Photo courtesy of Wendy M. Warden

Well, it's over. Warm summer breezes and vibrant September skies have been replaced by darkness at 4:00 pm and trees clinging to the last of their bright foliage. Red, yellow and orange leaves are whipped to the ground by winds that chill. And yet...don't we all love that first snowfall and the quiet it brings, the memories it stirs? Some have already been pummeled by winter's blast. Maybe that was Nature's way of saying "Hey! You put Christmas items next to back-to-school in the stores...I'll give you a winter to go with it." What does all this have to do with life and work? Someone wiser than most said "to everything there is a season"...perhaps our 90mph lives need to slow down a tad. If we are always living in the future we can miss the joys of the moment. Before we all jump into the holidays, take a moment to savor the quiet holiday whose only purpose is to remind us to be thankful. Until next time, Jerilyn

In this Issue

• The Two-Week Rule
• What Happened to Thanksgiving?
• Taking a "Business Approach" to the Holidays
• Help the Earth and the Economy During the Holidays

The Two-Week Rule

Has this ever happened to you? You come back from a seminar/workshop/off-site meeting and you are fired up! Things are going to be different...you have seen the light...or maybe you learned a new skill and see the value in putting it to work. The next thing you know, weeks have passed and you have done nothing about your new insights/skills.

The "two week rule" can help you harness your original excitement and keep you moving in the right direction. As soon as you come back commit to do one thing from your workshop/seminar experience that very week and one other thing the very next. Don't just think about it, put it on your calendar, tell someone your intention, commit.

One idea is to share what you learned at a staff meeting that first week. By revisiting what you learned, you reinforce the knowledge you brought back and may recapture your original excitement. By sharing with others, you can get others on board to hold you accountable.

I once heard someone ask a speaker, "By revealing your steps to success, aren't you afraid you'll encourage the competition?" "Not at all," the speaker replied. "Maybe one person in this room will actually go back and implement one of ideas they heard here."

Be that one person...and beat the odds. Implement two ideas using the two week rule.

What Happened to Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is a quiet holiday. We celebrate our past by honoring the brave women and men who faced immense hardships in a wild and unsettled land. Did you know less than 50% of the original folks who landed at Plymouth Rock survived to celebrate that first Thanksgiving? While our country today is not perfect, as Americans we have much to be grateful for. What happened to Thanksgiving?  Why is it that the ghosts and skeletons were still on the shelves when the elves moved in? The untamed monsters of commercialism and consumerism roar right over this precious holiday.

Take a moment right now to acknowledge five people, events, or situations that have blessed your life this year. Here is my list of special professional "Thank you's":

• Mark Huelskamp - for getting this newsletter out every other month
• Paula Shurr - for her patience
• Juli Schatz - for moderating Author-Author
• The women of WW - colleagues who became supportive friends
• Each and every reader this newsletter - you are a blessing

Taking A Business Approach to the Holidays

In 1991, Jo Robinson and Jean Coppock Staeheli wrote a wonderful book called Unplug the Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide To Putting Love And Joy Back in the Season. "Christmas Machine" talks about what Christmas has become for many people—a build up of pressure, expectations and obligations all to the detriment of the real meaning of the holiday and the joy of the season. Whether we celebrate Christmas or not, we can get swept up in the frenzy and come out the other side exhausted and resentful.

It's not that the holidays have become meaningless or empty, it's that they are too full. Instead of prioritizing what is important, we try to do it all (and in many cases do it all ourselves). Let's look at the holidays from a project approach.

If the holidays were a project, what would be some of the steps we would take in planning it out?

• Determine the priorities: at the end of all your efforts, what do you want to have in place? What do you want for your holidays? What are your top three priorities?
  
  
• Steps needed to achieve these goals. If one of your priorities is, say, family fun, what does "family fun" look like? Check with the SMEs (your family). You may discover that some things you slave over are not really important to your target audience.
  
  
• Who should be involved. At work, we understand that involvement builds buy-in. Involve family members in the decision-making. Do the activities you engage in reflect the traditions of all members of your family? Again, check with your SMEs. What does your significant other remember and want to celebrate from his/her childhood?
  
  
• Delegate. OK, so 10 year old Sam doesn't wrap gifts the way you would, but he/she LOVES to wrap. Delegate, train and coach. Next year there can be less supervision.
  
  
• What are the parameters/budget/deadlines. If there is a budget let everyone know upfront to avoid misunderstanding and budget over-runs. Same for deadlines (cookies must be made by Dec 19 or they are not going to happen). Stick to your deadlines. If a deadline comes and someone has fallen down on the job, so be it...they knew the parameters and deadlines.

Unplug the Christmas Machine gives guidance on how to take the holidays back and how to make this time of year more meaningful. The intent of the book is not to add more to the "shoulds" of the season, but rather to help us choose how we want to celebrate as opposed to the path forged by media and retail. There are exercises, thought provoking questions, and terrific suggestions on how to be more aware and discerning this holiday season.

If you celebrate Thanksgiving with the same folks you see at Christmas, click here to download a family exercise from Unplug the Christmas Machine and gather some holiday information from your family members. You may decide to make a small change in this year's festivities.

Help the Earth and the Economy This Holiday Season

You have decided to make this holiday different. But how? Here are some ideas that can both help the earth and the businesses in your community.

Buy "gently used". A friend's family decided a few years ago to have a "nothing new" Christmas. All gifts had to come from resale shops, used bookstores, consignment shops or...be handmade from previously used materials. At first my friend thought "great...more pressure". But as she turned her attention from the mall to other venues in her community, she began to have fun. The key, she said, was keeping an open mind. She was amazed at what she found in resale shops. Remember, this was a few years ago...before there were Goodwill Stores all over the place. Today it may even be easier. If you are in the Itasca Illinois area, stop by Resurrection Resale in the First Presbyterian Church of Itasca. They get new things weekly and some of their items are actually "tags still on". For their hours call: 630-773-9606.

Have you ever considered gifts that are not "things"? Lynda Eirich sent me the following  the other day. I edited a bit. Don't know where it originated, but there are many good ideas here...especially if you want to "buy American":

"This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. It's time to think outside the box.

• Everyone -- yes EVERYONE gets a hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local hair salon or barber?
  
  
• Gym membership?  It's appropriate for anyone who is thinking about health improvement.
  
  
• Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed?  Small local detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.
  
  
• There are a many owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint.
  
  
• How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a local shop.
  
  
• Bet someone in your family would LOVE a cleaning lady for a day.
  
  
• If you buy big at the holiday, perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed all winter, or a round or two at the local golf course.
  
  
• Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes. Hit local craft fairs. There are plenty between now and the holidays.
  
  
• Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip.

This isn't about big National chains -- this is about supporting your local businesses which may be fighting for their financial lives to keep their doors open.

Christmas is about caring. Encourage American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. When we care about small businesses, we support our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine. This is a revolution of caring about each other, and isn't that what the holidays are all about? Begin a new tradition."

May You Have A Happy, Healthy and Blessed Thanksgiving!