My second post

Across my career, I have attended a number of conferences and seminars, where I have had the opportunity to listen to many inspirational speakers. Most of them make me want to do great things for a few minutes, and unfortunately after that I lapse back into being just me.

Two speakers have made a difference to me, and unfortunately, I have forgotten both their names. I will try to do some online research and get their names to you.

The first changed my personal life. He made me realise that people can age gracefully, and my life goal is now to live to be 110, and to do it well. In the last two years, I have given up smoking and started eating a slightly more healthy diet. I still do no exercise, and have put on 15 kg in that time, but I will start, and I hope to see you in 2070, if you're still alive, and I hope you will buy me a beer.

The other speaker was a former hotelier, and a very senior executive in the Disney corporation. He was describing his job, and he described it as being an "environmentalist". For him, the role of every leader is to create an environment in which good people can flourish. In fact, whether we are leaders or not, we are all environmentalists, in that we create environments wherever we go.

In my home I am far from the leader (below the dog, but above most of the domestic help). But every time I walk into the house in the evening, I can choose the kind of environment I create. I can be grouchy and snap at everyone, and we can have a wrteched evening in which only the dog will give me any attention. Or, I can be warm and happy, and people are happy to see me. You would have noticed how when people are gathering for a meeting in the office, the mood of the meeting lightens or darkens as certain people enter. I know this sounds cheesy, but when you think of the fact that you have the power to create the environment in which you work, I think you realise how powerful you are, and what a duty you have to the people around you to make a positive environment.

If you want to be a miserable grouch, then perhaps do some yogic breathing, or go to the terrace and scream out loud, but then get back to trying to be happy.

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