In
This Issue: March 22, 2007
- Who's Helping
You Out? In this article
I share my three criteria for finding the
right people in my life.
- Market Place Products
of the Month: MichaelBungayStanier.com.
My snazzy new website - part of this
year's commitment to sharpen up how
I show up on the web.
- Stop the Money
Tug Of War. Molly Gordon
sheds light on the money tug of war - and
offers 5 keys to stop the tension.
- Got It Going On: Australia.
Prague. Finland. Istanbul. Cyber Space.
Some places I'm showing up to speak over
the next few months.
 Know
anyone who could do with some help? Please
forward Outside the
Lines (in its entirety
please) to anyone you think might be interested.
This community grows with your help.
Like to reprint any of my articles? Please
do - details on how to go about it are at
the end of the newsletter.
Michael Bungay Stanier
Principal, Box of Crayons
Who's Helping You Out?
All my life I've been seeking the right
quantity and quality of people in my life.
It's not something I've done particularly
well, because I have conflicting desires.
Part of me is a social butterfly - imagine
me air kissing left and right and calling
everyone daaaaaaaaaahling. That route leads
me to having many associates - but no real
intimacy.
Part of me is a hermit, and loves being
secluded, hidden away from the exhaustion
of social interaction. That route leads me
to an over dependence on just a few people.
I've slowly come to realise that this is
my bottom line: I want people in my life
but I have limited space for people in my
life.
So I have to make sure:
- I have absolutely
marvellous people in my life
- I keep them
in my life.
A tough thing to pull off. So here are my
three criteria for finding them in the first
place.
1. Who makes you laugh?
It's all about a sense of humour. Someone
who makes you laugh shares with you a way
of seeing the world - and at a deeper level
probably shares a sense of what's important
and what's absurd.
What makes me laugh? It's typically a combination
of cerebral meets over the top meets absurd.
Here's a pretty good example.
- Who tickles your funny bone?
2. Who makes you think?
It's normal to have a "confirmation
bias". In essence, you look for evidence
that proves what you want to believe, and
ignore that which proves otherwise.
One of the ways our life loses some of its
colour is when we stop thinking, stop
grappling with issues that matter and opinions
that differ.
What makes me think? People who know stuff,
challenge me and force me to consider anew.
For instance, with my stand on "creating
possibilities", this is an interesting
and alternative point of view.
- Who makes you think?
3. Who's great?
When I choose with whom I want to work,
I'm learning to value the difference between
Good and Great.
Good, for me, are the people who show up
and deliver just what they promised, whether
they're clients, alliance partners or suppliers.
(And there's often nothing wrong with that
at all).
Great are those who deliver something I
couldn't imagine before. Clients who take
me (and them) to the edge. Partners who create
a new shared sense of intimacy and adventure.
Suppliers who blow my mind with how they've
answered the brief.
And it's definitely NOT this sort of person.
- Who's Great? Who are you tolerating
as "just OK"?
Comments? Feedback?
michael@boxofcrayons.biz
Market Place Products
of the Month
Check out our snazzy new portal page at
MichaelBungayStanier.com
You might be particularly interested in
101 Great Ways to Live
Your Life, a new book
I have co-authored with some wise folk including
Byron Kate, Ken Blanchard and my friend Nicki
Weiss. You
can learn more about it here - together with a bunch of bonuses they're
offering.
"How to Stop the
Money Tug of War" by Molly Gordon
When your self-concept is at odds with how
you feel about wealth, it's hard to imagine
authentic wealth. It can feel like you can
either be true to yourself or become wealthy.
No matter what you choose, you lose.
Even when you know in your mind that a person
can be both authentic and wealthy, you may
still feel that you don't or can't experience
wealth. All the affirmations in the world
won't change that.
What does work is to... Read
the rest of Molly's article here -
and learn about the five keys for stopping
the tug of war.
Molly Gordon is both funky and wise as a
certified business coach dedicated to helping
independent professionals reconcile the challenges
of building thriving livelihoods and loving
their lives.
Her new course is Authentic
Wealth, Getting into Right Relationship
with Money and starts in April - and she is accepting
applications now for the limited places remaining.
As a special bonus, we're going to run an
exclusive teleforum together in May limited
only to the Outside
the Lines readers who
sign up for this course.
Got It Going On
Curious what I really look like?
You can see a photo of me at my
new speaker page.
I'll be speaking in Toronto, Prague, Helsinki, and Istanbul (maybe).
You can check out the details here.
The next Get Unstuck teleforum with be on Wednesday April 18th at
2pm. I'm reviewing the whole Get Unstuck & Get Going process
- so it's perfect for anyone with or without
a copy of the Get Unstuck & Get
Going tool, especially as it's free. Sign
up here.
About Michael
Michael Bungay Stanier is Cartoon Head of
MichaelBungayStanier.com,
a company that provides products and services
so people can have lives of fun, inspiration
and action.
To learn more about his corporate offerings,
see BoxOfCrayons.biz
You can find out more by contacting Michael
directly at Michael@boxofcrayons.biz or
+1 (416) 532-1322.
Subscribe - To subscribe to Outside
the Lines click
here or go to MichaelBungayStanier.com.
Reprint - I'd be delighted if you should
wish to reprint (for free) any part of Outside
the Lines in your newsletters, websites,
and message boards. Simply include the following
attribution:
Michael Bungay Stanier is a professional
keynote speaker, the author of the best
selling coaching tool, Get
Unstuck & Get
Going ...on the stuff that matters and
the creator of Eight
Irresistible Principles of Fun. A certified
coach and Rhodes Scholar, he works with
teams and organizations to help them do
less Good Work and more Great Work
Schedule - Outside the Lines is distributed
on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month.
Your contact information is never traded,
never rented, never sold.
I send out an extra email one to three times
a month detailing programs and offers.
©Box of Crayons 2007. Box of Crayons
is a registered trading name of Maida CC
Inc.
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