Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

 


 

From 1840:

In the United States a man builds a house to spend his latter years in it, and he sells it before the roof is on: he plants a garden, and lets it just as the trees are coming into bearing: he brings a field into tillage, and leaves other men to gather the crops; he embraces a profession, and gives it up; he settles in a place, which he soon afterwards leaves, to carry his changeable longings elsewhere.
     If his private affairs leave him any leisure, he instantly plunges into the vortex of politics; and if at the end of a year of unremitting labor he finds he has a few days’ vacation, his eager curiosity whirls him over the vast extent of the United States, and he will travel fifteen hundred miles in a few days, to shake off his happiness.
     Death at length overtakes him, but it is before he is weary of his bootless chase of that complete felicity which is forever on the wing.

Democracy in America, Volume 2 by
Alexis de Tocqueville
Chapter XIII: Causes Of
The Restless Spirit Of Americans
In The Midst Of Their Prosperity

 


 

Twitter Log XVII

TwitterI use Twitter to share brief messages, not more than two per day. You can have them delivered to your cell phone by text message (SMS) or view them when you visit your free Twitter web page. Create a Twitter account and “follow” TonyMayo.

Here are my recent tweets (messages):

Meditation is not what you think. Click here for more information.

Micro-management like autoimmune disease: too much control destroys the organism. Click here for more information.

Can the boss relax on vacation? Here’s how: http://tr.im/vacation

Most business books are worse than wrong. http://dld.bz/eTmg

Two keys to group cohesion: clarity and verity. Make your meetings better: http://tr.im/2agree

I’ve worked Monday and Tues made progress W,Th&F completed tasks on Sat&Sun No one ever did anything on “someday.” http://tr.im/smrs

Psychologist proves: Tracking your goal progress creates more time Click here for more information.

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. T.S. Eliot

To succeed in business it is helpful to read from spreadsheet, hopeless to lead from a spreadsheet.

Service to others is the rent we pay for being on earth –RIP Tony Curtis 1925-2010

I have discovered that all human evil comes from man’s being unable to sit still and quiet in a room alone –Blaise Pascal 1623-1662 Simple meditation instructions here.

Prior tweets are here, at Twitter Logs.


___

©2010 Tony Mayo

Chronic stress damages brain. Relaxation heals it.

 


 

…chronically stressed rats lost their elastic rat cunning and instead fell back on familiar routines and rote responses, like compulsively pressing a bar for food pellets they had no intention of eating. … regions of the brain associated with executive decision-making and goal-directed behaviors had shriveled, while, conversely, brain sectors linked to habit formation had bloomed.

Nuno SousaBehaviors become habitual faster in stressed animals than in the controls, and worse, the stressed animals can’t shift back to goal-directed behaviors when that would be the better approach.

I call this a vicious circle.

Nuno Sousa, MD PhD
Life and Health Sciences
Research Institute

But with only four weeks’ vacation in a supportive setting free of bullies and Tasers, the formerly stressed rats looked just like the controls, able to innovate, discriminate and lay off the bar. Atrophied synaptic connections in the decisive regions of the prefrontal cortex resprouted, while the overgrown dendritic vines of the habit-prone sensorimotor striatum retreated.

–Brain Is a Co-Conspirator
in a Vicious Stress Loop
NYTimes.com

 


 

Understand Yourself Better

Raj Khera

Tony has the unique ability to bring out the best in you. In executive coaching sessions, he can articulate thoughts so clearly that you understand yourself and your options better after just a quick conversation.

Because of working with Tony Mayo as my CEO executive coach, I:

  • Started one-on-one meetings with my staff, which helps to focus the team on reaching defined goals.
  • Learned to let go of guilt for taking time off; taking time off helps to gain perspective and be more productive when at work. [See also, Boss’s Vacation, on this blog.]
  • Reduced my operational involvement so I could focus on strategy and building customer relationships.

He is a straight shooter, knows when and how to dig deeper to get to the root of an issue, and stays on top of your goals so you achieve more fulfillment in your own life, personally and professionally.

I HIGHLY recommend him.

The dynamics at the meetings spur insightful dialog among the members to solve real world business problems. I have found myself on many occasions seeing my own situations being addressed in someone else’s discussion. Being the boss can be a lonely job since few understand what we go through. This group has helped me grow both personally and professionally

–Raj Khera, CEO
MailerMailer LLC.

005 Managing Yourself with Specific Measurable Results • PODCAST

 


 

Click to download pdf Goal Setting Kit

For more than twenty years, I have led groups and individuals through a powerful goal-setting process with astonishing results: marriages, career changes, doubled incomes, published books, and more.

The two downloads linked from this post include all you need. Use the Specific Measurable Results (SMR) Kit workbook and podcast to follow the same planning method my executive coaching clients have long employed. Like them, you can create a (more…)