Positivity

My Growing Search for Happiness!

What is it that brings a person happiness? It’s always been said that fame and fortune do not create happiness. Any issue of People magazine will tell you that. The media, of course, likes to focus on the pain in people’s lives. Do we consumers really get a kick out of learning about another’s misery? Unfortunately the answer is yes.

I say let’s stop being miserable and start appreciating other people’s successes in life. I know it’s a pipe dream. I’m sure many of you who are working wish more people would acknowledge and appreciate the things you contribute. My search for happiness has led me to one solution. I don’t know if it’s this simple yet, but it’s what I’ve uncovered so far on my journey. If you have any thoughts on this topic, I would love to hear them.

Happy people feel appreciated and respected. They feel it at home, they feel it at work and they feel it in the community where they live. Mother Theresa was quoted as saying, “People crave appreciation more than food.” She would have known! So I want to know from you: Do you feel appreciated at work? I’ve put together a short survey and will report the results to you in a future publication.

In this survey, I’m not only looking at trying to better understand appreciation at work but I’m also wondering what interests you have so I can serve you better.

The winning formula, for now, is: Appreciation + Respect = Happiness

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Please participate in our survey! We want to hear from you.

Family Is Gold!

I’ve been on a quest for discovering the root of happiness over this past year. Don’t get me wrong, I see myself as a very happy person. My journey began by focusing on respect. It’s true that when a person feels respect and appreciation they feel a strong sense of happiness. I always knew that people who have been raised in loving families truly understand what happiness feels like. There is nothing stronger than a family’s bond to make a person feel great. This week I’m off to spend an entire week with my family, including all my brothers and sisters and their kids. What a blast! Many people I talk to, when they discover this annual huddle-up, respond with something like, “Really? A whole week with your family? Isn’t that stressful?” Not for our family.

Happiness can be discovered in other ways. There are many people who didn’t grow up in a supportive household who are now extremely happy. The reason for this is they found their purpose in life—something so many people are searching for well into their forties and some beyond that. When I hear a story of happiness it always revolves around serving others. People who are truly happy feel that what they are doing in life is a direct connection with making other people’s lives better. When we serve others in this way, we can’t help but feel good. Try it yourself sometime. The next time you’re feeling sorry for yourself, go volunteer somewhere or go next door and assist a neighbor with something. You will feel the dark cloud lift and “happy” will be the next emotion you feel.

It’s not rocket science. It’s common sense that we forget about this when we’re not serving others.

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: What can you do right now to make a difference in another person’s life? Spend a little one-on-one time with a child? Take your spouse on a mystery date? Look to become a Big Brother or Sister?

Are you enriching lives?

I don’t care what industry you’re in, you should have one goal: Enrich the lives of others. Enrich the lives of your associates, customers and your community. It’s amazing what happens when this truly becomes your goal. Everyone has a higher purpose or wishes to find their higher purpose in life. How about this:
Your higher purpose is to enrich the lives of your co-workers, customers and the community, within the context of your core business. Whatever that business is just doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter because every business consists of people. So if people are the common denominator, let’s serve them!

So what is the purpose of growth and profits? That’s simple. The more resources a company has, the more people can be enriched by them. Let’s face it, money makes great things happen and is the foundation of our employment needs. Here’s the deal: If you enrich the lives of your employees, the bottom line will go up. This is especially true if your motives to enrich their lives are sincere and not done because of the desire for more profits. Profits are the outcome of treating people well and guiding them to a higher purpose.
Dan Sanders in his book, Equipped to Lead, says “A person’s true legacy is the time and effort he or she contributed to enriching others.”

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Whose life will you make better today?

Breaking the mold!

Being an innovator and inventor, I find it exhilarating to go from the extreme of a person not understanding your new idea to the opposite which is completely embracing and even endorsing it. This has become my journey with The About Me Card program. This process for me has taken more than three years. Most people get frustrated and give up. They have a product or process that they know will be successful but when they are met with resistance they say, “Forget it!” I am not a patient person by nature. I am often antsy and uncomfortable when things are not moving fast enough. Then I realized, “Hey, I’m a human being! I can choose to be patient if I want to be.”

