Marc Lesser's Blog, page 40
August 4, 2009
Envision Success - Guided Meditation
If you weren't so distracted by the busyness of your life, what is it you would want to accomplish? Sometimes distractions overwhelm us because we haven't visualized our highest priority. So, in this exercise, you will imagine what, in a perfect world, you'd like to achieve and become. However, don't be "realistic." Imagine what you'd do if you had all the resources you needed — no constraints of money, resources, respect, or time. What if
July 31, 2009
Finding The One Who Is Not Busy
There is a story about two Zen teachers from seventh-century China. One teacher is sweeping some stone steps inside the monastery with a wooden broom. He is approached by the other teacher, who looks at him and remarks, "Too busy." (This is a way of saying, "Why are you sweeping when you should be meditating or undertaking some type of contemplative practice?") The first teacher, holding his broom, responds by saying, "You should know that
July 27, 2009
Sit-down Comedy: Humor At Work
Blessed are we who can laugh at ourselves for we shall never cease to be amused.
Be here now. Be someplace else later. Is that so complicated? David Bader
I've recently begun thinking that my next career may be to become a "sit-down" comedian. Whereas stand-up comedy is aimed at being funny and making people laugh, sit-down comedy would be aimed at being funny and helping people to awaken, to free themselves of false views, and to be more ap
July 16, 2009
Are You Happy?
Dear reader: Are you happy?
I notice in my own life, when people ask me – "Are you happy?" I often don't know what to say. I feel blessed, inspired, humbled, and often confused. I sometimes feel as though I am doing too much, sometimes not enough. I often feel overwhelmed by my shortcomings, and grateful for my loved ones, friends, teachers, and students. Am I grateful? Yes? Happy; I struggle with this question. I'm grateful to be a
July 13, 2009
Teamwork: The Ultimate Competitive Advantage
Teamwork is the ultimate competitive advantage; greater than strategy, than finance or technology. People working in teams can achieve more than people working individually could ever imagine.
Here's an experiment, that I've had much success with, in improving the performance of teams:
1) At a team meeting, ask each team member to have a short conversation with the person sitting to their right, answering the question: What do we do well as
July 8, 2009
"Radical" View of Business: Radical View of Life
"Radical: arising from or going to the root or source; fundamental; basic."
Webster's Dictionary
When my son was a teenager he once said to me, "Dad, I just don't get it. Why do people spend so much time doing what they don't really enjoy, just to get ahead or to make money? Don't they get it? Don't they see that we are all going to die?" I thought this was a great observation and a great question.
July 1, 2009
Accomplishing More By Doing Less
Less: Accomplishing More By Doing Less - Prologue
There is an old story of a man riding very fast on a horse. As he rides past his friend standing on the side of the road, the friend yells, "Where are you going?" The rider turns toward his friend and yells, "I don't know, ask the horse!"
June 29, 2009
Deepening The Wonder: A Poem By Hafiz
Deepening The Wonder
A poem by Hafiz, translated by Daniel Ladinsky
Death is a favor to us,
But our scales have lost their balance.
The impermanence of the body
Should give us great clarity,
Deepening the wonder in our senses and eyes
Of this mysterious existence we share
And are surely just traveling through.
If I were in the Tavern tonight,
Hafiz would call for drinks
And as the Master poured, I would be reminded
That all I know of life and my
June 24, 2009
The Secret Is Just To Say "Yes!"; The Point Is To Forget The Point
So the secret is just to say “Yes!” and jump off from here. Then there is no problem. It means to be yourself in the present moment, always yourself, without sticking to an old self. You forget all about yourself and are refreshed. You are a new self, and before that self becomes an old self, you say “Yes! And you walk to the kitchen for breakfast. So the point on each moment is to forget the point….
-Shunryu Suzuki, No Always So
Say
June 22, 2009
Dropping Keys: A Poem by Hafiz
Dropping Keys, A Poem By Hafiz
The small person
Builds cages for everyone
She
Sees.
Instead, the sage,
Who needs to duck her head,
When the moon is low,
Can be found dropping keys, all night long
For the beautiful,
Rowdy,
Prisoners.
- Hafiz
