I first met Jan Phillips about eighteen months ago at a workshop that she was facilitating. The workshop was entitled “The Original Think” Seminar titled after her new book “The Art of Original Thinking: The Making of a Thought Leader“. I immediately fell in love with Jan and her philosophies about life. She is definitely an out of the box thinker. I love people who are continual learners and enjoy exploring new ways of seeing the world.
In her new book “The Art of Original Thinking: The Making of a Thought Leader“, Jan is a masterful storyteller as well as a visionary thinker testing how we think, and bringing greater awareness by asking us to explore deep personal questions about our assumptions. Jan does not waste anytime in her first chapter as she focuses on freeing ourselves from illusion. She states that illusions are false beliefs. They are notions and ideas that we have inherited from our culture, our families, and almost every institution which we’ve been associated. She states that to be thought leaders we need to be free and original thinkers, capable of focusing on how we are thinking as well as what we are thinking.
The premise of this book is to advance the evolution of thought, of human sensibility, of our own personal potential to be more than anyone ever said we could be. Its intention is to inspire thought leaders who are willing to be visible, vocal agents of evolutionary thinking for global good. The focus is the triple bottom line: People, Planet and Profits. A quote from the book from Paul Hawken, “Business is the only mechanism on the planet today powerful enough to produce the changes necessary to reverse global environmental and social degradation”, is so accurate. I hope that this book and podcast will inspire you to take action, to question your thoughts and assumptions and create a future for yourself and others that is filled with hope, inspiration and positive change.
My podcast is a powerful interview with a fascinating woman who is on a mission to assist others in changing their thinking and create greater awareness. To become thought leaders requires that we liberate ourselves from the old modes of thinking so that we can release our imaginations and live more authentically. Jan’s book explores how you can release the past, embrace the present and create a better future. I highly recommend this wonderful book. I know that it will change your life, and the lives of everyone with who you working with and are in relationships with. If you would like to learn more about Jan and her workshops, CD’s, retreats and speaking engagements just click here.
A good friend of mine, Craig Neal who is the founder of Heartland Circle a wonderful group that helps in the development of thought leaders, recommended that I give a few of his close friends a call to inform them about our new software Digital Seed. In the process, and by no accident, I started a dialogue with Dr. Michael Ray a fascinating professor at Stanford University. As I endeavored to find out more about Michael I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he was the author of a book called “The Highest Goal: The Secret That Sustains You in Every Moment” of which I had just made a purchase of at Amazon. I had not read the book yet, but was intrigued by its title and content. As our dialogue ensued I not only got to learn more about the creativity course Michael has been teaching at Stanford, but I got to understand more about the authenticity of the person behind the course.
I found Michael to be an interesting man with deep soul and warm heart. I instantly found myself very comfortable as I spoke with him on the phone, and was able to take our dialogue deeper, delving into the spiritual aspects of his creativity course. I know you’ll find this podcast quite interesting as I interview Michael, a man with tremendous depth and insights into how we develop and evolve our creativity. We discuss the Heros’ Journey, defining your intentions and purpose, and becoming more compassionate in our relationships.
If you are wondering what this all has to do with creativity and why this kind of content would be taught in a business course at Stanford University, then just set back and relax and enjoy the journey and exploration into how to evolve your creativity from within. You will find that this podcast has two half hour segments. I was so interested in Michael’s message in our first interview that I asked him to do another podcast. It is not necessary to listen to these podcasts in any particular order, for you will receive tremendous benefits no matter where you start.
I would like to encourage you to visit Dr. Michael Ray’s web site for more information on his books, courses and lectures.
It has been a trying week. We had to put our family dog Bailey to sleep as a result of tumors and cancer throughout his body. I know many of you have probably had to do the same thing, but putting your best friend and pet to sleep is really a traumatic experience. I have attempted to look at his passing in so many different ways in an attempt to understand, but no matter how much I have contemplated his passing I still miss my best friend.
I have shed tears, thought about the good times together but there is still an empty void in our home. I really never realized how much his presence created such a joy. He would lay by my side, snore at night, chase lizards, lights and balls and was just an all around clown. I loved Bailey so much and he will always be missed.
I have been attempting to make sense of his passing and determine what personal growth can come from losing your dog and best friend. I have come up with a few insights which have helped me to put this event in perspective. First, nothing lasts forever and this is true with everything in life. When it comes to people and beloved pets in your life it is difficult not to get attached. I was very attached to Bailey and really did not realize it until his passing. Secondly, we only have the present moment, nothing else exists so enjoy every moment. I took for granted his time here on the physical plane and really never gave the fact that he might die one day much thought. But as his time drew nearer and nearer I noticed that my patterns of behavior changed. I was spending more time petting him, wiping his mouth, talking to him, and sitting by his side to comfort him during his time of pain. Oh how I’d long just to have a few more precious minutes with him to kiss his head and lay by his side.
The life lessons that I have taken from this experience is that the pain is temporary and will ultimately reside, but the memories can never be taken away. Enjoy the precious moments, the little things that the people and pets in your life add to truly enrich your life experiences. True happiness is only attained when it is shared with another soul. Our souls grow and become enriched as a result of all of our life experiences, be they perceived as good or bad. You see our whole life and reality is a result of how we relate to the issues, circumstances and events that occur in our life. I have a choice to remember Bailey for all the joy, happiness, love he brought into my life. I had twelve wonderful years with a pet that will always bring found memories when I think of him. His love for life, his funny ways and endearing nose poking people in the crouch every time they came to our front door. Yes, I can laugh when I remember all of the moments tied together for they forever will be the special memories of an incredible doggy soul that touched my life forever. I LOVE YOU BAILEY.
I first met Jan Phillips about eighteen months ago at a workshop that she was facilitating. The workshop was entitled “The Original Think” Seminar titled after her new book “The Art of Original Thinking: The Making of a Thought Leader“. I immediately fell in love with Jan and her philosophies about life. She is definitely an out of the box thinker. I love people who are continual learners and enjoy exploring new ways of seeing the world.
My podcast is a powerful interview with a fascinating woman who is on a mission to assist others in changing their thinking and create greater awareness. To become thought leaders requires that we liberate ourselves from the old modes of thinking so that we can release our imaginations and live more authentically. Jan’s book explores how you can release the past, embrace the present and create a better future. I highly recommend this wonderful book. I know that it will change your life, and the lives of everyone with who you working with and are in relationships with. If you would like to learn more about Jan and her workshops, CD’s, retreats and speaking engagements just click here.
Part One (1)
I have shed tears, thought about the good times together but there is still an empty void in our home. I really never realized how much his presence created such a joy. He would lay by my side, snore at night, chase lizards, lights and balls and was just an all around clown. I loved Bailey so much and he will always be missed.