I know it seems impossible for some to be patient. I had to learn to be when it comes to others embracing a new concept or change. I’ve learned that the first meeting when presenting a new idea has the same weight as the last meeting, as this is when people decide to accept your idea because they fully understand it. If there were 100 meetings between them, they would all carry equal weight. People need to be reminded. You must not steal that process from them. Or more accurately, you can’t take it from them. It is what it is.

We all must learn on our own terms and for the “new idea person” that means patience and perseverance … That’s all! Hang in there long enough and you’ll be a star!

Joe Kiedinger

Action Plan:  Practice patience this week. Perhaps with just one person or one project. It’s necessary for success!

Let the Water Fall

I hope you had a wonderful Independence Day. Certainly with that opening sentence I could go into any and all things patriotic. And although I love this country and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, I’m going to forgo the obvious subject and talk about my holiday weekend. If you live in Wisconsin (or perhaps most of the Midwest), you experienced a soggy 4th of July.
Our July 4th tradition involves my family, my mom and dad, and my brother and his family heading to my land in northern Wisconsin where we fix a few things, enjoy great conversation, and just hang out and catch up. The kids enjoy boating, jumping on the trampoline, playing Bocce ball, and jumping in and out of the inflatable baby pool.

Saturday was gorgeous but Sunday it rained. We began a new tradition this year. A few years back when I was camping in Michigan, I met an Eagle Scout who taught me how to cook a full turkey outside using charcoal. He made a Dutch oven out of rebar, chicken wire and aluminum foil. He was a regular MacGyver! Cooking a turkey this way creates the juiciest bird you ever tasted and a full 22 lb bird takes only about three hours to cook. The grand cookout was scheduled for rainy day Sunday. My first reaction was to skip it and take everyone to the bowling alley. My wife, Danica, however, stopped me and said, “So what if it rains? Cook the bird. A little rain is not going to alter our plans.”

As it turned out, we had a fantastic experience. The rain ended up being only a drizzle on and off for most of the day. My dad put together a makeshift roof over the Dutch oven using a tarp. We sat for three hours taking turns adding charcoal and watching the kids have a great time. The rain really began coming down at around three o’clock when the bird was done. We moved the picnic table into the garage and enjoyed our feast while watching the rain fall on our fields. It was amazing.

We too often allow the chance of rain to spoil our plans. The truth is if you let the rain fall you really only need to make slight revisions to your plans. The event often becomes more memorable and enjoyable. Life is full of rainy days. The rain represents challenges that are often not. Don’t be afraid of these challenges. Welcome them and you may discover a more memorable and exciting life.

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: What was the last obstacle you overcame? Overcome one today!

Walk a little slower, Daddy!

With Father’s Day around the corner, I thought I would share with you a poem that caught my attention. I think it can easily be put in the context of great leadership as well. The author is unknown.

“Walk a little slower, Daddy,” said a child so small. “I’m following in your footsteps and I don’t want to fall.

“Sometimes your steps are very fast; sometimes they’re hard to see. So walk a little slower, Daddy, for you are leading me.

“Someday when I’m all grown up, you’re what I want to be; then I will have a little child who’ll want to follow me.

“And I would want to lead just right, and know that I was true. So walk a little slower, Daddy, for I must follow you.”

Fathers, you have no idea of the impact you have on your children. I’ve been doing a lot of study on a father’s role in raising successful children. I’ve learned that your role is to support and build confidence. The rest of the world will tear down and belittle. Your role is to coach character and support your child’s interests. Happy Father’s Day to all of you supportive dads who are building confidence in your very vulnerable children.

JOE

ACTION PLAN: Be engaged every day. They’re growing up fast!

The 4 E’s

Attending the bi-weekly Festival Foods sale and informational meeting, I was reminded by my good friend, Marlin Greenfield, VP of Operations, of the 4 E’s presented by Jack Welch in his book WINNING! Jack writes about the qualities he looked for when hiring leaders while at his time at GE.

1. Energy: Look for energetic and enthusiastic people. Enthusiasm is contagious and is an important ingredient in influencing others.

2. Energize Others: This goes with number one. When you have energy you have the ability to energize others. He looks for people who have displayed an excitement that affects others in a positive way.

