Do you ask Powerful Questions?
by DEBORA ESAJIAN on 08/30/10
"If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes." ~ Albert Einstein
Have you ever stopped to think how much time you spend formulating smart and complex answers to all sorts of issues? Do these answers sometimes sound almost like speeches?
Most of us have been trained to think that a sure sign of our brightness is our capacity to find answers to problems - and to do it really fast while making it sound smart...
The problem with the strategy of emphasizing looking for answers to problems instead of continuously asking questions, is that it leaves little if no room for further exploration...
If your goal is to find an answer, where do you go once you find it? Is that the end of the journey?
Simply put, the emphasis on answers actually limit one's possibilities...
Do you have a problem right now in your life that could use a little bit more questioning instead of a solution?
Cast your vote: are we all interconnected?
by DEBORA ESAJIAN on 07/29/10
The theme of connectedness has been floating around me lately and once again proving that EVERYTHING is interconnected and that this mutuality that Dr. King spoke of it isn't a fable...By no means do I see this interconnectedness and mutuality as some vague and lofty concept... instead, if you truly open yourself up to it and pay attention to your everyday life, the signs will be clear and undeniable:
- The right person crosses your path at just the right time...
- Somehow you find just the right book with answers to what you were looking for...
- A friend gives you a call when you are feeling down...
- All of the sudden, you feel the urge to call a friend who you haven't spoken to in months, maybe years... what could it be?
Just observe and you too will see...
Feeling Overwhelmed and Insignificant?
by DEBORA ESAJIAN on 07/23/10
~ Gandhi
Many times we feel overwhelmed with the magnitude of problems that surrounds us and really don't know if anything we do could possibly make a difference at all, which then makes us feel not only overwhelmed but also insignificant and powerless.
Certainly, in the great scheme of things, everything we do will be washed away by time and it will - most likely - not make the news nor put our names in History books...However, what we fail to recognize is that if we ALL did a little - be it pick up a piece of garbage on the beach, encourage someone to hang on during hard times, or drop off a package of food at the local orphanage - it would, little by little, amount to a lot.
Another aspect that we are not fully aware of is the chain effect that our actions have. Even if we don't feel as such, we are all interconnected as human beings. Just by doing our part, we can help promote higher consciousness that reaches far beyond our limited knowledge.
So, the challenge sometimes is to keep doing our part even when we feel overwhelmed and it seems like there are no real results coming from it...
Because, at the end of the day, even though whatever we do is insignificant, it is very important that we do it.
Don't give up! Press on!
The law of Unintended Consequences
by DEBORA ESAJIAN on 06/18/10
I attended a training this week and wanted to share with you some of the great info that I received.
The training - held by the Haines Centre for Strategic Mangement - centered aroud the concept of Systems Thinking, where you consider the larger effect and consequences of actions and behaviors.
The Haines Centre uses the Rubik's Cube to visually exemplify their point:
"The Rubik's Cube is actually a system and unless you know and understand the System and how it works, you keep having these Unintended Consequences of fixing one color on one side; only to have this mess up one or more other sides".
They use the Rubik's Cube as an analogy for modern life: we all go about "our" lives doing "our" thing, having no clue of the larger impact (or unintended consequences) of our actions.
This can apply to something large such as lifestyle choices (i.e. driving a gas guzzler and the ultimate impact on the environment), as well as something that we perceive as small, such as avoiding changes to keep comfort levels but which then may create a failure in achieving long-term goals.
So here are my questions for you this week:
Can you find any unintended consequences in your own life?
Have you been looking at your life as just one face of the Rubik's Cube without full regard to the other sides?
Has some of the "fixes" on one side adversely affected the others?
What are some of your actions that can possibly create unintended consequences?
This is what Soccer looks like outside the fields in Brazil
by DEBORA ESAJIAN on 06/11/10
In honor of the The World Cup that's just began, here is a quick (and
cool) short video for you to get a feel for what this sport is like
in Brazil: 
It's everywhere!
Click here to watch
I'm sure my family will be watching every game!
Have a great weekend.
