Rapid Fire Learning | May 2007

You have 5 full days left in May to LEARN!

Terry Starbucker is taking his turn at hosting Rapid Fire Learning for us on Joyful Jubilant Learning. He shares what he's learned from butterflies, weddings, a meme, a conference and a movie, proving to us once again that our learning is where we look for it, and open ourselves up to the experience of it.

Here are mine!

1. I learned to better articulate strengths statements and weakness statements for myself in a very powerful way, by associating them with specific activities. If you have not been a strengths movement groupie, you'll probably be thinking, uh okay, and so? But if you are a Marcus Buckingham follower, and you've been participating in our Learn to Lead with Your Strengths project at Joyful Jubilant Learning, you will likely understand how profound this has been. May will be a month to remember: I will now trace this as an annual event within my strengths sustaining habits.

2. Being a businesswoman for all of my working career, I am extremely results-oriented (so much so, that extremely is a pretty tame word for it). With Ho'omau as our value for the month of May, I set my sights on the determination to finish projects well. In doing so, I learned just how important willpower and self-discipline are in my life. I cannot take Ho'omau for granted - ever - if I am to live up to my own expectations.

For more on this one, see: Five Steps Where Determination Equals Finishing.

3. Books and blog posts are stellar, you know I love them, however, We learn best and most from other people. This is something I preach about consistently in Managing with Aloha, for learning from those we manage is the key opportunity behind the Daily Five Minutes, and in my coaching people to reinvent the quality of their workplace conversations by using it. There is one person in particular I learned so much from this month, because I had the good fortune of meeting him on his vacation on Maui, and I want to acknowledge him for it: Greg Balanko-Dickson, mahalo nui! You are a business-planning guru!

Greg talks a little about his Hawaii experience here: Lifestyle Design: The Best Reason To Be Self-Employed.

4. I learned about a few financial issues in my business, that took me from Unconscious Unknowing – I don’t know what I don’t know because I just don’t know, to Conscious Unknowing – I know enough to know what I don’t know. Let's just say I'm now scrambling to fix all of them ... June will be for making my way to Conscious Knowing – I know what I know.

Toni Howard wrote about these stages of learning for us on JJL last October, in a posting she called, The Age of Humble Curiosity. Sure IS humbling... well, ha'aha'a (the Hawaiian value of humility) is good for me.

 5. I learning about should-ing, and that I have to stop it! Within this one a hard decision, but one I feel good about: I learned to let go of something that has been a huge part of my writing life for nearly two years; Lifehack.org. I wrote about it here: Thursdays at home on Talking Story. If you are not trying to carry too much in your hands, you're able to have a better grasp on the fewer things you do hold on to.

What about you? Please share your learning with the rest of us: You never know who you’ll inspire!

Here’s my tracking: January ’07, February ’07, March ’07, April ’07. Or choose the category to get them all on one page.

And remember to visit Terry on Joyful Jubilant Learning!

Comments

[Greg Balanko-Dickson]

Blush, ah shucks.

Mahalo Rosa, it has been a real joy getting to know and share our business experience. What have I learned...?

1) I have learned to not follow the crowd, to set my own path and travel the road less traveled.

2) I learned to eliminate the noise in my life and expect it to save me at least an hour a day.

3) To not wait for the 'deferred life plan of age 65' and focus on creating what I want instead of waiting for 'someday I'll'.

4) I learned I am a perfectionist when it comes to my blog and decided to create my own Wordpress theme.

5) I learned to Scuba dive.

6) I learned that I am a business planning guru, thanks Rosa.

7) I understand the importance of ‘place’ to the people of Hawai’I.

8) I got bumped by a Green Sea Turtle while scuba diving and learned a lot about conservation and the impact that development has on people and our culture, I think I will never be the same.

9) I learned that I need to finish writing my third book before launching my World Tour.

Wow, it has been a huge May for by the looks of it.

Live Large! Push your boundaries because only you know what you are truly capable of achieving.