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Today I simply want to say to you Merry Christmas! I hope that during these days you're reminded of the incredible gift God sent each of us in his Son Jesus. This is why we celebrate!

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"What we know matters, but who we are matters more." Brené Brown

Brené Brown has done work and research on the topics of vulnerability and shame (to just name a few) for decades. Her Ted Talk on vulnerability is one of the most highly viewed videos on that platform. I've read a couple of her books and have heard her on a couple of podcasts and I've really been challenged by her.

I don't know how this note finds you today, but I know that for many of us there's a tension between "who we are" and "what we do or what we know". We are constantly trying to prove ourselves through our achievements and accomplishments and sometimes this forces us to be something that we're not.

Brené Browns simple quote from her book, Daring Greatly, was just a simple reminder that my identity, who I am, is what is most important, above all that I'm able to do and know.

How does that land with you today? This past year, have you struggled at all with your identify: who are are rather than what you do?

As we come to the end of this calendar year, it's a great time to do some personal assessment. I'll share more about that below.

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"Trust is not built in big, sweeping moments. It's built in tiny moments every day." Brené Brown

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

Brené Brown has done work and research on the topics of vulnerability and shame (to just name a few) for decades. Her Ted Talk on vulnerability is one of the most highly viewed videos on that platform. I've read a couple of her books and have heard her on a couple of podcasts and I've really been challenged by her. This month I'll share a couple of quotes of hers so you can learn more about her.

Brené Brown speaks a lot about TRUST, and this quote today just reminded me that often we make trust so complicated. It's really about creating and building it all the time, in both big and small ways.

Brown shares this other quote in an article on mindful.org:

"Trust is choosing to make something important to you vulnerable to the actions of someone else."

With both of these thoughts from her, they come from our ACTION. Our DECISION to put trust into someone else. If we don't start that work, we'll never understand the importance of trust in our lives.

On a scale of 1 - 10, where do you place yourself in your ability to fully trust others: A "1" avoids trust and doesn't trust others. A "10" fully trusts others and embraces the risk that comes with it. Where do you land and why?

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"Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it." Brené Brown

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

Brené Brown has done work and research on the topics of vulnerability and shame (to just name a few) for decades. Her Ted Talk on vulnerability is one of the most highly viewed videos on that platform. I've read a couple of her books and have heard her on a couple of podcasts and I've really been challenged by her. This month I'll share a couple of quotes of hers so you can learn more about her.

This past week I began a LifePlan with a leader, and we spent much of the morning on his STORY.

The power of our story is an incredible thing, and I was reminded of that when I saw Browns quote above.

We all have a STORY and each of us need to figure out what ownership of that story looks like.

With my client this past week, once we had key aspects of his story up on the wall, then the opportunity for perspective kicks in: What lessons have been learned? What did that season of life feel like? How am I different today because of my story? How am I going to be different moving forward because of my story?

A story is powerful!

In the quote above she talks about "owning" our story and about the difficulty of "running" from our story.

Where do you fall with your story: Do you OWN it? This means you have acknowledged it, you're learning from it and you have faced it? Or are you RUNNING FROM IT? This means you ignore it, you're ashamed of it and/or you just want to forget it?

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"A person's success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have." Tim Ferriss

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This is the final quote I'll share from Tim Ferriss. While I have listened and read to a lot of what Ferriss has produced, I will say that I don't always agree with 100% of what he shares, but it causes me to think.

The quote above is one of those for me.

Here's my question for you: Do you AGREE with this statement or do you DISAGREE with his quote?

I'll share below my personal opinion below, however there is a whole theme embedded in the idea of "uncomfortable conversations" and how we embrace them.

We can call this "managing conflict" or a term used is "crucial conversations". However we define it, it's simply the ability to have these kinds of conversations with people.

As Ferris addresses the theme of productivity in much of his work, he zeros in on the idea that FEAR often keeps us from doing what it is we were made to do or what it is we really want to do.

For many of us, having a difficult or uncomfortable conversation with someone is something that we tend to avoid, ignore or rush through as quickly as possible.

Do you AGREE with his statement that your ability to experience success is linked directly with your ability to have these uncomfortable conversations?

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"Lack of time is actually lack of priorities" Tim Ferriss

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

I've been following Tim Ferriss for a number of years, primarily through a couple of his books and his podcast.

The above quote from Ferriss is simply another reminder to me that I should be in control of my priorities!

Why do I often feel like I'm chasing these things instead of thriving around them?

Jim Collins makes this even simpler in his book, Good to Great when he clarifies, "If you have more then three priorities, you don't have any."

There is so much help out there in the form of resources to help us zero in on these priorities. We really shouldn't have any excuses, besides our general desire and discipline to focus.

What would be your top THREE priorities that you're focused on today?

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"Often, all that stands between you and what you want is a better set of questions." Tim Ferriss

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

I've been following Tim Ferriss for a number of years, primarily through a couple of his books and his podcast. I don't listen to every podcast, but I've enjoyed many as he interviews a wide variety of people and asks questions of productivity, performance and many times really interesting conversations. He did a Ted Talk entitled "Why you should define your fears instead of your goals."

This quote is from Tim Ferris in his book, Tribe of Mentors, and it's been said in different ways from different people for years, but this thought resonated with me today as I think about QUESTIONS.

Warren Berger, in his book A More Beautiful Question says simply, "You don't learn unless you question."

Why are we afraid of asking questions?

• We're afraid of being EMBARRASSED. Asking questions makes us vulnerable and it lets others know that we don't have the answer.

• We're not willing to do the WORK. Asking questions often leads us in new directions and many times we just want the easy route.

• We're used to being TOLD WHAT TO DO and questions are discouraged. Questions can be viewed as challenging or testing.

• We're don't take the TIME. We're in too much of a hurry and we don't stop long enough to figure out what questions to ask.

What keeps you from asking questions when you have them? Why do you stay quiet instead of bringing something up?

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"What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do." Tim Ferriss

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

I've been following Tim Ferriss for a number of years, primarily through a couple of his books and his podcast. I don't listen to every podcast, but I've enjoyed many as he interviews a wide variety of people and asks questions of productivity, performance and many times really interesting conversations. He did a Ted Talk entitled "Why you should define your fears instead of your goals."

This quote is a theme Ferriss drives. He often asks people about their fear, and that leads to the conversation around performance & productivity.

This quote is true for me. Often the thing I fear, or the thing I put off the longest is the thing I need to do the most.

I remember a time that I was called on to speak in front of a group of people. It wasn't planned, and I was asked to step in at the last minute. I had about 10 minutes of pure PANIC. I think that's what fear feels like for me... that idea of being completely out of control, and unsure of what will happen.

10 minutes of panic.

But, the second I stood up in front, the fear and panic went away, and I had a peace that just filled me. I enjoyed the presentation, and think I did OK, but I Iearned a lesson at that moment:

Fear is temporary. As soon as you face your fear, you're able to move through it, hopefully quickly.

What does the word FEAR bring up for you? What does it stir?