially in times of high stress.

Emotions play such a large role in thought, decision making and individual success yet at school or work we are never encouraged to talk about them or learn how best to manage them. Perhaps it is assumed, we will learn all we need to know from our environment growing up. But what if this is not always the case…. What then?

Are we left with our lot in life? Left being labelled the impulsive one, the shy one, the loud one, the sensitive one, the calm one, the angry one, the argumentative one, the aggressive one or the highly emotional one, which is ironic because we are all highly emotional – it’s just what we do with them that counts!

What if we acknowledged emotions, learn to understand emotions and harness them in such a way that it makes our life even better?

I recently attended a presentation based on the contents of the book ‘Emotional Intelligence’ by Daniel Goleman and I was relieved when I discovered the Amygdala hijack! Finally here was an explanation to my instinctive ‘fight or flight ’response and the guilt and shame of past behaviour was somewhat lessened; not only because there was an explanation but there were strategies you could put in place to manage it too; it would just take discipline. In short, when the amygdala, located in the primitive or reptilian part of the brain, perceives a threat, it can lead that person to react irrationally and destructively, without thinking. And it’s in these situations, self-control and effective strategies are crucial. Whether you’re the person being hijacked or witnessing a hijack, being present and showing empathy will get you to the other side, and hopefully without any casualties or near death experiences!

As Daniel would say, ‘Emotional intelligence can be nurtured and strengthened in all of us. It involves self-awareness and impulse control, social awareness and empathy’. Just like learning a new skill or new talent or building a muscle, being disciplined around your emotions will change your relationships and change your life.

What are your emotions telling you right now?

Courtney ‘Co-Creator’ Wilson

m: +61 (0)417 107 888| e: courtney.connect@outlook.com

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