3. Edge: Courage to make tough yes and no decisions. Do you’re people have that ability?

4. Execute: The ability to get the job done.

He then closes with the big “P” which stands for passion. He points out that these are people who care about winning. Not just at their job but in their life. These people are very involved outside of work. They have hobbies and adventures that they challenge themselves with outside of work and can juggle many things at one time. Don’t be intimidated by their schedule, embrace it.

A great tool when looking to hire or promote individuals within your organization. Live with passion and WIN!

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Make a form with these attributes and test it against all of your team members. You may be surprised at what you find.

We’re Moving!

What wisdom can be gained from moving your company? TEAMWORK! Wow, what a chore. I think moving a company is far more difficult than moving a household. The biggest difference is you have more adult help! I think the difficulty is the urgency factor. How do you move everything over without hindering business? The last time we moved our internet was down for two days, and the phones did not work for a week! Yet somehow we survived.

A lot of what we worry about truly is wasted energy. We have a great team here. Everyone had a role to play. We hired a moving company but we still hauled over a good amount of items ourselves. This is our fourth move in eight years. It’s amazing how time flies. The Mantra of our company is “Reach Higher.” There is definitely a feeling of accomplishment when you see the rewards of your efforts.

It makes me think of a famous Dale Carnegie quote that goes something like, “You can get whatever you want in this world as long as you help someone else get what they want first.” We Prophiteers love serving our clients, as we know that this expansion wouldn’t be possible without them. We appreciate each one of you, and we greatly value the privilege of serving you. Your company will grow if you help others get what they want first!

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Don’t forget to celebrate and be grateful!

We are all fundamentally the same!

Across this great country and around the world, human beings are fundamentally the same. Obviously our physical make-up is the same but our mental wiring is similar as well. Mother Theresa has said, “Human beings crave appreciation more than food.” Appreciation is a major driver for satisfaction. Show me you appreciate me. I want to feel respected and I want to be a contributor. I just received an e-mail today from China. Below is a first response to the About Me Card Program with a group of Chinese students written to Chris Elliott, Managing Director:

Chris,
We used the About Me Card Program with two teams today.  It was awesome and received great reviews!  We should be able to get a video clip of Bonita talking, as we have some quotes from some students.  I will use the program with two more teams on Thursday.

More to come soon!
Angela Owen | President
TBL Leadership Partners

I want to personally thank Angela and Bonita who are advancing our About Me movement around the world! Would you like to be able to show your spouse, adult child or co-worker that you appreciate and understand them? The About Me Card Program World Première (www.aboutmecard.com) is only two weeks away! Meet Angela from TBL Leadership, Dan Swift of Dahl Automotive, Tom Thibodeau from Viterbo University, Mark Skogen of Festival Foods, and others who have experienced this program and its success.

The World Premiere is April 27th at 3:00 p.m. at the Meyer Theater in Green Bay. It’s FREE so bring anyone you know who would like to connect with someone in 60 seconds. RSVP is appreciated. Help us change the way people communicate!

Joe

ACTION PLAN: Mark your calendar and join us! More information at www.aboutmecard.com

I feel SPRING in the air!

It’s always an exciting feeling when that early warm weather first arrives. We all know that feeling… people seem happier to be alive, the business outlook gets better and everyone displays a positive outlook on the world. Isn’t it amazing how our emotions dictate how successful we feel on any given day. If a nice spring day can evoke a positive outlook in a person, can a leader do the same?

Absolutely! But first the leader must decide on his or her outlook. You can control the way you feel. You do not need a sleepless night or a disagreement with your spouse to dictate how you “feel” about it. Managing one’s own feelings is the key to happiness. I was shown this secret over a year ago. I was taught how to change my negative feelings in 60 seconds. I can tell you my life has changed for the better. Oh, I’m not perfect, but I’m better than I was a year ago.

If you know me, you would know that I was already a very positive guy; however, I admit I would sometimes become impatient and frustrated. These emotions would affect how I treated others. I learned, though, that events have no meaning. People give meanings to events. A rainy day doesn’t have the same effect on me as it once had. Mondays, once my least favorite day, are now my favorite—the start of another week to positively impact people’s lives. Happiness is a choice and I choose happy. How about you?

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Choose happy! Please join me April 27th at 3 p.m. for the About Me Card World Premiere at the Meyer Theater in Green Bay. I guarantee you will leave this event feeling great! Reserve your space… bring friends!