| PEBBLEWe are made to persist. That’s how we find out who we are. -Tobias Wolff, shared by Mark in San Diego, CA |
| BOULDERAnd once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about. -Haruki Murakami, shared by Gwen in Coeur d’Alene, ID |
| PONDERSeveral of my buddies are facing challenges this week and I had them on my mind as I sat down to craft this week’s issue. On our best days we know that it is the “big stuff” that allows us to stretch and grow and expand our possibilities even if at first it can seem like “too much, too fast, too soon.” But of course when the storms set it, we sometimes forget that we are made of pretty tough stuff, and that over the course of our lives we’ve attracted remarkable people who can help us when necessary.
I’ve said this a few times lately, but it is worth repeating every so often: sometimes it is necessary to pause and catch our breaths when things get really blechy, but eventually there comes a time when we have to pop up and find the right way to move forward. Hang in there, friend…you’ve got this. Peace, |
Persist!! (thought by Paul the Ripples Guy)
The Keeper Test (post by Kirk Weisler)

Reviewing a slide deck from Netflix used for by CEO Reed Hastings CEO on building a culture driven org. It’s a wonderful presentation, but at 128 slides far too much to even summarize here. So I will be sharing some of my personal favorites on the T4D over the next week or so. Just for fun, let’s call them Netflix Nuggets.
Nugget Number 1 : The Keeper Test
The Keeper Test that the Managers Use:
“Which of my people, if they told me they were leaving in two months for a similar job at a peer company, would I fight hard to keep at Netflix?
Everyone in the company knows about the keeper test and so Netflix team members are encouraged to.. “To avoid surprises, you should periodically ask your manager: “If I told you I were leaving, how hard would you work to change my mind to stay at Netflix?”
Brilliant – every manager should courageously consider the positive cultural impact of implementing something as simple as the Keeper Test. Just think of the possible conversations that might occur when an employee regularly seeks performance feedback vs having it given to them at an annual or bi-annual review.
Keep the Keeper Test!
Kirk Out
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Crumple $20
A well-known speaker started off his seminar holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands started …going up. He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.” He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, “Who still wants it…?” Still the hands were up in the air. “Well,” he replied, “What if I do this?” And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Now, who still wants it?” Still the hands went into the air. “My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We may feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who do love you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by who we are. You are special-Don’t ever forget it
Your Creative Life! (thoughts by Paul-The Ripples Guy)
| PEBBLETo live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. -Joseph Chilton Peace, shared by Trish in Flagstaff, AZ |
| BOULDERWhen I say “be creative,” I don’t mean that you should all go and become great painters and great poets. I simply mean let your life be a painting, let your life be a poem. -Osho, shared by Pete in Idaho Springs, CO |
| PONDEROk, kids….here’s the deal: We’re a few days into 2014 and it’s time for me to get real with you. I’m convinced that you need to be completely and utterly and insanely creative about the possibilities that exist for you this year. STOP THE PRESSES: forget about a focus on the whole year (that was soooo a few days ago during New Year’s Eve). Instead, let’s focus on this week or maybe even just today: I dare you to worry less about doing it RIGHT or doing it PRETTY or doing it WELL. Just unleash your best effort to experiment creatively and wildly with something at work or school or life. Try something new, or try something in a way you’ve never done it before.Make today the weirdest, coolest, awesomest poem you’ve ever written
Peace, |
Live, Laugh, Love
Research Shows Laughing Makes You Happy
Research shows that people who laugh or smile, even when they don’t feel especially happy, make part of the ‘happy zone’ in the brain’s left hemisphere surge with electrical activity.
In one of his numerous studies on laughter, Richard Davidson, professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, hooked subjects up to EEG (electroencephalograph) machines, which measure brain wave activity, and showed them funny movies. Smiling made their happy zones click wildly. He proved that intentionally producing smiles and laughter moves brain activity towards spontaneous happiness.
Arnie Cann, professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina, discovered that humor has a positive impact in counteracting stress. Cann led an experiment with people who were showing early signs of depression. Two groups watched videos over a three-week period. The group that watched comedy videos showed more improvement in their symptoms than did a control group that watched non-humorous videos. He also found that people with ulcers frown more than people without ulcers.
If you catch yourself frowning’ practice putting your hand on your forehead when you talk, to train yourself out of it.
http://theunboundedspirit.com/research-shows-laughing-makes-you-happy/












