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Elegance in business and life

The topic that has been discussed on my twitter and Facebook since Sunday, 11/13/11 is "elegance." Here is today's blog. There are no coincidences as there are many people working to achieve this. Since we are all a work in progress, I hope it helps.




"Elegance" is about how you decide to stand in the spaces that life presents professionally and personally.  Both scenarios are like a glass floor. You exercise grace, care and caution as you walk across it and even when you are  standing still.

The greatest and optimum success of your work life will not be determined by your credentials (MBA, PhD, JD, CPA or whatever else): the fact that you know more than others, that you have "backing", or marketing or system building techniques. While these can all be important to  have or cultivate, they alone do not amount to success. It will be determined by your ability to suspend your ego and adopt and authenticate the vision behind the business you are in and the life that you have designed.

Trashing your ego is very elegant.It alleviates suffering.  There is nothing elegant about suffering.

When you have humbled yourself enough to realize that there are some changes that you cannot make within or on a team and you think and utter "impossible" that is the time when you could be self aware enough to hear yourself saying, I aM Possible. A focus on your possibilities is elegant.

So, devise and execute your plan for a higher plateau in your work and personal life. Balance your contribution. Unbalanced people fail!

Stop contemplating an offense to who and how people are, accept it and get on your knees and access the spiritual stream of consciousness that is so obviously part of who you are. Carve out some personal time that is not in the shower or on the toilet. Have your kids sleep in their beds, get some exercise, turn your ringer and computer devices off and your inner light on.  Meditate, journal,  go sit on the grass or in a park and close your eyes and let the breeze play with your face, read something that stimulates spirit.
Set play dates for your inner child that have nothing to do with work or obligation. The ability to enjoy and have fun is an elegant trait indeed.

Write the project plan for your career success and watch your words and counsel in business settings. There is nothing elegant about going off at the mouth.

Wish success for your co-workers and competitors. It's a big full world and surely you can believe that there is enough success for everybody to have some. Know that money and real success are spiritual gifts despite exclusive contracts and titles. Give and do your best work. Spend time outside your office or boardroom and away from the cubicle with your co-workers. Take good spirit with you into your work spaces and shine, shine, shine your light. Accept what you cannot change. You are not a failure if something does not improve because another soul is dispositioned according to their will. Do not preoccupy yourself with past mistakes as that causes suffering for you and the people who work around you. If you want to succeed ask for placement into areas where your work feels like service not burden and when you arrive there you can truly SERVE and expect that you will be well compensated for it.

Expect the best of others and be honest about your placement. Are you the best person in the wrong place? Straining to BE in a place where you don't fit is not elegant. It's awkward and less than graceful and I know that needing to  maintain our subsistence dictates a lot, but you want to enjoy the means  as you get there, right?

Know that sometimes you can be in the wrong place at the wrong time and assess where you are. Consider   if you have love for what you do and actually who you are doing it with. Aspire towards excellence and maintain your integrity. Network! Integration of talent and goals breeds some pretty miraculous  and winning results for your business and life. Do not expect to win at the expense of others. That's weak! Do not consider that you are greater than the numbers that you are part of because you are not! Your work experiences will teach you something about yourself.

A few admirable professionals I know have shared powerful things with me in the course of my career in the last decade. D. Levy, a leading  senior executive marketer said, " Watch how they interview and hire; that tells you a lot about a company." L.Langley, a senior counsel at a multi- billion dollar corporation said,
"Be mindful that each experience; no matter how difficult is setting you up and giving you exercise for the role that God will promote you to. What God has for you, no one can take away."   T. Okoro, an international fashion designer said, " There is a difference between talent and experience. Always be mindful of that. You 'll have success when people have both."  All of these these lighted business leaders know what they are talking about. They are experienced and have elegance oozing all over the place.

I want to be clear that the only style that matters is one indicative of how you have fashioned your life. My hope is that it is..."elegantly."

Finally, I close with a definition and a quote:
Definition
elegance [ˈɛlɪgəns], elegancy
n pl -gances, -gancies
1. dignified grace in appearance, movement, or behaviour
2. good taste in design, style, arrangement, etc.
3. something elegant; a refinement


Quotation
"To me, elegance is not to pass unnoticed but to get to the very soul of what one is" [Christian Lacroix]

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